Gorillas in the mist, Mzungus in the mud

Rwandan Gorillas & a Ugandan Orphanage

This last fortnight has been an absolute ripper. As I mentioned in my last blog we were a day late in leaving Arusha as our driver got malaria and we had to find a replacement. Our replacement, Gareth, arrived at about 1 in the morning and then had the pleasure of driving two 16 hour days in a row, starting at 4:30 in the morning both days so we could get to our Gorilla trek on time. Our 2nd day included the crossing into Rwanda and we eventually arrived at Ruhengeri at about 9 in the evening.

Guhonda, the silverback of the group

Our trek with the gorillas was well worth the £500 price tag. It rained all the way up the mountain but that just made the walk more entertaining, traipsing through the mud like the little mzungus we were. The hike up took 3½ hours, through mud, thick jungle and very steep hills. We knew the location of the gorillas as some of the guides had left a few hours before us to locate them and radio in their position. Once we got near we had to divert off the main paths and they were literally cutting their way through the jungle with machetes as we went. We were walking on top of pressed down trees and undergrowth and when you put your walking stick on the ground it would sink in another 4ft below where your feet were. With the fun of the walk behind us we got to where the gorillas were feeding and spent the next hour sitting amongst these massive beasts. We had the pleasure of tracking the Sabyinyo group and the alpha silverback was the biggest in Rwanda at 250kg. Whenever he moved to feed, hit his chest, chased another silverback or simply blinked we had to all crouch down into the submission position just to let him know that he was still the boss. And he was the boss.

I month old baby, new addition to the group

Us amongst the Sabyinyo group

Leaving Ruhengeri and the gorillas behind we transited through Kigali, stopping briefly to visit the Genocide Museum. I'm sure you're all vaguely aware of what transpired in Rwanda in 1994 but here we were able to get the full story. It was weird to think that anyone over the age of 20 had lived through the genocide and if you looked closely there are still people with scars and injuries from machetes and clubs. The country has come leaps and bounds however and it is now extremely safe to travel and the people are as friendly as anywhere. The people have worked hard to create a new Rwandan national identity rather than being 2 separate people, the Hutu and the Tutsis.

Lake Bunyonyi

Children in class at the school we visited

and dancing with the kids

From Kigali we crossed into Uganda and just over the border we stopped at Kabale. Here we were able to do a day trip to an island on Lake Bunyonyi and visit a school which has been set up for children with 1 or no parents, an orphanage of sorts. Oasis Overland has a close relationship with this school and most of its trucks will stop here to visit and donate what they can. So far Oasis have provided the land and enough money for the school to be built. They are now working on creating some accommodation so the school can be self sufficient leading into the future. We said our hello to the kids in the classroom, had a look around the grounds and were then lead to a grassed area where all the children had gathered with massive grins on their faces and excitement in the air. They started singing and dancing for us and before long we were all dancing as well....... for 3 hours. These kids did not know the meaning of "please, no more" and if you weren't dancing you were carrying 2 of them on your back, letting them play with your camera, or when you were exhausted you could just sit on the grass and 12 of them would come and sit around you. When Keera brought out her bubble kit the kids went insane and would chase floating bubbles around the yard, oblivious to other children and the steep hillside next to us. Although they wore us out we all had a great time and a few people from our group have already expressed interest in doing some volunteer work there or just going back to visit.

One of the 15 dances we got to partake in

Lauren having a quick timeout

Ol' Father Daz, the kids favourite throughout our trip

Luke with his entourage

Uganda was also the country where we crossed the equator for the 2nd time, making our way back into the Northern Hemisphere where the toilets flush backwards, birds fly upside down and the people are just a little bit "funny". I will remain in this backwards hemisphere until I cross back into safety in Indonesia near the end of the year.

After a couple of nights in the capital Kampala we ventured into Jinga on the shores of Lake Victoria, the biggest lake in Africa and famous for being the source of the river Nile. On the same evening we arrived we took ourselves on a "sunset cruise" along the Nile, ladies and gentlemen boarded the boat at 5 o'clock but I'm not sure what you would call us when we got off 2 hours later. Some strong drinks led to Helen losing 1 of her hearing aids, M losing her phone, 3 or 4 people losing sunglasses and 2 or 3 lost flip flops including my own. After helping put the birthday boy, Nick to bed on his 30th at 9:30 I soon learned that Helen, Keera, Denis and Bec had also been put to bed after most of what they drunk on the boat came back up. It was definitely the biggest night we've had since Chris' pre birthday drinks in Morocco.

As fun as the night was I will remember Jinga much more vividly for the river boarding I did along the grade 5 rapids of the Nile with Daz, Denis and Stan. While most of our group made the wise decision to tackle the river in a raft we decided to jump in with a bodyboard and a guide and make our way down. The very first wave I was torn from my board and dumped along the rest of the rapid, coming up coughing and spluttering and wondering what the hell I had got myself in for. Some of the waves on this river were massive and I can honestly say that quite a few times I felt more than a little uncomfortable. I gained my composure however and was able to stay on my board for the most part for the rest of the day.

Ripped from the net but pretty much what we were doing

We have now crossed into Kenya and despite all the attention it has been getting regarding bombings etc, the country seems calm and safe. While the rest of the group went on another game drive I took the time to have a day off and just check out the town of Nakuru where we were staying. We have now gone down to Hells Gate National Park to see even more animals (I have seen more than enough wild animals in Africa) and within a couple of days I will be in Nairobbery.



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