Rwanda
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    • Day 39

      Exploring the jungle of Nyungwe

      March 5, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      The day started out with us getting surprised by a gigantic baboon trying to break into a fridge in camp. He didn't succeed and was soon shoo'd off by the camp security. But that was quite a sight in the early morning.

      Fortunately, we didn't trust my rebel instincts. We had heard from the camp manager that we'd have to present negative covid tests for the entry to the national park we planned on visiting today. My plan was to just take some of the self tests I carry with me and do them on site. Ultimately, the decision was taken to go to the health center some five minutes away and get the tests done there. Testing was as uncomplicated as always, they were just really slow in administering them. Luckily they offered to send the results to us via text message, so we didn't have to stick around for the results.

      Since breakfast was served late (most of it we only managed to get for takeaway since they had messed up the schedule) and the testing was also late, we ended up in yet another race against the time. We were told that all trips from the park headquarters start at 08:00 sharp. It was a wild 50min drive to make it there on time, with a fairly challenging road that was winding through the rainforest. No chance really to go faster than 40km/h at any point in time.

      Soon after we entered the general park area we spotted the first few primates. Some cute velvet monkeys, as well as a whole platoon of baboons. Nyungwe is known for the many types of apes populating it, most famous of them the chimpanzee. None of the rare mountain gorillas live here, though. Something else that caught our attention was that there were military patrols everywhere! Like, literally everywhere. Some of them were walking along the road, others were standing next to the road, spaced out some 50m to the next person. Each patrol had one person with a gigantic radio, several people with rifles, and one person with a huge machine gun.

      We later found out that the military patrols were instated because reckless drivers kept falling off the road and disappeared in the jungle below. It would sometimes take weeks to discover that someone had wrecked there. Their role was to be first responders and alert for more help with their radios. Another unofficial reason is most likely that the border to Congo is not far, and a fair amount of goods transportation happens along that route. As well as some illegal border crossings, we would imagine.

      We made it to the park headquarters at 08:00 sharp. The first thing we were asked for was our covid test. They wouldn't have accepted our self tests, so we dodged a bullet there. We then, however, got a big fear confirmed. At the lodge they had already advised us that there would be a 100 USD fee to be paid per person to be allowed into the park. This annoyed me a lot, as before that I had checked a lot of different resources and it wasn't mentioned anywhere that were would be a fee like that. The previous night I had done even more research, and nowhere on the web was any mention of this fee, so I had figured the lodge guy had just made it up - he was dodgy anyways...

      Turns out he didn't lie. To make matters worse, the 100 USD only included the permission to enter the park. On top of that, we were charged 40 USD per person to be allowed to use the famous Canopy Walk of Nyungwe, and an additional 25 USD per group for the obligatory guide without whom we would not be allowed to go anywhere. We ended up paying 305 USD for the two of us for a "walk in the forest". Now, that really soured my mood. But we had traveled far for this experience and neither was I willing to go back now. So onwards we went.

      Only five people entered the park on that day, a group of three and the two of us. Two guides were assigned to the groups, so we had a private guide. Our chosen tour included the canopy walk and an approximately six hour long hike to five picturesque waterfalls. The hike was beautiful. The canopy walk was... nice, but nothing special that would warrant a 40 USD pp price tag. So we really took our time there and even blocked the other group from advancing for a bit. Though that of course wasn't our intention.

      The remainder of the hike was also great, as we really got a chance to immerse ourselves in the jungle. There were gigantic mahagony trees, some 200-300 years old, that really put everything to scale. We didn't manage to spot any chimps, but heard them once or twice. The ground was quite muddy, and we had to apply some careful balancing acts to not lose our footing in many places.

      Both Anne and I are pretty fit when it comes to hiking, and we did the 6h hike with the canopy add-on in 4h30min total. After yesterday's chaos we decided to head back to our camp for another night and relax overlooking the tea plantations during sunset.
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    • Day 55

      Birthday Chimps for Katie

      November 9, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

      We wake up at around 4am for a Birthday treat for Katie- today we're going to try and see the Chimps in Nyungwe forest in the south of Rwanda.

      Bleary-eyed, we climb into the car for the drive through the park to the meeting point. We only managed to find out where we are meeting yesterday, by calling about 4 different people in the National Parks agency. When we bought our permits online, there was no mention of when or where to actually go to see the Chimps. It basically just said "Chimps". It really feels like Rwanda isn't so geared towards independent tourists.

      We head into the outskirts of the National Park, but we soon get lost, as there aren't many signs, and it's pitch black out. We come across a large group of heavily armed soldiers patrolling the border with Burundi and ask for directions.

      When we finally find the meeting point, we're told that we have to drive another 1h30 in the opposite direction to where the chimps actually are. To do so, we must follow a tour group, whose local driver seems to have a death wish. He drives well over the speed limit, aggressively overtaking every other vehicle, and often on blind corners around the steep hairpin turns that are so common in Rwanda. We have no choice but to keep up, and drive hell for leather to keep up.

