Like on my first trip some 8 years ago, my sister came to visit me also this time. After two years we meet each other in Arusha and she brought me – what else could it be – Swiss Chocolate and she was really good!!!
Due to a ‘mistake’ by booking the flight, she did not come just 2 but 3 ½ weeks. This was much time, to much to spend in Tanzania especially since I already saw big parts of it. Talking about what else we could do, we decided us for the Northern-Circuit to Lake Victoria and then around the Lake to Uganda and Kenya.
But to start we first went on a safari to the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater. Some might remember that I already did such a safari with the Truck-Tour back in December. It was such a great experience that I not just sent my sister but also went my self again.
Like the first time we saw heaps of animals including all of the Big Five: Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard (we did not see any Leopards at the first safari). In difference to the first time, the animals were much more south, in the area around the Crater and between the Crater and the Serengeti. In fact did we see so many animals before the actual Serengeti NP that my sister was not just slightly surprised to learn that we were not in the NP yet. But then again, the animals don’t know and care about the boundaries of the NP and just follow the green grass and we did not care neither and just followed the animals :-).
On our last day we had a morning game drive and then were brought to the Ndabaka-Gate in the North-West of the Serengeti NP. Not to return to Arusha after the Safari but be dropped somewhere else might not be the ‘normal’ way but for us it was more convenient since it saved us the drive back to Arusha and then up to Mwanza again. On the way to the gate we hardly saw any animals except a huge group of storks. My sister mentioned that she now knows were to European storks go when they fly south for the winter. Closed to the park gate we started to see more animals again and so had a good ending of the Safari. As we then saw 6 Lions laying in the shade of trees everything was perfect.
Out of the park, the driver and guide brought us to a small village from where we could catch a bus to Mwanza. They did not leave till we were sitting in one of the busses even we told them that we would be fine. They explained that they are not allowed to leave till we are save in a place or a bus – great service from Fun Safaris.
In Mwanza we looked at the options we had. First we thought about seeing the Mountain Gorillas in Uganda but were not sure whether it would not be better to go Rwanda instead. The Gorillas in the Mgahinga NP tend to go over the border to Rwanda and so you won’t see them in Uganda. On the other hand we did not really know how the situation in Rwanda was. To get up-to-date information on the safety issue, we went to the internet to check some websites. We were then not slightly surprised to read that there are more safety-concerns for Uganda then Rwanda and so the decision was made – we would go to Rwanda.
Looking on the map and the possibilities to get from Mwanza to Rwanda there where not that many options. One was a two-three day bus journey or then to fly – at least we thought there would be some flights. To find out more about it, we went to a travel agency and the helpful lady made some calls. “Yes, there should be a flight tomorrow but we are not able to sell you the tickets here. You have to go to the airport for that or just be there at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning and talk to David”. Whit that she gave us a paper with the name of the company and ‘David’ written on.
To tell the truth, I would have gone by bus because that would have been much cheaper but my sister was not to cheery about this idea, which is understandable – she has money and no time and I have time but no money – always the same. However, we made a compromise and would not take an international flight all the way to Kigali – much more expensive – but a domestic flight to Nagara, 30 something kilometers from to the border. From there it would be just a 2 hours car drive till Kigali.
With the slip of paper from the travel agency, we went to the airport to buy the tickets. My sister who had not looked at the paper before, asked for the name of the company and I showed it to here. ‘UNHCR’ was written there and she said “That is a UN organization”. Now I also realized why this company name looked so familiar. We would fly with the UN and from now on I was totally willing to spend the extra 40 USD something for the fight – I’m not having the possibility to fly with the UN (though they had to do some work first) every day after all. Well, if we would get a seat that was. The problem was that you can’t actually book a ticket for those flights, at least if you don’t work for the UN. Not UN-Persons get a seat if there are any left.
We tried to talk to David but had to realize that he was not really the man to talk to but his boss. So we talked to his boss and tried to find out how good the chances for seats were. He could not tell or did not like to tell us. The only answer we got was “Try to call at 4:00 PM, then we should know more”. At 4:00 PM we got the answer “There might be seats, should be seats. Just be here at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning.”
To have no ‘yes’ or ‘no’ was not really the best. The problem was, that the bus was leaving at 4:00 AM the next morning and that the bus goes just three times a week – we did not like the idea to spend more days in Mwanza. Well, we evaluated the risk of not getting on the plain and missing the bus – we went for the plain.
The next morning we went to the airport very early, just in case there would be a big lineup. As we got to there, nobody from UNHCR was around and we had to wait. Around 8:00 AM the first UN-Peoples came and I went to ask about the seats. “The boss is not here yet”, so we waited. Finally he came and my sister asked him whether he would make us happy-people today. He did not really answer but looked at all our luggage and meant that there are just 10 kilogram allowed per person – we had a ‘bit’ more.
