Gorilla Trekking
// June 17th, 2010 // 8 Comments » // Uncategorized
This past Sunday, Lindsey and I got to do one of the wildest things I’ve ever had the opportunity to be a part of …Gorilla trekking! What we thought was going to be a somewhat difficult walk through the woods to see some mountain gorillas, turned out to be a 3 1/2 hour hike straight up and down hill, on all fours at times, through dense jungle and stinging nettles. We were led by our trekking guide, Patience, and a few other Rwandan guards who cleared the way with machetes. The hike itself was an intense romp through the wilderness of Sabyinyo, one of the five volcanoes surrounding Musanze. Getting to see these mountain gorillas was a rare treat, since there are only about 900 left in the world – most of which inhabit the mountains and volcanoes that border Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo. We were literally feet away from them. No zoos, no bars, nothing…we were in their habitat. It was spectacular. The family of gorillas we visited, the Hirwa group, were led by one gigantic silverback male, six females, and lots of baby gorillas. We sat and watched in amazement as these incredible creatures played, relaxed, and went on with their wild every-day lives right in front of us. It was an experience I will never forget.
