Chris_GA_Atl

This is a report that covers our Dec. 31, 2006-January 9, 2007 trip to Uganda and Rwanda. It includes our visit to Ngamba Island, as well as gorilla trekking in both Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda and Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. This trip was arranged through our African travel agent, Marie at African Horizons, and the ground operator for this portion of our trip was Volcanoes Safaris. You can follow along with this trip report by looking at our pictures, all of which are at www.pbase.com/cwillis. The pictures are arranged in sections that correspond to the order of our trip, so you can easily find the pictures that relate to each portion of the trip.

Day 1:

After finishing up our tour of Northern Ethiopia, we caught our Ethiopian Airlines flight to Entebbe. I won’t give you all of the details about how irritating and confusing it is to fly out of the Addis Ababa airport, but we did manage to get on the correct plane and we were only a half hour late. When we arrived in Entebbe, we were met by a Volcanoes representative, who immediately took us to the headquarters of Ngamba Island in Entebbe, where we needed to check in. The check-in process was a breeze and very pleasant – we were given a briefing about the island and chimpanzees, and found out that we would be able to do a forest walk with the young chimps. We then drove to the boat dock and met the boat that would take us across the equator on Lake Victoria to Ngamba Island. We arrived at about 2pm and were met by Patrick, who manages the permanent tented camp on the island for Wild Frontiers Safaris. We got a quick introduction to the island, and dropped our gear in the tent, then quickly hurried to get up to the viewing platforms for the 2:30 feeding. There, we met Stany, the head caregiver for the chimps on the island. We took advantage of the feeding to take some pictures of the chimps, and one of the things we immediately noticed was how violent the chimps are toward one another. They chase each other around, pummel and bite each other, and make a tremendous amount of noise. Not exactly encouraging when you are contemplating going behind the fence with some of them!

Fortunately, the fighting subsided quickly, and we were able to observe the chimps feeding and interacting with one another. We also began to notice some of the island’s other residents – large water monitor lizards. These 3-4 foot lizards are numerous on the island, but despite their size, they are totally harmless and run away whenever anyone approaches. The island is also absolutely swarming with birds – weavers, egrets, plovers, African Fish Eagles, hadada ibis, hamerkops, Egyptian geese, cormorants, and lots more I didn’t recognize.

The island itself is primarily a 100-acre forest which the chimps inhabit during the day. It is separated from the human-occupied part of the island by an elaborate electrified fence. The human portion of the island is well-maintained and landscaped, with trees and flowers everywhere. The tented camp has four tents on platforms, plus an open-air A-frame dining area. There is a series of buildings where the chimpanzee caregivers and researches stay, as well as a veterinary clinic and an office.

After viewing the chimps’ feeding, we got a late lunch. The service at the tented camp was attentive and courteous, and the food was plentiful and good. Stany gave us an in-depth tour of the island and told us about his 20 years’ experience working with chimpanzees. The story of the island is a bittersweet one: the chimpanzees are happy and well cared for there, but the only reason they are there in the first place is that they were taken illegally from the wild, typically through the killing of their parents, for the pet trade. When the poachers are caught, the chimpanzees are confiscated and brought to Ngamba Island. There is little or no hope of releasing them into the wild. So each of the 40 chimpanzees on the island came there because of a tragedy. Fortunately, they receive a lot of loving care from the island staff, and watching the chimps interact with the caregivers, it is obvious how well the chimpanzees are treated on the island, and they seem to really enjoy the company of the caregivers.

As the sun set over a very hazy Lake Victoria, the chimps were brought into the holding facility for the evening. There, they received bowls of millet porridge, and the youngest chimp got a special bowl of milk. The feeding was remarkably orderly and calm, and the chimps settled into their hammocks with a bit of noisy screaming afterward.

That night, we got to spend some time with Stany over dinner, and Patrick had a bottle of champagne for us, because it was New Year’s Eve. This was a nice touch and very consistent with the overall excellent level of service there. Jetlag kept us from staying up until midnight, but Patrick did build a fire for us, and we turned in for bed well before midnight.

We woke the next morning nervous and excited about our forest walk. Stany gave us a briefing and some overalls, and made sure that we had removed all glasses, jewelry and other loose items that the chimps might get hold of. He explained that we would be going out with about 10 of the chimps – “the calmest ones,” he said. After the previous day’s violent outbursts among the chimps, we were a little nervous. We entered the forest through locked gates in the electric fence, and the chimps were then released into the forest with us. Immediately, Nakuu came calmly over to my wife and climbed up into her arms. I didn’t have time to feel left out, as Pasa did the same with me. Now, these are not “baby” chimps by any stretch of the imagination – they are 5-6 years old and weigh about 50 pounds. After a moment to get acquainted, we set off into the dense forest with the chimps riding on our backs. Other chimps walked in front of us and behind us, while still others moved through the trees. It gave us the feeling of being a member of the chimpanzee troop.

