GORILLAS

Gus and Reid went up to see the gorillas last weekend. The girls aren’t old enough and aren’t allowed to do the trek. Reid was at first skeptical. Permits are extremely expensive especially for foreigners. We’re able to buy them for half the price because we’ve got the resident’s visa---still that’s $250 US a pop. Additionally, although it’s possible to leave Kigali at an ungodly hour and make the 2-3 hour trip up to the Volcanoes National Park, it’s best to spend the night and head to the park at a more leisurely pace for the 7 am rendez-vous time. Accommodations in this country aren’t cheap anywhere, so that has to be factored into the expense of the trip. Petrol is about $6-$7 US / gal and driving conditions are insane to say the least. Understandably, Reid was reluctant to undertake that trip again. However, both returned convinced of the worthiness of the venture.

I asked Gus to record his impressions for the blog but he’s too lazy. So, I’ll have to convey his experience vicariously for our readers. The group they were assigned is one that inhabits the outer ranges of the park, the Susa Group. They’re the furthest out and the drive to the hike start point is about an hour and a half on a pretty poorly maintained dirt road. It’s another 45 minutes to an hour hike to the place in the forest where they hang out. This is a large group of about 33 individuals with about 5 silverbacks. Reid and Gus were able to see 3 of them. There were also a couple of females with infants ranging from 4 days old to 4 months old. The gorillas were calmly munching on vegetation. The guides continuously made grunting noises similar to the noises gorillas make showing contentment. The mothers held their babies closely. Some of the juveniles performed a few antics, but for the most part the experience consisted of the gorillas ignoring the humans while they went along with their daily routine. One little guy got a bit close but was waved away by the guide.

Reid’s skepticism was completely dispelled and he noted how magical an experience it was to be in the wilds with a 300 pound silverback gorilla 6 ft away with no fence, barrier or partition separating man and beast. The gorillas are truly one of the few great natural resources that Rwanda possesses. They bring in millions of dollars to the economy in terms of tourists buying permits, paying for accommodations, spending money on food and souvenirs, drivers and petrol. They unfortunately are under great pressure from loss of habitat, poaching, and disease. It’s quite a balancing act that has to take place to keep all the elements in equal proportion and not letting one element tip the scales. How long Rwanda can continue to do so is anybody's guess.