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Monkey Business - Nyungwe Rwanda
Gisenyi Rwanda
Thursday 10 February
2011
We couldn’t believe our eyes. We had
come to Nyungwe National Park to track monkeys, in particular, Angolan Colobus
Monkeys, with their glossy black fur, distinctive white cheeks and long silky
white stripes of hair on each side of the body. It was going to cost us $70 US
each to hire a guide to try to find the monkeys and here they were, more than
100 of them gathered on a cliff across the road, readying themselves to cross
the road right in front of us. We weren’t the only ones standing quietly
watching to see what the monkeys would do next. Several of the National Park
staff and the few tourists who were still around after 3 PM were there peering
through binoculars and snapping photos. The monkeys cooperated by milling around
on the cliff, tearing off tender leaves to chew before slowing making their way
down the cliff, leaping the last few meters to the road and gathering in small
trees on the other side. It is unlikely we would have seen such a performance in
the dense forest.
We had not even expected to be where we were at that
moment. Nyungwe sounded like the kind of park we would like to explore. At about
1,000 sq km at altitudes between 1600 M and 2950 M, it is one of the largest and
oldest mountain rainforests in Africa. It harbours about 300 bird species, 13
species of primates, including chimpanzees and Angolan Colobus monkeys. There
are other species of mammals, mahogany and other trees, and flowers everywhere,
including 100 orchid varieties. The park started its conservation life as a
reserve, which meant it was under constant pressure from logging companies and
encroaching farms. It was hard hit during the genocide years of the 1990s but
was finally designated a National Park in 2004. Best of all, most of the
exploring can be done on foot with a guide. The guide prices are steep, from $50
to $90 dollars per person, but we calculated our budget could stand one or two
walks.
Back in Kigali last Friday we had gone to the ORTPN (Rwandan
Tourist Office) to reserve a room at the lodge closest to Nyungwe National Park.
Most people visiting the park come with a car and driver. We had priced that
option and found it out of reach of our budget. Alas the lodge was full and the
only option was camping at the Uwinka reception area to the park, using your own
tent, equipment and food, none of which we had. Even camping is expensive at $30
per person per night and you still need your own transportation to get to the
park. The ORTPN could offer no alternatives to the lodge that was full. A young
German fellow working in Rwandan was in the office with his mother who was
visiting from Germany, trying to confirm their reservations at the lodge. He was
horrified to find the lodge had no record of his reservation and could not
accommodate them either. Luckily he had made a lot of contacts since coming to
Rwandan and phoned one of them to find out if there was an alternative place to
stay. He was told there was a new lodge that was not listed in the guidebooks.
The KCCEM was near the Uwinka center and had lots of rooms available.
We
decided to give it a try the next Monday. We booked seats on a minibus going to
the park and took off. The driver and his helper knew where the park was but had
never heard of KCCEM. When I told them it was near Uwinka, that was fine. It
took about three hours travelling over good paved roads that followed the curves
of the mountains to reach the entrance of Nyungwe NP. We had passed a
progression of villages built on the crest of the hills, passed rice terraces in
the valleys and terraced farms covering the hillsides. The last few KM before
entering the park had been lush tea plantations. The park was dense rainforest
country, seemingly impenetrable. About 50 minutes later, slowly manoeuvring past
huge potholes in the pavement, we reached Uwinka reception area and got out.
We waved goodbye and looked around for any sign of the KCCEM lodge. There
wasn’t any. The staff at the reception area informed us that the KCCEM was not
near Uwinka, it was back at the entrance of the park we had passed nearly an
hour before. Furthermore we had no option but to flag down a passing minivan to
backtrack to KCCEM if we wanted to stay for the night. We found out later that
the German fellow and his mother had made the same mistake of getting out at
Uwinka. Fortunately for them they had taken a 6 AM bus on Saturday from Kigali
and had time for a walk that afternoon before returning to the KCCEM lodge.
