Gorilla Trekking in Uganda
I'm back (finally, I know.....sorry!!!) and ready to blog! Since my last post I've moved to New York, started a new job, and oh yeah, trekked with gorillas in the wild! Yes, I just returned from one of the coolest experiences of my life and I cannot recommend trekking with gorillas enough. It. Was. Awesome.
This was Mark, the leader of the pack we saw.
As you can imagine, trekking with gorillas is not a trip you can plan on a whim. There are only a couple of places in Africa in which you can trek with gorillas and even then, there are only so many permits offered per year. My best friend and I had been discussing this trip for years and mainly so because it took us that long to finally get permits. And when I say finally get permits, let me set the stage: Text message in May from bff "Ok, just spoke to the tour operator and they have 4 permits for September 15, 2018. You in? We have to let her know within an hour or they're gone!" Yes, we had ONE HOUR to say yes or we would lose the permits and have to wait at least another year. Without a flight booked or any clue that I'd be living in a different city and just starting a new job, I called my dad and told him it was now or never. (My dad would kill me if I did this trip without him haha) He was hesitant having just returned from what he thought would be his only "once-in-a-lifetime" trip this year (aka, Antarctica), but I convinced him this could be our only chance. So with that, we wired 30% of the cost and we secured our permits!
*Side Note - for most tour operators in countries in Africa that run safaris or other animal tours, they require you to wire them cash. I'll admit the thought of wiring money makes me nervous, but it is how they do business so you just have to roll with it. I was convinced the first time I went on safari that we'd show up in Tanzania and there would be no one there, but alas it was amazing!
The best part about the tour operator we booked with is that they handled everything for us (except air travel). The amount we paid was about $1,700 a person and that included hotel accommodations in Kigali, Rwanda (more about Kigali below), our transport to and from Kigali to our lodge in Uganda (shoutout to our AMAZING driver Martin!!!), our gorgeous lodge right near the entrance to the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park, all food at the lodge (which was delicious!), park permits, and our guides in the park. The tour company is Great Lakes Safaris (yes, Ohio is never far from me lol) and if you're planning a trip to Uganda for any reason, book with them!!!
Trek Day
Before getting into the details of the beautiful lodge, I know what you're here for: gorilla pictures!!! So let me quickly tell you about our trek and then please enjoy some of my favorite images from the trip (and the cutest video of the babies entertaining us with a swinging vines performance).
I did so much research ahead of time because I had two fears: (1) will the gorillas charge at me? and (2) how hard will the hiking part of the trek be? I'm happy to report that in both reading about other trekkers' encounters and now my own experience, my first fear was completely unnecessary. There haven't been any tourists harmed on gorilla treks because the gorillas pretty much don't care at all about us! We found them in a bamboo area of the park and they were far more focused on eating and napping than us (we really do share 98% of the same DNA! haha). In fact, when we first got to the gorillas, there was a GIANT male sitting on some branches eating away. He looked over at us and immediately made a "ooh ooh ooh" sound. I froze and thought "OMG this is it, he's pissed we're interrupting his meal!" However, the guide and trekkers with us just made the noise back to them and that was that! I'd like to think he was just saying "No bamboo for you!" and our guide just said "No problem, as you were." :) We got to observe for one hour (that's the max amount of time you're allowed in order to maintain their health and safety). We watched the large males eating for a while and then I said to one of the trekkers "Where are the babies?" He motioned to follow him and took me over to a different area and there they were! Two of the cutest little gorilla babies (17 months old to be exact) swinging on bamboo vines. I stood there watching and filming for a good 15 minutes as they continued to "put on a show" for us (as our guide said). There was one juvenile as well and he definitely got jealous of the attention, so then he joined in on the fun (see second video).
Amongst the babies and juvenile was the dominant of the group, a silverback named Mark. He sat near a tree just watching, then would lay down, then got up and basically posed for us! He was so regal and it was truly amazing to see such a rare animal in the wild. There are only about 880 mountain gorillas in the world, so seeing this group in person was so moving. And you can really see the evidence of our shared DNA. From their mannerisms to their anatomical features, it was like being around really hairy humans. You felt a connection that there was more there than just animal and person. I could've stayed there all day and just observed, but sadly we had to head back down the mountain when our hour was up. We snapped as many pictures as we could and started our trek back, which thankfully would be a lot easier than coming up (until the end that is...). Enjoy these pictures and then keep reading to see if my hiking fear was validated ;)
Ok, let's get to the physical part! I had read many horror stories of super long treks and many stories on basically cake walks. It all depended on how long it took to find the gorillas. The Uganda Wildlife Authority (they're amazing, you can find out more about the very important work they do here) have a group of trekkers that follow the gorillas around each day from sunrise until sunset. They do this not only to let the guides know where to find the gorillas, but also to observe the gorillas for any changes in their health, behavior, and environmental dangers. The juvenile we saw was coughing at one point and our guide told us that the trekkers would be letting the UWA doctor know so that he could be checked on. The UWA understands the importance of keeping these beautiful creatures alive and preventing extinction. They take their work very seriously and you could tell the love they have for the animals.
With our amazing trek guides and our paramilitary soldier. What a group!
So thankful for an adventurous Dad and super proud of him for handling the 9 hour trek like a champ!