Hiking through the forest, ducking under limbs and stepping over logs with a 50-pound chimp on your back is not easy! Fortunately, the hike is not long, and we soon arrived at a clearing in the forest. There, we sat down with Stany, and most of the chimps did their own thing in the immediate vicinity – grooming each other, foraging for food, or just sitting nearby. The chimps were all very calm the entire time – there was no rough-housing with us or with each other, although we understand that sometimes they are playful.

When we sat down, several of the chimps interacted with us for the entire hour that followed. My wife had at least one chimp in her lap at all times. Two chimps came over to groom me, looking through my hair and up my nose for whatever ticks and other bugs I might be carrying. One chimp brought me a caterpillar as a present, and we passed it back and forth and looked at it together, until she grew tired of my refusal to eat it and consumed it herself. One of the male chimps, Indi, unlaced my wife’s boot, removed the lace, and started playing with it. At first he just chewed on it, but then he amazed us by wrapping the shoelace around his own foot, and started trying to tie it! After trying that for a while, he politely brought the shoelace back to us.

Our hour with the chimps ended too soon, and we walked back through the forest with the whole group, again each with a chimp on our backs. We said farewell to the chimps, then exited the fenced area and watched the remaining chimps make their way out into the forest.

After breakfast we did some more picture-taking around the island, including more chimp pictures at the 11am feeding. We then said goodbye to Stany and the rest of the island staff and made the boat ride back to Entebbe. A strong north wind had blown all night and had really whipped up the waves on Lake Victoria, so the ride back was very rough and slow. We had to wear raincoats because of all the spray from the huge waves. Eventually we arrived back in Entebbe, right on schedule, and the Volcanoes guide was right there to pick us up.

Our first order of business was trying to find someplace to get rid of the travelers’ checks which we had foolishly brought on this trip (about 40% of our money). Since it was New Year’s Day, we went to the Entebbe airport, hoping that one of the forex bureaus could help us. Fortunately, they were open and took travelers’ checks, so we changed all of them to ensure that we would not have to worry about this issue once we arrived in Rwanda. We had been carrying them around looking for a place to convert them (unsuccessfully) for a week in Ethiopia, and it was a tremendous relief to deal with that issue. It has been said on this Forum many times, but I will say it again: do not bring travelers’ checks to this part of Africa!

Having dealt with that item of business, we had several hours free, as our flight to Kigali was not leaving until about 8:30 that night. We took a driving tour of Entebbe and Kampala, and ate dinner at the Lake Victoria Hotel, which was very nice. We then went to the airport and caught our Rwandair Express flight to Kigali, which went exactly on schedule.

Upon arrival in Kigali, the airport was near-deserted. We went through immigration and customs with no problems, and collected our luggage. Our Volcanoes guide for the rest of the trip, Freddy, was there to meet us, and took us to the Milles Collines for our overnight stay. The common areas and lobby were nice, and the service was just fine, but the room was not up to the same standard. I won’t belabor this point: the Milles Collines is discussed almost weekly on this forum, and pretty much everybody agrees that the Intercontinental (now the Serena) is the better option. The thing that really struck me as ironic in our room at the Milles Collines was that there was an old “Tourist Map of Rwanda” in French on the wall. In the Kigali section, the map featured as one of the items the MRND Party Headquarters. The MRND, of course, was the political party that planned and carried out the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. So here we are in the “Hotel Rwanda” and the map on the wall is showing me where to go find the headquarters of the people who organized the killing! (Of course, the MRND doesn’t exist in Rwanda any more; the outdated tourist map just struck me as being really ironic).

Next Up: Kigali and the journey to Ruhengeri. I am posting this report as I write it, so it will come up in installments.

maxwell

This is great Chris! Brings back very, very fond memories of Pasa and Nakuu in particular. I'm so glad you guys got to do the walk - it is definitely one of my most memorable travel moments that will be hard to ever top.

julimbo

Thoroughly enjoying your trip report. It's making me think that gorillas might not be enough while in Uganda. I might have to start selling blood in order to fit chimps into my itinerary. LOL!

Juliet

thit_cho

Thanks, very interesting report. My Volanoes Safari guide was named Frederick -- I wonder if he's the same "Freddy" that guided you.

