Category: Experiences

Top Things to See in Rwanda

Mountain Gorillas

Rwanda is blessed to have the mountain gorillas in her volcanoes national park located in the western part of the country. Mountain gorillas are very endangered primates that are currently remaining in only 3 countries on the entire planet. Of the three countries, Rwanda is the best destination for gorilla safaris and currently there are 10 habituated mountain gorilla groups. The mountain gorillas in Rwanda are very easy to track because the forests in volcanoes national park where the mountain gorillas live are not very thick thus offering much clear views of the great apes relaxing and well as a better chance for clear photographs.

The Volcanoes National Park Rwanda is located a few kilometers from the capital city Kigali and can be got to after a 2 to 3 hours drive coupled with en route sightings of the beautiful landscapes in the Rwandan countryside.

The mountain gorilla tracking permits for Rwanda are sold at $750 and the mountain gorillas in volcanoes national park can be tracked at any time of the year. Tourists are however recommended to book or secure their mountain gorilla tracking permits early enough because a limited number is usually available a day (only 80 mountain gorilla permits).

Golden Monkeys

These are also very unique primates in Rwanda that also inhabit the forested mountains of Volcanoes National Park. Just like mountain gorillas, golden monkeys are also very rare primate species that can only be found in the Virunga massif to covers volcanoes national park. These primates are very unique with their golden fur and also live in groups just like most of other primates.

Golden monkey tracking also starts in the morning however tourists usually return by mid day and can therefore get time to rest or go for a cultural tour to the Ibyiwacu cultural village. The golden monkey tracking permits is sold at $100 and they can also be tracked at anytime of the year.

The Chimpanzees

Chimpanzees in Rwanda live in Nyungwe forest, which is situated in southwestern Rwanda. This forest is among the less disturbed natural forest in east Africa and is a home to not only chimpanzees but also a wide range of wildlife species including birds, plant vegetation, insects and many others.

Chimpanzees are however the leading wildlife attractions of Nyungwe forest national park and the forest has tracking trails that lead tourist to different corners of the forest amidst great scenic views.

Savanna Wildlife Species

Akagera national park located in eastern Rwanda is the only savanna national park in Rwanda and a home to a number of savanna wild animals that include zebras, giraffes, lions, hippos, buffaloes, baboons plus a number of antelopes.

Akagera national park covers lake Ihema, which is a home to a number of aquatic wild animals, and it’s where tourists while on a boat cruise that costs only $40 view the hippos and crocodiles.

The other wildlife species in the national park can be viewed while on game drives. Park entrance fees are only $35.

Tanzania is a country in East Africa within the Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. 

Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, is in north-eastern Tanzania. Tanzania is ranked as the top destination for Big Five safaris and the vast majority of tourists also visit Zanzibar – or do a northern circuit of Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA), Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, and Mount Kilimanjaro.

People also come to Tanzania to go chimpanzee trekking. Recently Primate Safaris Rwanda visited Tanzania to clearly understand the difference between the chimpanzees in Tanzania and those in Uganda.

Tanzania

Gombe Stream National Park is one of the smallest national parks in Tanzania at only 20 square miles. The park is located in the western Kigoma region and was established in 1968. The terrain is distinguished by steep valleys, and the forest vegetation ranges from grassland to alpine bamboo to tropical rain forest.

The park is accessible by boat and is known to be a home for chimpanzees. It is in this park where Jane Goodall conducted her research on chimpanzees. The park’s diversity makes it increasingly popular, just like Kibale Forest National park in Uganda. Besides chimpanzees, primates inhabiting Gombe Stream include beachcomber olive baboons, red colobus, red-tailed monkeys, blue monkeys, and vervet monkeys.

The park is also home to over 200 bird species and bush pigs. There are also 11 species of snakes, and occasional hippopotami and leopards. Visitors to the park can trek into the forest to view the chimpanzees, as well as swim and snorkel in Lake Tanganyika with almost 100 kinds of colourful cichlid fish.

With the support of renowned anthropologist Louis Leakey, Goodall set up a small research station in Gombe Stream in hopes of learning more about the behavior of our closest relatives. There she spent months tracking the elusive chimpanzee troops, particularly the Kasakela chimpanzee community, and observing their daily habits until she was slowly accepted by one troop and was allowed rare and intimate glimpses into chimpanzee society. She wrote many books and filmed many documentaries about the behavior of chimpanzees.

Uganda

Uganda is the world’s second most populous landlocked country after Ethiopia. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, shared with Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda is in the African Great Lakes region. Uganda also lies within the Nile basin and has a moderate equatorial climate.

