We woke up early at the Kinigi Guest House and ate breakfast. After we finished eating we drove up to the headquarters of the Rwandan Office of Tourism and National Parks at Volcanoes National Park to start our gorilla trek. After getting briefed by our guide, Francois, we drove for about 20 minutes where we would start our hike. From there, we walked for about 30 mins through cultivated fields near the town of Kinigi and came upon the rock wall that determines the park boundary. After climbing the wall, we walked for an hour through a dense bamboo forest and were told we were getting close to the gorillas. After 10 minutes or so, we came upon a full-grown silverback gorilla. The guide established a 15 meter boundary between our group and the gorillas. The space was violated on several occasions both by us and the gorillas. James and I at different times were within 3-10 feet of both adult and juvenile gorillas. The group we visited has one silverback and five adult females, each of which has a baby. They range from 2 weeks to 2 years old. Our gorilla trek was an amazing experience and we both have excellent pictures of the morning.
After returning to the guest house, we drove back to Ruhengeri with Bosco, the man who picked us up from Kinigi Guest House in the morning. He has been a very helpful man and took us to his favorite restaurant in Ruhengeri for lunch.
We will spend the rest of the day in Ruhengeri and start our experience with Amahoro Tours in the morning. Tomorrow, we will be working in a brick factory, staying the night with a Rwandan family, and working on a tea plantation on Wednesday.
We hope you are all doing well. Thanks for reading.
Dave and James
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