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Darren and Janet
Darren and Janet

Darren and Janet

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Golden Monkey
    Bamboo forestSouvenir market near Golden Monkey trekTeam Rwanda cycling team headquartersMount Sabyinyo, on the Rwanda, Congo and Uganda border

    Golden Monkey trekking

    12 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Another 6.30am departure and drive to the ranger station for registration. This is where the gorilla and monkey treks leave from, so there was a car park full of 4WDs and around 200 people there. This is the cash cow of Rwandan tourism and the government recently doubled the price of the gorilla permits overnight, from $750 to $1500... and there's talk they will double it again to $3000 to reduce demand whilst maintaining income. Hopefully they won't kill the goose that laid the golden egg...

    We're doing the Golden Monkey trek today, an easy 45 minute walk, firstly through the potato plantations, then into a bamboo forest. There are 120 monkeys in the family, and it didn't take long to spot them. Golden Monkeys are endangered and only found in the volcanic mountains in this area. They live in the mid region of the forest away from their two main predators - eagles at the top of the trees and wild dogs on the ground. They feed quickly and store the food in cheek pouches for later digestion, so look very cute with their chubby cheeks!

    We returned to the lodge for lunch, then headed into Musanze for some shopping at the local market. At 4pm we visited the Dianne Fossey Gorilla Fund Museum for a guided tour, and paid an impromptu visit into Team Rwanda cycling team headquarters on the way back. We spotted their sign on the way into Musanze, but the gate was closed when we got back - it didn't stop Aloys who soon had us inside, and got a tour of their facility! Unfortunately they didn't have any merchandise to sell 😕

    When we arrived back at the lodge there was a local dance troupe waiting to perform for us. It was an energetic performance, including some crowd participation (not only can we not jump, turns out we can't dance either!)

    Dinner was a buffet in the lodge restaurant, early bed at 9.30pm    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Some of the 1000 hills of Rwanda
    Head sling to carry goods - we saw a woman with 2 water containers on her back, 1 on her head, and carrying anPied Crow

    Driving via Lake Kivu

    11 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    After 5 nights in the south west, today we head north along Lake Kivu toward Volcanoes National Park.

    A full day driving - we left Kamembe at 8.30am, morning tea at Kibuye at 12.30pm (half way up the lake), lunch at Gisenye at 3.30pm (top of the lake), arrived Volcanoes National Park 7pm.

    The quality of the main roads in Rwanda is as good as any in Australia (but with a lot more pedestrians and bicycles, and constantly hilly and windy), and construction is still ongoing at a furious pace. Despite the long hours, it was a great drive with diverse scenery. The scenery was ever changing, so much so that we dared not take our eyes off the road for fear of missing another spectacular mountain or lake view, a bustling village, or a load of vegetables or building materials being balanced on someone's head or bicycle! And I think they underestimated the number of hills in Rwanda at 1000!

    Dinner in the lodge restaurant (buffet), before bed at 11.30pm.    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Chimanuka
    3Us and Chiminuka!Machetes clear a pathChecking pants and socks for fire ants after the trekJungle checkpoint with orange plastic bag full of money

    Ramble in the Jungle, DR Congo

    10 juli 2017, DR Congo ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Today is the most adventurous day of the trip, mainly because it involves a border crossing into the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the more unstable and corrupt places in Africa. We started early with a 6am departure, knowing that the border crossing may be a lengthy process - and we weren't disappointed when it took over 2 hours!

    Arriving at the Rwandan side at 6.10am, we joined our first queue at immigration. After getting the required exit stamps we walked across the rattly wooden bridge (with plenty of slats missing), into the Congo and met the vehicles on the other side. When we arrived, an official asked the drivers to park off the road, so we suspected we were in for a long wait.

    After presenting our passports and completing an immigration form, our yellow fever certificates were recorded in a manual ledger. We were told that the supervisor had to approve our access. He told us that another more senior supervisor also needed to approve us, and he contacted the national park we were visiting to confirm our identities. He received verbal confirmation, but had to wait for an email confirmation before we could continue. We finally got the go ahead just after 8.15am. As a side note, our driver paid the first bribe of the day to the border guard who said he'd need to buy some new pens because the driver was using his... so $20 USD should get him a few, and probably got us moving a bit sooner!

