Leslie & Vickie’s 2026 Safari

1st Post: Getting ready for another adventure!

Leslie and I are headed back to Africa. This time we begin in Rwanda to see the Golden Monkeys and Silverback Gorillas.

Our journey will begin on Sunday June 28th when we fly from Boston to Amsterdam and then continue on to Kigali, Rwanda. Leslie has planned an awesome adventure to include a visit to the Ellen DeGeneres campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund near Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park. To learn more about Dian Fossey and the park click here: Dian Fossey – Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund

In addition to learning about the wildlife and culture we will also visit a distillery that was designed and built by our neighbor’s son in-law! Bruce Engel About — BE_design, is an international awarded winning architect, and we are looking forward to not only taste the vodka from this women owned distillery but to marvel at the architecture that Bruce has created. World-class craft distillery – Virunga Mountain Spirits

Below is a sample of what is to come!

We begin our adventure and acclimate to the elevation by visiting the Golden Monkeys. The golden monkey is a subspecies of the blue monkey found in the Virunga volcanic mountains of central Africa. Golden monkeys are restricted to highland forest, especially near bamboo.

Not much is known about golden monkeys activities although they live in social groups of up to 30 individuals and eat a that diet consists mainly of bamboo, leaves and fruit. They are also thought to eat insects.

We have 2 treks planned to see the gorillas when we hike the Virunga Mountains to visit the Gorillas’ natural habitats. Although their range covers a small percentage of Sub-Saharan Africa, gorillas cover a wide range of elevations. The Virunga Volcanoes range in altitude from 7,200 to 14,100 ft.

Gorillas are the largest living primates reaching heights between 4 ft 1 in and 5 ft 11 in, weights between 150 and 500 lbs, and arm spans up to 8 ft 6 in, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback. The eastern gorilla is distinguished from the western by darker fur color and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35–40 years in the wild.

After we complete our treks in Rwanda we then fly to Nairobi to begin new adventures in Kenya- this time staying in 3 different regions where the Kicheche Safari Camps are located. One camp in Laikipia conservancy and two camps in the Maasai Mara conservancies. All told they encompass and protect over 250,000 acres. https://kicheche.com/

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Leslie and Vickie