A 16-day mammal and bird watching holiday to the forests and mountains of Rwanda in search of Mountain Gorillas, Chimpanzees and a wealth of other animal and birdlife.

Following independence this small Central African nation leaped to fame as the land of 'Gorillas in the Mist', adopted home of Dian Fossey and the most important refuge for the rare Mountain Gorilla. Gorilla tracking in the Virungas is the country's premier attraction, supplemented by the wildlife and game of Akegera National Park, the incredible biodiversity of the extensive Nyungwe Rainforest and the beautiful Lake Kivu.

This is a traditional mammal and birdwatching safari with leisurely walks in the forest reserves and game drives in Akagera National Park; please note that some of the forest trails can be steep and uneven in places and are poorly maintained. The day's Mountain Gorilla tracking can be very strenuous, however, but is an experience not is missed! Chimp tracking in Nyungwe can also be tiring.

A typically equatorial climate ensures that the weather will be varied, and you may encounter some rain. Days will generally be warm, hot at lower altitudes, but overcast conditions are frequent, particularly in the forest and mountain areas.

The cloud forest of the Virungas can be cold and damp so please bring a rain coat and a fleece! Nights will be mild to warm, cooler at higher altitudes.

Date: 10th September - 25th September 2006

Itinerary

DAY 1 (Saturday, 10th September) IN FLIGHT

We depart from Heathrow airport on a Kenya Airways or British Airways scheduled overnight flight to Nairobi, Kenya.

DAYS 2 - 4 (Sunday, 11th - Tuesday, 13th September) AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK

Arriving into Nairobi early morning we connect with a Kenya Airways flight to Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda, arriving around midday. After passing through the formalities of immigration and customs we will meet our local guides and drive east for around three hours to Akagera National Park. The re-building of Kigali will be much in evidence as we travel, though the cavities of shells and bullet marks on the government buildings are a reminder of the recent past. On arrival at Akagera, a mere 30 minutes from the Tanzanian border, we will check into the comfortable Akagera Game Lodge our base for the next 3-nights of the tour.

Set at a relatively low altitude on the border with Tanzania, Akagera National Park is dominated scenically by a labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow the meandering course of the Akagera River. Although much reduced in the past few years, Akagera still covers approximately 90,000 hectares of archetypal African savannah landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open grasslands and reed-fringed swamps. Whilst the park has the feel of an East African game reserve you should not come with the idea of finding the same concentrations of game to be found in the neighbouring national parks of Kenya and Tanzania. Akagera is home to a variety of game but not the large herds of other east African destinations. Nevertheless, this is still an exciting reserve in which to spend a few days and an interesting contrast to the more mountainous latter days of the tour. There are still plenty of animals around and the birdlife is quite exceptional. Mammals include a healthy population of Elephant and Buffalo, plus 11 species of antelope including Impala, Common Duiker, Defassa Waterbuck, Bushbuck, Oribi, Tsessebe, Cape Eland and the rare Sable Antelope. Hippos are present in impressive numbers in the lakes and rivers and Zebra and Giraffe still roam the more open acacia dotted plains. Incidentally, the current population of around 30 'Masai' Giraffe are descendants of a herd introduced from Kenya in 1975.

The birdlife remains as abundant as ever and includes such species as Martial Eagle, Bateleur, Grey Kestrel, Blue-naped Mousebird, Broad-billed Roller, Bennett's Woodpecker, Blue-headed Coucal, Lesser and Greater Honeyguides, Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike, Black Tit and Pin-tailed Whydah. Lesser Striped Swallows and Lilac-breasted Rollers will be among the birds in the grounds of our lodge, together with other East African species such as Red-cheeked Cordon-bleus, White-headed Black Chats, and the Red-faced Barbet, a speciality of the park and rift valley endemic.

