Ode to Nokia

In a world of growth, you stay proudly small

Compact, simple, discreet

Jelly-like buttons and a sliding back

Great for bored fidgeting

Your games are a no-internet refuge

That insatiable snake

Height of design, the most useful of all

Your double-click flashlight

I wouldn’t change one thing about you, but

If I could, some advice,

Please lose your friend T9

Gorillas and Volcanoes in the DRC

We were originally drawn to the hike up Mt. Nyiragongo- the active volcano looming over Goma, a border town in the DRC. There are maybe 6 other places in the world where it’s possible to see an active lava lake. It’s located in Virunga national park, which has been the site of conflict at times during the unending conflict in the eastern DRC and was recently the subject of a worthwhile documentary on Netflix.

There are mountain gorillas living amongst the (mostly) dormant volcanic chain running through that area. Their territory reaches into Uganda and Rwanda, where you can also visit human-habituated families. We chose to see them in DRC as they’re only a few hours drive from the volcano, and it’s the lowest price for a permit.

Permits for both the gorillas and the volcano hike are purchased ahead of time through the Virunga website, where you also apply for your DRC visa. They have limited permits available per day so buy in advance. We opted for a basic package (which you pre-select): we had porters but we brought our own gear and food, which seemed like the best value. From home we brought some simple cooking gear (pot, spoon, spices) and it wasn’t hard to buy ingredients for a 1-pot meal and snacks in Kigali. We chopped our veg the night before we left for the hike so we didn’t need to bring a knife or cutting board. A couple things to be aware of when packing gear: it gets pretty cold at the top (multiple layers, hat and gloves), and there’s a high chance it will rain on you (dry bags, bags covers, etc).

We made the DRC visit into an easy long-weekend trip by working remotely that week from the One Acre Fund office in Rubengera, Rwanda. On Friday afternoon it was just a 3 hour boat ride across the Lake Kivu to Gisenyi, the sister border town to Goma, with Nyarigongo smoking in the distance. Gisenyi from Kigali is not bad either- just a slightly longer taxi or bus ride, for around $50 and <$10 respectively. If flying from an East Africa Community country, make sure to get your transit card when exiting immigration so you don’t have to pay the Rwanda entry visa.

Since we arrived around nightfall, we spent the night in Gisenyi at Inzu Lodge- good accommodation and food for not a lot of money. The next morning we were picked up by Green HillsEcotours, the tour company who provided our transportation during the weekend and helped facilitate the border crossing. They picked us up around 7:30am, as were starting the volcano hike mid-morning. Plan for a couple hours to cross the border and get your actual permits from the park office. The company’s price was a little steep- $120 for the volcano, $200 for the gorillas, but seemed on par with alternatives for 4x4s. You could get away with paying less by not using a 4x4 for the volcano transport, but you definitely want one on the day you drive to the gorillas. For crossing the border, make sure you’ve got an up-to-date yellow fever card (with your name and details filled in correctly) and you’ve brought print outs of your passport, visa confirmation, permit confirmations and the visa list emailed by the Virunga staff. Basically just print and bring everything they email you. We hit a couple snags so it was nice to have the rep from Green Hills there to help chase down some missing documents.

We were late to the trailhead because they picked us up late, so the rest of the hiking groups were waiting for us, but we still started more or less on time. The hike takes about 6 hours, and is somewhat challenging as it’s straight up the whole way- particularly so during the sections of loose volcanic rock. However, there are rest areas every 45 minutes so it never felt very difficult, apart from the 45-degree scramble at the end up to the lip of the volcano. It’s a stunning view on the way up out over Lake Kivu and the hills of Rwanda. We were lucky to have a very clear day with just one light shower during the whole hike.

The view into the crater is another level of incredible. You’re fairly high up, but at times you can feel the heat of the bubbling lava lake. Black with neon orange-red cracks, billowing smoke (or is it steam?), constantly moving, bursting, roiling- the lava is mesmerizing to watch. While the nighttime view may be the most striking, the best time for photos is early the following morning just before sunrise, when the crater is illuminated but the lava still stands in stark contrast.

At the top of the volcano, almost on the rim itself, are small wood cabins where we spent the night. All the materials used to build them were carried up by hand. They offer some welcome warmth after dark, but you still probably want a sleeping bag that covers close-to-freezing temperatures. We cooked 1-pot chili outside the cabins over a small fire from charcoal we’d bought at the trailhead.

Hiking down the next morning can be harrowing at times but only took about 5 hours, and the tour company dropped us at our hotel in Goma by lunchtime. We spent 1 night at Hotel Caritas, which was adequate- expensive but with a nice lake view. It was recommended to us and suited our needs. They can do $5 packed lunches for your gorillas hike but you’re better off just wrapping some things from breakfast. One expected but still surprising thing about Goma was the cost of living- you could pay $20 for a taxi ride at night. Dollars are accepted everywhere as a parallel currency, and there are even dollar-dispensing ATMs which we definitely took advantage of.

Green Hills picked us up from Caritas around 6:30am the next morning, and it was a fairly bumpy 3-hour ride to the gorilla ranger station. After a quick intro and a dos and don’ts session about gorillas (yes to slow movements, no to pointing and eye contact…), we headed into the forest. It’s basically bushwhacking so long pants are key and sleeves are nice. A raincoat is also a good idea. The length of the hike depends on where the families are that day; luckily we only had to go in about 20 minutes before finding them. You may ask yourself, at a $400 price tag for 1 hour (and even more in Uganda and Rwanda), is it really worth it? We were very close to not doing it, and I have to say I’m really glad we did. It’s a viscerally amazing hour. Watching the big males knock over whole trees, or the baby roll around and play, or them grooming and sunning themselves just feet away from us made me feel downright giddy. For a long weekend it’s not cheap, but they were both such incredible and rare experiences it felt like a much longer and very memorable trip.