Before we say anything about this, take our advice and get your permits for the park in plenty of time!! We goofed and waited too long. Our bus ride yesterday was spent on the phone trying to get this all sorted out. If we hadn’t had Abdoul with us, I’m not sure we would have been successful. It was a bit of a stressful ride, let me tell you! But, not only did we get our permits, we were also able to save 30% because we had visited the Chimps. That is a good deal!

We have been looking forward to this day ever since it was mentioned as a possibility way back in January. It starts early – a 4:45am wake up call – and we are in the van by 5:30am. Off to Volcanoes National Park, a mere 30 minute drive.

We are the only people in the parking lot, the very large parking lot, but we don’t think anything of it. We have been alone in most of our excursions to date, why would this be any different? Ha. Within 30 minutes, the lot was jam packed full with Land Cruisers and large tourist buses. Wow. We haven’t seen this many tourists in one place yet! Where have they all been hiding?

We are split into groups of 8 so the six of us are joined by two gentlemen from South Africa. We get a briefing from our gorilla guide – some basic dos and don’ts – then we’re off. Back in the vehicles to get to the starting point. It was a bit of a drive!

Then we’re on foot. We started at 2300m and climbed to 2700m. It was absolutely a climb, the path was wet and slippery, it was uneven, it was unpredictable. We trekked through lots of farmland, seriously right through people’s backyards! And then we hit ‘the wall’. It is an actual wall. That we had to climb over. Luckily, we had hired porters to carry our gear (mostly to give the locals a job, not because we necessarily needed the help) and they’re the ones who hoisted our butts up and over that wall. It was hilarious.

Just like that, we were in the jungle. The real jungle. Untamed. Wild. Where the animals live. We get another, more specific and much more serious briefing here. We are told that the family we are going to see is only a few minutes away (sooooo lucky!!) so we have to learn the manners required. We must wear a mask to protect them from any germs we may be carrying. No problem. We must grunt our greeting when we see them, essentially saying that we are friendly. We then hope for a similar greeting in return. If we hear a different sound, we must turn away. They have grunts for different occasions and we do not want to hear a grunt of fear or aggression! We must also keep a respectful ten meters between us at all times. Which means we move away if a gorilla gets too close. Yeah, no problem at all!

We drop our bags and follow the guy with the machete. Because yes, we had to bushwhack to the gorillas!

In an instant, we are in a clearing. Yes, a clearing! There, right in front of us was the Susa Family. I don’t even know where to start. Nothing could have prepared us for the greatness of this moment. They were right there. Right there. A silverback, 2 females, 3 blackbacks, a junior and a baby. Right there. Living their life. In the wild.

We caught them at a resting phase so they were being quite lazy. The baby ran over to its mother, curled up on her lap and fell asleep. The silverback was being groomed and grooming one of the others. We greeted them with our newly learned gorilla grunts and they grunted back the friendly greeting. Phew! We were welcomed.

Then, without warning, another gorilla came crashing through the jungle from behind us and ran right next to Jason’s legs. Yikes!! It wasn’t aggressive, it wasn’t even really scary, but it was surreal. It certainly got all of our hearts pounding.

We each found a spot in the clearing to sit and enjoy the show. There was very little chatting. We were just in awe of these magnificent creatures. They weren’t bothered by us at all. In fact, there are 10 gorilla families in Rwanda that have become habituated to human presence. There are other families that exist but are not yet habituated and may never be.

An hour with the gorillas goes by way too fast. Even though they didn’t really do anything, it was fascinating. It was peaceful and serene being in the same space as these gentle giants. We have such respect for the guides, trackers and conservation officers out here every day making sure that the population is safe and growing.

At the end of the hour, which felt like ten minutes, it was time to turn around and head back down the mountain. <sigh> As we made our way down, we were left alone with our thoughts and impressions and we couldn’t help but be grateful for how this went for us.

First of all, it is very possible that once you get over the wall, you could be hiking in the jungle for hours before reaching the gorillas. We had to hike less than 20 minutes. Secondly, it is very possible that the gorillas will be in a difficult to reach area, in the trees or hiding behind an impassable barrier making it near impossible to observe them. The Susa Family chose this day to rest and relax in a clearing where not only could we see them clearly, but we could sit down with them and share their space.

We could not have asked for a better experience all around.