There are some experiences in life that simply cannot be explained and can only be experienced in the flesh. Tracking Mountain Gorillas through high altitude bamboo forest and finally glimpsing these gentle giants is one such experience! Perhaps it is their impressive size, with silverback males weighing in at two hundred kilograms. Perhaps it is their highly endangered conservation status or movies like ‘Gorillas in the Mist’? Whatever the reason, an encounter with these gentle giants transcends the physical and touches one on a much deeper level. This is an experience of a lifetime as Gorillas are one of our planet’s most wonderful creatures!

There is perhaps no better place to experience Mountain Gorillas than Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. It is here where approximately half of the world’s remaining Mountain Gorilla population resides and indeed where the legendary American primatologist, Diane Fossey, set up her research station and made her home at Karisoke for nearly 20 years.

In an exclusive offer, ODP Safaris is offering a four-day Gorilla trekking photographic safari to photograph the Mountain Gorillas with professional wildlife photographer Greg du Toit as your personal photographic host.

Itinerary:

Day1:
On Thursday 21 October 2010, we fly with Rwanda Air from Jhb to Kigali, the capital of Rwanda. This flight is 4 hours long and we land in Kigali early in the morning at 04h45. After enjoying a delicious breakfast buffet at a hotel in Kigali we then travel about 3 hours by road into the Virunga Mountains to our base camp called Mountain Gorilla View Lodge. The day will be spent relaxing, recovering from our night flight and preparing our camera equipment/minds for the next couple of day’s Gorilla trekking…

Day 2 & 3:
An early start with some breakfast before assembling at 7am at the national park headquarters for a briefing on how to behave in the presence of the gentle giants. We will meet our specialist gorilla-tracking guide who works for the Rwandan Parks Authority, before proceeding to the starting point of the hike. The length and intensity of the hike will be dependent on the weather and location of the gorillas. A reasonable level of fitness is required as the guides can vary the intensity and speed of the hike. It is important to bring good hiking boots, long trousers and gloves to protect you from stinging nettles. The tropical forest is hot and you will need to bring your own water bottle and some sugar supplements (sweets, biscuits etc) to help sustain energy levels. Pack an extra pair of shoes as it can be muddy! If all goes according to plan we will track down the gorillas and spend an hour in their presence, which is a totally unique and wonderful experience. For conservation reasons, we are only allowed one hour with the gorillas so as not to hinder their natural behaviour or movement patterns and to avoid the risk of us transferring viral infections to the primates. After we have spent our hour with the gorillas we return to base and repeat the same routine the next day. The trekking can take anything from 4 hours to 8 hours depending on where the troop is located. There is no extra time allowance for photographers and no flashes are allowed. We therefore recommend fast lenses and cameras that can shoot at high ISO’s. These can be rented from ODP.

Day 4:
We wake up at leisure and have a late breakfast before driving back to Kigali. We have an Al’ Carte early dinner before transferring to the airport for our flight out. We land back in JHB on Sunday 24 October at 23h15 pm.

Cost:

The cost per person sharing is $3604.00
The cost per single person is $ n/a (Please Contact Us)

The above cost includes three nights and four days with all meals and transfers.

The cost also includes two gorilla trekking permits per person, which cost $500 each for one hour with the gorillas per day. This is non negotiable and a standard throughout Rwanda and Uganda.

The cost includes having a professional photographer accompany you.

The above cost does NOT include return flight Jhb to Kigali (Rwanda)

This flight can only be booked through Rwandair Express (www.rwandair.com). Currently this flight is costing R8110 return.

The above cost does NOT include drinks and personal travel insurance as well as yellow fever certificates.

Please note that the above cost is based on a total minimum group size of four people. If you would like a private trip or there are only two people booked, then the cost will change but we will quote on this separately if the need arises and or if a private trip is requested.

Also, please note that the Gorilla permits are controlled and issued by the Rwandan government. Currently the permits are charged out at a cost of $500 per person per day, which is reflected in the above quote. There is an outside chance that this fee could be increased without warning and in the unlikely event that this does happen, we will adjust the costing accordingly.

Please note: all bookings and payment must be in 8 months before departure to ensure space and permits. Rwanda government only issues a certain number of permits per year!