I didn't know that anyone made travelers' cheques anymore -- with the ubiquity of ATMs, I haven't carried travelers cheques since the early 1990s, so I'm not surprised they are difficult to cash.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Michael

thit_cho

Your description of Ngamba really adds a lot of flavor to the experience. I hadn't really appreciated the level of interaction and contact. Its nice to see the increasing level of trip reports to Uganda and Rwanda.

Michael

Chris_GA_Atl

Thanks for your comments. We definitely felt that the forest walk on Ngamba Island was one of the biggest highlights of our entire trip, and we rate it as one of the most memorable experiences we have ever had traveling anywhere in the world. Doing that program, you expereince a level on connection with the chimpanzees that is simply astounding. It is expensive ($250 per person just for the forest walk), but provides an experience that, as Linda said, is really going to be hard to top.

Michael, to answer your question about our guide, his last name was "Gakuba," Rwandan by birth, and he was about 5'6", had a shaved head, and looked like he was about in his late 30's. He was friendly, outgoing and jovial throughout our eight days with him. Does that sound like the Volcanoes guide you had?

Chris

Chris_GA_Atl

Day 2: Kigali to Ruhengeri

This morning, after breakfast at the Milles Collines, we met up with Freddy and the Canadian couple that would be with us for the rest of our trip. They were very pleasant and we really enjoyed talking with them throughout the trip.

We spent the morning in Kigali, first visiting the memorial to the Belgian soldiers who were killed on the first day of the genocide as part of the plan to cause the Belgian government to withdraw its forces from Rwanda. After a short visit to the bullet-hole-riddled building where the soldiers were killed, we spent several hours at the Kigali Memorial Center, a very professionally-done memorial that contains in-depth information about the historical roots of the genocide, the years of planning and propaganda that laid the foundation for it, and the genocide itself. There was an entire section devoted to children killed in the genocide, with plaques containing short statements written by survivors. The Memorial Center is surrounded by gardens interspersed with mass graves that contain approximately 250,000 victims’ remains. The whole presentation of the Center is very well-done and extremely moving, and any visitor to Rwanda really owes it to themselves to read about the genocide before visiting and then to see the Kigali Memorial Center.

My recommendation for the most complete reading material for learning about the Genocide is the book “Leave None to Tell the Story” by Human Rights Watch, available for free on the internet at http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/. Romeo Dallaire’s Book “Shake Hands With the Devil” and Phillip Gourevitch’s “We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families” are also excellent. You will see reminders of the genocide everywhere you go in Rwanda (like gaccaca courts in session outdoors in the small towns), and it continues to impact the lives of everyone in the country, so to me it is critical to learn something about it before you visit.

We spent far more time at the Kigali Memorial Center than we had planned, and then returned to the Milles Collines for a slightly late lunch. We then boarded our Land Rover for the short trip out to Ruhengeri. The drive is a pleasant one, thanks to paved and well-maintained roads and beautiful, green hills everywhere. Rwanda is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, so almost every available surface is devoted to agriculture, from the hilltops to the valleys. Remarkably, in addition to the typical terraced fields that we expected, we also saw carefully-built stone drainage systems on the hillsides and beside the roads. We also saw a great deal of foot traffic on the roads, and lots of people either riding bicycles, or using them to carry cargos of produce, water, or passengers. Rwandan women generally dress in very colorful clothes, and a large percentage of them had babies wrapped up on their backs.

Approaching Ruhengeri, the first thing you see is Mt. Muhabura towering over the surrounding hills in the distance. As you get closer, the other volcanoes go in and out of view. Each of them is a commanding presence, and seeing 3 or 5 of them at once is even more awe-inspiring. Ruhengeri itself is a small town, but bustling with people and activity. We only drove through it, and proceeded to the Volcanoes Virunga Lodge. The Lodge lies on a ridge, and requires ascending a steep dirt road, but Freddy had no problems getting up there.

The Lodge is first-rate, with individual stone cabins, well-furnished and roomy. There is a lake on either side of the ridge where the Lodge sits, and it also overlooks the valley and all five of the Virunga volcanoes that form the DRC-Rwanda-Uganda border, so you have a spectacular view from anywhere on the Lodge grounds. The bar and dining areas are at the top, and both are very comfortable and well-appointed. But beyond nice buildings and furniture is the fact that the service at this Lodge is so excellent. Every employee you meet is friendly, and every one of them goes out of his or her way to make sure that anything you want/need is taken care of. Put that level of service together with the lodge itself, and we thought it was just excellent. Highly recommended!

