Words: Gentleman's Journal
With my alarm ringing at 5.30am, first thoughts are unkind ones, but remembering why the alarm was set sees the duvet pulled back with a certain glee, though some trepidation as well. This is the morning of a day long in the planning: a flight to Kigali, the country’s Capital, and a two-hour drive to Musanze along a good surfaced road lined either side with everyday scenes of Rwandan life: bicycles, burdened with packs of firewood and sugar cane, sacks of potatoes or cartons of banana wine, being pushed up the countless steep inclines; women in multicoloured dress forever walking, oblivious of bulging baskets on their heads; tethered goats by fields of sorghum, cassava and maize. Such a montage is cheering because Rwanda is not sunk in dire poverty; it’s now the eighth most prosperous – and the least corrupt – country in Africa.
The evening before is spent meticulously packing at Mountain Gorilla View Lodge, perfectly situated on the footslopes of the Virunga Mountains for views of the six extinct volcanoes that bestride the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, home to over half of the roughly 800 mountain gorillas still alive on the planet.
Next, a speedy breakfast and a 6.30am pick-up for the short drive to the headquarters of Volcanoes National Park for a briefing by the rangers. At this stage you’re put into a group of not more than eight and told which of the gorilla troops you will be tracking. That’s it then… the adventure begins with a walk to the edge of the forest.
Advance trackers will already have a good idea of the gorillas’ location, but not a precise one so the duration of the track will vary, averaging less than an hour. Starting at an altitude of around 2,500m, the end point will be above 3,000m and the toughness of the climb depends on where the gorillas are on any one day and which group you’re tracking. The Susa group is the most demanding to reach but also the most exciting because of its size – some 30 gorillas in all from babies to four silverbacks.
How and when you first see gorillas is gloriously unpredictable and nothing can prepare you for the moment when suddenly one or more appears. They are impressive primates, of human height but supremely robust and with an adult male weighing in at over 200kg quite fearsome-looking and not a little terrifying given they’re in the wild and your relatively puny body is trespassing on their habitat. But these charismatic creatures are peaceful vegetarians who tolerate fellow primates who come a-visiting with civilised charm, ignoring you mostly but every now and again pausing to gaze and catch your eye. Interaction is not uncommon and young gorillas like to show off, even beating their chest at you in a display of machismo.
If by now you are hooked on Rwanda wildlife then there is a little visited part of the country well worth exploring. This is Akagera National Park in the east of the country, now home to the big five game animals since lions were reintroduced this year, and there is terrific accommodation at Ruzizi Tented Camps. The camp, built using local labour, has only twenty beds in sturdy, steel-framed tents with solid-wall bathrooms to the rear. Each tent has an intimate setting on the shores of Lake Ihema, looking across to Tanzania, with not a soul in sight unless one of the hippos emerges from the lake (staff sensibly advise keeping your tent zipped up at night). Activities include guided game drives, boat safaris, night drives and fishing trips. The bird watching is spectacular: look out for the Bare-faced Go-away bird.
Getting there
Kenya Airways operates daily overnight flights from London Heathrow to Nairobi on a B-787-Dreamliner and daily convenient connections to Rwanda’s capital, Kigali (from £755) www.kenya-airways.com
By Sean Sheehan
Become a Gentleman’s Journal Member?
Like the Gentleman’s Journal? Why not join the Clubhouse, a special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands. You will also receive invites to exclusive events, the quarterly print magazine delivered directly to your door and your own membership card.
