A Little Luxury...

Our very spacious and tastefully decorated room

Today we head to our final destination in Rwanda: Volcanoes National Park. Home to the endangered mountain gorillas and the main reason this entire trip exists.

We also saved the best resort for last.

Jeff drove us the five hours north-west through Rwanda’s endless green hills until we arrived at Singita Kwitonda Lodge, set right on the edge of the park. With only eleven suites, it is luxury on a scale we had never quite experienced before — the space, the furnishings, the inclusions, and the kind of seamless service where things appear before you’ve even realised you want them.

We may have briefly considered the financial implications of this decision (a kidney may or may not have been discussed)… but this was our birthday treat to ourselves and we were determined to enjoy every second of it.

Last coffee overlooking the tea plantation

As per usual, a packed lunchbox that was made to order

We were welcomed with a coffee sugar scrub to clean our hands, before being taken in to enjoy a welcome drink. This was my tea...

The conservation room, now made ugly by our rubbish. The 2 computers you can see has Lightroom and Photoshop installed for photo editing

Not enough time!

Guests are able to help themselves to this drinks and snack bar

Everything you can think of to make yourself a cocktail

Can't get enough of this view...

Our suite was fortunately ready when we arrived at 2:30pm, which gave us ample time to properly settle in and wander around saying “wow” at least fifty times. We took approximately one billion photos which, as always, completely failed to capture what the place actually felt like.

With the afternoon free, we explored the lodge’s “nursery”, the garden where much of the fruit, vegetables and herbs used in the kitchen are grown as part of the farm-to-table philosophy. Terraced beds spilled down the hillside and, tucked away at the bottom, was a small pottery hut. Our host had suggested it as an afternoon activity.

Waiting for us was Theo, who patiently guided two complete beginners through the delicate art of making a cup on the pottery wheel. Some of us required… more assistance than others. But it was enormous fun. Theo would then glaze it with our choice of colours and DHL our creations back to Sydney.

At 6pm, all guests scheduled to trek the gorillas the next morning gathered for an information session. Mountain Gorilla trekking is tightly controlled: only eight visitors are allowed per gorilla family per day, and the time with them is limited to one hour. The restrictions help protect the gorillas, whose total population only recently climbed above 1,000 individuals worldwide.

After the briefing we were taken to what can only be described as the expedition outfitting room, racks upon racks of gear available to borrow if needed: backpacks, waterproof pants, jackets, gloves, gaiters, trekking poles… everything required to survive a muddy Rwandan mountainside. It all suddenly felt very real.

Dinner followed, which was excellent as expected but we didn't linger too long.

Tomorrow is gorilla day. And that means another early start.

Our suite is like a mini-home complete with its own driveway

Sound bath anyone? View of Mount Sabyinyo, one of the 3 volcanoes visible from the lodge

Bathroom. Yes that is a massage table in the middle

The cleaning options were endless. Outdoor shower, indoor shower, bath

The sitting area of our room

So much packed into that little corner

Once again garnishes for drinks

A mini dining room should we choose to dine in our suite

The mini bar has the all important amarula!

Some of the alcohol included. That whisky is a 18 year old Glen Fiddich

More ingredients

Painting anyone? There was also jenga, scrabble with dictionary of course, backgammon, chess...

Impressive garden

We can do this!

It was harder than it looked

Thank you Theo

The final product!

Of course, pottery might make us thirsty so lemongrass magically appeared

Time for a briefing!

In case we were hungry again

Their bread and butter here are excellent! Our resolve never to fill our stomachs with carbs never holds

Three cheese souffle for entree

Lovely little touches at turn down. Torch by the bedside and lip balm

Aromatherapy to calm us

Candles lit in case we wanted a bath

Our gear delivered to our room

They've packed everything...

You could come here with nothing and be ok to trek

Oh I had to post this because it is my favourite. Amarula ice-cream!

Chimps & Cardio

Chimpanzee. He refused to turn to face me!

Another day, another 5am start. Today that sacrifice was made to see the chimpanzees.

We borrowed gaiters from the lodge and had an actual human assigned to help us put them on, fill our water bottles, and check we were adequately equipped for rainforest battle. Our pre-ordered breakfast box was waiting. Someone even handed me a café latte to go. Please let me take one of you home...

It took a while to drive deep into Nyungwe National Park to reach the trekking start point. Along the way we collected our guide, met the rest of the group, and received a briefing. We were also offered the option of hiring porters — to carry backpacks or physically haul us up muddy inclines if required. Pride said no, as did the BO wafting towards me from some of the porters...

By the time we began, it was almost 7:30am. The trek was hard yakka but we survived...just.

Nyungwe rainforest is dense, steep, humid and not remotely interested in your step count goals. The trackers had already located the chimpanzees and were in radio contact with the guide, but that didn’t mean the chimpanzees were waiting politely for us. We had to keep moving. And at a decent pace.

We could hear them long before we saw them — loud, piercing calls echoing through the canopy. When we finally caught up, we found a subgroup of 14 chimps, part of a wider community of about 50.

They do not pose. They swing. They climb. They disappear. They reappear. They force you to scramble after them on slippery slopes. At one point, the trackers were literally slashing through vegetation with machetes to clear a path as well as to create footholds in the mud.

I was drenched in sweat. Completely. Battle ants declared war. Their bites hurt. My cardiovascular system was screaming for mercy. Mal’s hips were quietly negotiating their resignation. But we saw them. Properly. Up close. And we were told not all groups are that lucky.

We finished at 10:30am victorious but exhausted.

Only one chimp trekking group runs per day here, always in the morning, with a maximum of eight guests. It’s highly sought after in peak season. The trackers follow the chimps all day until they nest for the night. They wake up before the chimps and continue to track them so they can then radio their final coordinates to let the guides know where to begin the next morning. It’s part wildlife science, part strategic pursuit.

Dr Livingstone I presume?

Gaitors on loan. Not all gaitors were made equal as we found out on the trek.

Our breakfast to go! In there I had yoghurt, granola, fruit and donuts!

They had walking sticks that we could borrow and yes do borrow them

Still smiling at the beginning.

That was how steep the terrain was

Work smarter not harder. At one point I sent my phone with the tracker at the front to get some footage

Um don't ask old ladies to take photos. She was supposed to take one of us and the chimp but she included someone's butt instead

A bit Planet of the Apes-ish. Caesar

Still standing...somehow

By the time we returned to One&Only Nyungwe House, the rain had started and we had nothing left to prove. We made the executive decision to abandon the canopy walk and lean into recovery mode instead. Hot bath. Outdoor lunch with a view of the soothing greens of the tea plantation. An unexpectedly fascinating tea experience. Then a nap of the deeply earned variety. Dinner was delightful as always.

Tomorrow we leave this rainforest and head to another national park. Rwanda really does not believe in half measures.

Ah....something thoughtful

Very much needed

Lunch time!

Every meal we say we'll skip they bread...but they are so yummy

The bartender's own concoction

Mushroom arancinis. Mini bursts of flavour

Amazing squid pasta

Tea experience!

This is the leaf you want to pick

When you have tea tasting, these are the palate cleansers apparently

3 different grades of premium tea

A timer is required for proper steeping

I've already forgotten what the letters stand for

Tasting time

Finally sun!

The pool. Each seat also comes with a hat, sunscreen and moisturiser

Bar is there, Mal is satisfied

My hiking boots are now cleaner than when they were when they got here pre-hike

Cake. But disappointed that there was no joyful singing. Perhaps that didn't fit with the elegant feel

Dinner

One last surprise