Goin' on a Lion Hunt

Safari Time!!! Six months in Rwanda would not be complete without at least a couple of big game sightings. With our Canadian supervisor here for a visit, a 2 night trip to Akagera park here in Rwanda needed to be in the plan. It was absolutely fantastic! Although it isn't a great park (no elephants, lions, cats, or rhinos spotted... frivulous lion hunt singing) I saw so many animals in their natural habitat, got to camp overnight on the plains of Africa, watch the sun rise over the lakes, see horizons and breathe fresh air.

The highlight of the weekend would be an up-close-and-personal encounter with a damn baboon. Turns out those creatures are not the wise primate of the jungle. I knew he wasn't to be trusted, and was just shutting my window when the little thief leaped onto the roof of the SUV and CLIMBED INSIDE. Needless to say, the girl closest to the door didn't think to exit it, so we were trapped in the back with this primate ravaging through our food. My, what teeth it had! It couldn't bite through our bottles of banana liqueur and I was pretty glad when it found our bread so that it wouldn't start to go for human flesh. I had visions of it clawing my eyes out. Thankfully our trusty guide smacked it with a sleeping bag enough to make it jump back out, and then threw rocks at it until it scurried away. And then we all burst out laughing.

We also paid extra for a boat tour out to an island with crocodiles and hippos! It was just like the disney ride along the river, only we didn't almost get eaten. A giant croc sauntered into the water from the land and glided towards us, and we turned around only to have hippos right next to us. It was amazing!

The giraffs will remain my favourite animal though. They seem so... mythical. Even seeing them in their natural habitat seemed strange, as though they were planted there or we were going through a fake animal adventure park. We saw a group of 12 up close and personal, as well as a couple on a distant hill. The scenary was also pretty incredible, with rolling red hills, grassy plains, swamps and lakes. Watching the sun rise was an unforgettable moment, as the croaking of the frogs was replaced by songs from holographic like birds. It was a pretty magical weekend.