Gorilla Trekking at Volcanoes National Park in the rainy season

[Athene]

The 2nd gorilla trek my husband did on his own. It was to the Hirwa Group (means lucky one) and started from the same village as the golden monkey trek (quite close to the Sabyinyo Silverback lodge). After about half an hour along a different path they reached the trackers who started calling "quick, quick, the silverback is mating". He managed to get a couple of shots before its was over.

 

 

Silverback Uburanga

 

 

The group then started to move across the fields. In the video it looks quite slow but to follow them across the uneven terrain was difficult.

 

 

 

 

 

[madaboutcheetah]

@Athene- Looks fantastic !!! 

 

Question - did you manage to upload the video directly here? thanks ... 

[Athene]

@madaboutcheetah I couldn't find a way to upload .mp4 videos without using YouTube so my husband made short .gif clips which seem to work. He used an app called "GIF Maker, GIF Editor" which allows 200 frames in the free version.

 

[Athene]

My husband and the guide / trackers / porters caught up with the the gorillas around 20 minutes later after they had stopped at a group of eucalyptus trees on a slope.

 

 

A lot of bark stripping was taking place.

 

 

 

 

Here's a sequence with silverback, a young gorilla and a sapling..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making short work of it... cameraman just standing far enough away!

 

 

The young gorillas are gorgeous of course..

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the king of the hill is more than impressive...

 

 

I would not want a silverback looking at me like this.

 

 

I wasn't there to witness it but I'm told it was just after this point the guides and porters scattered..

 

 

The photos just after this one are a bit shaky..

 

Last photo of the gorillas.. just love that sap!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[michael-ibk]

On 9/5/2022 at 2:37 PM, BRACQUENE said:

and would rather visit Akagera and perhaps Nyungwe Forest for all the primates but you make me doubt again !

 

Don´t leave out Akagera @BRACQUENE. It is one of the most scenic parks I´ve ever been to.

 

Super report @Athene! We loved Rwanda when we were there a few years ago, a wonderful experience. Also visited the Hirwa Group (different Silverback then though IIRC) but our trip was much more difficult. Exceptional to see them out in the open like this, fantastic. And even mating - wow!

Edited September 10, 2022 by michael-ibk

[TonyQ]

Beautiful photos and the youngsters are adorable 

[Atdahl]

Wow! Just, Wow!

[AKR1]

Just stunning gorilla images. 

[Athene]

Thanks again @TonyQ @Atdahl and @AKR1 !

[Athene]

Thank you @michael-ibk. It was mostly due to your trip report and the one from @Alexander33 that we chose to visit Rwanda.

[Athene]

Summing up: although this was a very short trip (5 days) for us it was the right decision to separate our visit to Rwanda from the rest of our planned trip to Zimbabwe. @Doug Macdonald rearranged everything at very short notice. We were very lucky with easy gorilla treks and great sightings of gorillas and golden monkeys out in the open. The accomodation at Bishop's House was ideal for me. The food was also excellent and the pool area was a very pleasant place to relax in the afternoons.

Here are a few cellphone photos from Rwanda's landscape to close up.

 

 

 

Our driverguide Edmond

 

 

 

 

Kigali in the distance

 

 

 

[Alexander33]

You truly had some exceptional gorilla sightings (and exceptional photos to go with them). I’m glad to hear your treks were fairly easy, as well. This report certainly brought back fond memories of our trip in 2017. Thanks for sharing with us. 

[gatoratlarge]

Fantastic!  Thanks for sharing!  

[Athene]

Thank you @gatoratlarge and @Alexander33