My February Travels in Uganda and Rwanda
April 09, 2008
We Arrived in Kampala at about 10 pm and
took an airport shuttle to the Hotel. The trip took about 45 minutes.
When we arrived we were very pleased to see the hotel was comfortable.
After the 23 hours in the air, plus layovers, we only had one night to
rest before our 12 hour drive to Rwanda for a one day Gorilla Trek.
We woke around 6 am after not sleeping much to greet our driver, John Mwebe, who was to drive us and lead us on the three-day trek into Rwanda. The first stop was at the equator to stretch our legs and take a picture.
Uganda upon first glance is very lush. Everywhere you look the
vegetation is thick and green. We decided while driving to stop at a
small game park to see if we could catch a glimpse of a rare deer-like
animal native to Uganda called the elan. We did see some zebra, waterbuck
and antelope.
Upon arriving in the southeast part of Uganda the entire terrain started to change. We began to climb in altitude through rolling mountains that seemed to pop out of the ground like mini rounded volcanoes. Because Uganda has basic infrastructure we seemed to ride the hills up and down through a bamboo forest until we reached a town called Kisoro, where the mountains are shaped like wedding cakes. Every mountain is terraced to allow this heavily populated area to eat and live. Normally this type of hillside is uninhabitable, but with the terraced hillside it works. They grow everything from bananas, onions, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cabbage, corn, and many other items.
While driving though this area we were short on time so our racecar of a driver was going through the hills at ridiculous speeds in order to get us to the border before it closed. Once we got to the border we went through customs and proceeded to get lost trying to find the gorillas nest lodge where we were to spend two nights. Finally, after finding the lodge, we were exhausted and went to dinner and then straight to bed for an early morning wake up to go on a six mile hike.
The next
morning we woke up at what we thought was 6 am for a 7 am departure, but
upon arriving at breakfast we realized Rwanda and Uganda are an hour
apart, so we were early by an hour. The breakfast was great and very
necessary for our gorilla trek.
John took us to the National Park permit office where they arrange for all treks. They only allow a maximum of 8 people per track with a total of 6 different options. Our driver knew we only had one chance to see the gorillas and had us put on the option that had the best chance of success of finding them. The Sousa trek started at a location about one hour from the ranger station. When we arrived at the beginning of the hike we were looking straight up the last volcano in a line of four. He mentioned that the day before they found gorilla at about 9,000 feet up. As we began our climb to get into the forest we walked up about two thousand feet of locals’ farming and cattle ranches.
Upon arriving at the park entrance there was a three-foot stone wall that was built in 2003. If this weren’t there the villagers would encroach on the land and add to their crops. Since the gorilla is a national treasure there is much protection for not only the forest but also the animals in it.
When we began the trek I thought there would be a nice trail to follow to find the gorillas - I was mistaken. The trackers didn’t even use the machete to chop the vegetation back. The first ten feet in we were welcomed by stinging nettles. It is a little weed that grows everywhere in Rwanda. If you rub against it it will pierce your clothing and inject a stinging feeling that lasts about 15-20 minutes. Needless to say, our entire climb was full of it! When we finally found the gorillas we had climbed to about 10,100 feet, according to our guide’s GPS. We had to unpack everything from our backpacks, including batteries and extra memory cards, because if the gorillas smell any food they will beat you up for it. The day before some guy from Europe was punched in the face by a gorilla because he had something in his pocket. I wasn’t about to be thrown around by a 500-pound gorilla for a measly banana.
Our guide in
the park was named Ophelia and was excellent; he very conscience of our
security, and did a great job explaining how to handle ourselves around
the animals. The first gorillas we came upon were two young males
playing. It was more like WWF at its best – complete with biting
and smack down wrestling. They played for about 15 minutes before they
started up the mountain. Because we only get one hour with the gorillas
we followed behind. Once the gorillas started to move it was much easier
to get though the thick jungle. We arrived at a spot where they decided it
was no longer play time but time to eat. 
Wewitnessed about 30 gorillas in about an hour including a four-day-old baby gorilla- according to our guide that brings the entire population of mountain gorillas to 741. The gorillas are only found in three countries and really in this one area of the world. All three countries (Uganda, Rwanda, and the Congo) surround this area called Vulcan National Park. It is hard to describe or explain what it feels like seeing animals in the wild. I hope that my pictures and videos are able to convey a small piece of our experience.
