Uganda and Rwanda - Overseas Adventure Travel tour
June, 2023
Part Two - Rwanda
Page Two - Lake Ihema boat cruise and Volcanoes National Park
Akagera National Park guide talking to us about their program of reintroducing animal populations to the park after much of
the wildlife disappeared during the civil war of the 1990s. Here he is showing us confiscated items taken from poachers.
The Park rangers have trained dogs to find poachers of wildlife in the park.
Mama baboon and baby at Akagera Game Lodge where we stayed
Waterbuck and nearby crocodile seen on a cruise of Lake Ihema in the park
Waterbuck calmly grazing near the crocodile
Didn't identify this bird
Hippo in Lake Ihema
Cattle Egrets
Buffalo watching us
People coming out from a local market in the background in a small village, seen on our way to our next stop, Volcanoes National Park.
Women working and caring for their children
Rural scene seen on the drive to Volcanoes National Park
Driving through a small village
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Ellen Degeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund opened in 2022, a research and education center with exhibits to advance
Fossey's work of saving gorillas
Ingagi Park View Lodge in town of Ruhengeri, gateway to Volcanoes National Park, where we stayed.
My room at Ingagi Park View Lodge. We each had a small cabin.
On the trek to see mountain gorillas in Volcanoes National Park. A maximum of 8 people per trek is allowed.
Skilled trackers go ahead to locate one of the 10 mountain gorilla families that can be visited.
We walked through farm land to the Park entrance.
The trek is difficult. We walked though slippery and often deep mud plus had to watch out
not to hit our faces on bamboo shoots and other brush. Each person is assigned a porter
to offer to carry your pack and assist you through the terrain. They were needed!
My porter is shown here carrying my pack. Several in our group of 8,
despite the porter's help,
slipped into the mud. My porter also slipped,
and my blue pack became half brown.
The porters literally lift you over some of the terrain.
Porters assisting the group
The guides and porters often had to use machetes to clear the way. When we neared the gorilla family
of 14 that we were looking for, we had to put on face masks to protect the gorillas, who are very susceptible to human diseases.
First gorilla we saw. There was a baby behind her.
Here's part of the gorilla family we saw. We spent an hour with them.
The adults were either resting, grooming each other or the babies, or caring for the babies. The babies were playing just like kids.
Baby that was playing with a piece of fruit, just like it was a ball.
Baby holding on to the head of the family, a male who was at least 5 feet tall.
The male was resting on the ground.
An adult female eventually stood up, seemingly ready to move on.
The head of the family group waiting for the rest of the family to move out.
Some of the volcanoes in the park. This was near the end of the trek
when we had come out of the dense forest and were heading back to our waiting safari vehicles.
One of my really muddy boots at the end of the trek
Me with fellow tour member, Kay, at the end of the trek.
My boots, gaiters, and lower pants legs were caked with mud. 5 hours of trekking, plus one hour with the gorillas.
Link to Page Three- Golden Monkey Trek and Rushubi Primary School
Pat's Home Page