A Rwanda Gorilla Trekking Adventure

 Dom and I have been talking about going gorilla trekking since we first arrived in Rwanda. This weekend we did it, and it was so much cooler than I thought it would be. I've seen dozens of photos of our friends trekking, and I knew you got close to the gorillas. But the truth is I had no idea how close we'd be.

We will be getting even closer!

We visited the Sabyinyo group led by the oldest living male gorilla, Guhonda.  Our trek was very easy, and it only took us about 45 minutes to reach the family. The gorillas decided to come down the mountain for the weekend holiday or maybe because they were so excited to see us! It was pouring rain for most of the trek up, but we piled on a few extra fleece layers under our rain jackets and slogged through the mud. The weather gods smiled down on us because the rain let up and we got some amazing photos during the hour we were allowed to spend with the gorilla group.

So in each group there is one male leader. The females align themselves with the big boss. And it is the his job to keep the group safe from outsiders. The other males in the group are supposed to stay away from the females even though they are fully mature and have natural urges. The first gorilla we saw was the third in command of the Sabyinyo group. Our guide kept calling him the prime minister and explained that he had a ear injury from a few days before.  The prime minister got the royal smackdown from Guhonda for doing the "jiggy jiggy" with one of the females in the group and was doing his best to avoid the big boss. He spent most of his time eating, but suddenly he got up. Our guide said, "He's going to charge, don't move and take a photo."  Yeah right! If I am going to get charged by a gorilla then I am not going to document it for the world to see. He stopped right before he got to us since no one moved. Then he brushed passed me to move onto better feeding grounds. I've officially been touched by a silverback!

We continued along and got to see several mothers and babies. And Big Ben, a balding trouble maker, kept stirring up the mothers. He couldn't help but make problems, apparently none of the ladies will pay him any attention due to his balding head. Poor Big Ben!

Then just as we were going around the bend Gahonda showed up right smack dab in the middle of our group. He is forty-two and the largest gorilla I've ever seen. He brushed back a few people in our group and then turned back towards us on a very skinny path. You can catch a glimpse of him pushing past Dom and heading on his way. Did I mention that we were really, really close to him?

Guhonda 

Yep. This is about s close as you can get to a gorilla! 

Can you tell that we think this is awesome?!

Our final stop was to see the most adorable one-month-old baby gorilla. Seriously, look at that face.  Too ridiculously cute.

Socks outside of Pants = Safari fashion

We originally went to see the gorillas because it seemed like something you should do if you live in Rwanda. It is one of the most amazing things we have done to date. Put it on your bucket list people! I promise that you will be amazed. Your dollars go to support tourism and conservation in Rwanda. Get more info here!