“You want to spend how much to do what?” That was my first reaction to the idea of gorilla trekking. In the end, it was an experience of a lifetime.
Here is how it works. You get partnered up with a group of about 6 people. Your guide then drives to a spot where you start to hike to where they last saw the family of gorillas you have been assigned.
There is a park ranger who spends his days following a gorilla family through the jungle. Since gorillas move around regularly, the ranger sleeps after they bed down for the night. In the morning, he returns to where they slept and starts tracking them.
You meet up with a group of porters that you can hire “to carry your bag.” Their real job, however, is to keep you on two feet. They do a great job on both counts.
We hiked for a couple of hours through some real jungle. Our guides and porters make it all feel like an adventure as they hack with their machetes. We climbed until suddenly the guides stopped, took our walking sticks, and had us put on our surgical masks. (Gorillas get COVID too!)
We walked around a small bush and there was an adolescent gorilla sitting just a few feet away. After we took about a thousand terrible pictures we walked into their living room. A family of gorillas arranged around a clearing. Completely relaxed and at ease with a group of tourists dropping by for a visit. My first emotion is a surge of excitement and ignoring that voice that says “what the hell are you doing? These creatures can literally break you in half, get out!” Then the wonder sets in and I start to relax and feel the sheer amazement at our surroundings.
Now here is the part I struggled with. You only get to stay an hour. This trip cost ten grand and we get an hour?
It’s worth it. And an hour is enough.
The gorilla trekking was why we came but I was completely blown away by the cultural aspects of Rwanda. I knew a little about the genocide that took place in the 90s but I had no understanding of how tragic it really was. While hearing about it shook me deeply. It was so encouraging to start to understand what the Rwandans had done to move past the genocide and build back a better country. I don’t have any idea how they recovered but I admire the hell out of them. I am honored to have been able to visit and gain a little more understanding of what they have been through.
Claude, thank you for sharing your stories with us. You changed our lives.