Our Boeing 737-500 Rwandair flight from Dar es Salaam makes its approach to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. Rwanda is known as the country of a thousand hills and we can certainly see a decent proportion of them from our lofty position. Rwanda is of course also known for the horrific genocide that took place in 1994, when 1,000,000 people were killed in just 100 days. These events are portrayed in the movie Hotel Rwanda, which tells the story of the man who saved over 1,000 lives by sheltering both Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Hotel des Milles Collines - hotel of a thousand hills. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of all is that most of the lives lost could have been saved, had the 'developed' world chosen to intervene. It didn't. We didn't. The UN troops on the ground were denied permission to use force and when 5,000 troops were sent in it was solely to evacuate the foreigners. It is estimated that had that same number of troops been deployed against the genocide, there wouldn't have been one.
Rwanda has recovered from those dark days in remarkable fashion. Their leader and President is Paul Kagale who was part of the Tutsi rebel force back in 1994. However, since being elected he has refused to dwell on past differences and speaks only of Rwandans as one people. Indeed, it is taboo to even ask someone about their tribal background here. This country is significantly more progressive than any other African country we've been to. The infrastructure is impressive, there seems to be much less corruption, there's a positive vibe about the people and taking public transport doesn't have me mentally checking my Will! They've even banned all plastic bags, the use of which is illegal.
Kigali is a pretty cool place to hang out and has some very decent restaurants to tempt us in the evenings. Our first priority however is to purchase two gorilla tracking permits. I reserved these by email a few days ago but even then the first available date is one week hence, despite the price tag of $500 each. Only 56 permits per day are allowed and each of the 7 groups of 8 people are allowed only 1 hour in the presence of these stunning beasts. After a morning's fruitless search for the office where we buy the tix, we discover that it has moved to the edge of the city. Taxis are quite expensive and we're clueless about local buses so Jo happily despatches me onto the back of a motorbike taxi and agrees, generously, to wait in the cafe. I'm not a fan of motorbikes and normally would do anything to avoid clinging on to the back of one but here I felt safe; we even both had helmets!
Later that day we are the proud owners of two gorilla tracking permits and, for good measure, two golden monkey permits also; to whet our appetites on the day before. Procuring the tickets took all afternoon as I ended up having to get the same bike back into town, withdraw $1200 in cash and repeat the return journey as their Visa machine was out of order. The whole process ate up most of the day but as this was expected to be a highlight of our trip it was definitely worth the effort.
After a saddening but educational visit to the genocide museum, we take a bus west toward the border with the DRC ('Democratic' Republic of Congo) where we will spend a few days relaxing by the shores of Lake Kivu. The journey offers gorgeous scenery, due mostly to the afore-mentioned hills. Much of Rwanda starts at a decent elevation but these hills are of the bumpy, rolling variety, bunched up together and causing our vehicle to navigate endless curves and inclines. They are also highly cultivated, lush and several shades of green. This gives an impression that someone has laid a patchwork quilt, or perhaps a knitted tea cosy, over the mounds of earth.
Our retreat on the banks of Lake Kivu enjoys splendid views across to DRC and we spend many hours in quiet reverie watching the scene before us. One of my favourite sights occurs each evening when the local fishing boats set off for their night's work, to return early the next morning. I've never seen boats like these. Three simple wooden boats, each about 10m long, are joined together laterally by wooden beams. At each end of each boat is a long wooden pole (also about 10m each) that droops at the end like a huge fishing rod, giving the combined craft the look of some kind of giant pond-skating insect. As if the sight of a dozen of these vessels making their way toward the sunset wasn't enough sensory stimulation, the fishermen sing and chant constantly, the sound carrying to us across the water until they eventually disappear from sight in the fading light.
