Rwanda, Tanzania and Zanzibar
Can anyone who has taken this trip advise re: the trekking in Rwanda part? My mother and I have been to Africa with Tauck many times including the Tanzania and Zanzibar trip. She's 80 and in good health and wants to return one last time to see the gorillas. Can someone who has been on this trip let me know how rigorous the trekking is and what accommodations may be made for seniors? To be clear, we're not looking for porters or anything like that - just want to get an idea of the physicality needed. Thanks so much!
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We took the K and T Rwanda tour in December 2019. There has been discussions on this topic fairly recently. We were 66 and 67, take daily long walks, half hour swims daily in the summer, a fitness class and do a bit of weights at home. It is tough, two main reasons…..the elevation which is 8,000 to 10,000 feet, the humidity which is high, chance of rain, high, narrow muddy trails, high, lots of vegetation that requires the guides to hack down with machetes, large stinging nettles. At the very very least an hour or maybe three hours to find your gorilla group and the same amount of time back down.
One guy here asked to be carried up, which costs money but even then there is some walking as described, the elevation and humidity. So that’s the only ‘accommodation’ that is a possibility.
I found it quite tough because I hate humidity and the pace the guide set was fast….and the elevation factor….and we were not with the ‘fitter’ group on our tour, there were some younger people.
Only you and maybe her doctor knowing what is involved in this adventure can help you make a decision. You could also google and look a trek up that shows the hike as well. I’ll try to help and look as I have a bit of time before I leave for my next Tauck adventure in a couple of hours. Good luck, a once in a lifetime experience!
Hope this link works, it’s an excellent video of what to expect. The guy in the video looks as if he is in his mid forties and is breathing very heavily as I did on the trek because of the elevation. Also our gorilla guide only stopped once and was not as informative at that one was. We never got a card at the end with all the extra info on it that they got.
Thank you so much for the detailed reply and video. We truly appreciate your perspective.