We will spend our time here exploring the wide range of habitats to be found within Akagera National Park. On one day we will concentrating our efforts on the eastern third of the park, where an extensive network of wetlands, dominated by a series of small to medium sized lakes are to be found. Some of these lakes support large swathes of papyrus swamp, home to the rarely seen but mythical Dodo-like bird, the Shoebill. Waterbirds are plentiful here and we are sure to encounter a wide range of heron species including Goliath, Purple, Squacco and Rufous-bellied Herons, plus other waterbirds such as African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork, African Darter, Spur-winged Goose, Long-toed Lapwing and Spur-winged Plover. Overhead hunting Pied Kingfishers hang in the air and in the light woodland of the lakeside we hope to find such sought after species as Ross’s Turaco and Papyrus Gonolek. To increase our chances of seeing both Shoebill and the enigmatic, but extremely shy, Sitatunga Antelope we hope to organise a boat to take us around Lac Ihema. Both of these denizens of the papyrus swamps are extremely elusive and difficult to locate, but with a little luck and the knowledge of the local guides we just may strike lucky. Other rare swamp dwellers include Lesser Moorhen, Red-chested Pygmy Crake, White-winged Warbler and Carruther's Cisticola, whereas commoner inhabitants include African Marsh Harrier, Black Crake, Southern Carmine Bee-eater and Norhern Brown-throated Weaver. We are also sure to encounter many Hippos, which are still present in the park in impressive numbers.

In the evening we hope to organise a night drive to search for some of the nocturnal residents. These are likely to include sightings of Bushbaby, Blotched (Large-spotted) Genet and possibly leopard.

We will also spend a morning ascending towards the high grasslands of the Mutumba Hills, where we have our best chance of seeing Oribi, Topi and Eland with the possibility of sighting Bohor Reedbuck. A wide range of raptors are present in Akagera and as well as Lizard Buzzards, Brown Snake and Long crested Eagles, there is the chance of White-backed and Ruppell's Griffon Vultures, Bataleur, Marshall Eagle and more familiar palaearctic species such as Tawny Eagle and Black-shouldered Kite. We will also search for some of the species more associated with the Brachystegia woodland of southern Tanzania such as Crested Barbet and Souza’s Shrike.

DAY 5 (Wednesday, 14th September) KIGALI

This morning we will have the chance of an early morning game drive from Akagera, before setting off after lunch to Kigali. In the afternoon we will visit the Genocide memorial in Kigali. One cannot begin to understand the achievements of Rwanda since 1994, until the sheer horror of the genocide and the countries colonial history is grasped. The Kigali memorial has taken many years to complete as its open criticism of the UN and the west has limited funding sources. The memorial takes one through the colonial history and events that led up to the genocide, and brings home to us the constant repetition within the human race of systematic killing of one minority by another. It enables one to comprehend, if not understand, the scale of the horror that the survivors of this country have endured. Visiting the memorial is critical to gain an insight into this remarkable country, whilst clutching on to the positive thought that Hutus and Tutsi’s are now rebuilding the country together. We stay this evening in a comfortable Kigali hotel.

DAY 6 (Thursday, 15th September) NYUNGWE FOREST

Today is largely a day of travel as we head southwest to the wonderful rainforest reserve of Nyungwe. As we leave Kigali, the small marsh on our right reveals the source of the Nile that eluded Livingstone. We will stop briefly in Nynza to visit the traditional ancient palace of the Mwami (Rwandan king) before heading south to Butare, where we will take lunch, with the chance to purchase handicrafts. On our way to Nyungwe Forest we can, for those who wish, arrange a visit the shocking genocide memorial at Murambi where over 27,000 people lost their lives.

We will arrive at Uwinka in the late afternoon, to stay at the ORTPN Resthouse, on the edge of the reserve and the Gisakura Tea estate, our base for the next 4 nights. Incidentally ORTPN stands for 'Office Rwandais du Tourisme et des Parcs Nationaux' - the Rwanda Tourist Board.

DAY 7 (Friday, 16th September) NYUNGWE FOREST

The wildlife of the Nyungwe Forest is dramatically different to that of Akagera. Nyungwe is one of the last remaining substantial rainforest belts that once covered the extent of the Albertine Rift and the largest tract of montane forest left in Africa. As a consequence it is a hugely important area for both mammals and birds. A amazing 13 species of primate are found here, including Chimpanzee, Ruwenzori Colobus, and the stunning l’Houst’s Monkey. The reserve has recorded 29 of the 37 Albertine Rift endemics including the almost unknown Albertine Owlet, a bird we will make a special effort to see.