Lake Kivu is one of the 20 most deep and voluminous lakes in the world. It is however also significant for another reason as it is prone to limpic eruptions. This phenomenon occurs due to there being large quantities of methane gas trapped under the volcanic rock that forms the bed of the lake. Should that gas escape due to a fault in the rock, then the billowing CO2 gas creates a tsunami on the surface and pushes the oxygenated air up leaving the heavier, unbreathable, gas on the surface. Consequently everyone and everything in the vicinity either drowns, suffocates or is poisoned by the gas. Take yer choice. It's believed that such eruptions have destroyed life around the lake about every 1,000 years. However, limnic eruptions did occur in two lakes in Cameroon as recently as the 1980's, killing nearly 2,000 people.
Our final destination in Rwanda is Parc National des Volcans, home of the rare mountain gorillas. We secure lodgings at Kinigi near the park entrance and pass the afternoon with a walk into the local village. This was a mistake. We were immediately surrounded by local youths who eagerly befriended us, professing their wish only to practice their English, but they disappeared like snow off a dyke when we declined their invitation to buy them a new football. Then the heavens opened and we sought shelter in the woods before finally reaching the market in the village centre. Now, we're quite used to being stared at after 5 months in Africa but this was at a new level. Most of the hundred or so people stopped what they were doing to gawp, giggle and glare at these strange beings. We set off home only to be again sequestered by another group of lads who, by some coincidence, also needed a new football.
The next day we visited the Golden Monkeys who were indeed golden and quite lovely to observe. However, at $100 a pop, it wasn't fabulous value. The main attraction was however yet to come - they were just the warm up act. That evening we hooked up with a Canadian couple to hire a 4x4 for the day ahead (another $100) and made our way to register at 7am at the park office, along with 52 other excited tourists. We were assigned to go and visit the Susa group, the largest, most diverse and most distant group of the 7 that have been habituated to human visits. Our group of 8 excited humans is made replete by two more Canadians and two Japanese. We will be together for 7 hours, one hour of which will be with the family of gorillas.
A bone-shaking journey in the 4x4 (they call it the African massage) takes us to where we start to hike up towards where the trackers have spotted the group. It's all uphill of course and at times hard going but I would hike all day for this experience. I manage to fall down a hole despite our guide's warning but only my pride is hurt and soon we are upon the group. The family Susa. Three silverbacks, many 'juveniles', mums and babies are all around us. They're occupying an area the size of a large English garden inside some fairly dense bamboo forest and it essentially feels like we're wandering around their home. We are supposed to remain 7 metres away at all times but the gorillas don't know this and run around us at close quarters. We are typically only a few yards away from the action: a copulating king silverback (with a less than willing female), a mother cradling a tiny infant, a toddler testing out his skills swinging on a low branch and the antics of the excitable juveniles. Two are wrestling noisily and eventually one gets the upper hand, pinning his mate upside down while chewing on his foot. Another pair have found a circle of bamboo are are furioisly chasing each other around and around it until a third intervenes to bring them crashing to a halt.
Being within their family group, observing all of this for an hour, was an utterly awe-inspiring experience. Such gentle, funny, intelligent creatures. If ever you get the chance to visit this part of the world please go and enjoy their company - you will never forget it. Oh, and go soon, the price goes up to $750 on 1 July!
We stayed over that evening at Musanze near the Ugandan border with ambitious plans to make our way to Kabale near Lake Bunyonyi the next day. There's little to tempt a visitor here but the evening was a success as we managed to find an excellent pizza restaurant just out of town. The next day we were ready to set off but...where are all the people? The town is almost deserted on a Saturday morning. It turns out that this is a 'public works' day when shops close and people instead go to do some public service work, apparently to improve the roads. You gotta hand it to these Rwandans but the upshot is that there's absolutely no transport out of town until the afternoon - an occupational hazard for the independent traveler. Unperturbed, we head back to Kigali, enjoy a top curry and prepare for the journey over the border to Uganda the next day; our final African destination.
We leave Rwanda with very fond memories of ten days spent in stunningly beautiful countryside, a capital city to be proud of and an experience with one of our closest biological relatives that was as humbling as it was magnificent. Three weeks, one country and one blog to go, then it's back to Blighty....for a bit. See y'all soon!
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