After the exhilarating trek to see the gorillas in the Volcanoes National Forest and visiting the local village of Iby’Iwacu, we spent our next day exploring Lake Kivu, which is one of the African Great Lakes and is bordered by three different countries. From the town where we stayed, we could see the Republic of Congo and went to two of the border crossings that allow a constant flow of goods and traffic between the Congo and Rwanda. The lake itself sits on a volcanic rift and there are several methane extraction platforms located on the lake. It has the potential of a catastrophic eruption at some point in the future, but until then it is a source of thermal pools on the various islands that sit on the lake.
Heading Back to the ResortOne of the Many Tour Boats on the LakeView from Our Lunch TableSitting on the Boat
We took one of the many tour boats that are available along the shore of the town of Gisenyi, which is the second largest city in Rwanda, to visit one of the islands and see the locals enjoying the therapeutic benefits of the hot springs. Rwanda is a land-locked country and most of the cuisine is vegetable based, but there is Tilapia in the lake that is offered at the local restaurants and was one of the meals that we had at our resort as well. Overall, we spent a lot of time during our trip to Rwanda getting up early and exerting a lot of energy hiking, so the time spent by the lake was a nice reprieve.
Hawk on a Palm TreeBrewery on the Shore of the LakePeople FishingKingfisher
Lake Kivu is obviously very large as it is over 1,000 square miles (2,700 square kilometers) and is the eighth largest lake in Africa. There are many resorts that sit along the coastline, some more remote than the one that we stayed at in Gisenyi. Most tours in Rwanda that include both the gorilla trekking and the chimpanzee trekking will include a stay at Lake Kivu as it is located centrally between both of the national parks. Although not the highlight of the trip, it was an enjoyable day between some amazing wildlife experiences.
Coastline of the LakeOur ResortHeading to the IslandPleasant Afternoon on the Water
After making the over twenty-one-hour trip from Washington DC to Kigali, Rwanda, we immediately were transported to Volcanoes National Park where the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda are located. We got a few hours of sleep and then woke up early to climb into the rainforest to locate our gorilla family. We were expecting to make our way through the jungle to observe the gorillas through the trees and perhaps have the opportunity to get a little close to one or two of them. It turned out that we would spend an hour standing and walking amongst the entire gorilla family, who continuously walked in front, behind, and all around us as we spent time with them. It was truly one of the most incredible and unique experiences that we have ever had during our travels.
The Gorillas were Very ExpressiveSilverback Walking Past UsJuvenile Gorillas
There are only ten families that can be visited per day and the visit is restricted to no more than one hour. Each group that gets to visit with the gorillas is also limited to eight or nine people and our group was a group of eight. That means that only eighty to ninety people per day can visit with the gorillas, which makes it an experience that is not shared by a lot of people. The family that we visited with was the Agashya family and we were told that Agashya meant “special”, which had to do with the unique circumstances that this particular family was formed. When the former Silverback, elder leader of the family, passed away, normally the females would go off to join other families. In this case, though, they stayed together and other silverbacks tried to join the family. The female gorillas were not interested in the first few suitors that tried to join the family and then finally they accepted the silverback, which the guides named Agashya due to having never seen a family of female gorillas due what this family had done.
Thick Jungle Trekking
Showing Off for UsMommy with a Five-Month-Old Baby
Our encounter started with one of the two other silverbacks that were now part of the family who had strayed away from the rest of the family with another female gorilla, which would not be tolerated by the leader when he learned about it. A silverback is simply a gorilla that has gotten old enough for the hair on his back to turn gray, typically at about thirteen years old. He beat his chest for us, making sure we knew he was our boss and then came straight towards us. Our guide had us stay perfectly still as the over 500-pound gorilla walked past us making sure to brush up against us as he passed. At this point, we knew that we were in for an amazing day.
Deep in Thought
Amongst the GorillasAgashya is the Name of the Head Silverback and the Family
It took another hour or so to find the rest of the family and at that point our sixty-minute visit would officially start. One of the highlights was seeing a mother gorilla with her five-month-old baby riding on her back. As we walked amongst the gorillas, taking photographs, and watching as they showed off for us and genuinely seemed as curious about us as we were of them. Several of them brushed up against us and one juvenile gorilla even slapped the men in our group as the family departed for the day. Obviously, we’re sharing some incredible photographs of our encounter, but there is no way to adequately explain what it was like to spend time with the majestic creatures.
The Gorillas were All Around UsAnother View of the BabyPlaying Around
We would definitely recommend people take the time and spend the money to see these incredible animals and help with their conservation. Be prepared, though, as the trekking can be extremely difficult as you hack your way through the jungle with machetes and climb up and down steep, muddy hills covered with dense vegetation. It was well worth the effort, but it certainly was one of the hardest things that we had done as far as hiking and trekking goes. After spending the magical hour with the Agashya Gorilla Family, we made our way out of the jungle, images still dancing through our minds. This was only part of our first full day in Rwanda and it couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. We knew at this point that it was going to be a trip that would be one of the best of our lives.
Gentle GiantsAnother View of AgashyaBeing Protective of the Baby
Although Panama is a narrow country, it is also a very biodiverse country with oceans and rainforests. There are so many fascinating animals that live in Panama and we were fortunate to see many different varieties during our time there. Seeing animals in their natural habitat is certainly a highlight of visiting any country like this and we took several tours specifically hoping to see some of the nation’s wildlife.
Three-Toed Tree SlothSeabird Overhead One of the Monkeys in the TreesOne of the Many Species of Birds Anteater in a Tree in Panama
We kept our eyes on the tree limbs above our heads to see the different varieties of monkeys, sloths, and birds. We also saw a tree-climbing anteater as well as a somewhat cute rodent called an agouti. The tarantula spider that climbed out of the tree above our heads when we stopped to eat lunch was interesting and yet creepy at the same time.
Agouti in the National ParkAdorable Baby MonkeyTarantula Joining Us for LunchGetting a Butterfly to Pose Isn’t EasyMonkey Relaxing in a Tree
We have been fortunate enough to see a wide variety of wildlife in various parts of the world, but we have to admit that Panama provided us some of our most interesting encounters. It is important to have your camera handy and having a telephoto lens often helps too, but when you get as close as we were able to get, it isn’t required.
Birds on the ShorelineLizard Trying to Hide We Saw Several Tree Sloths Curled Up in a BallSad Looking MonkeyVulture in the Tree