Serengeti, Tanzania to Kigali, Rwanda - August 22

We had hoped to get an early start on our game drive and then have lunch at the lodge, but Wilson said we had to be at the airstrip by around noon since our Serengeti admission expired then. If we overstayed by an hour they would charge for another full day. So, we got up for a 6:00 game drive in hopes of seeing a big river crossing.

The people ballooning today got a beautiful sunrise.

hippos

 

Because of the weird rain patterns this year, the Wildebeest were confused and not as compelled to cross when the savannah was still green on the Tanzania side of the river.

We came across the same two young lions from yesterday and we followed them for a long time. The one in front had cubs (she had  nipples showing) and was more serious and seemed to be on a mission to get back to her cubs. The one following was trouble with a capital T. In one of the videos it shows her getting freaked out by a branch. She slaps it and jumps back. It was like watching a large house cat with waaaay bigger paws. They were fun to watch and we hoped they were hungry and would stalk something. We followed them until they lied down under a tree.

one nervous hippo

 

 

We also encountered a Zebra that was going kind of crazy. There were a few of them, but this one was running around with purpose and just acting crazy running and running . The other ones didn’t really follow. Wilson said it must want to cross the river, but it didn’t really know why or how, just that it HAD to do it. It didn’t ever cross and eventually met up with the rest of them and went back to normal.

 Golden-breasted Bunting

Red-necked Francolin

 

 Warthog

 2 young baboons

 

We eventually met up with all the rest of the safari vehicles lined up watching a herd of Wildebeest in hopes of a crossing. They were getting closer and closer and grouping up, but it didn’t happen. One of the safari vehicles next to us had a young lady all dressed in her best safari look and she was posing for selfies on top of the truck. She must have taken at least 30 different shots one at a time and then deleting and starting over. Since we were just waiting and waiting in hopes of seeing a crossing, it gave us something to watch. Ha ha.

 there were around 20 different safari vehicles in various locations hoping to see a crossing

 

 this Wildebeest was leading the herd, but they never crossed

Mara River

 

poor Wildebeest

Finally, it was time to go to the airstrip and check in for our flight to Kigali, Rwanda at 3:20 on Coastal Aviation. The waiting room was too hot so Wilson set up chairs outside under a tree and we chatted until it was time to go. We told him he could go that we were fine waiting by ourselves. (he had a long drive back to Arusha that would take him almost 2 days with an overnight stay somewhere), but he said that was not his way. He wanted to make sure the plane took off and we were on it.

 the airstrip

 "airport"

 waiting room

 

It was a 12 seater plane and only 4 of us on it. We flew over Lake Victoria which is HUGE. We stopped at a small airport to get our passports stamped out of Tanzania and then continued on to Kigali.

 having our lunch on the plane

 views from the window

 Lake Victoria

 island in Lake Victoria

 immigration stop

 Kigali area in Rwanda is very built up

 our pilot

the bus was bigger than the plane

We arrived about an hour and a half early so our guide was not there. We were met by the ground crew when we got off the plane and they shook our hands and introduced themselves before taking our bags and escorting us to the bus which was larger than our plane. They came with us through immigration where we got our visas and through two TSA screening points. Then they took us out of the airport and stayed with us until our guide came. They were concerned that he wasn’t there yet, despite us telling them we were OK and we were really early. They called on their own cell phones twice to see where he was.

It was quite a culture shock after being in the bush for a couple of weeks and arriving in Kigali which is a bustling city. We felt severely underdressed as the airport was full of well dressed people! Including one guy who had a huge entourage  and one of them was carrying this huge elaborate pillow. He was in robes and had a huge wooden cross around his neck that he was hoding. Our guide said they were probably coming back from a funeral and that was customary dress.

We arrived at 6:30 and were met by our guide from GORILLA TREK AFRICA LTD. We got our Rwanda visa at the airport. Their webiste is: www. rwandagorilla.com

We were taken to Kigali Serena Hotel. More culture shock as we arrive at this very nice hotel after being on a game drive since 6 in the morning and feeling a bit like the Clampetts arriving in Beverly Hills. The shower felt wonderful and we went to dinner and had a very good dinner.

 dinner and view of the pool from dinner

 

We made plans with our guide for the city tour and lunch tomorrow in Kigali before driving to Volcanoes National Park.