iluvpuffins: Rwanda Sunrise

Where to start - an amazing country, amazing people and amazing wildlife - my first experience of Africa might have been a surprise to some but I was not disappointed one bit. Almost to the point of not sharing!!

You cannot visit the country without remembering the Genocide of 1994 however the rebuilding of both physical and spirit cannot be denied. A positive attitude to the future and wildlife conservation that we can all learn from provides a Rwanda-ful experience..... ensured by the smooth and efficient organisation of Eric from Sunrise-Eco Tours.

First impressions are how clean the country is - the fact that everyone has to litter pick one day a month might have something to do with that!! And plastic carrier bags are banned!!

The first visit was to the Genocide Memorial Centre - a sombre start - probably best to do at the beginning to understand and then enjoy the rest of the holiday without a constant wonder of what did happen. Sombre but peaceful and somehow uplifting in a strange way - the Centre remembers more than that in Rwanda and aims to remind everyone that this must never happen again.

My first (of course) wildlife experience was a trek to the Gorillas - the Ntambara family group to be precise. Worried about the effort involved, the porters were brilliant as were the guide and trackers and the group were reached with relative (!) ease. Located in a small glade we were soon entertained with the antics of the youngsters, with the teenagers looking very much hungover and still drunk on bamboo (Gorilla beer) falling over and play 'fighting'. Visiting groups are limited to 8 people plus the supporting guide, trackers etc so you do get up close and personal even if photography was a challenge!!

The Gorillas are located in the Volcanoes National Park, which has been 'fenced' so that the animals are safe but the local communities can farm in safety up to the boundary, with cows and goats provided so that poaching is no longer a real issue. Visits are regulated to one hour once the your allocated group is reached so that the gorillas do not get too habituated, several groups are restricted to researchers only. The rule is that you do not get within 7m - but like the penguins in Antarctica the gorillas don't always remember and there were one or two very close encounters.....

The afternoon was spent resting on the deck of my cabin and a visit to a 'poachers' project with traditional dancing and crafts - all demonstrated by ex-poachers and their families proving that a living can be provided without damaging the environment and the wildlife. Meeting a witch doctor was certainly interesting!! And interesting when learning on a visit later in the holiday that the President was still consulting one in 1984!!

The next day (and another early start) was a visit to the Golden Monkey colony in the national park. Considered as rare as the Gorillas this was another trek through the forest with a group that moved far more quickly and were far more active!! Fortunately they stayed in one area for the duration of our visit, chasing one another for more attractive bamboo shoots and generally playing tag, a mother and baby put in an appearance and retreated out of way of the more rumbustious ones

The rest of the day was spent travelling to the west and the shores of Lake Kivu which borders with the Congo and a night under canvas with some wonderful food!!

Whilst driving around it was entertaining asking to stop and take photos of the views - the minute the 4x4 stopped children appeared from nowhere - all wanting to say hello, have their photo taken and then wanting to see the results - no begging, asking for payment, just interest in the 'white people'....

The following day we visited a coffee plantation (heaven!!) seeing the process from start to finish much to the amusement of the local school children who escaped the playground to see what was happening.

After enjoying the coffee (strong!!) and an enjoyable lunch (large!) we set off further south on the lake - through a rainstorm with several landslips - erosion is a major problem...... Another cabin on the lake gave a restful night before the first of the promised boat trips!! I've told him you like birds (said Eric) but he didn't mention the fruit bats!! Getting used to being up early a coffee on the balcony was rewarded with a family of otters

The afternoon saw us travelling to Nyungwe National Park and surely one of the most luxurious hotels in existence!! Perhaps as well as visiting our next primates (chimpanzees) required a 4am start, more trekking this time on very slippy paths with a steep drop..... but well worth it!!

And relaxing on the balcony in the afternoon there was more monkey business despite the thunderstorm raging overhead....

and a squirrel......

The next day saw us setting of for the east - via Kagali to drop of my fellow traveller at the airport. The journey was broken with visits to the National Museum of Butare and the old/new Kings Palaces - interesting in that the King lived in the traditional round house until the 1930s before moving to more 'western' accommodation.

And so to the final destination and yet another amazing national park, Agakera - created in 1934, reduced in size after the Genocide to allow returning refugees make a home - it is home to a diverse range of wildlife and birds. And was the place I celebrated my birthday with a cake and candles arriving with my breakfast on the deck watching aquatic weaver birds busy with their nests and monkeys outside the window whilst I showered!! My stay here included a days safari drive and a boat trip with fantastic views of African Fish Eagles, kingfishers and African Darters - a bird with the most amazing neck.

Birthday Breakfast

Grey Crowned Crane - a bird with a great hairstyle

Malachite Kingfisher

Giant Kingfisher

African Darter

Weaver Bird doing what Weaver Birds do

And don't forget the hippos!!

My very last day was spent visiting a school in Kagali - run by a retired teacher from Cumbria the school is for the poorest children in the area, incredibly well behaved and very welcoming the playground reverberated with laughter and shouts with skipping and football and other games before returning to the classroom. The school is funded entirely on donations and income from selling goods made by the womens project also operated from the site.

This was followed by a visit to the Nyamirambo Women's Centre and a walking tour of the area seeing the daily life of one of the poorest areas of the capital Kagali - but an area teeming with vitality - markets, restaurants and bars - and football!! The Centre aims to empower women and girls with more choices and freedoms through the opportunity to develop literacy and language plus computer and business skills. One of their groups runs a sewing project producing wonderfully coloured bags, mats and clothes - and gave an opportunity for some retail therapy!!