The adventures of Rwanda!

The morning we were leaving Jinja to head into the big city of Kampala we had quite the transport. Starting off on the back of a truck we hopped off at the Backpackers Hostel to get a Boda Boda (motorcycle taxi).

Initially they wanted us to both get on the back of the motorbike with our suitcase and ride to the bus station, but we kibashed that immediately. The motorbikes dropped us off at the bus depot in Jinja where we then took the small mini bus (matatu) to Kampala. From there we cheaped out and decided to walk to the bus depot where we were to buy our tickets to Kigali. Kampala is MUCH hotter than Nairobi and by the time we reached the bus depot, after finally daring to get on another motorbike to get us there, we were sweating buckets. Lesson learned- now time for a TAXI!

The next morning was an early start to get to the bus depot. I have to admit that I was dreading the supposed 8 hour bus ride from Kampala Uganda to Kigalia, Rwanda. I wasn’t sure what to expect- perhaps a bus overloaded with people, possibly animals, no bathroom stops?? However when we arrived at the bus station I was relieved to find a comfortable bus- similar to a Greyhound.

The bus ride can range between 8-15 hours to get to Kigali, depending on stops, traffic, police, immigration, etc. Our trip was 11 hours and proved to be a memorable experience. The scenery was breath taking and really such a wonderful way to see parts of two countries that I might not have seen.

After 9.5 hours of a bus ride from Kampala, Uganda to the border of Uganda-Rwanda we disembarked to go through the immigration line. As I was eagerly filling out my exit form to leave Uganda my phone rang. I scrambled for the phone and noticed that it was my BBC office in Nairobi.

Sharuti : “Hi Amanda- haven’t seen you in the office in a couple of days- where are you?”

I can barely answer cause I think “what?! Didn’t I make it clear that I was going on holiday?

So I answer “Well… I’m actually at the border crossing between Uganda and Rw….”

And then I stop speaking because I notice that the bus I have been travelling on for 9.5 hours has suddenly left.

I heard “Hello?” from the other end.

“Ummm Sharuti- I’m on holiday and am going to see the gorillas in Rwanda- I have to go though because my bus just deserted me.”

I hung up the phone and was immediately reassured from someone else in line that the bus would meet us all on the Rwanda side. No problem, right?! WRONG! The problem is that sometimes new passengers won’t recognize your bus ticket- so you have to scramble through all the lines to then get to the bus, check your bag, and make sure you get a seat.

Thankfully, this happened!

When we finally arrived in Kigali it felt great to have a shower, eat some supper and head to bed- knowing that the next couple of days were going to be long with touring and gorilla tracking. Rwanda is by far the most beautiful country I have visited in Africa. It is know as the “land of a thousand hills” and it most definitely is. The people are extremely friendly and the city has certainly recovered (externally) from the genocide- infrastructure and economy/tourism seem to be booming.

Before heading to Ruhengeri, where the gorilla tracking begins, our wonderful guide – Amos- took us to the Beligan UN solider memorial. When we were dropped off I had no idea as to what the memorial was for, I did not realize that 10 UN Belgian soldiers were captured in 1994 after guarding the Prime Minister who was then shot by rebel troops.

http://modern-war.suite101.com/article.cfm/belgian_peacekeeper_massacre

The soldiers were taken to the military base where they were lined up against the wall of the building. One of the soldiers tried to push his way past the rebels and seize a gun. This soldier was immediately shot and the nine remaining soldiers were placed in a room where grenades were thrown in to kill all of them. It is a heart wretching memorial as the room is completely untouched. You can still see the stains of blood along the walls.

After that experience it was a quiet ride towards Ruhengeri. As you drive by villages you can’t help but wonder what each person’s story is from the genocide- where were they? How did they survive?

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The next morning we woke early to head off to Volcano National Park – where you drop off your permit ($500 USD), meet your guide and get a briefing on which group you will see. Each day there are no more than 40 permits allotted- there are five groups, each with a maximum of eight people in a group. Our group had only 6 people and we went to visit the gorilla group known as “Group Thirteen”. There are a few rules that you need to obey when tracking for the gorillas:

1. Stay 7 meters away from the gorillas (although really you are more like 2-3 meters away)
2. Do not use flash on your camera.
3. If a gorilla charges you immediately sit down on the ground and don’t make a sound.

Those were the main rules I remembered- really what was going on in my head was “Oh my Gosh I am so excited!!!!”

Our group drove to our drop off point and started our trek through the jungle. The following people accompany you on your trek through the jungle:

1. Guide with machete to cut down the vines in front of you
2. Solider in front with gun to ward off buffalo
3. Solider in back to do the same
4. Two tracking guides with walkie talkies that communicate with the trackers with the gorillas.

Our guide assured us that within the hour we would see gorillas. Ummm… no. Apparently group 13 wanted to find lots of food that morning, which meant they kept moving. At one point we reached a large cliff- we could see on the other side of the cliff a grassy area where our guide said “well- that is where they are- let’s go!” I seriously thought he was joking. But no. We climbed down the cliff, then had to scramble up this wet/muddly cliff while holding on to vines and then eventually having one guide grab the cuff of your shirt and the back of your pants so you were hoisted up. Mission accomplished. However, no gorillas. We hiked for another 45 minutes and I was at the point where I thought that this was it- we weren’t going to see any. However- all of a sudden I look to my left hand side and there sitting next to where I am standing is a small gorilla eating bamboo. It was amazing! We had found the group.

As we continued into the jungle we found the rest of group 13. One silverback, lots of female gorillas and a ton of babies. It was breath taking! We were literally 4 meters away from all of them- and for one hour just watched them move, eat, play, and be together. As they moved, we moved and it was truly spectacular!!

It was a magical adventure that I recommend anyone to go on! The $500 USD permit is well worth it!!