travelbug19

Hi folks,

One of my travel buddies called our operator to check on when our final payment for two days of gorilla tracking in Rwanda was due. Unfortunately, the operator told her that he wasn't able to secure one of our days (even though he had confirmed it two months ago). Needless to say that we are all very frustrated and disappointed that we will have only one chance to see the gorillas.

With all that being said (and assuming there is no other recourse), does anyone have recommendations on what we should do with our free day in Rwanda?

Here was our original plan:
Day 1 - land in Kigali, drive to genocide sites on the was to Gorillas
Day 2 - Gorilla trek (this is the date that was cancelled)
Day 3 - Gorilla trek
Day 4 - Genocide museum, Kigali sites, fly to NBO/JRO at 2pm.

Any recommedations would be greatly appreciated - I need something else to get excited about!

Thanks

travelbug19

OOPS - The title should read "Gorilla", not "Guerilla"....I'm trying not to read into that...

Patty

I saw the title and thought "well, that's a good thing"

Sorry, to hear that. Would you be interested in the golden monkey trek?

Do you know any more information about what went wrong? Would you care to share the name of the operator?

Chris_GA_Atl

When we were in Rwanda in January of this year, some people without permits were able to get them on "standby" by just showing up in the morning to see if there were any openings. There were 2 people in our group who didn't have permits who got to trek by doing this.
Also, even though your tour operator doesn't have permits, that doesn't mean there are none available -- it is possible you could get one through another operator or through ORTPN directly. So I would not give up home altogether!

Chris

waynehazle

I second the vote for trying standby.

You might be a little worn out by genocidal sites, but I know Rhungeri has a smaller one to see.

divewop

Travelbug-
There are other excursions you could participate in, if you go to the park headquarters in the morning and can't secure gorilla permits. These usually can be arranged the same morning you're there.

-You could trek to see the golden monkeys. A treat to see these guys, although they can be a little elusive and a little tough to photograph.

-You could hike to the top of Mt. Bisoke to view the crater lake. A wonderful hike.

-You could hike up to the site of the old Karisoke Research Center and visit Dian Fossey's grave, and the gorillas' graves, including Digit's. It is beautiful there (one of my favorite places) and it can be a very emotional experience.

All of these are much cheaper than gorilla trekking so you'd be saving money by doing any of these.

Or you could ask your tour operator to drive to you to Lake Kivu in Gisenyi for the day. The landscape throughout the drive is beautiful.

Hope this helps.

atravelynn

I'd vote for golden monkeys!

Here is an excerpt from Roomoo’s report.

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...4&tid=35041815


“The monkeys were awesome! They were active and funny and beautiful and there were so many of them. A couple of them jumped right overhead at one point. Both us really enjoyed the monkeys--we actually think we liked them more than the gorillas. I definitely reccommend that if you had time to spend and day and go visit them.”

travelbug19

Thanks so much for all of the replies!

I did send an email to ORTPN directly - I have my fingers crossed.

Our group definitely likes to hike and the golden monkeys were not something I had looked into either. Definitely some things to get excited about

atravelynn

Good luck Travelbug. Who is your Rwanda operator? Sorry if I missed it in the previous posts.

divewop

If your group is into hiking and you want a little bit of a challenge, then the hike to Bisoke or Fossey's grave are two hikes which will definitely give you your money's worth.

It still amazes me how Fossey used to hike up and down those volcanoes in her latter years with emphysema. Speaks volumes of her dedication and passion to save the gorillas.

And I believe there are two groups of the golden monkeys and usually one is a little tougher to get to than the other so you can request the tougher hike of the two.

travelbug19

Hi everyone,

Thanks so much for all the help.

I've been reluctant to post the operators name until I get the full story from my friend who is organizing (I didn't want to indite prematurely). As bits of the story come through it is not looking promising, so I may be posting his name yet with all the details.

Our latest issue is that he is saying that he booked permits for us on a different day and we should change our flights to come in earlier (which is not a possibility and we had explicitly stated that previously). Now he is saying there is a transfer fee to cancel permits we never authorized. Has anyone heard of this?

Also, we're starting to question other (minor) things. We had to wired the money to him, along with and extra $45 for "bank fees" on the other end. It seemed reasonable at the time, but I wanted to check-in with all of you to see if you had similar charges/experiences.

Thanks

atravelynn

The wiring of bank fees is common and I've done it. $45 seems a bit high, but still in the ballpark.

divewop

travelbug-
Have you already wired your TA the money for unauthorized treks he booked? I don't understand what this
transfer/cancellation fee is.

All your TA should have to do is call ORTPN and cancel the treks to get their money back, if money has been exchanged from him to ORTPN. They can resell the permits with no problem.

As far as wiring money to Rwanda, as Lynn says, that is typical practice.
I do it each time I go. And there are wiring fees involved which totally sucks, but that's just the way it is. Different banks can charge different amounts. I think mine was either $35 or $45.

Patty

When you send a wire transfer, typically you pay the outgoing wire fee and the recipient (if it's a business) absorbs the incoming wire fee on their end. However, I've never worked with a Rwandan operator so don't know if it's normal for them to ask that you cover the incoming wire fee as well.

ShayTay

I paid wire transfer fees to operators in both Kenya and Tanzania. As long as they aren't excessive, I don't mind doing that.

jules39

This would be really frustrating as you say.

I just want to put on one word about the stand by ption that others mentioned and that is don't pin your hopes on it. It is sure worth trying if you still have other options for the day but be prepared. When we were there in Feb of this year one of the days we went was totally full with standby folks being turned away. On the other day where were a couple of spaces left in the group we went to (Susa) however when the rangers pointed out that that was going to be a good 7 hrs of hiking some folks were just not up to it so we went with the group of 5 total.

Have a fantastic trip

J

travelbug19

Thanks everybody! I should have clarified that the $45 was to cover the fees for the recipient in Rwanda...I thought it sounded somewhat reasonable at the time, but wanted to check in. It is so sad when the trust is broken!

We're walking a fine line now trying to talk directly to the ORPTN to see if there is a way to get the permits in our name without having to work with our operator any more (but being very cautious as he has $1600 of our money!). Booking a day we didn't authorize and then trying to charge us to "transfer" it just seems a bit fishy...

I will keep you posted!

fluke

This happened to me two years ago the agent said they could secure the permits but then couldnt. i ended up switching agents and got a refund from the first agent, which took over a month. i wrote a complaint about the first agent to bradt guides and suddenly he became responsive. i think you should try to get a permit with another agent.

flyingaway2

Travelbug,
I'm in the midst of booking 2 days of gorilla trekking with an agent for early next year and now I'm a bit concerned.

While I can understand you don't want to publish the agent you are using, can you tell us how you found them (i.e. were they highly recommended)? And were you communicating directly with the Rwanda Gorilla Trekking company or via another tour operator who was talking to them?

Much appreciated.

atravelynn

Fluke,

Can you tell us what agent?