I encourage you to support your local zoo and take care of the planet. If we don’t the following generations will not be able to do what I just did – see in person one of the most magnificent animals on this planet. I am writing this from my laptop plugged into a cigarette lighter driving 70 miles an hour to get back to Kampala for the start of the East African Fine Coffee Association conference. Until next time…
Best regards,
Mark
We woke around 6 am after not sleeping much to greet our driver, John Mwebe, who was to drive us and lead us on the three-day trek into Rwanda. The first stop was at the equator to stretch our legs and take a picture.
Uganda upon first glance is very lush. Everywhere you look the
vegetation is thick and green. We decided while driving to stop at a
small game park to see if we could catch a glimpse of a rare deer-like
animal native to Uganda called the elan. We did see some zebra, waterbuck
and antelope. Upon arriving in the southeast part of Uganda the entire terrain started to change. We began to climb in altitude through rolling mountains that seemed to pop out of the ground like mini rounded volcanoes. Because Uganda has basic infrastructure we seemed to ride the hills up and down through a bamboo forest until we reached a town called Kisoro, where the mountains are shaped like wedding cakes. Every mountain is terraced to allow this heavily populated area to eat and live. Normally this type of hillside is uninhabitable, but with the terraced hillside it works. They grow everything from bananas, onions, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, cabbage, corn, and many other items.
While driving though this area we were short on time so our racecar of a driver was going through the hills at ridiculous speeds in order to get us to the border before it closed. Once we got to the border we went through customs and proceeded to get lost trying to find the gorillas nest lodge where we were to spend two nights. Finally, after finding the lodge, we were exhausted and went to dinner and then straight to bed for an early morning wake up to go on a six mile hike.
The next
morning we woke up at what we thought was 6 am for a 7 am departure, but
upon arriving at breakfast we realized Rwanda and Uganda are an hour
apart, so we were early by an hour. The breakfast was great and very
necessary for our gorilla trek. John took us to the National Park permit office where they arrange for all treks. They only allow a maximum of 8 people per track with a total of 6 different options. Our driver knew we only had one chance to see the gorillas and had us put on the option that had the best chance of success of finding them. The Sousa trek started at a location about one hour from the ranger station. When we arrived at the beginning of the hike we were looking straight up the last volcano in a line of four. He mentioned that the day before they found gorilla at about 9,000 feet up. As we began our climb to get into the forest we walked up about two thousand feet of locals’ farming and cattle ranches.
Upon arriving at the park entrance there was a three-foot stone wall that was built in 2003. If this weren’t there the villagers would encroach on the land and add to their crops. Since the gorilla is a national treasure there is much protection for not only the forest but also the animals in it.
When we began the trek I thought there would be a nice trail to follow to find the gorillas - I was mistaken. The trackers didn’t even use the machete to chop the vegetation back. The first ten feet in we were welcomed by stinging nettles. It is a little weed that grows everywhere in Rwanda. If you rub against it it will pierce your clothing and inject a stinging feeling that lasts about 15-20 minutes. Needless to say, our entire climb was full of it! When we finally found the gorillas we had climbed to about 10,100 feet, according to our guide’s GPS. We had to unpack everything from our backpacks, including batteries and extra memory cards, because if the gorillas smell any food they will beat you up for it. The day before some guy from Europe was punched in the face by a gorilla because he had something in his pocket. I wasn’t about to be thrown around by a 500-pound gorilla for a measly banana.
Our guide in
the park was named Ophelia and was excellent; he very conscience of our
security, and did a great job explaining how to handle ourselves around
the animals. The first gorillas we came upon were two young males
playing. It was more like WWF at its best – complete with biting
and smack down wrestling. They played for about 15 minutes before they
started up the mountain. Because we only get one hour with the gorillas
we followed behind. Once the gorillas started to move it was much easier
to get though the thick jungle. We arrived at a spot where they decided it
was no longer play time but time to eat. Wewitnessed about 30 gorillas in about an hour including a four-day-old baby gorilla- according to our guide that brings the entire population of mountain gorillas to 741. The gorillas are only found in three countries and really in this one area of the world. All three countries (Uganda, Rwanda, and the Congo) surround this area called Vulcan National Park. It is hard to describe or explain what it feels like seeing animals in the wild. I hope that my pictures and videos are able to convey a small piece of our experience.
I encourage you to support your local zoo and take care of the planet. If we don’t the following generations will not be able to do what I just did – see in person one of the most magnificent animals on this planet. I am writing this from my laptop plugged into a cigarette lighter driving 70 miles an hour to get back to Kampala for the start of the East African Fine Coffee Association conference. Until next time…
Best regards,
Mark