    The town of Bukavu is huge (population 870,000), but the main steet is mostly dirt with small sections of asphalt among the potholes - the difference between The Congo and Rwanda is like chalk and cheese - Congo has piles of rubbish on the streets, terrible roads and corruption everywhere (our second and third bribes of the day were a $20 fee to enter another district and a $15 "road tax" from a dodgy looking boomgate across the road). Unfortunately we couldn't take any photos in Congo as that requires a permit which was $250 USD per camera!

    We reached Kahuzi Biega National Park, 30km from Bukavu around 11am and had a briefing from the head guide before heading out with our convoy of armed trackers/guards/porters - we're not sure if the AK-47s were to protect us from gorillas or guerillas (there is apparently still some unrest in the northern part of the park, but we saw nothing in the southern area). On the way to the trek start point we stopped at another checkpoint where a soldier was collecting cash from vehicles and pedestrians and depositing it in a plastic bag hanging on a post (we didn't see any receipts handed out ☺) - there is a village on the other side of the park and the villagers cut through the park to the local market, an18km journey each way... and pay a fee for the pleasure.

    Trekking started with the lead guides hacking a path though the jungle with machetes - there are no defined paths in this park, so the going was quite slow. The terrain varied steeply up and down, from thick undergrowth, through tropical rainforest, bamboo forest, two creek crossings and a swamp, so it was a relief after 90 minutes to spot the first gorilla. These are Eastern Lowland gorillas, and the Congo is the only place in the world to see them. This group is lead by a 36 year old silverback named Chimanuka and has 29 members. We saw about 10, some in the trees, some on the ground, some very close to us - the silverback climbed down the tree and sat in the grass eating about 3 metres from us!

    We spent about an hour observing them, then hacked our way back to the road. We arrived back at the rangers station at 3pm, had a meeting with the park director - we are the first large group they have had visit this year, so he was keen to impress us, thank us for making the effort, and appoint us as unofficial ambassadors of his park!

    The return journey to Bukavu took longer, but the border crossing was considerably shorter on the Congo side. The Rwandan side took over an hour while we paid another visa entry, then lined up again to get our passports stamped.

    We arrived back at the hotel at 7.30pm, exhausted but elated after a long and groundbreaking day. Dinner was again on the deck (pepper steak and pizza), before a very welcome bed!    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Uwinka Overlook
    L'Hoest monkey by the roadsideLocal shopping1Mobile phone street charging stationKamembe driving schoolKamembe main street

    Uwinka Overlook

    9 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    A luxurious lie in until 7.30am, breakfast of cereal, fruit and toast and departed for the canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest at 8.45am. The canopy walk, officially known as the Uwinka Overlook on the Igishigishigi Trail, is a 200 metre walkway suspended 90 metres above the forest floor, which affords spectacular views across the valley and is supposedly a good spot for bird watching.

    We were joined on the tour by 5 local Rwandans and 5 Chinese nationals who live in Rwanda (Chinese companies manage a lot of the road building in Rwanda), so we were a group of 15. The Rwandan government is trying to encourage locals to visit tourist spots in their own country by offering discounts to locals - the tourist price for this walk is $60 USD, but locals only pay 5000 Rwandan Francs ($6 USD).

    It was a pleasant 45 minute walk down to the start of the canopy walk, then single file across the suspension bridge. We took our time making the crossing and loitered on the platforms for quite a while, but disappointingly only saw one Blue Monkey in the distance, and no birds for the entire journey.

    On the way back to the hotel for lunch we spotted a couple of L'Hoest monkeys (formerly known as Mountain Monkeys) near the road who hung around long enough for a few photos (lunch was Caeser Salad and a beef burger).

    We had a free afternoon so took up Aloys' offer of a lift to the centre of Kamembe for some shopping. Being Sunday afternoon not much was open, but we had some interesting chats and made a few small purchases.

    We had a briefing in the lounge in preparation for our trip to the DR Congo tomorrow, then dinner was in the hotel restaurant (fillet pepper steak and potato croquettes x2).    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    School issue shoes... most kids wear them all the time
    Forest walk to chimps1I'm getting good at these selfies!Baby sling demoRwandan bride strikes a pose just for us!

