Akagera National Park

After a morning of lessons on Friday, I left for Gitarama. We had to be up very early Saturday but still managed a couple of nice glasses of red with dinner before bed…

At 5.30am Moira, Kerry and I were up and downing coffee. The coach was leaving at 6am from the college then picking up all the colleagues in either Gitarama or Kigali. Charlotte boarded with the majority in the centre of town. We couldn’t believe how organised everything was. There was already a crate of Mutzig and Fanta on-board and after a stop at a local restaurant, Alice who had organised the whole trip was handing round individual breakfasts! So by 8.30 we were tucking into these and enjoying a beer, great!
 
 
 
 
We arrived around 12pm at the park and started the tour. As it’s the dry season, there weren’t as many animals as usual but we saw my favourites, the giraffes, so I was happy. As well as these, there were Topi, hippos, impala, antelope, vervet monkeys and the hilarious baboons. We got out at one point and posed for pics with them. Not sure how wise it was but our guide was pretty relaxed about it. Good job we’d closed all the coach windows though as one of them managed to swipe a massive bag of cassava flour from some fisherman there and despite a chase wouldn’t give it back - they’re notorious kleptomaniacs.
 
 

We finished the evening at a lovely restaurant just outside Kigali where they do the most amazing whole Tilapia. During this and as is traditional at the college after their trips everyone was invited to discuss the day. It’s all taken very seriously. As a guest, I felt obliged to give a little speech for which I was applauded. Not quite sure what I said as by now the drip, drip of alcohol consumed throughout the trip was beginning to take effect…

The next day, the girls still didn’t have any water (Gitarama has been plagued by cuts for about a month now) so I made my way back home early-I was looking forward to a good scrub down. Amy and Ruairi were meeting some of the new vols in Butare around 12.30pm though so I decided to take the taxi bus and have a quick stop over there. With 2 hours to spare I thought I’d get there with plenty of time. What was I thinking? The mentality here is that the bus fills up and then moves off, nevermind if just around the corner is a potential fare…After 3 stops waiting for non-existent passengers, I finally lost it. I leapt out of the bus and on to the side of the road where I flagged down ‘Jean’.

Luckily for me he wasn’t a crazy and was going to Butare and in record time I rmanaged to meet the others for lunch at Matar.

…Damn, the internet at the office is still on a go-slow so not really sure when I’ll get to post anything. I’ve got so many pics I want to put up so might just wait till I’m next in Kigali which should be this weekend…It’s Charlotte’s birthday on Sunday so we’re starting the weekend in Gitarama on Friday evening then on to Kigali Saturday- should be fun!