RWANDA DURING THE SILLY SEASON AND MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE GORILLAS

RWANDA DURING THE SILLY SEASON AND MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE GORILLAS

Today was a very exciting day as today was the day when our Christmas function will be in the national paper. I had to wait until the late afternoon before I arrived in town to buy a copy of the paper! I grabbed the first newspaper vendor boy I found and quickly opened the paper. I was ecstatic to see we made PAGE 4 and it was a half page article. I was so happy that I bought another 4 copies of it and even showed the paper boy! I don’t think he was overly impressed but that didn’t stop me jumping around like a 5 year old!
It wasn’t until I read the article that I was a little disappointed! Basically, it was full of mis-quotes and incorrect information. Aside from that it was poorly written English!! But, hey we made page 4 of the national newspaper so it didn’t wipe the smile off my face and even the President of Rwanda reads it!
We were also on the national radio, so I managed to fulfil my goal of getting media coverage from the event and maybe this could be mirrored in Australia.
It is now Christmas eve and even though I am on a high from the article, it still doesn’t feel like Christmas. Although I did get some chocolates from a friend of mine that arrived from the UK! My one and only Christmas present!
Well, the big day of the year has arrived- Christmas Day! Today, I was going to spend it with my Rwandese family to visit Julianne’s family on the outskirts of Butare!
She has such a lovely family and they really welcomed me into their family and thanked me for joining them on Christmas day. It wasn’t quite the seafood cocktail entrée and every meat under the sun lunch but it was very tasty and definitely filled a whole in my stomach. It was nice to have a traditional Christmas lunch with a Rwandese family and no-one could ever say I didn’t embrace Rwandese culture. If it wasn’t for me inability to speak Kinyarwandan fluently, I nearly feel Rwandese these days!
I must admit I feel a little flat at the moment but I think that has got to do with the fact that my Christmas event is over. (It sort of feels like when you organise a party at your house and it’s the next morning when everyone has left!). There are a number of further projects that I want to investigate during my last month here, as we look to the future for ABANA. It is nice to have a rest for a few days before I start the new year. 2007 was a surprising one for me as I never in a million years expected to come to Rwanda, it wasn’t even on my radar. What I knew of Rwanda was the civil war and that it was a landlocked country, what Ive discovered in my short time so far is that there is so much more to this place. All, I can say is now bring on 2008..
Well I saw in the New Year with some friends at a local bar in Kigali and I find it hard to believe that we are now in 2008. To me, the bigger event this time of year of course is my birthday, which falls on January 3rd. I was going to keep it low key this year but the idea of not celebrating my birthday – just wasn’t right. So, with the assistance of my Rwandese family, they put together a feast and I invited 15 people along to celebrate ‘my day’. I even bought myself a birthday cake! Of course, you can’t have a b’day party without a cake. It was a really enjoyable night and of course in true ‘Troy style’ I wore a silly birthday hat! Everyone will know how much I hate attention.:)
Soon after my birthday, I had another event to look forward to and something that I have wanted to do for many years – the chance to see the gorillas! It was my present to myself and I was so excited at the prospect of spending time with these amazing creatures. I went up the night before and made my way to Kinigi Guesthouse, which is located alongside the National Park HQ. Unfortunately, I was going by myself and I needed to find a group of tourists who had access to a car so I could go with them. (You have to drive for about 40 mins to the base of the mountain before you embark on the climb)
I went for dinner at the Guesthouse and I was sitting there by myself and I noticed two people behind me. Perfect I thought I have to try and make conversation with them so I could ‘tag’ along. So, I turned around and asked them what time dinner was served (the best I could come up with!) and before I knew it I was inviting myself to their table. (As they say you will never know if you never ask!)
In the end they both worked for the UN Development Program in the Congo and have been working in Africa for around 15 years on different missions. They had so many fascinating stories to tell about their experiences and how they both started in the UN. I realised that I have a long way to go before I get to their level, but at least they gave me some advice on the requirements of working with the UN within Africa. I only heard a fraction of their stories but it captivated and inspired me.
Most importantly, they were more than happy to take me along the following day. Jackpot!
The next morning I awoke at the crack of dawn as the excitement of the morning ahead was building up. We made out way to the National Park HQ, where we were put into groups. (There are 8 different groups, with each group being a family of gorillas) Our guide was very informative; and soon we embarked on the adventure of a lifetime! Our walk took about 1.5 hours up one of the many mountains that make up Volcanoes National Park. They have guides who take you up and you have a military escort within the park. (To protect them from poachers) They place a lot of emphasis on your safety! As we approached the gorillas, I could hear their grunts and noises and we all knew we were on the verge of seeing something very special. With our guide directing us we made our way through the thick bushes until we came across our first gorilla. WOW! It was a sight like no-other, these creatures are like nothing else that I’ve seen in Africa. We all were mesmerised by their every movement from only metres away. Never did I think I would be here to experience this, and to me it was better than any safari that I’ve been on in Africa. You watch these creatures and their mannerisms and behaviour are identical to you and I- so human like its scary. We spent an hour following them through the forest as they went about their daily business unfazed by our presence. To them, our group was just one of the thousands that visit here every morning for one hour a day. Soon enough it was time for us to leave and let them carry on with their day as we all took one last glance and photo. I could now understand how Dian Fossey spent all that time with them, trying to protect them from poachers and studying their behaviour. Thankfully, due to tourism and protective measures in place the population is growing within the area so hopefully our generation can learn from the mistakes of the past. I recommend anyone to take the time and come here and visit the gorillas here in Rwanda. I guarantee that you won’t be disappointed and it will be an experience that will be with you for years to come.
Thankfully, I managed to get a lift back to Kigali with a couple of American girls that were in our group. We chatted all the way back about our experiences and how amazing the hour we spent with them. The first thing I did when I arrived back in Kigali was race to my laptop and download the pictures so I could experience it all over again.
Well, I have now been here for over 3 months and I feel like my work here has barely touched the surface. There are so many things that I’m keen to pursue with ABANA in the future in assisting the people of this wonderful country. I have a few more weeks here before I go back to the UK, to further investigate these projects.
It’s very exciting because I have a visitor here from Australia that is arriving on Sunday who is on the committee of ABANA. (Her first time to Rwanda as well)
Until next time!