{"id":4080,"date":"2019-10-21T11:00:51","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T00:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluedottravel.com.au\/?p=4080"},"modified":"2022-11-28T11:12:25","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T00:12:25","slug":"gorilla-tracking-volcano-national-park-rwanda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sydney-websites.com\/bluedotold\/gorilla-tracking-volcano-national-park-rwanda\/","title":{"rendered":"Gorilla tracking, Volcano National Park, Rwanda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Along with my small group of 8, I crossed the border into Rwanda from Uganda with the typical level of bureaucracy expected in a developing African nation. After an hour or so and several processes which didn\u2019t\u00a0make a lot of sense,\u00a0we were on our way.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We head to\u00a0Mountain Gorilla View Lodge\u00a0in northern Rwanda, not all that far from the border with Congo, where we\u00a0check-in for two nights. Almost all visitors staying in this lodge do so purely for the gorilla tracking experience.\u00a0\u00a0The chalet-style accommodation is\u00a0very comfortable with large rooms, pleasant staff and decent food.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The next morning we\u2019re off bright and early\u00a0for\u00a0a\u00a0once-in-a-lifetime experience \u2013 spotting mountain gorillas. We\u2019re going to spend\u00a0an hour or so\u00a0viewing them close-up\u00a0and taking as many photos as we desire. On arrival at the park entrance, we receive a full briefing\u00a0from our local guides\u00a0and 30 minutes later, off we go.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Spotting these rare primates is not\u00a0necessarily\u00a0difficult because the gorilla families which the tourists track\u00a0have been habituated. In other words, they have become used to people and, providing you\u00a0follow the basic rules\u00a0set by\u00a0the guide, it\u2019s safe. The only difficulty can be trekking to their location.\u00a0There\u2019s a 90% chance you will get to see the gorillas because they are tracked each day by professional trackers\u00a0whose\u00a0job is not only to help protect them but also to liaise with the guides as to their whereabouts. On occasions, you may have to walk for many hours up and down hills and through difficult terrain to get to them. We\u2019re extremely lucky on this occasion because the family we\u2019re going to follow has\u00a0come down the mountain to the edge of the jungle and is just a\u00a0kilometre\u00a0or so from our starting point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, it gets even better. The silverback\u00a0\u2013 the dominant male –\u00a0from\u00a0the\u00a0family\u00a0we\u2019re following\u00a0has decided to leave the jungle and go out into the open. This makes for amazing photos and a dream opportunity to watch all the others follow him into open space.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There were 19 in the family and we were up close and personal with most of them.\u00a0We watched them as they ate\u00a0their\u00a0way from bush to bush. The young ones played like children and the older females disciplined them when things got out of hand. They really are very human-like and in fact, share 98% of our DNA.\u00a0It was truly a magical experience \u2013 one that none of us will ever forget.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you are interested in seeing the gorillas of Rwanda or Uganda on a small group tour or would like to explore other itineraries, contact us<\/a>\u00a0to register your interest for future tours.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Story and photos by Brett Goulston\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Along with my small group of 8, I crossed the border into Rwanda from Uganda with the typical level of bureaucracy expected in a developing African nation. After an hour or so and several processes which didn\u2019t\u00a0make a lot of sense,\u00a0we were on our way.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We head to\u00a0Mountain Gorilla View Lodge\u00a0in northern Rwanda, not all […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4087,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[447,299],"class_list":["post-4080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","tag-rwanda","tag-uganda","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGorilla tracking, Volcano National Park, Rwanda - Blue Dot Travel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Come and enjoy these rare primates on a small group tour to Rwanda or Uganda. 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