Golden Monkeys
Up really early today – 3:30 AM. I’d love to say it was in anticipation of going to see the Golden Monkeys but I’m afraid it has to do more with jet lag. But…I was still excited to see the endangered Golden Monkeys. Tickets were sold out online back in May when I bought my Mountain Gorilla permit so all I could do is get there early to try and grab one of the tickets they reserve for walk up customers. So, breakfast at 5:45 AM and following my GPS to the Volcanoes National Park headquarters. The briefings for both the Golden Monkey trek and the Mountain Gorilla trek start at 7:00 AM so I was shooting for being there no later than 6:40 AM. And I had my trusty Google Maps to guide me so I was sure it was no problem. And…I rolled up at 6:59 AM without a ticket. Fortunately, they weren’t very punctual and I was able to grab a ticket.
After getting the ticket, I stood around with a group of about 100 people as we waited for our respective briefings. If you are traveling without a tour, you have to ask around to find a group that is doing the trek you are there for (Golden Monkey vs. Mountain Gorilla).
There are four groups of Golden Monkeys and the group my guide was assigned to were close to the park edge. After a 15-minute drive from the park headquarters and a 20-minute walk through the local farms, we were at the park boundary. Another strenuous (sarcasm) 3-minute walk into the park and we were amongst the leading edge of the group. The individuals within the group were constantly moving and eating. Seldom did I see any member stay in one location more than a couple of minutes. The preferred diet is bamboo (and potatoes from the local farmers fields) but it appeared that they ate everything green they came across. A number of photos from the visit are posted here.
The group of individuals that I was assigned to included two Italians, three South Africans, a Pole, another American, and two brothers from Scotland. The brothers were self-driving (riding) around Rwanda on the Chinese equivalents of small BMW GS’s.
After the Golden Monkey visit it was back to the hotel for lunch and a nap. Lunch was great and included a couple of beers. The nap lasted until about 6:00 PM. Less than ideal when trying to overcome jet lag.