One thing that really surprised us about the Lodge was the number of Americans staying there. We almost never find Americans in the out-of-the-way places we visit, but here almost every one of the 10 guests at the Lodge was American! Three of the couples had gone gorilla trekking that day, and we got a lot of useful information about what groups were in what locations that day, and heard about their experiences (two couples had seen Group 13, the other Sabinyo). The overcast sky cleared up and we were treated to an excellent view of the stars, and we hoped that the good weather would hold through the next couple of days. After an excellent dinner, we went to bed early, eagerly anticipating our first gorilla trek the next day.

ovenbird

We couldn't find any ATMs that worked in Uganda, even at the Entebbe airport. Fortunately we brought plenty of cash (large bills printed in 2001 or later and in pristine condition) and loaned money to our fellow travellers who had relied soley on atms. Only a few brought travellers checks for emergency purposes only.

thit_cho

Chris, that sounds like him (but, then again, that sounds like a lot of people I know). I spend eight days with Frederick, and he was great company.

Chris_GA_Atl

Day 3: Amahoro Group Gorilla Trek (pictures at www.pbase.com/cwillis/amahoro)

We woke up early for our first gorilla trek and found the sun rising into a perfect, partly cloudy sky, so we were optimistic that we would have good weather for our first gorilla trek. After a well-prepared breakfast, we drove approximately 45 minutes from the Lodge to the ORTPN headquarters in Kinigi, arriving at about 6:45. When we got there, there was already a “full house” of gorilla-trekking tourists – 7 groups times 8 people per group. Everyone was milling around and talking, and there was a cadre of ORTPN rangers hanging around as well. We checked in and filled out the registration form (which included, among other things, a blank for you to state your level of “FEETNESS”). All of the ORTPN employees we interacted with were very friendly and courteous.

We had asked Freddy to lobby for us to get an “easy” group to trek to for our first day, and we saw him talking to the rangers, presumably to try to accomplish that. After a while waiting around, suddenly they started calling people into groups. We could not figure out how this decision was made, and it was not apparent to us that the tourists were having much (if any) influence over their group assignments. We and our Canadian companions were assigned to the Amahoro group, together with four Italians. Our guide was Francis (not to be confused with Francois, who is much older and whom we trekked with the following day). Francis was an excellent guide, from the initial briefing through the entire trek and afterward. He gave us a briefing and then we got in the Land Rover to head to the starting point for the trek.

To call this a gorilla “trek” would probably be a bit of an overstatement. We parked the vehicles within sight of the wall that forms the park boundary, and the “trek” consisted of walking about 15-20 minutes up to the wall, and then another 15-20 minutes along (but outside of) the wall on the lower northeastern slopes of Mt. Bisoke. At that point, we were told to drop our bags and get ready to meet the gorillas! Our first task, though, was getting over the wall. I had assumed this would be relatively easy, but it wasn’t. The ORTPN rangers and the RPF guards went over first, but the rocks that made up the wall were loose and they caused a minor collapse and rock slide, so they tried to find another place for us to cross. The alternative area was only slightly more stable, and lots of rocks came loose during our efforts to get over. To make things more fun, on the other side of the wall there was a drop-off that was probably a total of 6 feet from the top of the wall, so we had to jump down.

Having accomplished that, we then had a very short walk to the Amahoro group. That isn’t to say it was easy – the terrain was steeply sloped, and the entire area was covered in chest-high stinging nettles. Deprived of our walking sticks and carrying cameras, it was a good bit of effort to move around, but we came to the gorillas quickly and without major incident. The group was spread out over a fairly large area, so generally we could only see 3-4 of them at any given time. The sun was moving in and out of the clouds, and the gorillas were moving into and out of shady areas and behind vegetation, making photography a challenging endeavor. Because the gorillas were spread out and moving a bit, we had to maneuver around them for most of the hour we spent with them. Fortunately, however, there were always at least a couple of gorillas in plain, open view at a distance that varied between 5 and 40 feet. The rangers were very conscious to maneuver the tourists into a place to get the best views and pictures, and even would push or cut down vegetation to give us clearer views when the gorillas we being blocked by nettles or other plants. The gorillas, for the most part, totally ignored us. The one exception was a blackback male named “Gahinga” who approached one of our Canadian friends to try to touch him. Francis saw the situation developing and instructed us to move away, and Gahinga did not press the issue. The group’s dominant silverback, Ubumwe, posed nicely for a number of pictures, as did the females “Rwanda” and “Karisimbi.” Two of the young gorillas in the group had an extended wrestling match right out in the open about 30 feet downhill from us, and it was really a treat to see them playing. As our hour expired, Francis started encouraging us to descend (through the middle of the gorilla group, I might add) and head back toward the wall. We did so reluctantly, but as we came down, we saw Karisimbi again through a hole in the vegetation, with a 3-month-old baby gorilla, only about 10 feet from us! We hurriedly snapped off a few pictures of the adorable baby and then headed back toward the wall to return to our vehicles.

