It's my last few days before heading back home to Rwanda. I was watching telly last night and comedian John Bishop was doing a documentary called Gorilla Adventure. Rwanda is where Dian Fossey of Gorillas in the Mist was laid to rest.
Bishop went up to visit the gorillas and spent time with the silverback Guhonda of the Sabyinyo group. I went to visit him myself in 2008, and I hugely recommend the experience. It's $750 for an international permit to visit. You need to book well in advance through Rwanda Development Board (RDB) as it's highly in demand and permits are limited. You can find all the information online. You get to spend an hour with them, but it truly is unforgettable.
Rwanda, along with Uganda and DRC are the only three places you can visit mountain gorillas in the wild. Of those three, Rwanda is by far the safest and easiest to organise. Tourism is Rwanda's largest source of income, so money feeds back into the economy and into the preservation of the gorillas. Each year there is a ceremony called Kwita Izina where they name the baby gorillas.
Here's some pics from my trip, and a video at the bottom of just how beautiful Rwanda is, in case you need any further convincing.
If you are interested in exploring East Africa, I can highly recommend two friends of mine: Tracey (@ota_tracey), who runs Overland Travel Adventures based in Kenya, and Jo (@RW_Adventures), who runs Rwandan Adventures in Kigali. They are both top ladies, dedicated to providing wonderful travel experiences.
No comments:
Post a Comment