      Eventually, we arrive at a spot in the middle of the dense jungle, and we proceed on foot. We navigate a small path through the forest, with the rangers cutting back the overgrown foliage. We've been told not to get our hopes up too much, as the chimps often stay high up in the trees, so we can only spot them from a distance, if at all.

      Not long after we start walking, however, we hear the hoots of the chimpanzees. It builds up to a cacophony of howling and screeching, seemingly from all sides. The forest is full of noise and activity. The sun streams through the leaves into our eyes, temporarily blinding us. The screaming gets louder and louder, echoing from all sides, disorientating us. "Look!" say the rangers "Up in the trees!". And we see them. The forest canopy is busy with primates, both chimpanzees and the smaller owl-faced monkeys.

      The rangers explain that the owl faced monkeys live around the chimps for protection, chimpanzees being the most feared animal in the forest. It's strange to use the term "mutually beneficial relationship" here, as the chimps often turn on the owl-faced monkeys in times of scarcity, and eat them.

      We watch these huge beasts clamber through the trees, when all of a sudden there's a crash behind us. We turn to see a chimp walking through the bush, metres away from us. Then, we hear a rustling behind us, and a small family- mum, dad and baby- descends from the canopy to the forest floor, just in front of us. It's a real treat, and proof that they got the message that it's Katie's birthday, which is nice.

      After saying goodbye to our new primate pals, we head to the other side of the park. We are staying on the top of a tea plantation, with panoramic views over the forest. It's beautiful, and a little odd. The bar area is described as a Karaoke Bar, complete with mini booths for group sing-a-long sessions. However, there is no evidence of microphones, screens, speakers, or anything required for a half-decent Karaoke jam. We settle on a game of Ring-of-Fire, eating pizzas from the giant oven they've built here.
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    • Day 99

      Nyungwe Forest National Park

      August 13, 2017 in Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

      Traveled through stunningly beautiful countryside ranging from tea estates, to rice paddies to rainforest. When we arrived at the park in the early afternoon, we joined a canopy walk that went into the forest and visited a very high and long canopy walk that had been built by the Canadians in 2010. Being afraid of heights, Christy was quite proud to have made it across – albeit very tentatively. Unfortunately we didn’t see any monkeys on the walk as it was packed full of teenage Rwandans who were so excited and busy taking selfies that it would have scared away any critters. Still, nice to see young locals enjoying their amazing parks. Fortunately we camped in the park and were able to see a few different kinds of monkeys in the morning – the forest monkey and blue monkey. Unfortunately we didn’t get any good photos – just a few from the iphone.Read more

    • Day 10

      Uwinka Overlook

      July 9, 2017 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

      A luxurious lie in until 7.30am, breakfast of cereal, fruit and toast and departed for the canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest at 8.45am. The canopy walk, officially known as the Uwinka Overlook on the Igishigishigi Trail, is a 200 metre walkway suspended 90 metres above the forest floor, which affords spectacular views across the valley and is supposedly a good spot for bird watching.

      We were joined on the tour by 5 local Rwandans and 5 Chinese nationals who live in Rwanda (Chinese companies manage a lot of the road building in Rwanda), so we were a group of 15. The Rwandan government is trying to encourage locals to visit tourist spots in their own country by offering discounts to locals - the tourist price for this walk is $60 USD, but locals only pay 5000 Rwandan Francs ($6 USD).

      It was a pleasant 45 minute walk down to the start of the canopy walk, then single file across the suspension bridge. We took our time making the crossing and loitered on the platforms for quite a while, but disappointingly only saw one Blue Monkey in the distance, and no birds for the entire journey.

      On the way back to the hotel for lunch we spotted a couple of L'Hoest monkeys (formerly known as Mountain Monkeys) near the road who hung around long enough for a few photos (lunch was Caeser Salad and a beef burger).

      We had a free afternoon so took up Aloys' offer of a lift to the centre of Kamembe for some shopping. Being Sunday afternoon not much was open, but we had some interesting chats and made a few small purchases.

      We had a briefing in the lounge in preparation for our trip to the DR Congo tomorrow, then dinner was in the hotel restaurant (fillet pepper steak and potato croquettes x2).
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    • Day 61

      Nyungwe- nasionale park

      November 10, 2016 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      In die suide van Rwanda, teen die Burundi-grens, lê dalk hul mooiste park: Nyungwe. Bergwoud, sjimpansees, endemiese voëls - en stilte. Dís wat Nyungwe jou bied. Ons kamp (onderdak, op netjiese stellasies wat die ergste klammigheid weghou) by Uwinka, maak vuur, maak kos. Saans, behalwe vir die weemoedige geskrou van boomdassies, sak die stilte (en soms die reën) neer. Soggens praat die reuse blouloeries ons wakker. Vrede.Read more

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