    Chimps at the crack of stupid o'clock

    8 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    This was the early morning we knew was coming! As chimpanzees build a nest to sleep in each night, the plan was to arrive in the forest just after they wake up and observe their morning rituals... so the alarm was set for 3.30am for a 4am departure.

    We had about an hour to drive to the start of the trek, then up to an hours' walk to where the chimps were likely to be - a number of trackers go out early to locate the group, then a guide with radio communication leads us to them.

    There was a mix up with the meeting time with another group we were joining up with, so we waited on the side of the road for about an hour before we headed to the Cyamudongo Forest. This forest is only 5 square kms and is separated from the main forest by farm land, so this chimp population is isolated. The long term plan is to reposess land in between to build corridors of native vegetation so the animals can commute freely between both areas, and avoid problems with inbreeding.

    We had quite a steep walk down the valley, at one point taking a shortcut through the vegetation to get to the next path, before the chimps moved on. We heard them in the distance before we saw them, so our first sighting of 2 chimps sitting on the path ahead, grooming each other, was rather surreal. They were much bigger than we expected and not quite as docile as we believed - about 3% of their diet is meat, so they occasionally kill smaller monkeys, or other chimps for food. They have also been know to kill humans, if they are threatened.

    There was plenty of movement in the bushes around us, with calls from both sides, then all hell broke loose as a younger male challenged the alpha male, in the bushes just above us. Teeth were bared, branches ripped as a show of agression, and screeching galore as the 2 males fought. It was a reminder that these are wild animals, and we were in their territory. Everyone remained calm and did as we were told (stay still and don't run, even if you think you should!), and the heart quickening moment was over in about 30 seconds. Carla has been observing chimps in the wild for 20 years and had never seen males fighting like this, so it was more special than we first realised.

    We moved around the corner and observed the rest of the group for a while, then moved away and ate our packed breakfast (boiled egg, jam sandwich, cheese and fresh fruit).

    We left the forest via a local village, had an impromptu demonstration of how to tie a baby sling, African style, and headed to the Gisakura Guest House for lunch (buffet of rice, potato chips, beef in tomato gravy, peas, and fresh pineapple)

    As it was the first time we have arrived in Kamembe in daylight, we drove the scenic route to the hotel, and witnessed wedding photos being taken up the road from our hotel. The bride struck a pose for us and we obliged as tourists do!

    As we came into the hotel, the reception staff suggested we order tea now to avoid waiting later - we were happy to oblige! (matoke (plantain) with peanut sauce for me, vegetarian lasagne for Oliver). We did some much needed washing, then tea and drinks on the deck.    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Black & White Colobus Monkey
    Hike to the waterfallWith youngWalk back through the tea plantation

    Nyungwe Forest, Waterfall Hike

    7 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Cereal and fruit for breakfast this morning and a civilised 8.30am departure for the Waterfall Hike in Nyungwe Forest. The weather is a couple of degrees cooler in this area, but still pleasantly mid 20s and no rain.

    After a briefing at the rangers station we drove with our guide Christophe to the start of the trail. After tucking our pants into our socks to avoid getting ants up our legs, we set off through the tea plantations, but then the going got tougher once we entered the forest. The path was well marked, but had some steep sections, so the walking poles they provided came in handy. The valley was thick with lush rainforest undergrowth, but only a few birds spotted (and some toads).

    The walk to the waterfall took 90 minutes, so we were looking for a rest and snack. The return journey took a little longer.

    Lunch was at the Gisakura Family Hotel - buffet of beef in tomato sauce, cooked plantain, rice, spaghetti, potato chips and steamed pumpkin.

    After lunch we went in search of Black & White Colobus monkeys. The guide was in contact with some trackers who had located a group of about 30 near the edge of the forest, so we only had a few minutes walk. We spent almost an hour watching them jumping from tree to tree along defined "roads", playing, grooming and looking after the 3 youngsters in the group (about 3 weeks old, all white). Also spotted Dent's Monkey and a Blue Monkey, who was acting as lookout from the top of the tallest tree.

    Arrived back at the hotel after dark, had dinner in the hotel restaurant after an African "short wait", ie 90 mins! - whole tilapia for Oliver, chicken and maize for me.

