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Greetings,
Just returned from 2 weeks in Rwanda. A great country, beautiful landscape, and warm friendly people. Two thumbs up!! My first African experience. Our method of travel was more of a mid-range budget including using some public trans.
We did;
1) General tourist stuff in Kigali, visited with local friends in Remera (sp?).
2) The Gorilla Trek out of Ruhengeri, including a visit to a Pygmy tribe, and the Virunga lodge (wow!).
3) 2 nights on the beach in Gisenyi (awesome).
4) Nyungwe walks, monkeys and awesome birds.
Had a great time and hope to give a full report soon. I have many thoughts and advice to share. Ran out of time and did not make Akagera. Bradt guide was helpful as was this site! You can basically double the 2004 Bradt prices btw. Special thanks to everyone in this forum who have taken the time to share your experiences, I am greatful for your input and information, it helped!
Specific questions are welcome (Lynn?), and I'll do my best to help you...
If you are ready for, and/or like, third world travel-Go for it! A special place indeed.
Amarhora- from Vermont.
Rwanda trip report 3/08
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Yeah another Rwanda report coming!
I can't wait to hear about Nyungwe.
and of course to see some pictures.
I'd like to know about the Pygmy trip visit and Nyungwe. Thanks for considering me in advance of my questions. Glad it was two thumbs up. Is that human or gorilla thumbs?
I'll be crass and ask how much the trip cost? You needn't sink to my level and answer, of course.
Also, re: public trans--was it very time-consuming?
Will reserve other questions until after the report. Looking forward to it!
lynn
Pygmy Tribe Visit
The tribe is one that was essentially evicted from the Virunga Park after 1994. A rock wall was built around the park in all three countries (Rwanda, Uganda, and the Congo to protect the gorilla habitat. The Rwandan govt. relocated them just outside the park very near the ORTPN Mtn. Gorilla headquarters. We had to hire a guide and driver. We visited their primitive neighborhood, saw the inside of their huts, grass mat weaving, cooking, etc. Then they did some dances for us as a way to I guess earn our optional "contribution" of the suggested 5000 fr. each. We obliged. Some of the kids are starting to attend schools.
Apparently some of them are happy to begin the assimilation process into the Rwandan society. Others are not so happy (we were told) and would have preferred staying in the jungle, with no clothes...etc. Interesting indeed.
Hard to believe that there was an entire small isolated culture of genuine 'Hunter/Gatherers' living symbiotically with the forest only 14 short years ago. Amazing...
NOTE
~ I just tried adding photos, but no luck. I have an iMac. I tried the cut and paste, click and drag... but no way.
Anyone?
Advise on how to add pictures to my posts?
Boreal,
That's good you visited the Pygmies. I had not heard about doing that in Rwanda, but it is easy to arrange in Uganda. You cannot add photos directly to your posts. All photo viewing is done by directing readers to a link where the photos are stored, such as Kodak Easy Share Gallery or something like that.
How many night Nyungwe? I'm considering the pros and cons of 2 vs. 3.
The cons are only time and money for the longer visit.