Chimpanzee Trekking - Day 3
I wasn’t sure what to expect from chimp trekking, but that morning, my husband sent me an Instagram post titled, “7 Horrifying Facts About Chimpanzees.”
It was not encouraging.
Unfortunately, the money was non-refundable. So, on we went.
Our tour guide drove us from our hotel to the Cyamudongo Forest. The bumpy dirt roads were headache-inducing. Outside the window local people hauled everything imaginable up those hills: dead chickens, doors, sweet potatoes, and baskets of tea leaves, all balanced on their heads or creatively strapped to bicycles.
Upon arriving at the Cyamudongo Forest, we met our chimp trekking guide, Francios. He was bubbling with enthusiasm and a palpable passion for his job. He also liked to refer to himself in third person which made him even more endearing.
I asked Francios if the chimpanzees were going to rip our arms off, but he assured me otherwise.
“The chimps know you’re a tourist. They’re happy to see you. They’ll be smiling just like Francios!”
We also hired three local porters to carry our things. At first, I was thinking, “Oh, we don’t need that. I can carry my own backpack. I do Pilates.”
But then Francois casually mentioned the porters would also help keep us from slipping in the mud and assist if we “couldn’t get out.”
Couldn’t get out?
That gave me major Jumanji vibes, and suddenly we were like, “Yes. Three. We’ll take three.”
Despite our trio of heroic porters, at least one member of our group still managed to wipe out on the muddy trek. She’ll remain nameless.
Thankfully, no one had to be dramatically extracted from a mud pit. But it was still comforting to know that if the jungle decided to swallow us whole, we had backup.
Francios used the first hour of the trek to teach us how to communicate with the chimpanzees and most importantly how to show respect in case we accidentally “aggress them.”
Basically, you make a sound similar to clearing your throat to say a friendly hello. And you bow your head and fold your arms to show respect. I had rehearsed both of these in my head many times.
When we finally found the chimpanzees we all began attempting to speak chimp, “et hmm, et hmm, et hmm….”
One of them was sitting right in the middle of our hiking trail and Francios told one of us to go get a picture in front of it. But no one wanted to volunteer and somehow, I got voted to go. I was smiling for pictures, not looking toward the chimp, when Francios told me to slowly come back to the group.
The chimp was headed in our direction.
I was sure this would be the moment everything turned.
I could see the headline, “Tourist Loses Arm on Epic Chimpanzee Trekking Trip.”
Instead, the chimp turned and went downhill away from us.
Overall, they didn’t seem to care about us at all. At best they’d give us a glance and then go about whatever they were doing.
My favorite part was watching the chimps move from tree to tree high in the branches. They’re strong enough to pull an entire tree towards themselves as if it was made of rubber and then just swing from one tree branch to the next.
We were allowed an hour with the group of habituated chimps and then had to hike on. While the chimps were amazing, I wasn’t sad about this, because despite bringing lots of snacks, I was getting pretty hungry and we still had a solid journey back to the hotel.
Ziplining and Canopy Tour - Day 4
Apparently, I didn’t read the trip itinerary closely, because the zip lining and canopy tour was a total surprise. But this experience was amazing and I would absolutely recommend it.
And guess who we ran into at Nyungwe National Park as we were getting ready to zipline? Francios! Somehow, he was even happier today than he had been the day before. This made me wonder what kind of endorphins the being in the jungle must release.
The zipline course looked terrifying. We were so high and below was a plunging valley of trees. But I told myself and the rest of the group that we didn’t come all the way to Rwanda to not zip line.
Before we began the ziplines, our tour guides encouraged us to all have our rain jackets as we were in Rwanda’s “short rainy season” and it could rain at anytime. None of us did. We’d been too preoccupied with a mix of excitement and anxiety when we got out of the car. We figured we’d be fine.
We were not fine.
As we were completing the first of three ziplines, dark clouds began rolling in.
By the time we reached the platform for the second zip line we just accepted our fate of zip lining in pouring rain. But to my surprise, the rain only elevated the whole experience.
Rain falling on my face. Wind swirling in my ears. Forest stretching endlessly below.
The final zipline ended minutes from the Nyungwe Forest canopy bridge, so continuing on felt right. The suspension bridges didn’t deliver the same adrenaline rush, but the views were worth it. You can see all the layers of rainforest stretch in every direction.
After crossing the bridges, we faced a short but aggressive uphill hike back to the park entrance. My friend Kathy decided we should just “get it over with,” and basically jog up the path.
Her strategy sounded smart.
It felt terrible.
We did, however, all make it to the top - doubled over, gasping for air, and cursing Kathy under our breath.
By midday, we were muddy, soaked, exhilarated, and exhausted.
Then we settled in for our 5.5-hour drive back to Kigali, where we checked into Heaven Hotel for the next three days of our trip. We ended this long day grateful for hot showers, dry clothes and the thrill of adventure.
Thanks for reading The Real Housewife of Nigeria. The best way to support my writing is to share this post with someone who you want to take to Rwanda!
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.