Since our flight home did not leave until 8:20 pm, we had the whole day to sleep in, get packed and organized and explore the city on our own. We headed out of the hotel toward the downtown area, which was a 15-minute walk. We went to the Union Trade Center and the Kigali City […]
Day 13 – July 20, 2017 – Kigali – Reflections on Africa Read More »
We were up at 5:15 am to get dressed and ready for our gorilla trek. It was cold, so we dressed in layers and brought gloves and a raincoat as instructed. After a long, bumpy ride higher up into the hills, we arrived at the starting point of our jungle climb. We were given walking
Day 12 – July 19, 2017 – Volcanoes National Park Read More »
After an amazing night at the Kigali Serena, we were picked up by our driver Aimable` for a city tour of Kigali, beginning with the Genocide museum. Every Rwandan is connected to the genocide of 1994 due to the fact that it was just 23 year ago. We learned a tremendous amount about what happened
Day 11 – July 18, 2017 – Kigali, Rwanda Read More »
Today was really a transfer day for us, driving to Arusha to switch drivers for our ride to Kilimanjaro airport, final destination Kigali, Rwanda. We stopped along the way to do some shopping for gifts, something we have not done at all since we’ve been here. We found some nice things and negotiated hard! After
Day 10 – July 17, 2017 – Arusha to Kigali, Rwanda Read More »
Today was going to be focused on seeing 3 other local tribes. Important note: there are over 120 tribes throughout Tanzania. They do not fight, although the Masai and Daytoga tribes have an unfriendly history, they get along today. The tribes all coexist in relative peace. They exchange goods and therefore have relationships that work
Day 9 – July 16, 2017 – Hadzabe, Blacksmith and Daytoga Tribe visits Read More »
We left at 6 am and brought a boxed breakfast with us to eat once we were down on the crater floor. We made the 2000 ft descent into the crater, which was a beautiful drive along the interior of the mountain. The roads were narrow and very curved, and I tried not to look
Day 8 – July 15, 2017 – Ngorongoro Crater Read More »
We left early this morning for Ngorongoro Crater, sightseeing a little along the way, but mostly driving hard to get to our destination by dinnertime. The drive was an extremely long 8-9 hours on a rough, bumpy road the entire way. It was a tough drive for us, but even more so for our driver
Day 7 – July 14, 2017 – Serengeti to Ngorongoro Read More »
Our day began with an amazing breakfast that included omelets made to order, fruit and pancakes. Then we packed a lunch and headed out for the day. The plan was to go to location over an hour away because Daniel wanted us to see something special. On our way, we saw another large elephant family
Day 6 – July 13, 2017 – Serengeti Read More »
Our first of 2 full day game drives began at 7:30 am. We headed out of our camp and began to drive through the Serengeti. We quickly saw a group of elephants approaching in the distance, so we parked and waited for them. Slowly they walked directly toward us and we counted 11 in the
Day 5 – July 12, 2017 – Serengeti Read More »
Our day started with a 5 am pickup for the 1.5 hour drive to the airport in Arusha, headed for the Serengeti. We arrived at the airport, which was little more than an airstrip. All of the planes on the field were tiny – no more than 15 passenger planes. We did not expect this,
Day 4 – July 11, 2017 – Arusha to Kogatende, Serengeti Read More »