Rwanda, Once (or Twice) in a Lifetime
Our lunch box full of goodies
Eighteenish months ago we visited Rwanda and trekked to the gorillas for the first time. It was such an amazing experience, we just had to do it again with my mom and Kel along for the adventure.
Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge
This time we stayed at the Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge and it was beyond words. We’ve stayed in a number of safari camps over the years, and this one went beyond expectations.
First-it’s special because it's community-owned. It's built through a partnership between Sabyinyo Community Livelihoods Association and Governor’s Camp, a private operator. As we all know, tourism can destroy a place. By involving the local community and ensuring they realize the benefits of our visit though dollars put back into the villages, we can have sustainable tourism.
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Second, everything about Sabyinyo is welcoming. The staff all call you by name and do things like remember your favorite drinks at different times of the day.
(I swear nobody is paying me to write this stuff!)
Owned by the same people who own Magashi Camp in Akagera, where we stayed last year, the details are what make the lodge special. They provided every single thing we might have needed for trekking to see the gorillas other than the gorillas! Gaters, gloves, ponchos, daypacks, water bottles, and even a gourmet snack box to share with our porters. Our personal butlers, Peter and Clemet, were so attentive to every little need; from warm towels to freshen up with to hot water bottles in our bed, to a perfectly built fire in our room or the dining room when the mountain air turned chilly—it can get chilly at 8,000+ feet! And somehow, even in this thin air they managed to make the most AMAZING breads and baked desserts. I'm gaining weight just thinking about it.
The forty-one-acre property had lambs and baby bunnies to hold too (🥰). Every single meal was delicious and much of the ingredients came from the onsite organic farm and the community near the lodge. Seriously, I'm trying to figure out how I can earn my keep and become a permanent resident.
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Why Rwanda instead of the cheaper Uganda?
Rwanda is definitely on the top of my list of countries I love. I’ve yet to meet an unfriendly Rwandan. Big smiles and a genuine welcome seem to be the norm. As we drove through the country, passing village after village, kids and adults alike would wave with a smile. I know every country has their issues, but Rwanda appears to address them head on.
This is evidenced by the way they have worked to protect the endangered mountain gorilla population. Permits are significantly more expensive in Rwanda than Uganda, but that money is used wisely. For years, poaching of gorillas was rampant. Gorillas can easily destroy the potato fields ruining an entire crop and leaving families desolate. To take away incentives to kill the gorillas, Rwanda gave local communities an incentive to protect the mountain gorilla and its habitat. Financially, it made more sense for the gorilla poachers to turn to guiding, tracking and serving as porters instead of hunting gorillas.
Through the gorilla trekking permit fees, farmers that have crops destroyed from gorillas are reimbursed. The fees also go towards purchasing farmers’ fields to expand the park and give the gorillas more habitat as the population grows. 10% of the permit fee goes back to the local villages where the local council decides how to spend it: on schools, roads, drinking water, and more.
You can see why we wanted to come back!
Trekking to the Amahoro Group
We loved this family of gorillas so much last year when we saw them, we decided to put in a request to visit them again this year. Trekking to this group can be a bit more difficult because their territory stretches up Mount Bisoke—a steep mountain that is muddy and slippery during rainy season. We were up for the challenge though!
Luck was with us and we only had to hike a few miles on a dry trail to find our gorilla friends. Sure we encountered stinging nettles, but is it really a trek through the jungle if you don’t?
We had a great hour watching the gorillas. The toddlers were full of energy playing and beating their chests while the adults lazed about.
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Not only did we get to see the gorillas on Jim's actual birthday, but we also got to celebrate with a cake made just for him. We had the whole place to ourselves to celebrate since we were the only ones at the lodge that night.
Hiking Mount Bisoke
Our second day at the lodge, we planned to hike to the crater lake at the top of Mount Bisoke. A steep climb through the thick jungles of Volcanoes National Park. We had been lucky the day before that it hadn't rained and our trek to the gorillas was a manageable few miles without much mud. So little mud that I joked that they wouldn’t believe us when we told them we trekked to the gorillas because our shoes were so clean.
Well, it rained the night before our trek—a lot. It was also pouring buckets for the first ten minutes of our trek. We were doubtful we would get to the top, but figured the trek through the jungle would be fun and as long as we were having fun, we would proceed.
Once the rain stopped, it turned into the classic foggy area in a horror movie kind of views. Wisps of fog wrapping around the trees dampening sounds and that eerie is something watching me feel.
We made it about halfway before we decided to turn around while we were still having fun. I can’t even describe how steep and slippery the path was. We were all grateful for our porters and their unbelievable sure-footedness with simple rubber rain-boots. There were moments my porter Bosco practically carried me.
Side note-this wasn’t the first time I had met Bosco! He was actually my porter last year when we trekked to the gorillas! Small world, right?
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Other sights of Rwanda
You can't go to Rwanda and not learn about the devastating genocide that happened in the 1990s. Built as a place for remembering, the Kigali Genocide Memorial is an emotional experience. An insight into what happened, the lasting effects, and how the country has worked so hard to overcome such devesation. It's hard to even imagine losing your entire family—and many not only lost their entire families, but watched them killed by friends and neighbors. I said earlier that Rwanda tops my list as countries I love. The way Rwandans have worked on forgiveness and coming together is a big part of my love for the country. Women hold positions in all levels of the military and political offices. It’s an impressive small country.
You might be tempted to skip the memorial, but don’t. It’s emotional. You are likely to have tears. It will change you and give you an understanding of this country that I'm not sure you can get otherwise.
Interested in Doing This?
We’ve had several people already asking us about our itinerary or how they can do something like this. For this trip, and all our prior African safari trips, we worked with our travel agent Casey at Mango African Safaris. She has always listened to what we want and put together an itinerary that suited us perfectly, so we highly recommend Mango.