When we arrived just before 7am to check in for our last gorilla trek we thought everywhere seemed quieter - no doubt Xmas holidays are coming to an end and people are heading home. Rwanda and Uganda will now be going into a less busy period.
Today we were allocated the Amahoro group which means 'peace' in the local language - the group was named after the genocide ended and everyone wished for peace - another group was called the local name for 'unity' - umubano - another aspiration post the conflict. Our guide was Patience, and his support guide was younger guide Felicien. Patience had been part of the team who habituated this group of gorillas - he said initially all they want to do is charge you or run away but eventually they get used to you carry on as if you weren't there.
The silverback in this group is Gahinga a 21year old male with the total family size being about 17 individuals.
The hike was initially relatively flat as we walked through cultivated land to the park wall. The crops were predominantly maize, potatoes and a white flower - pyrethrum - which is a big cash crop grown mainly for export. Pyrethrum is used in insecticide production and Rwanda is the second biggest producer with 15% of the market share.
As we walked towards the park entrance Mt Bisoke was on our left, once through the entrance we began to slowly wend our way up the slope - it looked gentle when you compared it to the other side of the mountain but when we were scaling it it didn't feel gentle.
We wended our way to the edge of a crater - the trackers were with the gorillas who were in the crater but moving in a direction which they thought would mean they would emerge on to the crater rim near us. So we waited for about 20 minutes and they did just that! As we walked up the final slope there were some in the trees, a mother with a baby aboard passed us going down the slope - we were spoilt for choice as to where to look.
We followed the tracker, guide and of course the gorillas across and down the slope as they looked for food - it was thick and lush undergrowth on a steep slope - great for gorillas not do good for humans and keeping our balance was not always easy. We had the added problem of patches of stinging nettles which thankfully I avoided today but others didn't!
As we went through some undergrowth there was a baby gorilla hanging and swinging right in front of me - today's photo - it then came so close that no other photos were possible as I couldn't focus the camera - it was so cute as interested in us as we were in it.
We then found the silverback - I smelt his strong odour first - he must be attractive to female gorillas but personally I felt a can of deodorant was necessary! He was eating in a bamboo clump and was difficult to see but slowly he emerged and eventually we followed him down the slope where he had a siesta lying on his back, then on his side in the sunshine. Shadowing him were a young female approx 7 years old and a youngster 2-3 years old who were fun to watch as they ate, groomed and had a rough and tumble.
The hour was soon up so we continued making our way down the mountain following the tracker as he chopped a path - he was now in his 70's but had worked with Diane Fossey. They call her the mother of the gorillas and realise without her the park would be farmland and the gorillas non existent.
Finally we emerged onto the original path and met our porters - Peter and Bosco - who had come down from the rim to meet us. The good thing was that we missed the really steep and slippery part of the path.
We were back in the car park by 1pm and eating lunch by 1.40pm.
Another relaxing afternoon; luckily we went to the main lodge for a cup of hot chocolate at 5pm because not long afterwards it poured with rain -our strategy meant we missed the shower!