Francis rode back to the ORTPN office with us, so I had a chance to talk with him, which I really enjoyed. When we arrived back, we were awarded our gorilla trekking certificates. The whole thing, from leaving the ORTPN office to our return, took roughly 3 hours, including at least 30 minutes of driving time to and from the starting point for the trek.

What followed next was a real treat. I had been in contact with some people from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, which is based in Atlanta where we live, and had arranged for a visit to the Karisoke Research Center. So, instead of heading back to the Lodge, we went into Ruhengeri and visited the research center. We spent about 30 minutes talking with one of the scientists who studies the gorillas, and she told us about their work, recent happenings in the research groups that the scientists monitor, and the community projects that DFGFI engages in to promote gorilla conservation. She also told us that snares continue to be found in the Volcanoes National Park in large numbers, as the local people set them with the intention of catching other animals for food, but gorillas occasionally get caught in them. We asked about the orphaned gorillas (victims of poaching) that were being housed at the nearby MGVP headquarters, and were told that they were doing fine, but that there was probably no way they would ever be returned to the wild. Our visit was very informative and pleasant, and we really appreciated the opportunity to visit the Research Center.

The rest of the day was spent at the Lodge, talking with the other guests and comparing our gorilla-trekking experiences with their. We also did some preliminary looking at our pictures (on the back of our camera, since we had not brought a laptop), had dinner, and then went to bed early to get ready for another gorilla trek the next day.

Up Next: Chasing the Hirwa Group

moremiles

Great report and happy to hear more details before our own trekking in NOv.

waynehazle

Great report on the Amaharos.

Yeah they sure don't like to venture too far do they? And that "wall" is certain a trip... literally.

Chris_GA_Atl

You're right, Wayne, on both things. The Amahoro Group was about 200 feet inside the wall! But then again the Sabinyo Group comes OUTSIDE the wall regularly -- did they do that the day you saw them?

Patty

Really enjoying your report. The chimp experience sounds fantastic. Looking forward to more.

waynehazle

Yes the Sabinyous were outside the wall on my day. the villagers, including bunches of local kids got to see what all these tourists pay hundreds of $$$ to see.

I was happy about that.

Chris_GA_Atl

We had a similar experience with the Nkuringo Group in Uganda that I will come to later in this report. Except in our case the primary entertainment for the local kids was probably watching us try to climb a really steep hill rather than the gorillas!

Chris

atravelynn

You gave an excellent description of Ngamba. So you didn't feel like being the gracious recipient of a caterpillar treat?

Indi and his shoelace obsession! He tied yours around his foot. He wetted the frayed end of mine and tried to stick it through the eyelet. I'm glad you got to do a chimp walk. For some reason I thought the walks were no longer offered. I agree with your highlight of highlights description.

That is an unsettling irony with the map at the Milles Collines Hotel. I wonder how many people have noticed the MRND headquarters on it? Wonder if the staff noticed and what they think.

Thanks for the book recommendations.

I'm looking forward to seeing your first gorilla trek pictures and the rest.

The money changing was tough for me too in Rwanda and I didn't even have travelers checks. I still use travelers checks all over, not Uganda or Rwanda, though.

ovenbird

Thanks for the link to the book “Leave None to Tell the Story” by Human Rights Watch. We've read the other two books and definitely want to read this third one. Your trip report is so very enlightening...looking forward to more!

atravelynn

It didn't take me long to recall I had seen your wonderful shots. I think you posted just the pics earlier. But I didn't recall the moon in that earlier post. That was beautiful too.

Chris_GA_Atl

Thank you all for reading and for your comments.

Lynn, I seriously doubt very many people have noticed the MRND thing on the map in our room at the Milles Collines. It is in tiny print in a little inset of Kigali on the map.

With regard to the forest walks on Ngamba Island, about last summer Lilly had told me they were possibly going to suspend the forest walks because the "baby" chimps were old enough now to be integrated into the main group of chimps on the island. They were afraid that the integration would make it difficult or impossible to do the forest walks. However, when we got there, they had already done the integration and it posed no problem whatsoever, and Stany seemed to think that there was no reason the forest walks could not go on indefinitely. On a sadder note, we also learned that there were several young chimps, recently confiscated, in quarantine in Entebbe awaiting being transferred to the island.

The moon pictures were not taken in Africa -- I took them in Atlanta through my telescope. I wanted to show them to someone and put them up for that reason. Eventually that site will have zoo pictures, pictures from various parks and nature centers, and photos from our earlier trips -- when I get around to adding them all!

I plan to add at least one more installment on the trip report later tonight.

Chris