From: Priscilla Brewster [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2015 11:32 AM
To: Linda Hoeschler
Subject: Re: Rwanda Gorilla trek
Linda,
You will have a wonderful trip. Lucky you!
Dress is casual. We visited a very poor school. No uniforms for the children. We were in our hiking clothes. In Uganda it was suggested we not wear shorts. It was not terribly hot and wearing long pants was not a bother. I did not bring any business casual clothes. I did bring a nice comfortable pair of trousers for dinner in the hotel. We stayed at good, higher end hotels. I did bring a skirt which I never wore. For dinner you could probably wear, most nights except those in a capital city, a clean pair of hiking pants. Some of our hotels did our laundry, but only if we stayed two nights.
On the gorilla trek be prepared for rain. No umbrella, but a waterproof jacket and rain pants. I used light golf rain pants pulled over hiking pants. You can get them at REI, Eddie Bauer or the other store that just opened at the mall of america in the Bloomingdales’ space. I ordered from the catalogues, too. Boots should be waterproof. The hotel will clean your boots complimentary after your hike. The guides will give you a hiking stick. I actually rented a long rain duster coat to wear over my rain jacket at our hotel at the parc de volcanos, but a poncho is a good idea as it will cover your camera in front. I did not have one. There are porters and they will carry your backpack so it it rains it will get wet. Put items in plastic bags in your back pack. We had clear skies one day and pouring rain the next for the golden monkeys. I wore the rain pants anyway to protect my hiking pants from the vegetation. Bring work gloves. I found these essential. You are pulling yourself up and hanging onto vegetation. It really helps to have the gloves. I wore a hat, too. I always do. There were not many mosquitos. I did not have a problem with bugs, but you should take the malaria pills. And get a yellow fever shot. When you get near the gorillas you will leave your backpack with your porter and just take your camera to the gorillas. Make sure you have pockets then to carry camera lenses if you are traveling with more than one lens. I found having a vest is a good idea. Travelsmith also has safari clothing type clothing. I brought wet wipes (baby wipes), kleenex packs. Kept them in my vest pockets for those necessary stops on the road.
You will be around 6,000 feet so it can be chilly in the morning. You will warm up pretty quickly hiking to the gorillas. I wore tee shirts on travel and safari days and long sleeve shirts when I hiked to the gorillas. You want to protect yourself from the vegetation.
You will need dollars to tip the porters. It is amazing how fast that money goes. You have one porter and then there is the main guide and you might have to give something to the trackers who follow the gorillas the day before. I gave three to five to ten dollars to all these people. I also exchanged some money at the airport in Uganda. You can haggle a bit on the exchange rate. I like to have some local currency especially if you are buying roadside items. A credit card is really not necessary. Use cash so bring american dollars. Our bill in Kigali was presented in dollars and I paid any extras I had in american dollars. I did not have any Rwandan currency. We spent more time in Uganda and flew in there so I got that currency. I am sure your trip organizer can assist with the financial planning.
I think that about sums it up. If you have any further questions do email.
Have a wonderful trip. This is an exciting adventure.
Priscilla
Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2015 11:32 AM
To: Linda Hoeschler
Subject: Re: Rwanda Gorilla trek
Linda,
You will have a wonderful trip. Lucky you!
Dress is casual. We visited a very poor school. No uniforms for the children. We were in our hiking clothes. In Uganda it was suggested we not wear shorts. It was not terribly hot and wearing long pants was not a bother. I did not bring any business casual clothes. I did bring a nice comfortable pair of trousers for dinner in the hotel. We stayed at good, higher end hotels. I did bring a skirt which I never wore. For dinner you could probably wear, most nights except those in a capital city, a clean pair of hiking pants. Some of our hotels did our laundry, but only if we stayed two nights.
On the gorilla trek be prepared for rain. No umbrella, but a waterproof jacket and rain pants. I used light golf rain pants pulled over hiking pants. You can get them at REI, Eddie Bauer or the other store that just opened at the mall of america in the Bloomingdales’ space. I ordered from the catalogues, too. Boots should be waterproof. The hotel will clean your boots complimentary after your hike. The guides will give you a hiking stick. I actually rented a long rain duster coat to wear over my rain jacket at our hotel at the parc de volcanos, but a poncho is a good idea as it will cover your camera in front. I did not have one. There are porters and they will carry your backpack so it it rains it will get wet. Put items in plastic bags in your back pack. We had clear skies one day and pouring rain the next for the golden monkeys. I wore the rain pants anyway to protect my hiking pants from the vegetation. Bring work gloves. I found these essential. You are pulling yourself up and hanging onto vegetation. It really helps to have the gloves. I wore a hat, too. I always do. There were not many mosquitos. I did not have a problem with bugs, but you should take the malaria pills. And get a yellow fever shot. When you get near the gorillas you will leave your backpack with your porter and just take your camera to the gorillas. Make sure you have pockets then to carry camera lenses if you are traveling with more than one lens. I found having a vest is a good idea. Travelsmith also has safari clothing type clothing. I brought wet wipes (baby wipes), kleenex packs. Kept them in my vest pockets for those necessary stops on the road.
You will be around 6,000 feet so it can be chilly in the morning. You will warm up pretty quickly hiking to the gorillas. I wore tee shirts on travel and safari days and long sleeve shirts when I hiked to the gorillas. You want to protect yourself from the vegetation.
You will need dollars to tip the porters. It is amazing how fast that money goes. You have one porter and then there is the main guide and you might have to give something to the trackers who follow the gorillas the day before. I gave three to five to ten dollars to all these people. I also exchanged some money at the airport in Uganda. You can haggle a bit on the exchange rate. I like to have some local currency especially if you are buying roadside items. A credit card is really not necessary. Use cash so bring american dollars. Our bill in Kigali was presented in dollars and I paid any extras I had in american dollars. I did not have any Rwandan currency. We spent more time in Uganda and flew in there so I got that currency. I am sure your trip organizer can assist with the financial planning.
I think that about sums it up. If you have any further questions do email.
Have a wonderful trip. This is an exciting adventure.
Priscilla