pumpkin123

I recently returned from gorilla-trekking in Rwanda and Uganda. I read a lot before I went and I must thank you all, especially atravelynn for all of the great tips.
However, nothing I had read or talked about with previous trekkers had prepared me for Day One of my hike in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda.
We were assigned the Hirwa group, supposedly an easy hike. We marched up and down the mountain, through the mud, vines and stinging nettles for nine hours and never caught up with our group. Very rare, in fact, the Warden told us: "This has never happened before!" But, it happened to us. They could only surmise that the gorilla group may have come in contact with some buffalo, and that may have made them scatter.
We had two subsequent successful treks, both of which took only about 20 minutes of walking before we reached our families (Group 13 and Kwitando).
I guess the moral of my story is to definitely be prepared, and to purchase at least 2 permits!
I did love it and it was a fantastic adventure!

spassvogel

- Staying for one night at a camp close to Kilimanjaro in order to see the peak
- buying only ONE permit
- only stay 2 nights in the Mara in order to watch a crossing
- visiiting Cape Town for one night in order to ride up table mountain

all foolish decisions.

You obviously got the right advise and had great experiences - also the first trek will remain in your memory for the rest of your life I guess ;-)

The whole lot of your visit will stay with you forever!

Hopefully future visitors take your advise seriously!

SV

moneyburns

Sounds like my kind of experiences that "never happen before" - so good to have a backup plan, or in this case, permits!

Added to my evergrowing list. Thanks for sharing


MoneyB

Leely2

Thanks for posting. What an anomaly. I bet you were glad you had those other permits. I leave next week--would love to see photos and read any other tips you might have! How rainy was it? How much memory did you take?

atravelynn

I'm so glad you had more than one visit. With nature, anything can happen and you were prepared. You deserved two 20-minute treks to make up for your 9-hour empty handed hike.

When I read your title, I thought it might mean what it did. You must have been so disappointed after that trek. Were there any people doing just one gorilla trek with you?

Thanks for the warning. You can be sure it will be repeated!

pumpkin123

Hi Leely2,
We had quite a bit of rain. I was there end of April and first week in May. I would think it has stopped raining by now. Some of those fields that you have to walk through before you get into the forest were REALLY muddy. I had a gortex lined hiking boot and my feet never got wet. And here's a tip: there's a guy who rents rubber rain boots at the park office for a few dollars. We did this one day when the rain was absolutely pouring down. We found out about this rental because 2 women in our group had actually lost the soles of their boots during our marathon hike the first day. The rubber sole completely separated from the boot! Crazy, but true. They ended up renting the rubber boots, and it was fine because we didn't have to walk too far that day.

I followed Lynn's advice about the moleskin and other foot aids. I was most worried about getting blisters because I am not a hiker, so I put a little moleskin on each toe as a preventative. It worked! I bought mid-weight hiking socks at REI and they worked nicely. Made sure they were high enough to tuck my pants into. I also wore gaiters as extra protection from mud, thorns and ants. Definitely needed the gardening gloves.

Loved my porters. Highly encourage you to hire a porter, and I think that's been said before.

I took around 1200 photos, so just bring enough cards for your camera. They don't weigh much!
Have a wonderful time!

pumpkin123

atravelynn, as a matter of fact, there was a young couple from Europe who had only purchased one permit.

This couple came up from Kigali in a friend's borrowed car. They had no business driving their small car to the start of the trek, where a 4 X 4 is really required for the bumpy roads. They had planned on driving back to Kigali following the trek, probably figuring they would be done by noon. Well, we didn't return until after 6pm, it was dark, AND their car wouldn't start. Not a good day for them.

This brings me to another tip: go with a reputable travel company!

MyDogKyle

What a great post -- this is a terrific lesson for anyone planning a gorilla (or other primate) trek! I'm so glad you had multiple permits (and that you got to visit my friends, Group 13).

It sounds like the couple who drove from Kigali also offer a good example of how NOT to plan your gorilla trek. Hopefully this will be helpful to people using this chat board for research... but it's sad for them.

Our group had a slightly different story of almost missing out on the gorillas, which I shared in my 2008 trip report but I'll mention again here. We were coming from a multi-week driving trip in Uganda, with just a few days on the end in Rwanda. We were supposed to cross the border into Rwanda and go gorilla trekking the next morning, but while we were in Uganda more conflict broke out in the DRC and the Rwandan border started closing early for security reasons. We found this out when we arrived at the border -- too late to cross into Rwanda and get to our hotel. Our guides had to scramble to find a place to stay for everyone in our group (most of the hotels were overwhelmed with refugees from across the border), but they succeeded in getting us a place to sleep.

The next morning was a mad dash to try to get over the border as soon as it opened, get our vehicles through border inspection, and then race through the pouring rain to get to our trek on time. Many of the people in our group had only purchased one gorilla trekking permit, and if things had not worked out exactly right, they would have missed their chance. My husband and I had two permits (mostly because we were worried we might have something happen like what happened to pumpkin123), but we were worried sick for everyone else. Fortunately we made it and everyone was able to get up the mountain and see gorillas (but we were definitely too late to head out for the Susa group, which some of us had hoped to do). I think our guides had called ahead to the trekking office and explained the situation, because by the time we arrived no other tourists were there, and our treks got started later than usual. Fortunately it all worked out fine, but we were lucky.

Lesson learned? Things happen, it's Africa. It could be as simple as a flat tire or as complicated as international border issues, or simply as unpredictable as wild animals behaving like wild animals. Always, always a good idea to have multiple permits, since you've come this far (and spent this much money!) to see them. If you're worried you can't afford a backup permit, then try to save money elsewhere (like lodging) to fit it into your budget.

Thank you so much for posting this, pumpkin123! And Leely -- I am so excited for you!! Can't wait to hear all about your adventures.

pumpkin123

Leely2
I figured out how to share some photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredi...kAE&feat=email

pumpkin123

MyDogKyle- I'm glad your story worked out! I heard that a new baby was born to your friends in Group 13 about a week after I was there!

Leely2

Pumpkin, <b>great</b> photos! What a trip. I especially love mama and baby saying "Ahh" in Bwindi. Thanks so much for the tips and sharing your pics. I am even more excited about my trip.

Good luck planning Tanzania.

MyDogKyle

Beautiful photos, pumpkin! They brought back some great memories. What nice news about group 13!

atravelynn

I wanted to jump into that ranger station photo in anticipation of a trek. Recognized several of them. The sprawled out nursing shot and baby on the back are real gems. Beautiful leopard shot too. Just back from Rwanda and now it's Tanzania?

pumpkin123

Well, Tanzania is NEXT year! You know what happens when you get bitten by the bug...

atravelynn

I know all too well!