When I was a kid, the Lion King was my favourite movie. I dreamed of one day being able to see real life Zebras and monkeys. Timon and Pumba were basically the greatest Disney characters ever and I more or less worshipped Rafiki. As I got older, I got hooked on National Geographic (the magazine, before the channel was available). I'd love to look at the pictures of the lions and the giraffes and all of the African animals. I always dreamed I'd one day see them in real life, not just the Metro Toronto Zoo.
For those of you who know me, you understand that I have a serious passion for animals. That's why my trip to Akagera Park has been by far, the highlight of my time in Rwanda so far. Akagera National Park borders with Tanzania. It's the home of dozens of animals - from impalas, to hippos, to even elephants, Akagera has got it all (except for lions, unfortunately but I'll hopefully see those in Kenya next year).
The day I went to Akagera started out a little rocky. We had to get up at 4:30 AM and no matter what, getting up at that hour hurts. The drive to Akagera takes just over 2 hours so we wanted to be there early to have the full day to explore. The drive there was a little scary - let's just say that the rules of the road are seldom followed here. People drive crazy. It's not as absurd as Beirut (that is the home of the craziest drivers I have ever seen) but it can still be a little nerve-racking. When we finally made it one piece, the park ranger told us that there were no guides so we were on our own to drive through the park and find all the animals. I was a disappointed because I thought it might be difficult to actually find the animals - but boy was I wrong....
The first darlings I laid eyes on were the Zebras (and I fully squealed with excitement):
These striped stallions are actually really beautiful. Their stripes are so pronounced. I managed to get pretty close to them. I can't even explain how happy I am in the picture above. Next, I saw giraffes. Definitely the highlight of the safari. Giraffes are...Majestic. It's the best word to describe them. They are so long and oddly shaped but yet they are such graceful animals. And you can even see their eyelashes. I loved them!!
Baboons - these little hairy troublemakers (I sound like Steve Irwin) are really shy! I don't know how I got so close to this one but in general, when you get too close, they scream and dash off into the bush. They travel around in big families too and are pretty curious. They'll run off but then they'll watch you from behind the bushes. Smart little fellas!
MONKEY!!! Monkeys are the best. Hilarious animals. This little monkey friend was SO into us. He kept getting really close (we were holding a piece of bread outside the window) and then he'd freak out and run back into the tree. He was so cute. I wanted to squish him with love.
Look at his long neck!!!
The impalas seemed to roam everywhere. There was always a large herd of females and calves and one dominant alpha male. Then we saw smaller herds of just the non-dominant, younger males. When impalas run, its exactly like in the Lion King. They hop so high and can run off very quickly. Speedy four-legged creatures!
Hippo!!! The hippos are HUGE. They love the water and just sort of watched us from a distance.
I saw so many other little animal friends - wild boars (aka. pumba), a plethora of colourful birds and even a single elephant bathing itself far off on the other side of the park. It was such an interesting day. In December, I'm planning to do another safari in Kenya where I hope to add to the number of animals I've seen in the wild. I love Africa - where else can the Lion King become real life?
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