So after a few lazy days in Kigali our real adventure began today. An early start with a winding 3 hour drive up and down at least 20 of Rwanda’s “mille collines”. Finally we arrive at Grande Barrière, the border crossing from Rwanda into the DRC. Before our trip we thought long and hard about whether to do this. The DRC Rwandan border still has guerilla groups “hanging around” in places and it now has the added edge of several outbreaks of Ebola. However it is a fantastic place to see the gorillas, the people running the Virunga camp seemed organised and friendly. Rwanda was extortionately expensive, Uganda had no permits left and to be so close and not see them makes it, for me worth the fairly small risks. You only get one life after all and who knows what’s round the corner. Watching mountain gorillas has always been one of my lifetime dreams and to have a chance to share it with the 3 most important people in my life was too good an opportunity to pass up. Let’s hope it’s not the last thing I share with them (that’s not really a funny joke)
So here we are at the border dipping our hands in disinfectant and having our temperature taken, it’s feeling a bit real now.
The actual border crossing was uneventful, the channel tunnel crossing back into the UK from France is frankly way more stressful. We met up with the Virunga guys on the other side. 2 hour wait for transport and then we were off.
Goma is mental, pretty much how I imagined but more. People, bikes, ramshackle houses, Chukudus loaded with sacks of all sorts. The video links show it better than I can describe it.
We went through another Ebola hand washing station then picked up our escort of 6 heavily armed park rangers who followed us all the way. A quick tyre change to mend a puncture and we are on our way.
Out of Goma the traffic thinned a little, the road wasn’t tarmac’d but huge lorries still thundered past without much regard for the enormous potholes. We got to experience the famous African massage (aka the road shaking every bone in your body).
Eventually we turned onto a narrow off road track which wound up through several villages. Our driver was very skilled at driving at considerable speed over rocks and ruts. Children called out and waved, there were lots of shouts of “mzungu” the African word for white people.
At the end of the track we left the jeep and with the help of several park staff carried our luggage up the steep steps to the lodge at Virunga
A 3 course lunch made with all locally grown fresh produce was delicious. The tents are very luxurious, definitely glamping (esp compared to Laffoley-lane style camping), there were so many nice little touches, flasks of hot water to make tea or coffee, a mobile phone so you can call for anything you need and best of all hot water bottles waiting for you when you come back after dinner. Could a person ask for more?
We went for a walk to try and work off the effects of the late lunch. The others went to explore some caves (I passed on that, good call).
We walked around some of the local farms and went down to a crater with a natural spring where the women and children were filling plastic containers full of water to take back for the next days use. There is no running water in the houses here all the water comes from the crater and involves wading through thick mud to get to the cleaner water nearer the centre. The people live off what they farm and they just about subsist. Kids don’t go to school because you have to pay for it and everyone has to contribute to daily tasks like water collection. The villagers are so friendly, the girls are a lot more shy but they still smile and say bonjour.
On our return to camp we relaxed by the fire before another fantastic meal which we were too full from lunch to eat. We all felt very uncomfortable leaving food untouched knowing that the people we met today barely had enough. However I am pretty sure that none of the food went to waste especially the meat.
Solomon gave us a quick briefing about the plan for tomorrow then we had an early night in our very warm bed. Very excited about tomorrow.
Pirate Travels 