Safari in Akagera

On Saturday morning, we got up early and headed out in our SUV, anxious to grab coffee and start the drive to Akagera National Park, which lies in the Eastern Province of Rwanda on the border with Tanzania. As we pulled onto the main road near our apartment, we were surprised to find the streets eerily quiet with no other cars in sight. Johannes quickly realized that it must be Umuganda (literally meaning “contribution”) – the last Saturday of every month when all Rwandans are supposed to participate in community service. On this day, one is not allowed to drive between 7 am – noon. Oops! We stopped by our coffee shop anyway and found it closed, so we returned home to eat breakfast and rethink our strategy.

After breakfast, we decided to just go for it since we were reluctant to sit around at home. On the other side of town, we got pulled over by a policeman, who took Johannes’ driver’s license for about 5 minutes and then let us go. Luckily, that was our only run-in with the law on Umuganda, and finally we were on our way. The road was well-paved, and we made good time as we drove past the southern park entrance and headed to Nyakarambi to check out an artisan cooperative that makes Imigongo (cow-dung) paintings. We decided to buy three of them, and by the time we had selected the best ones, paid, and were heading back to our car, it seemed like the whole village had gathered around to see what the “muzungus” were up to.

Soon we arrived at the Akagera Game Lodge situated on the beautiful Lake Ihema inside the park, and we had a look around followed by a drink on the terrace before the sun set. And then as we changed clothes before dinner, a warthog (like Pumbaa in the “Lion King”) walked by our balcony as a preview of what the next day would bring! We went to bed very early knowing that we were scheduled to meet our guide at 6:30 am for a game drive.

Johannes at the entrance to Akagera National Park

This was my first safari, so as you can imagine, I was pretty excited! And Akagera did not disappoint! We saw all kind of birds and animals. My favorites would have to be the hippos, giraffes, and zebras, but we also saw baboons, vervet monkeys, Nile crocodiles (the world’s largest reptiles!) and three different types of antelopes – impalas, topis, and waterbucks. While we saw lots of fresh elephant poop, sadly no elephants made an appearance. The roads were decent, and although the ride was somewhat bumpy, Johannes did an amazing job.

A baboon only vaguely interested in his visitors

An impala - the most common type of antelope in Akagera

A camera-shy zebra - doesn't he look fake?

Crested cranes - it's difficult to see but they are sharing the water with crocodiles!

Hippos!!!

Seeing the giraffes was probably the most amazing thing – we had driven north through nearly the entire park over the past four hours and were about ready to give up on seeing a giraffe when our guide spotted one. We stopped the car and got out to get a closer look. As we approached, we noticed a second giraffe nearby. Johannes was trying to get the best shot with his camera, so our guide kept taking us closer and closer until all of a sudden we looked up and noticed another giraffe practically right behind us. Don’t worry – they’re not dangerous – the big male just quietly started at us as we took lots of pictures! 

The first giraffe we spotted - sooo much bigger than at the zoo!

Then this guy snuck up behind us!