We were in the Congo...illegally!

One weekend, we met up with John and Joel for a hike in the Virungas. You can see the Virunga Mountains in the distance from the road towards Kisoro.

Sabinyo - the mountain we decided to climb because the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda all meet at its third peak.

The first part of the climb was through re-claimed farmland. Then we entered bamboo forest, followed by acacia covered in Old Man's beard.


After a steep climb, we reached the first peak, where we stopped for lunch, and had our first glimpse into Rwanda. This is the view from the peak.


From there we went over a ridge to the second peak. This is looking towards the third peak - a series of verticle ladders to reach the top.




Our team at the top. We had a guide and two armed rangers...and good thing we did. Although in retrospect, they wouldn't have been able to fire a warning shot fast enough if the buffalo we met hadn't veered off into the forest. We surprised it sleeping on the trail and it woke up and headed straight for John and the first ranger...


Cheesiest photo ever....



We made it to the top. PG!!

Looking down... It was interesting to see the difference between the 3 countries - Rwanda was covered in houses, the Congo was almost pure jungle, and Uganda was somewhere in between.

The other two peaks we could have climbed - both have craters at the top. Another time perhaps...