Our first morning will involve a walk into pristine and dramatic forest as we follow a ridge to an area of swamp. Here there is the chance of seeing l’Hoest’s and Silver Monkeys and, if really fortunate, perhaps the rare Dent’s Mona Monkey. The other focus of the morning walk will be the diverse birdlife that occurs at Nyungwe and, although forest birding can be difficult and frustrating at times, we would hope to see such species as Red-collared Mountain Babbler, Great Blue Turaco, Rwenzori Turaco, Handsome Francolin, Regal Sunbird, White-headed Woodhoopoe, Mountain Masked, Black-throated and Chestnut throated Apalis and Mountain Greenbul. Amongst the ground vegetation we will search for Red-faced Crombec, and Short-tailed Warbler, whilst rift endemics species such as Rwenzori Batis, Double-collared Sunbird, Kivu Ground Chat and Grauer’s Warbler are all possible.

In the afternoon, should we have yet to encounter Rwenzori Colubus we will travel to an area where a habituated group is present. These handsome primates are often seen in troops numbering several hundred individuals and are certainly one of the many highlights present in this wonderfully diverse area. We would also hope to encounter a different range of birds here, species more associated with the rainforest edge.

Should conditions be favourable we will take a night walk in the hope of encountering some of the four species of prosimian, or possibly a African Civet or a Serval as well as trying to find some of the rare night birds, such as Rwenzori Nightjar, of this unique forest. We will overnight once again at the simple ORTPN Resthouse.

DAY 8 (Saturday, 17th September) NYUNGWE FOREST

This morning the pace of the walk will change as we try to track Chimpanzee. This will be likely to involve a long trek into the forest at a rate too quick to enjoy any of the rainforest birds, but the excitement will be palpable as we follow our guides to try and catch a glimpse of these very shy apes. We are sure to hear their eerie cries drifting through the forest and, if fortune walks with us, we may even catch sight of the animals themselves. During the morning's walk we are also likely to encounter other troops of primates including Grey-cheeked Mangabey and more Rwenzori Colobus. The walking is likely to be quite strenuous this morning, so in the afternoon we will enjoy a more leisurely wildlife outing. Finally we return to the ORTPN Resthouse for our third night in the forest.

DAY 9 (Sunday, 18th September) NYUNGWE FOREST

We will spend our final day at Nyungwe exploring the Kamiranzovu waterfall trail. Having returned to our leisurely walking pace once more, we can explore at a speed more suited to searching for birds and mammals such as Rwenzori Turaco, Yellow-eyed Black Flycatcher, Bar-tailed Trogon, Elliott's Woodpecker and Red-throated Alethe as well as a selection of primates. We return to the ORTPN Resthouse once more for our final night in Nyungwe Forest.

DAY 10 (Monday, 19th September) KIBUYI

This morning we can enjoy our last walk in the Nyungwe Forest before continuing west after breakfast towards Cyangugu and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Turning north before the border, we will take a poor road, which skirts the edge of Lake Kivo, passing through picturesque tea plantations, to our overnight stop at Kibuyi on the shore of the Lake. We will overnight at a simple hotel in Kibuyi, from where we can enjoy an early evening drink whilst watching the waterbirds of the lake flying over to roost.

DAY 11 (Tuesday, 20th September) PARC NATIONAL DES VOLCANS

This morning, after an early breakfast, we will continue north towards the Parc National des Volcans, Volcanoes National Park. En route we will stop at the edge of the fragmented forest reserve of Gishwati. In the 1930s this reserve rivalled Nyungwe in size, but deforestation and agricultural encroachment has sadly reduced and divided this once pristine forest into two separate blocks of woodland covering less than 280 square miles. It does remain an interesting place for wildlife, especially birds, however, and our brief foray into the forest could reveal a few more of the montane rift endemics.

On leaving Gishwati we will travel a further 40 kilometres to lunch in Gisenyi, the most northerly port on the Rwandan part of Lake Kivu. Here we will sit near the shores of the lake amongst the splendour of old colonial buildings and the roosting fruit bats and enjoy a good meal. If time permits, we may be able to arrange a visit the Imbabazi orphanage, established by Rosamond Hasley Carr, a close friend of Dian Fossey.

