July 24, 2007 –
We went on the safari on July 21.
Along the eastern edge of Rwanda lies Akagera National Park. It’s the place to go if people want to experience a safari in Rwanda. We headed out there one early Saturday morning. The trip starts with waking up at 4:00 a.m, which I really didn’t mind. Everybody else probably found it rough but I’m a morning person anyway. At around 5:00, our driver came, to our surprise, in an Atraco mini-bus… the same ones we get crammed into downtown. We drove off to pick up the other people we were going with. They filled up the bus and now we were packed as if we WERE going to town.
Two hours later, we were at the park entrance about to begin the safari. It was nice but I will admit a little disappointing too. Most of it was driving through bumpy terrain being invaded by horseflies and me not feeling well after all that and taking my malaria pill on an empty stomach. And then once in a while we’d see some animals and yell at the driver to stop. He did, but a minute later after we had driven past the wildlife. But there were times we got good glimpses of the animals.
The first was a giraffe. Just one… standing around. It was far so digital pics aren’t that good. My zoom lens might have gotten some good ones but I don’t know until the film is developed (They weren’t good).
Next were zebras. There was a nice group. Again kind of far but easier to see than the giraffe since they don’t blend into the surroundings.
The baboons were cute. They sat on the road so we had to stop but even as we drove by, they didn’t run away. We were able to take decent pictures.
I thought the impalas were the best. We got right up next to them and they just stared back. After a while they all ran into the trees, leaping over some grass or log or something. Very cool sight.
I kind of saw hippos. Their heads poked out of the water to breathe and that’s the most I saw. There was one out of the water but by the time the car stopped, it had run back to the water.
The horseflies were annoying. I wrapped my head in my shirt so they wouldn’t buzz around my ears. I hate having those things flying around. Also, I didn’t eat breakfast before taking the daily malaria pill. What a bad idea. The road through the park was extremely bumpy and I could feel that pill just rumbling around in my stomach. I was ready to tell the driver to pull over so I could vomit. We eventually got to an area we could step out and have a snack. I munched on a bun and immediately felt better. The safari continued without a hitch.
I have to say it again, it was so beautiful watching the scenery. Blue skies, tall savanna grass. Amazing. 
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