Heather is a British travel / conservation journalist, and has written for publications and broadcasters such as the BBC, Departures, the Telegraph and the Sunday Times.
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More than gorillas
The way Rwanda has positioned itself as one of the most exciting tourism destinations in Africa is seriously admirable. Its controversial president, Paul Kagame, has invited some of the top tourism operators to develop properties in the country, bringing luxury accommodation to Volcanoes National Park, where the mountain gorillas are, and launching the first Big Five safaris in Akagera National Park, which has been rewilded by non-profit African Parks. It’s safe and noticeably clean, thanks to a monthly community clean-up day and a ban on plastic bags.
Most people will go to Rwanda for the gorillas – but everyone should stay for the prolific wildlife, world-class birding and its cool, arty capital, Kigali, which is deserving of at least a couple of nights. It’s a tiny country, so it’s easy to drive everywhere. As a single female, I felt very comfortable catching the bus from Kigali to Gisenyi on Lake Kivu – an easy way to save some cash.
Akagera was ransacked during the civil war, but this beautiful park – with its lakes, papyrus swamps, hills and savannah – is now a Big Five safari destination. I’ve been twice so far and seen lions, elephants, buffalos, hyenas, hippos and even a leopard (in the northern Magashi concession). The birding is excellent, too – there are nearly 500 birds in the park and my group counted 100 over a two-night stay.
Nyungwe Forest is another great birding destination and also where you can visit tea plantations and track chimps. A similar habituation programme is currently taking place in Gishwati-Mukura National Park, which is being developed for nature tourism. Lake Kivu is Rwanda’s ‘beach’ destination – I had fun paddle-boarding on the freshwater lake (which is free of crocs and hippos) from Gisenyi.
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