Photo Safari - Gorillas in February 2011

Quick Facts

Read a trip report from a previous tour.

Overview

Join me for an awesome photo safari to East Africa in February 2011 to see and photograph gorillas in the best environment for photography – Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda. This safari will be unlike most other African safaris because the shooting will be done on the ground after hiking to the subjects. It's a wonderful experience to be in close proximity to these close relatives of ours in their natural habitat.

Gorilla trekking in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda, is an amazing experience. After breakfast at our lodge, we'll drive to the park entrance and find out which habituated group of gorillas we'll be visiting that day. (The habituation began with Dian Fossey's research work.) There are four groups of habituated gorillas open to visitors, and with five days of gorilla trekking we should be able to see all four. Each group of habituated gorillas gets visited by only one tourist group per day, and the visit is limited to one hour. The one hour visit is usually very productive, and for first-time visitors the emotional impact is immense! We'll usually find the gorillas after hiking for one to two hours while they're resting and feeding during the late morning. While the humans are instructed to get no closer than 7 m (about 23 ft) from the gorillas, the gorillas don't quite understand the rules, and it's common for the younger gorillas to approach quite closely and even try to touch a human before they're encouraged to move away by the local guides. After our hour is up, we'll head back to the lodge in time for lunch there or at a restaurant in the nearby town. Then we'll usually head out into the countryside to shoot landscapes and locals for the afternoon.

This safari is intended for photographers, or serious naturalists, who want to spend some amazing quality time with some of our closest living relatives. The safari is limited to five (5) participants, and is physically demanding. We will be hiking for an hour or two each way, up and down steep slopes, and at elevations of 7500 to 8700 ft (2250 to 2650 m). So, couch potatoes living near sea level would have a hard time even with porters carrying our gear. Electricity will be available at our accommodations to power laptops and charge camera batteries.

Several airlines fly to Nairobi, and airfare to Nairobi is not included in the fee so that you can earn or use your own frequent-flyer miles. KLM/Delta provides reliable service from Amsterdam, and has a generous carry-on policy. Many people find it useful to arrive in Nairobi a day before the safari starts in order to recover from jet lag.

This safari is scheduled to mesh with my Tanzania in Feb 2011 safari, so join me for both to make the most of your air travel.

Fee includes:

• All accommodation and meals (no meals on Day 1)
• Bottled water at meals and in the vehicles
• Flight from Nairobi to Kigali and back
• Ground transportation within Kenya
• National Park entrance fees
• Gorilla trekking fees

Fee does not include:

• Airfare to Nairobi
• Personal laundry and miscellaneous personal expenses
• Soft drinks and alcoholic drinks
• Tips to bar staff
• Gratuities for local guides
• Gratuities for camp/lodge staff
• Visa fees

to book or inquire about this tour.

Itinerary

Day 1	Feb 19	Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya Transfer to the Nairobi Serena Hotel (no meals included today)
Day 2	Feb 20	Breakfast at the Nairobi Serena Hotel Fly to Kigali, Rwanda Lunch Drive to Gorilla Mountain View Lodge near Volcanoes National Park Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge
Days 3-6	Feb 21-24	Breakfast at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge Gorilla trekking Lunch Tour the countryside Dinner and overnight at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge
Day 7	Feb 25	Breakfast at Gorilla Mountain View Lodge Gorilla trekking Lunch Drive to Kigali Visit the Kigali Memorial Center, a genocide museum Dinner and overnight at Kigali Serena
Day 8	Feb 26	Breakfast at Kigali Serena Fly to Nairobi, Kenya Depart for home

to book or inquire about this tour.

Read a trip report from a previous tour.