That is when we went back to the entrance on the main road and received our
bonus viewing of the Colobus. We needed that boost. One of the park staff
members, Thierry, came down to the road to see how we were doing. Only one
minivan had passed in the last hour and it was full. The laws governing how many
passengers a minivan or bus can carry are strictly enforced, so we needed a
passing van with empty seats. We feared being stuck there for the night. The
next van that passed was also full but Thierry managed to stop the driver and
persuade him to take us for an extra payment. Nobody objected when we squished
inside and we made it safely to the Park Gates in the village of Kitabi.
We went straight to the Park reception where the staff told us that KCCEM
was built by the National Parks department three years ago as Kitabi College of
Conservation and Environmental Management. They specialize in courses for
various organizations, including National Park staff some of whom were currently
attending a Wildlife Management course. It is unusual for the number of students
to fill the available rooms, so passing tourists are welcome. We wished the
staff at ORTPN in Kigali had been briefed on this possibility. We had an
additional problem. There were no trails near the entrance ready for hiking. How
were we to get back to Uwinka the next morning to follow one of their hiking
trails? The Parks receptionist phoned one of the minivan drivers and arranged
for him to reserve two seats for us the next morning on his way through and to
stop for us on his way back in the afternoon. That was a relief.
Several
red clay brick houses were strung out down the hill next to an expansive tea
plantation below the Park Reception building. We wandered down and were met by
one Park Employee attending the conservation course. Each dormitory house has
five rooms sharing two bathrooms. We were the only occupants of a house right
next to the canteen where meals are served. We had to walk calmly past a
resident troop of baboons that paraded by each evening and morning but they
didn’t take much notice of us.
For our meals, we shared the same African
menu as the students. Dinner was a plate of rice, pasta, French fried potatoes,
beans, a spinach type vegetable and a small piece of beef with a good tomato
sauce. It was more than we could finish. Breakfast the next morning was tea or
coffee, buns and a fried egg. They even prepared a small picnic lunch for us to
take to Uwinka. Everything was simple but tasty.
Our promised ride
arrived the next morning and deposited us safely at the Uwinka reception center
about 10 AM. We had time to try the Pink trail, a 3 ½ hour walk from the center,
starting at 2400 M and descending to a valley about 600 M below. Our guide David
provided us with a wooden walking stick to aid us on the steep sections.
David led us over well defined paths through the forest, pointing out the
trees and flowers along the way. We saw several birds and spied some of the Blue
Monkeys high in the trees. There was the paw print of a the small leopard-like
Golden Cat, but it was hidden from view. We found out why David wore his
trousers tucked into his rubber boots. The local ants pack an annoying sting. If
you don’t step quickly past ants streaming across the path they will quickly
attach themselves to your pant legs and bite into any available skin. After
killing several of them on my legs I tucked my pant legs into my socks.
Thankfully the sting didn’t last.
David suggested we include part of the canopy trail on our walk. This
shorter walk includes a suspended metal walkway designed to give a tree top
perspective of the forest. We passed a small, pretty waterfall and walked past
tall, ancient mahogany trees. We entered a true canopy forest where the foliage
at the top of the tall trees makes a lace curtain over the sky. Our lunch was
eaten on a wooden bench, one of many along the trail. At the end of the hike
several Mountain monkeys hopped into the trees in front of us. A small black
snake lay passively beside the trail. David said it was a baby black snake with
a particularly dangerous bite. He said the adult was very aggressive and poked
the tiny snake with his walking stick to demonstrate how it tried to strike. We
didn’t attempt to pick it up.
We finished the walk with plenty of time
to take in the displays depicting the history and variety of the park. It had
been a good day. We caught our ride back to KCCEM and spent one last night in
the school. With all the problems getting transport to and from the park we
decided not to return to Uwinka for a second day of hiking. We took the bus back
to Kigali in the morning and spent the rest of the day getting ready for our
next trip. Today we are in Gisenyi on Lake Kivu for a few days exploring this
area.
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