    Bed just after 10pm in preparation for an early morning tomorrow.    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Fabric shopping at the hole in the wall shop
    2The shopping crew, city centre, KigaliOne of the 1000 hills of RwandaVillage water filling pointShoes off to enter the traditional palace, King's Palace MuseumIllegally built homes and shops marked with a red X to flag them for demolition

    Shopping and driving, Kigali to Kamembe

    6 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Before leaving Kigali, we went into the city centre to look for some fabric from a "hole in the wall" shop - it was no more than a metre wide, but was stacked floor to ceiling with fabric and plenty of purchases were made (pre cut 3.6m lengths were 5,000 Rwandan Francs = $8)

    We left Kigali just after 10am for the 250km drive to Kamembe, in the south west of the country near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The main roads in Rwanda are very good, but travel isn't fast because of the number of pedestrians and bicycles on the road, the mountainous terrain and a speed limit of 60kph (40kph in the city). The police are very active with traffic patrols and speed cameras.

    Just outside of Gatagara we took a 1.5km detour into the village to visit a pottery outlet, local health centre and grab a cache... or it may have been the other way around ☺

    We visited the King's Palace Museum in Nyanza and did a guided tour of the traditional and modern palaces, before heading on to Butare for a very late lunch - by the time we left it was 5.40pm, so the remaining 3 hour drive to Kamembe was in the dark... which made the pedestrian dodging even more difficult!

    Stayed: Emeraude Kivu Resort    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    One street off the main road, school time
    With caching assistants

    It's all about the cache!

    6 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We had a later start today for the trip to Nyungwe Forest, with breakfast scheduled for 7.30am... but I've had my eye on a nearby cache, so this morning was our opportunity to attempt it. It is only 500m from our hotel, as the crow flies, but considerably longer following roads, so I discussed the best route with our tour leader, Aloys. He thought it was too far to walk and suggested taking a moto taxi, but Oliver wasn't keen on sitting on the back of a motorbike in Kigali's traffic!

    He offered to go as a detour on the way out of town, but I didn't want to delay the whole group, so he offered to meet us at 7am and take us alone, then come back for the group after breakfast. So we met him at 7am and drove to the cache site, at the entrance of a hotel. Amazingly, the road off the main road was rougher than any we encountered in Akagera! The streets were teeming with children on the way to school (7.30am start) and the hotel staff were interested to see what we were doing. They knew there was an "item" in the area, and that previous finders had looked on the gates, but didn't know exactly where it was. After a few minutes searching, we had it in hand, much to the delight of the hotel chef, gardener and security guards!

    We got back to the hotel in time to squeeze in some breakfast, and still made the 8.30am departure time with ease.    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Lilac breasted roller
    HyenaMongoose on the lookoutRural street scene, Eastern ProvinceOutside Heaven Chalet (the President's house is the the background, only 2 doors from the hotel)

    Mongoose and markets

    5 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    This morning we had a game drive before breakfast, to try and see some of the nocturnal animals as they return home. Coffee was served at 5.15am and we were off in the dark at 5.30am.

    We spotted hyena in the distance and were pleasantly surprised when they headed towards us to check us out. The plains were teeming this morning with all sorts of antelope, buffalo, zebra and bird life (for the twitchers, the highlight this morning was a lilac breasted roller). The unexpected find was a family of mongoose we watched darting around the grass.

    We arrived back at camp at 9.00am for breakfast, then left the park by the northern gate for the trip back to Kigali. There is no road diect to Kigali from the northern end of the park, so we drove back to Kayonza, dropped off our National Park guide Herman, and continued on to Kigali for lunch (buffet at an Italian restaurant)

    We checked in at the hotel, had an hour to have a shower, and was ready to go to the markets for our first shopping opportunity (Oliver first had to meet Justifiee, a friend of the hotel receptionist, who is sewing up a dress and skirt for her from a local fabric).

    The market area of town was very busy, mostly with locals as there are are relatively few tourists around. All the shops sell the same range of products aimed at tourists, and bartering isn't done with much vigour - they will generally only take 1000 francs (approx $1.60) off the starting price - so the negotiations are over quickly. Our tour leader Aloys took us to a number of different shops and each shopping centre had metal detectors and bag searches at the entrance, which took a little longer the more everyone bought!

