Rwanda part IV - Akagera National Park


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Published: August 31st 2013
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ImpalaImpalaImpala

In the east of Rwanda, near the border of Tanzania, is the Akagera National Park. The main attraction in Akagera is to go on a safari

Zebras must be fake





In the east of Rwanda, near the border of Tanzania, is the Akagera National Park. The main attraction in Akagera is to go on a safari to the parts of the national park covered with savannah. We have never been to a safari before. This was a first for us and we absolutely loved it.



In the national park we drove around in a car. If someone reading this has plans on going to Akagera National Park we would like to give a piece of information on the choice of car. A 4WD car is must or else you will not be able to visit much at all. We also recommend that you take a car that has AC. Then you can drive around with the car windows up and you will have less flies in the car.



The animals in Akagera National Park are wild and some animals could even become dangerous. Bringing a guide in the vehicle is a good idea both to find the right places where the animal spotting is the best and to make sure that it is safe to leave the vehicle
ZebraZebraZebra

Zebras are hilarious. They look fake, like they are computer animated
when you wish to get out.



When we visited Akagera National Park we saw zebras, baboons, monkeys, giraffes, crocodiles, hippos, birds, several kinds of antelope, warthogs, a monitor lizard, an elephant and probably one or two other kinds of animals more that we don't remember. We managed to get some pretty good photos of most of these animals except the warthogs. Every time we spotted one it ran away or hid itself in the grass or stood behind some trees.



We could get surprisingly close to many of the animals. They were aware of our presence but as long as we didn't try to walk up to them they were OK with us being there.



Sometimes when we stood outside the car and looked over the plains watching the animals it felt unreal. We could see wild and exotic animals in every direction in numbers that we thought were impossible. To add to the feeling of unreality there were the zebras there and they don’t even look real. They look like a horse that someone has painted stripes on. No, not even that can fully describe what they look like because
"Why are you looking...?""Why are you looking...?""Why are you looking...?"

"Why are you looking at me like that? Is something stuck between my horns?"
the stripes didn't look like they were painted. The zebras' stripes were too perfect even if they had been painted. The zebras actually looked like they were computer animated.



Giraffes are interesting to look at by the way. With the long legs and the long necks they should look silly but they don’t. We think they look quite cool and majestic.



There is a term used in big game hunting in Africa called Big Five which refers to the animals elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. We saw two of these five, elephant and buffalo. In Akagera National Park there are no lions at the moment but they are planning on moving some there from other national park in Africa. So in the future it might be possible to see lions as well. As we said before, this was the first time for us to go on a safari. We hope it will not be the last because we want to do this again. When we do we hope we will see the other three of the Big Five just as much we hope to get a chance to get a good picture of
HippopotamusHippopotamusHippopotamus

Hippos enjoy living their life in water
a warthog and see more zebras because they were hilarious.


Additional photos below
Photos: 30, Displayed: 24


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WaterbuckWaterbuck
Waterbuck

Various kinds of antelopes are the most easily spotted animal. This antelope is called waterbuck
ImpalaImpala
Impala

Various kinds of antelopes are the most easily spotted animal. This antelope is called impala
Akagera National ParkAkagera National Park
Akagera National Park

Bush landscape in Akagera National Park. This kind of landscape is surprisingly not where the the animals are
ZebrasZebras
Zebras

Zebras don’t look real. They look like they are computer animated
Fighting male impalasFighting male impalas
Fighting male impalas

In mating season the male impalas fight for the spot as alpha male
Fighting male impalasFighting male impalas
Fighting male impalas

Male hormones can be dreadful sometimes
Giraffe Giraffe
Giraffe

Giraffes are interesting to look at by the way. With the long legs and the long necks they should look silly but they don’t.
AntelopeAntelope
Antelope

Another antelope. Might be known as a common eland
WaterbuckWaterbuck
Waterbuck

The antelopes are so cute
BaboonBaboon
Baboon

Baboons are not cute though
HippopotamusHippopotamus
Hippopotamus

Are hippos cute or not. We can't make up our minds on that one
TreeTree
Tree

We had to put in something other than photos of animals in the blogg
ZebrasZebras
Zebras

They are not painted horses even though they look like it
ImpalaImpala
Impala

Oh so cute
MonkeysMonkeys
Monkeys

Also quite cute


31st August 2013

Portraits
The photos are outstanding. Some look like the animal was posing for his or her portrait. Those are the best.

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