The final leg of the journey will take approximately two hours after which we will check into our comfortable lodge for the next three days and overlooking the Parc National des Volcans

DAYS 12/14 (Wednesday, 21st - Friday, 23rd September) PARC NATIONAL DES VOLCANS

We now have our final 3 full days to explore the lush cloud forests of the Virunga Volcanoes and the opportunity to undertake one of the most moving and thrilling wildlife experiences this planet has to offer, a face to face encounter with a Mountain Gorilla. The Parc National Des Volcans protects the Rwandan side of the Virunga Mountains and covers 13,000 hectares of cloud forest, bamboo forest, tall Hagania woodland and afro-alpine moorland. It was here that Dian Fossey brought the plight of the Gorilla to the world's attention in the 1970s and it was here that she was buried in 1985. Her legacy lives on, however, and the Gorillas of the Virungas now number in excess of 300 individuals (of which around 140 live on the Rwandan side), almost double the population of 30 years ago. The forests here are more open than neighbouring Uganda and the gorillas are generally easier to find and watch. An encounter with such a powerful but gentle animal, so similar to ourselves in many ways, is a very poignant experience impossible to put in to words, but one that will live in the memory for ever and provide a fitting finale to our time in Rwanda.

We include one Gorilla Permit in the cost of the holiday, which entitles the holder to spend one hour with one of the habituated Gorilla groups. Additional permits for a second day's tracking may be available at an additional cost. Should there be a choice, the more athletic members of the group may wish to undertake the 2-6 hour walk to see the Susan Group. The length of the walk is unpredictable, but it ascends quite steeply up the slopes of Mount Karaoke. In 2004 the Susan Group was found within an hour and a half, but three to six hours seem a more usual time-span. The advantage of this group is that it numbers 35 individuals including three silverback males, Purina, Wakened and Nyagakanga, along with several youngsters including twins. This can lead to an unpredictable encounter with Gorillas appearing from everywhere, once you have caught up with them.

A Visit to the Sabinyo Group will offer a far less exhausting walk of 30-90 minutes on a far more gentle gradient. The Sabinyo Group consists of nine individuals, which includes two silverbacks. Observers of both groups claim that the Sabinyo Group is more cohesive and so tend to yield more examples of interactive behaviour and socialisation. There may also be the chance to visit Group Thirteen if they are on the Rwandan side of the border or the Amahoro Group, whose distance from base is intermediate in difficulty between Susa and Sabinyo.

As previously mentioned, on finding the Gorillas you will be allowed exactly 1 hour with them. Please note that on rare occasions this can be shortened at the discretion of the tracker/guide should he feel that the Gorillas are becoming distressed. Please can we also ask you to take careful note of the information on the rules and regulations of Gorilla tracking, a copy of which will be sent to you on booking. Depending on the whereabouts of the Gorilla group in question you may return to the lodge around lunch time or late afternoon. The rest of the afternoon is therefore free to relax or birdwatch in the lodge grounds.

During our time in the Parc National des Volcans we will also head out in search of the little-known Golden Monkey, an endangered bamboo-associated race of the Blue Monkey endemic to the Albertine Rift. Now believed to be extinct from both Gishwati and Nyungwe, Volcanoes National Park holds the only viable population of this attractive species, one that has only recently been habituated to humans. Birdwatching is difficult whilst Gorilla tracking, but this walk should be more leisurely and give us more time to look for some of the 180 species of bird that inhabit the park. These may include such species as Rwenzori Turaco, Rwenzori Batis, Strange Weaver, Archers Ground-Robin, Red-faced Woodland Warbler, Dusky Crimson-wing and Great Sparrowhawk.

On our final day in the park will either be spent walking to the nearby crater lakes, or it may be possible to walk to Dian Fossey’s grave and the gorilla cemetery at her research station at Karisoke. It was here that Dian was buried next to her beloved silverback gorilla, Digit, and it is certainly a poignant place worthy of our time.

DAY 15 (Saturday, 24th September) IN FLIGHT

This morning we must sadly leave the Parc National des Volcans and drive back to Kigali in time to catch an early afternoon flight to Nairobi. Here we will connect with a late evening Kenya Airways flight back to London.

DAY 16 (Sunday, 25th September) LONDON

Food and Accommodation:

All accommodation and meals are included in the cost of this holiday, except for the evening meal on Day 15. Accommodation is generally of a fairly simple but comfortable nature, the majority of places having private facilities.

Please note that you should not expect to stay in luxurious lodges on this holiday. Whilst facilities in Rwanda are improving hotels and lodges are not of the standard to be found in other African destinations.

Price Guide:

Total cost inc. flights - £3,045

Or (Kigali/Kigali) Excluding international flights - £2,645

Call 01903 816500 for further details or email info@exquisiteworld.com