    Tea tonight was a banquet at Republic, including chilli coconut fish, goat stew, fried plantain, garlic potatoes and ginger rice.

    Some of the ladies wanted to return to the market to buy some more fabric, so one vehicle went back into the centre of town. The streets were still busy, but unfortunately most if the shops were closed, so no purchases were made.

    Back to the hotel at 10.30pm.

    Stayed: Heaven Boutique Hotel Chalet    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Hippo at Hippo Beach
    HammerkopVervet monkeys groomingKarenge Bush Camp

    Looking for aardvarks on the savannah

    4 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Another public holiday, this time to commemorate the end of the 100 day genocide, but we're unlikely to see any ceremonies out here. We have another early start, 5.30am breakfast and on the road at 6am for a full day game drive. Our destination is Karenge Bush Camp, 110 kilometres away at the northern tip of the park.

    We started spotting wildlife almost straight away with some baboons and zebra in the first 15 minutes, then an avalanche of different creatures - giraffe, waterbuck, vervet monkeys, elephant, topi, crocodile, eland, impala and hippos - and all before lunch!

    Lunch was at the aptly named hippo beach, where more than a dozen hippos lounged around in the mud shallows.

    After lunch our good spotting fortune continued, with sightings of buffalo, a pride of lions, and warthog (and plenty more zebra, antelopes and giraffe). We also saw birds too numerous to mention (Hammerkop were the highlight). About the only animals that live in the park that we didn't see were rhino, leopard and ardvark, the latter being the subject of a running joke that we'll see them next (which was never going to happen as they are nocturnal!)

    The final drive to the campsite was through a heavily forested area where we were inundated with tsete flies in the vehicle (the roof and all the windows were open). If being bitten by a tsete fly is on anyone's bucket list, I can tell you it's not very pleasant!! Thankfully they don't carry sleeping sickness any more, just a very annoying sting (similar to a mosquito, but a sharper pain)

    The bush camp is seasonal and is constructed for 2-3 months each year in the dry season. No concrete is used and all structures are fully dismantled at the end of the season, but they still manage to operate a bar, open air dining room on the deck overlooking the valley, and an outdoor shower and toilet for each tent. Hot water for the shower is bucketed into a drum sitting above a wooden palette, and the shower has a bamboo screen on 3 sides - so you have a great view over the valley as you rinse off the day's dust!

    Dinner was West African chicken curry cooked over an open fire, followed by banana pancakes.

    Stayed: Karenge Bush Camp, Akagera National Park    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Kigali street scene
    Brick carter pushing his load uphillStreet corner guard, Kayonza, on the way to AkageraSunset on the deck, Ruzizi Tented Lodge, Akagera NP

    Kigali to Akagera

    3 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    After a draining morning, we went to a money changer to get some local currency, then lunch at a local restaurant, before heading two hours east to Akagera National Park, on the border with Tanzania. It is one of the oldest parks in Africa, gazetted in 1934, but after the genocide it was neglected for a number of years and the animal population was decimated by the bush meat trade. Only recently have lions, elephants and rhinos been reintroduced to the park.

    After registering at the rangers station, we headed out for a boat cruise on Lake Ihema, spotting heaps of hippos, crocodiles and a small fraction of the 500 bird species that reside in the park.

    On the way to our tented lodge accommodation within the park, we had a game drive in search of the elephants. We didn't spot them, but saw warthogs, guinea fowl, various monkey species, impala, and more hippos.

    Dinner was by the fire pit on the deck (BBQ beef and fish skewers, and caramel dessert), and the cheapest drinks of the trip so far - an Amarula and milk, and a Muztig beer, $8 in total). Accommodation is in permanent tents raised off the ground on stilts on the shore of the lake. Raised boardwalks run between the tents to allow the hippos to move ashore and graze at night. Hopefully we'll hear some action beneath us during the night!    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Self repairing Umuvumu tree, Heaven Restaurant
    One of the mass grave sites, Genocide Memorial and Museum

    From Heaven to Hell

    3 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    7am breakfast on the outdoor deck of the Heaven restaurant, under the shade of an Umuvumu tree. This is significant because it's the tree which is found in many villages where they hold town meetings, and is a symbol of repair and reconciliation. For this particular tree, the workers cut through the large roots on one side of the tree when constructing the deck - even though the owners gave instructions to leave the trees untouched - but to their amazement, the tree sent down stilts to support and repair itself on the damaged side, and is still going strong today.