It took some time and asking till we finally got the okay – my sister was really happy. Now we had to get the luggage scanned and scaled. My big backpack did not fit into the scanning-machine but this was not a big problem – I was allowed to carry it around the machine and had not even to open it!!!! The scaling showed then that we did have a bit more then 20 kilograms between the two of us – my big backpack, again my stuff, alone was 30 kilograms and the total was something like 55 kilograms!!! Sitting there we hoped that we don’t have to pay for overweight but the reason for scaling the luggage was just to calculate the full for the air plain.
It took some more time – like everything in Africa – and then we left. During the flight we could see the vast Lake Victoria with his 68’800 square kilometers, 1.5 times the size of Switzerland, and the hills of North-West Tanzania. After about 1 hour we started to fly really close offer those hills and I was wondering ‘why’ – there was no town, village or airport to see. Then, we were really close to the ground, I could see a strip of dirt on the hill right in front of us. It was the airstrip – in middle of nowhere.
Luckily a French woman who worked as a teacher in on of the many refugee-champs gave us a ride to the main road. She dropped us at an intersection and showed us the direction we had to go. After a while a car came along but he looked already pretty packed. Nevertheless he stopped and I thought that some person would get out. But nobody left the car but we and someone else went in!!! The cares in Africa, a normal street care, seems to be just a bit more spacious – 9 persons with there entire luggage is not a problem.
Fortunately it was not a long drive – the cares are not ‘that’ spacious after all and with 9 persons it tends to be a bit tight. As we got closer to the cluster of houses which was our destination, the care stopped and 4 persons went out. As I realized later, there was a police checkpoint and we get read of the ‘exceeding’ load. After we were dropped in ‘town’, the care went back to pick those peoples up again and drive them to town – that’s the Africa way.
We managed to get to the border and with entering Rwanda, the time of my sister came. Most people speak French there and she dose as well and me not, so now I had to follow here. We managed to get a lift with Natalie, a Belgium woman who lives since many years in Rwanda. She just came back from a trip to Arusha, where she had modified two Land Cruisers for safaris and Mombassa where she participated in a care-race. Luckily she came back today and gave us a lift from the border all the way to Kigali. There she dropped us right in front of the tourist office where we had to make the booking for the Gorilla-Trekking – can’t get much better, thank you very much Natalie.
Our luck continued as there were two openings for Sunday with the Gorilla-Group Susa. Susa is the biggest Gorilla-Group to be visited and has 35 members and therefore this group is the most popular one. We booked and paid the 250 USD – we heard rumors that the prices will go up, first to 350 USD and then 500 USD?!?, for one hour with the gorillas, crazy!!! – and went then to the hotel.
After one night in Kigali we went to Ruhengeri from where the Gorilla-Trekking starts. As told, we reported to the local tourist office to learn when we had to be ready and to arrange a car for the first part of the way to the Gorillas – another 50 USD, for the whole car though. As everything was arranged we went back to our hotel and had a delicious Guacamole – was not the last one.
We were lucky again the next morning since it was clear and not raining as it occasionally did the days before – perfect weather for visiting the gorillas. By car we were driven to the foot of Mt. Karisimbi and from there we had to walk. All the children from the area were following us till the armed guards toke control and we entered the NP. And then it went up through bamboo forest and up, up, up. Somewhere we started to see first signs, like paths or oppressed grass, of recent Gorillas presence The guides tried now to find the path the Gorillas followed and eventually would lead to them. So I thought at least. As we learned later, there are permanent persons from the NP by the Gorillas and those and the guide of the trekking tour are in permanent contact via shortwave radio – so they know where the Gorillas are and the Guide has just not to get lost in the maze of trails.
However, the way was not just up but by now down and up. After about 2 ½ hours we finally reached the Gorillas and it was just amazing to she and observe them. Everywhere where Gorillas laying in the bushes and grass, eating, sleeping or playing with each other – that is all they did – and they could not be bothered by the muzungus (white people). I had the impression it was like a big, happy family who has nothing to be bothered with. The baby gorillas were running around, over each other and rolling down the hill. Sometime they went to the bigger once and then they played together. Others were just sitting there, arguing with the one next to him whether this was now the better food place then yesterday and how life is in general. The hour we were allowed to stay just flew by and we had to leave heavy hearted – I would have loved to stay longer.
The way down was easier, just down, down, down and that it started to rain was not really something we could be bothered with – we got a free shower. Back in the hotel we once more had Guacamole and chips and the next morning we went back to Kigali and on to Uganda.
Uganda and the way back to Tanzania will follow soon or then it will take some time.