traveled in 3 countries Read more
  • Day 41

    Bike & hike in Hell's Gate

    July 7, 2023 in Kenya ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After the first day in Naivasha and being too tired to even write a word beside the pictures yesterday, today more content :) The plan of the day was to explore Hells Gate NP, the only park in Kenya that can be visited by bike. Conveniently, quite good mountain bikes can be rented near the entrance and the adventure can begin! It was so nice to finally do silne sports and enjoy nature without a car. After around 1 h of biking between zebras, giraffes and baboons I reached the gorge, where I had to leave to bike. From there it was hiking time! It was a big surprise for me that Kenya is hiding such natural wonders like this park, reminding me so much of a few European National Parks. Going back was a little bit tiring but then O got lucky again - a local teacher coming back to the town offered me a ride, with the lovely statement "I'm not a taxi driver, but you are human in need". On the final of the trip, a delicious lunch in the local bar, recommended by my new friend. Until now, Kenyan towns have been treating me well:)Read more

  • Day 38

    True Safari Experience

    July 4, 2023 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    One picture is worth 1000 words they say - if so, then there is no need to write anything about Massai Mara. I decided to have a budget trip here, but even so I could see plenty of animals every day, especially leopards and cheetahs from such a short distance, that I could almost touch them. The camp, which was supposed to be a budget accommodation, exceeded all expectations - super clean safari tent with bathroom and got shower, very good food served always on time, O couldn't imagine a safari organized better :) All was fun, but I'm done with drive safaris for now, after spending 10h in the car again I can't wait to go for a bike trip to Hells Gate near Naivasha and hike more!Read more

  • Day 36

    Nairobbery? Maybe, but also fun city :)

    July 2, 2023 in Kenya ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Arrived to Kenya! Second country on my way and even if I still stay in East Africa, the differences between Kigali and Nairobi are huge. I have to say goodbye to perfectly clean streets, regulated traffic and safety at night. The first thing I got as part of the briefing were security instructions - where to go, what to do to not get robbed instantly. It's discomfort, it's annoying, but well,I had worse in South America. On the other hand Uber works everywhere, drivers know the city and are so nice, that almost every drive is fun conversation. I haven't met anyone who cannot speak English yet - this makes connecting to people much easier. On top of everything, there is culture - starting with great Jazz Festival on the first data, I could continued with chilled afternoon in K1 Club, listening to various local live music. I didn't forget about the nature of course - within the city there are multiple animal conservatories available. I decided to start with Giraffe Center, where young animals are being saved and prepared to be released into the wild. Allowing tourists to feed them with snacks ensures surviving of the place and let us get more knowledge from the excellent guides. Definitely worth visiting! After that run through huge reptiles center in the National Museum , learning how soft the feet of baby crocodiles are and with the rest of my energy absolved a few walking tour in Nairobi. Tomorrow I'll head to Massai Mara, but already looking forward to come back to this city :)Read more

  • Day 33

    Looking for an invisible elephant

    June 29, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Last chance to explore rwandan nature before I move to Kenya, in the famous Akagera National Park. One of the biggest national parks in Africa, unfortunately almost destroyed due to extensive hunting activities until 1994. Now it's still in the reconstruction phase - new animals are being introduced, existing once slowly increase their population. The size of the park wasn't our friend this time - after 7h driving we haven't spotted any single elephant, despite very intense tries. Nevertheless, silne other animals showed up and we got so tired, that coming back to the city was the only option. Summary: interesting experience with the bitter aftertaste of humans made destruction of nature. I hope to see Akagera thriving in the next years!Read more

  • Day 32

    Second chance for the capital

    June 28, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    When did it happen, already month in Rwanda? The last few days I decided to stay in Kigali , first exploring the city more and then going for an intense day trip to Akagera NP.

    To give this city a chance to convince me, after the initial fail, I tried to be more prepared and look for what I was missing in the last few days - art, culture and good non-african food. To my surprise,I found all of them! Stunning and authentic Indian cuisine, very sad and informative Belgian Peacekeepers Memorial, multiple interesting craft shops run by communities. The final part of the day was spent in the modern part of the city, around the Kigali Convention Center. I couldn't imagine the biggest contrast to poor villages in the North of the country... Luckily it's not only about business, there is also a place for true art there - Inema Arts Center, gallery created by the group of excellent local artists.

    Maybe it's still not the city to settle down, bit I'm slowly starting to understand the soul of Kigali :)
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  • Day 29

    Mud is the limit

    June 25, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Mustanze is definitely hiking location - so why not to continue with hiking one of the dormant Volcanos after the gorillas? Today's target was Mount Bisoke, 3711 m high, a serious mountain to climb. As usual in Virunga, the weather was very humid and misty, which brings this feeling of mystery and magic around you. Starting with the fields,we quickly entered the jungle on a quite steep, extremely muddy path, between the examples of crazy jungle vegetation. How lucky I was with my driver, strongly sugesting me to rent the "rangers boots"! At some point we were drowning in the mud, but all of this was worth it to reach the beautiful lake in the crater of the volcano. On the way down I realized, that this was probably my last "face to face" with the jungle in Rwanda. This year ;)Read more

  • Day 28

    Face to face with the gorilla

    June 24, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    The day has come - 10 years after seeing these marvelous beings in Bwindi Forest in Uganda, again I got the chance to track Mountain Gorillas in their natural environment. As everything in Rwanda, it's organized in maximal backpacker unfriendly way - nothing goes without a car and a driver, the whole briefing process takes ages and getting to the starting point is extremely complicated. Nevertheless - for the first time since I left Berlin I was in the crowd of white people. Was it a tourist trap? Definitely no! The tracking was very professional and Gorillas well habitated, so after a relatively easy and short hike in deep jungle we met our beloved Titus Family. It was such an honor and extraordinary experience to be about to start next to multiple gorillas for a full hour, I'm without disturbing their natural life. It was fascinating, how safe I felt seeing these gentle giants walking in my direction only to stop 0,5 meters before and sit, turning it's back to me.

    As much as Gorillas area being used for the whole tourism business, they are magnificent creatures deserving protection and and Rwanda is offering them the best possible one. Once in a lifetime experience and definitely worth the effort :)
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  • Day 27

    Musanze in the mist

    June 23, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    After a very pleasant and short drive I arrived at the Northern Province and its capital Musanze. A very vibrant city, with a lot of traffic, feeling like a good balance between Kigali and Huye. And whenever I looked back, I could see more and more of the beautiful Volcanos appearing on the horizon :) Bonus points for first chemex coffee I got on the way, served together with the excellent cinnamon bun in apparently the best coffee place in the town :) To finish the day, I took long walk alone the villages between the town and Red Rocks Camp, such a special quality of Rwanda, being able to experience local live without having any security concern or discomfort!

    Tomorrow is the highlight, gorilla tracking!
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  • Day 27

    On the way to the North

    June 23, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Not so much to write this time - to split a very tiring trip to the north I decided to have a stop in Gysenyi, another town on the coast. Way more restaurants and easy nicer beach, but apart of that, still quite sleepy place with few nice postcolonial buildings, having a bit of a charm of vacation town for rich people.

    Not my cup of tea, let's continue to the North ;)
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