    After a fab breakfast buffet including fresh juice (pineapple, Japanese plum/bush tomato and mango), and an omlette toasted in a chipati, we headed out on a city tour.
    It's a public holiday today for Independence Day (it was actually on July 1, but is observed on the next working day), but the streets were still busy with moto-taxis, bicycles and pedestrians galore.

    Our first stop was the Genocide Memorial and Museum, which was a very sombre experience. On the site, there are 250,000 victims of the 1994 genocide buried in mass graves, where tourists visit to pay respects, and locals visit to have a sense of family, where often they are the only surviving member of their family.

    The museum follows the history of Rwanda from pre colonial days to today, mainly concentrating on the 100 days from April to July 1994 where 1 million people were killed, mostly by machete.

    After the killing stopped on 4 July 1994, a government of national unity was formed, which urged people to rebuild their lives together, without seeking revenge - quite an undertaking! It's hard to imagine how they do it, but Rwandans try to meet face to face with the people who killed their loved ones, or with the survivors of people they themselves killed. They have a determination to move on with life, to get past the seemingly impossible, no matter who or what they must forgive, in others or in themselves.

    They achieved this feat through Gacaca (grass) courts, literally held in the village square, often under an Umuvumu tree. Over the space of 10 years, 12,000 community based courts were convened across the country, and 1.9 million cases heard - those who admitted their part in the genocide, confesed fully and asked for forgiveness face to face with surviving family members, were offered half their sentence as community service building roads, making bricks or building houses for survivors. Many survivors were able to learn the fate of loved ones, locate their bodies and bury them with dignity, often at the Genocide Memorial site.    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Dinner with a view over Kigali
    Zebra crossing, one lane doneKigali Conference Centre (left), most expensive building in Africa

    Doha to Heaven,via Entebbe

    2 juli 2017, Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Wake up time was 4.20am for a 5am departure to the airport. The roads are busy already and the overnight construction is still going on - most construction during summer happens at night because of the heat.

    Our flight to Kigali was via Entebbe, Uganda, where we stayed on the plane for an hour while they cleaned around us. The jump from Entebbe to Kigali was the shortest international flight we've been on, 30 minutes. Fortunately for the hosties there were only about 50 people on the flight so they had time to rush some food around before we landed.

    On arrival in Kigali we were met at the plane door by a very welcoming airport staff member who checked our boarding passes (yes, on the way off the plane!), then escorted us across the tarmac to the terminal. First queue was to pay the the entry visa, which we were told had to be paid in cash, US dollars only, but they now also accept credit cards, which slowed things down a bit. Passport control was also high tech, with electronic finger printing done, in addition to taking our photo.

    We were met outside by our drivers for the next 2 weeks, and had a 20 minute drive to our hotel (some road line-marking slowed the traffic to a crawl at one stage while they were hand painting one lane of the zebra crossings)

    Rwanda is known as "the land of 1000 hills", and is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, with a population of 12 million people in a country one tenth the size of Victoria. The capital Kigali is built around several ridges and valleys, so the distance as the crow flies is not large, but navigating the hills takes some time - and plenty of hill starts! Armed Police or army personnel man most of the major intersections throughout the city 24 hours a day, as a general deterrent, and Kigali is widely regarded as the safest capital city in Africa.

    Dinner tonight was at a rooftop restaurant with a spectacular view over Kigali. Goat cutlets and a Mutzig (local) beer for me, poached line fish and a Tusker (Kenyan) beer for Oliver.

    Stayed: Heaven Boutique Hotel    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    Hanging restaurant under construction
    Doha, home of funky buildings and constructionSunset looking toward West Bay1Camel soukFalcon souk

    Doha city tour

    1 juli 2017, Katar ⋅ 🌙 33 °C

    Late afternoon pickup for a 5 hour city tour (3pm to 8pm when the weather is a bit cooler - it got to 47 today, forecast to be 50 degrees tomorrow 😮).

