From Gorillas to Golden Monkeys

The big male

The days were getting progressively more relaxing.

Today’s activity was a trek to see the golden monkeys. The meeting point and briefing were at the same park headquarters as the gorilla trek and the process was almost identical, although this time our group was slightly larger at twelve people.

Golden monkeys are an endangered species found only in the Virunga volcanic forests of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda has two habituated troops that can be visited by tourists, with permits costing around USD100 per person, a relative bargain compared with the USD1500 gorilla permits.

After the briefing we drove to the start of the trail. The walk began through farmland, and although the ground was muddy it was nowhere near as challenging as the previous day’s gorilla trek. Once we reached the boundary of the national park, we again left our backpacks with our porters and put on our masks before continuing into the forest.

As it turned out, we didn’t have to go far. The golden monkeys were right near the entrance, seemingly waiting for the opportunity to sneak into the fields and help themselves to the farmers’ potatoes.

Golden monkeys are instantly recognisable by their bright orange-gold fur and expressive faces. Unlike the more sedate gorillas, these monkeys rarely stay still. They are energetic and highly social animals, constantly moving through the bamboo forest in search of shoots, fruit and insects. That difference was immediately obvious. After the quiet, almost reverent experience of sitting with the gorillas the day before, the golden monkeys felt like pure chaos. They were climbing, jumping, chasing, wrestling and occasionally squabbling with each other, all while darting through the branches above our heads. They seemed entirely unconcerned by our presence, moving around us with confidence and curiosity.

As with the gorillas, visits are limited to one hour to minimise disturbance to the animals. It felt like plenty of time, though keeping track of them as they bounced from tree to tree required constant attention.

Good morning!

The hike could even be described as...pleasant

These cheeky buggers were hard to photograph!

But we managed a selfie

Farmland

Even with Jeff’s customary post-hike refreshment stop, the short hike meant we were back at the lodge by 11:30. Lunch followed, and the rest of the afternoon was deliberately uneventful: time in the hot tub, coffee, cocktail making, a short nap and catching up on blogging.

Our final evening at the lodge was a Chef’s Table experience with a tasting menu. We shared the dinner with a Canadian father-and-son duo whom we had chatted with a few times during our stay. Gabriel once again curated the wine pairings, adding another layer to what was already an excellent meal.

The food was superb — a memorable finale to our time here.

Carine always greeted us with a drink. This time sparkling tea. We took it to lunch. This was part 1 of lunch

This was part 2, the "tapas" style selection. Essentially a mini buffet for 2

Hot tub!

Cocktails by Mal

Table set up to for an interactive experience to watch the chef prepare our meal, as well as a wine pairing

Chef Felician was so full of joy like everyone else!

Deboned quail

Octopus

The best gnocchi with Kinigi potatoes

My favourite dish, red snapper