So back to our trek. We started the morning by heading to the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park entrance where our guide, Isreal, gave us a rundown of the day, the importance of observing the Park rules, and what to do/how to act when we got to the gorillas. They also warned us that buffalo and elephants were in the Park as well, so if we came across them we must stand still and allow them to pass. I thought nothing of this (ohhhhhhh was I wrong!). We started out on our hike up the mountain and it started out wonderfully. The views alone of the volcanoes and the countrysides, mountains, and lakes of Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo were stunning! Where the park is located is just a few thousand yards from Rwanda and Congo, so you could see so much. Had we not seen the gorillas, the hike views alone would have been worth it. But unfortunately for us, our trek was not a cake walk. It took us over 4 hours to get to the gorillas because basically as we were hiking up the mountain, they were heading up to the bamboo forest. Some parts of the hike were flat and there was a nice breeze, but most was uphill. Some parts were so steep that we needed help to make it up. Let's just say it was the most physically enduring thing I've ever done in my life! But in all honesty, if we'd found the gorillas in 45 minutes I don't think the experience would have been as great. There was such a sense of accomplishment by the time we got to the gorillas, that it made it all worth it!
We started our way down after our wonderful hour with the gorillas and it was MUCH easier. For the most part, it was all down hill. By the time we got close to the entrance, our bodies were definitely getting to the end of their rope and ready to rest. We were just about done and then "STOP!" is all I heard and I froze. We came upon three buffalo and you could sense the danger from our guides. One of our guides was a paramilitary soldier who carried an AK-47. We were told he would only shoot into the air to scare off an animal if we crossed paths. However, with buffalo (one of the most dangerous animals in the world apparently!) shooting could actually agitate them more. Not what you want to hear! The guides tried throwing rocks and other items at them to scare them off, but the buffalo just looked at us dead in the eye. This is the only moment in the whole day I was legit fearful. Just as the soldier took the safety off and cocked his gun, the buffalo turned and walked away. I was so relieved not to hear that shot! We had to detour slightly, but about 30 minutes later we were finally back to the entrance and could breathe a sigh of relief! So thankful for the awesome guides we had on our journey. They made the experience all the more memorable!
You can see the buffalo in the middle of the pic giving us the death stare!
Our Lodge
We stayed at Mount Gahinga Lodge and wow was it stunning! The grounds were immaculate and we had the most gorgeous views of the Park and the two volcanoes. On our morning of the trek, there was the coolest lenticular cloud over one of the volcanoes and it was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It looked like a UFO floating about the volcano. There are 8 individual lodges which have either two double beds or one king bed, a fireplace, and a lovely stone bathroom. Each night when you'd return to your room the fire would be burning and a hot water bottle would be under your covers. It can get quite chilly at night, so it was the perfect way to stay warm. We had a wake up call with our choice or tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. Their hot chocolate was some of the best I've ever had, so I had to go with that! The food at breakfast and dinner (lunch was on the trek) was also super tasty. Their chef was great and there were so many options to choose from. Also, one of my favorite features of the Lodge was that there was a complimentary 30 minute massage for each guest every day. After a 9 hour, 10 mile mountain trek, boy was that massage needed!
Kigali, Rwanda
We flew in and out of Kigali and got to explore some of the city on the front and back ends of the trip. I cannot say enough about how beautiful Rwanda is and how friendly the people are. The drive to and from the Lodge took us through the country/mountain side of the northern part of the country and wow was it beautiful! Rwanda is known as the "Land of a Thousand Hills" and we could see why. Every turn we took there were more stunning scenic views. Kigali was a great city with a booming economy, fine dining, and views for days. I will most definitely be going back to this country in the future to take in more of its scenery and culture. Our awesome tour driver Martin gave us a day of sightseeing on the front end which included a visit to the Genocide Memorial Museum. On the back end of the trip we stayed at the Hotel de Milles Collines, which is the hotel from the movie Hotel Rwanda (although the movie was actually filmed in South Africa, but the story was accurate). I watched the movie before our trip and it was extremely heart-wrenching to watch. Because the genocide happened when I was 10 years old, I knew very little about it. Having watched the movie and visited the Memorial Museum, I learned so much about how quickly humans can turn. I have always thought that people are innately good, that evil is rare. But what happened in those 100 days was perplexing, heartbreaking, and fascinating. It was heartwarming to see how the people of Rwanda have moved past that horrible part of their history and have made it a priority to move forward and forgive. I can't even imagine the pain and suffering they survived and the ability to forgive after that is truly inspiring.
How To Get There:
Getting to Kigali is surprisingly not that difficult. There are several flight routes a day from major cities like New York and Washington, DC that will get you to Kigali in two flights. We actually took Qatar Airways from New York to Kigali with a stopover in Doha, Qatar. We had a 15 hour layover, which was perfect because Qatar Airways offers a 3 hour city transit tour for layovers over 8 hours for $11 a person. It was a great opportunity to see a city and country that I otherwise wouldn't have visited (since I'd been to Dubai and they're quite similar). It was almost 100 degrees and 90% humidity at 8pm, so that part wasn't great, but the coach was air conditioned so we survived! lol Also, we lucked out because on the 12 hour flight to Doha, the last 7-8 rows of the plane were empty. We asked if we could move back and the flight attendants said yes, so we each had our own row to ourselves. The flight attendants gave us extra blankets and pillows and we were able to make beds out of the row to sleep. If you're going to fly economy for 12 hours, this is how you do it! And the best part? The one-way flight from NYC to Kigali was only $398!!! Yes, that is not a typo, it was that cheap!
How cute is this giant bear in the Doha airport?!
For the return flight I used my Chase Ultimate Rewards points to book business class on Etihad Airlines from Johannesburg, South Africa (the bff and I spent the following week in Cape Town - - post to come on that) to Washington, DC via Abu Dhabi. I cannot say enough about the service and food on Etihad! It made a 7:30 flight, followed by a 14:45 flight enjoyable! If you can work with your points/miles and book Etihad business for a trip, DO IT!!!!! Their product and service was one of the best I've ever experienced. So much so that I would be willing to pay cash in the future (so long as it's not too pricey)! It was that good :)
Kuwa na safari njema!