    Driving around, it seems that every corner of Doha is under construction, with many new high rises buildings, road projects, a new rail project (8.2 billion US dollars being spent before the 2022 World Cup to create multiple lines with100 stations) and even a hanging restaurant under construction (whatever that is!)
    Visited the Katara Cultural Centre - touristy recreation of traditional buildings (not all their own, as it included a Roman ampitheatre!);
    Pearl Island - man made island with accommodation and shopping centre for non-locals... including a Rolls Royce and a Ferrari dealership;
    drive along the Corniche - 7km man made coast line with walking path and wide grassed areas;
    Museum of Islamic Art - widely touted as the number one attraction in Doha;
    then finished the night at the Souk Waqif - sprawling traditional market with streets selling gold, spices, horses, falcons and rows of clothing and material.

    Got back to the hotel just before 8pm with everyone tired and no set plan for tea, so while some went to the supermarket, we came back to the hotel and had room service (mixed vegetable pizza, and chicken fettuccine for the record).

    Early night ready for a 4am wake-up call.    Meer informatie

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  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet
    View from our 23rd floor room
    They really don't want anyone entering their car park unannounced!Our first OS cache, micro behind a street signWest Bay area, our hotel on the right

    Wecome to Doha

    1 juli 2017, Katar ⋅ ☀️ 40 °C

    Arrived 5.30am, earlier than scheduled - all flights into Doha are currently only using a northern approach corridor so they don't cross Saudi, Bahrain or Dubai airspace, so we were expecting delays, but we landed at our original ETA.

    Met by our driver and quick trip to our hotel on deserted roads (Fri and Sat are the weekend here, so today is their Sunday). The hotel is not very full as our rooms were ready at 7am, so we moved our luggage in and went for a quick walk before it gets too hot (currently 36, heading for 47 degrees)

    Like all good walks, it included finding a few caches (our first international finds, and they were all micros!). We did a lap of the West Bay area, which is mostly government offices, hotels and embassies, so was very quiet today. Maybe that's how the security guards spotted us so easily! (turns out we were across the road from the Dept of Foreign Affairs offices, and the guards very quickly came across to have a chat. All ended well, and they happily left us to our search)

    Back for 9.30am buffet breakfast at the hotel, then a swim before an afternoon city tour.

    Stayed: Melia Hotel    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017Darren and Janet

    Adelaide

    30 juni 2017, Australië ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    Welcome to our new blog! For this trip we’ve changed our blog site, to FindPenguins... only because the site we were previously using (TravelPod) is shutting down this month. Hopefully it will be as easy to use for me and you!

    You can follow our journey without creating an account or logging on...but if you would like to post a comment, then you’ll need to create an account and log in - of course all comments are actively encouraged!

    We hope you enjoy :)    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling
  • Darren and JanetAntarctica 2015Darren and Janet
    Snow covered Andes
    Driving into downtown BAOliver on our (shared) patioSan Telmo street

    2 days for the price of 1

    6 november 2015, Argentinië ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Early start, 8.05 flight Adelaide to Sydney, 1 hour delay in Sydney as our plane wasn't ready, but a painless 12 hour flight to Santiago... which means we got to Santiago an hour before we left Sydney, so got to experience Monday for a second time.

    Another 30 minute delay in Santiago, then a 2 hour flight across the snow covered Andes to Buenos Aires, somehow still arriving on time at 4.30pm.

    The drive into town was on motorway most of the way, through a number of toll booths. BA is a city of 15 million people, so a lot of high rise apartment blocks, lots of traffic and pedestrian filled streets.

    Our accomodation is in the oldest part of town, San Telmo, with narrow streets, cobbled uneven footpaths, crumbling facades and peeling stucco - very working class but also home to a lot of new hotels and artists, so lively, noisy streets (very much like Naples without the fear of getting accosted every step!)

    As we'd sat, slept and eaten all day, we went for a dusk walk along Avenida 9 de Julio, the widest street in the world, at 20 lanes of traffic wide (including 4 bus lanes down the centre). There's pedestrian lights and islands all along, so it takes a few sets of lights to negitiate the whole width.

    Bought a couple of beers from the local shop ($1.50 each) and a packets of chips ($6!) to enjoy on our hotel patio on this still, balmy night.    Meer informatie

    Zie vertaling

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