» Akagera National Park
This morning we got up real early again – and headed to Akagera National Park. This park is located in the eastern part of Rwanda and is known for it’s wild animals. It has several lakes and grasslands. After checking in at the entrance, paying the fees, and picking up our guide, we headed to a nearby lake to see what we could see. We were able to get pretty close to a group of Hippopotamus, all the while staying on the alert, ready to run if we needed to. We also saw a baboon family – male, female and baby. They were adorable! We were able to see many birds and other wildlife.
We then left the park and traveled to an entrance at the north of the park. We traveled along for awhile seeing very little, thinking we did all that driving for nothing, but around the corner was some giraffes!! In the wild! We then drove out into a grassland – green and lush with pink impatiens growing in the grass. That was where the wildlife was. I don’t blame them – if I was an animal I would want to live there too. We saw more giraffes, zebra, cape buffalo, and impala. It was so cool to see these animals in the wild. We got many pictures to share with all of you back home.
Interesting side note. We have been drinking purified water out of bottles the whole time we have been here. We took a box of water with us on the trip to the park. Well as it turns out, the children, especially in the villages/countryside, love those empty bottles. Now coming from Oregon and Washington we have all learned that throwing “litter” out the window is a high offense, but we could throw those empty bottles out the windows at the kids and they acted like it was Christmas or something. They all came running. First time we have ever been able to do it with a clear conscience. But never at home!!!
We had a very nice lunch at the lake before getting back into the van before coming home. All in all it was a very long day of driving but very exciting to see the animals.
Krysti-for the team
Posted on Thursday, October 2nd, 2008