Its always good to see the gorillas and we had permits to go and see them for two days. Our first group was called the Sabyinyo group (guhonda) named for the volcano where they tended to be found. We drove from the early morning registration to the trail head which lies in rural farmland.
It was great fun to walk through this farmland greeting children and local people as they tended their fields. It made such a contrast when we reached the forest edge and were suddenly immersed in the deep cool shade of the bamboo and ancient trees which cut off the sunlight.
It only took us another hour before we found the gorillas and one of our party had two artificial hips!
The gorillas were amazing! It is such a thrill to be close to such large and powerful apes and to be able to spend a little time of their day watching them playing, feeding and interacting with each other.
Rwanda is called the country of a thousand hills and this is certainly the case! It is also the most densely populated country in Africa with over 600 people per square kilometer so every inch of available arable land is utilized.
The second day we hiked to Agashya group, named after the new silverback who took over a few years ago. Agashya means ‘new’ and he was so named when he came out of nowhere (probably the Democratic Republic of Congo) and took over the group from the previous silverback.
It took us longer to hike to this family but we were rewarded with young gorillas playing and more wonderful interactions between the family members.
That afternoon we were all feeling weary and had retired to our rooms. All of a sudden there was a outbreak of drumming and song. Outside was a local dance troupe who entertained us with their athletic and beautiful dancing.
It seemed a wonderful way for my guests to wrap up their final day on safari with the chorus of song and the sun slowly sinking behind the volcanoes in the west.
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