We left Kamembe in the south west corner of Rwanda for a two day drive north to Kinigi, the base for gorilla tracking. The main roads are fairly impressive and the country is getting to work in developing a main arterial system within. The driving is diabolical. Mostly no white line in the centre which seems to mean you take the shortest path. Fortunately there aren't too many cars and obtaining a license is quite difficult. Having the money to buy a car is probably even more difficult.
We passed through dozens of little villages and enjoyed stopping off in one to give some local lads a football and a pump that we had bought with us from NZ. What started as 3 boys ended up with about 20 in 2 minutes. They were very excited and very polite....it was a nice experience to see them all so happy.
We did have a stop over on our way north. Distances are not great but roads are very windy and hilly so we rarely get into top gear.
Our stop over in Kibuye along the eastern edge of Lake Kivu was at a resort type place which was very relaxing spot. We had a quaint little cottage on sticks and a beautiful sunset...with a glass of rum or two. Fishing boats head out in the evenings, a sort of catamaran affair and they use nets to catch a little fish like a sardine. The fishermen sing to welcome fishes and keep their spirits up...voices carry clearly to the visitors along the edge. Local beer with dinner is a good end to the day.
We had a long drive to Kinigi but a very comfortable resort full of other white skins, mostly Americans it appears. An early start was required for our gorilla trek. About 8 groups of 8 people plus a guide need to be organised prior to departure. Groups are sorted by fitness level which was guessed at by our guide. We headed off with 6 Americans in pleasant conditions. The morning got warmer and the hill a little steeper, it took us two hours to reach our family of 15 which included the oldest silver back in Rwanda....he didn't show any excitement in seeing us! We had an hour with the gorillas, so close that two people were touched by them. Most of the time we were less than 5 metres away, just sitting, trying not to stare directly into their eyes but it was very difficult to refrain from saying "...so how's your day been?...".
The two hour walk in required a two hour walk out and a young American couple who had staggered a bit getting in were having difficulty getting out. They appeared to have had an overdose of calories to an extent that they now couldn't summon enough energy to burn off latent calories and they were in a continuing to grow phase. I mentioned the rescue helicopter and was astounded when the guy began considering it seriously. No one else in the group broke into a sweat ....but then we were "resting" every 30 metres! I'm sure their holiday was ruined when they discovered that there are no fast food joints in Rwanda. It is pleasing to drive through a city without seeing the big red M or old Colonel Sanders smiling at us, however the ubiquitous Coca-Cola sign is seen from time to time.
The following morning we visited golden monkeys which was a lot of fun. They are completely unphased about visits from humans and we could get as close as we liked. They wouldn't touch us but just carried on their chores as though we weren't there at all.
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