Blogs from Province du Nord, Rwanda, Africa - page 3

Musanze or Ruhengeri, it is the same town but the name has been changed recently following an administrative reorganization of Rwandan’s 12 former provinces. Both names are still in use and it doesn’t matter which one you’ll use. On one side of town says Musanze and on other side – Ruhengeri. This small town is the second biggest in Rwanda and the base station for tourists who are doing mountain gorillas trekking at Parc National Des Volcans. Not a great deal to do in the town other than sitting back, beer in hand and admire the views of the National Park that are shadowing the town. It is a feeling of adventure when arriving in the city and seeing the surrounding mountains knowing full well that somewhere up there are the Mountain Gorillas. We were extremely ... read more

Zoveel mooie landen op aarde en soms zijn er van die landen, waar je nog maar net bent en het zo fantastisch aanvoelt. Ik had geen idee wat ik van Rwanda moest verwachten, maar dit was zo'n land. Superschoon, mooi landschap en heel warme mensen. En dat terwijl hier in 1994 die vreselijk genocide plaatsvond. Nog dagelijks komen er lijken bovendrijven en vinden er begravenissen plaats van Tutsi's of Hutu's, die op enige manier zich inzetten voor Tutsi's. De verhalen over de genocide zijn verschrikkelijk, vooral daar waar kinderen die eerst als vriendjes met elkaar speelden de opdracht kregen om de andere te vermoorden. Vrijwel iedereen is hier geraakt door de genocide en vandaag de dag is het hier dan ook een 'misdaad' om iemand te vragen of hij of zij een Hutu of Tutsi is. ... read more

GREAT GORILLA NEWS is that the population of this critically endagered species living in Africa's Virunga Massif has grown by whopping 26.3% to approximately 480 individuals in the past seven years. According to a new census which was conducted in 2010, gorillas in the area are on the increase. The last mountain gorilla census of the Verunga region was done in 2003 whereby there was estimated to be around 380 individuals. It should be noted that the Virunga Massive encompases national parks in three neighboring countries: Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Within Uganda is the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, an estimated 302 - 340 individuals survive. This number is not included in this years increase but is a totally separate number. How is a census done? During ... read more

Hi few! It seems the blog is not read much but for those who follow,here goes: Forget about photos... Dial up modems everywhere and so it is impossible to upload anything and often keyboards are unpractical... Rwanda is amazing: pure beauty... Thousands of hills bordered by terraces where coffee, bananas grow in the sun when it is not raining for the daily two hours... As I was not forking 500$ to go see Gorillas for one hour, I went and stayed over in Kigali the capital... Nice times just enjoying the local foods and sights (very few) such as the real "hotel Rwanda"... Rwanda is a absolutely amazing and beautiful country where people like to smile and welcome you... Yet 16 years ago something went real wrong and it is almost impossible to imagine people running ... read more

Rwanda is a beautiful country, the roads are fantastic and the people are really friendly, the children wave and call out “how are you?”. The best day we have had on the whole trip was in the rainforest of the Parc National Des Volcans where we went gorilla trekking. With thick rainforest blocking our way, the tracker used a machete to cut down the forest to make a path, while we walked up to our knees in undergrowth and stinging nettle. We were lucky to be visiting the Susa group, the largest and most famous of the seven habituated groups. What made our visit even more special is that this group is usually the hardest to reach, normally you need to trek for 3-4 hours up the slopes of Karisimbi at an altitude of more than ... read more