Camping in Akagera

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On Friday afternoon, we packed up our camping gear and headed east of Kigali. Just before the Tanzanian border, we turned off on a dirt road and ventured into Akagera National Park. We stopped at the ranger station on the way into the park to pay our $10 camping fee. At the station, they have a three-tiered, descending, price scale: tourist price, resident visa (ex-pats, NGOs, diplomats), and local. We saw our first wildlife before even getting to the campsite: a deer-like animal called a water buck. The campsite was on a grassy ridge wth scattered trees overlooking a lake and the edge of Tanzania. There was a covered pavillion, a few scattered firepits, and an outhouse. After pitching the tents and setting up camp, the men quickly sauntered off on a walking safari while the women slaved away to conjour up a gourmet meal of hamburgers.

At dusk, the bats that lived in the pavillion roof, began leaving for the night, and we could hear them rooting around. The only scary part was the animal we didn't see. We were just finishing dinner, and Jennifer headed off to the outhouse (about 50' away). While she was inside, she heard this mooing/honking sound from very close by. Alex ran over with our bear spray, and nothing happened except Jenn being really really scared. We have still not figured out what type of animal was making that sound, but it may have been topee (another deer-like animal). For the rest of the night, Jennifer was convinced that wild animals were surrounding their tent, but nothing appeared out of place in the morning.

While the women cooked breakfast, the men wandered off to investigate night-time noises. Eventually they returned, and we all ate pancakes and bacon from Germany. A lone baboon entered the campsite and began eating abandoned potato chips and sneaking around looking for more food to steal. Apparently, the baboons have evolved some serious Yogi skills and will take whatever they can get their hands on. Luckily, he only made it inside the pavillion once and was not able to steal anything. Word got out about the potato chips, and around a dozen baboons started hanging around the campsite. Leaving one couple to guard the tents, we headed off onto a safari drive.

We returned to the ranger station to pay another fee, this one for a ranger to ride around with us and point out animals. Riding in a Toyota Forerunner, we headed for the savanna where we saw more water buck, topee, and impala (more deer-like animals). The savanna is fairly open with 4 x4 trails, so it would have been possible to self-drive, but the guide knew all the best places to go. She showed us a zebra herd, water buffalo lounging in the shade, and giraffes munching. Next, we headed back towards the lake where we saw a swimming snake, hippos, a large stork, ducks, baboons, and blue-balled monkeys. After the three hour drive, we had some much needed lunch, broke down camp, and drove back to Kigali.

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Comments

[Stephanie]

Ha, ha-- blue balled monkeys!
Sounds like another great adventure! I LOVE reading about your time there so please keep blogging. Hope the gorilla job came through for you!