Uganda is the most well known destination for gorilla and chimpanzee trekking in Africa.

The Kibale Forest National Park, located in western Uganda, is known to be the home to the close relatives of humans, chimpanzees. It contains a diverse array of landscapes and Kibale is one of the last remaining expanses to contain both lowland and montane forests. In eastern Africa, it sustains the last significant expanse of pre-montane forest.

Kibale National Park is an important eco-tourism and safari destination, popular for its population of habituated chimpanzees and 12 other species of primates. The park has one of the highest diversity and concentration of primates in Africa. The park protects several well-studied, habituated communities of common chimpanzee, as well as several species of central African monkey including the Uganda mangabey, the Ugandan red colobus and the L’Hoest’s monkey. Other primates that are found in the park include the black-and-white colobus and the blue monkey.

The park’s population of elephants travel between the park and Queen Elizabeth National Park. Other terrestrial mammals that are found within Kibale National Park include red and blue duikers, bushbucks, sitatungas, bush pigs, giant forest hogs, common warthogs, and African buffalo. The carnivores that are present include African leopards, African golden cats, servals, different mongooses and two species of otter. In addition, lions visit the park on occasion.

The park boasts many species of birds, including the olive long-tailed cuckoo, western tinkerbird, two species of pittas (African and green-breasted) and the African grey parrot.

Primate Safaris Rwanda is offering a safari that gives you the opportunity to visit the primates in both nations. Check out the the 8-day safari here!

Traditionally, when one took an African safari, the only way to view wildlife was on a game drive. Today there are more options for game viewing, ensuring that there is a way for everyone to view wildlife on safari, so check out these options before you book your African safari with Go African Safaris.

Game drive in vehicle

This entails driving slowly through the park or reserve, in the vehicle of your choice, looking for game. Once you spot something, you can stop for some time observing the animals.

The vehicles used for this type of activity are the 8 or 9 seater minivan with roof hatches that pop open (cheapest option) , a 4WD Landcruiser which has the roof panels opening up, and finally the 4WD Landcruiser/Landrover from which the sides of the body have been removed and replaced with either canvas or tarpaulin – which can be rolled down in case of rain (this type of vehicle is normally based in the parks or reserves).

Game walk

This is an activity which is best undertaken in the morning hours or the late afternoon hours, before it gets too hot, and normally lasts about 2 to 3 hours. The game walk, in addition to being more eco-friendly than the game drive, allows you to get closer to nature. Your guide will show you things that you cannot see from a vehicle, like animal tracks and droppings – and you will learn about traditional medicine as well.

Also viewing wildlife from this perspective is completely different from when you are in a vehicle. It’s usual to have an armed ranger accompanying you on the walk, together with your guide and/or naturalist. Game walks cannot be done in national parks or reserves, only in conservancies and sanctuaries.

Balloon safari

Flying high over the plains gives you a bird’s eye view of the wildlife below and this is particularly interesting when there are big movements of game happening, like the wildebeest migration. Getting a closer look at game is difficult as you are high above them, but the feeling of soaring above the plains and watching the game below is fantastic.

Canoe safari

This is a unique way of viewing wildlife, gliding on the waters of the river, watching the hippos and elephants crossing the river and other wildlife coming down to drink. This activity is not so common in East Africa except in Lake Manyara, but is quite popular as you go further south to Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana.

The possibility of seeing cats are quite slim – mostly you would see hippos and crocodiles with occasional glimpses of elephants. However the scenery is wonderful and it is a wonderful way to pass the time, drifting along in the canoe. However this is a potentially dangerous activity so do make sure you book with a reliable and professional operator.

Horseback Safari

If you are an experienced rider, there is no better way to experience a safari than from the back of a horse – you get to ride up close to elephant, zebra and wildebeest. This is a specialised safari where the horses have to be trained to be near wildlife, and so it not on offer at all parks and reserves.

Remember you don’t have settle for the traditional game drives on your safari, you can tailor make your safari and choose the type of wildlife viewing that appeals to you. 

Although most travelers to Uganda have ranked tracking  chimpanzees as the most interesting wildlife encounter in the whole world, the chimpanzee habituation experience is the best encounter.  Though less known to most travelers to Uganda, the full day habituation gives you more time to interact with the chimps.

There are approximately 4950 chimpanzees in Uganda with about 1500 of these found in Kibale forest national park. This national park is one of the most of Uganda’s parks attracting a good number of tourists all year round. Kibale is a tropical rain forest and harbors 12 other different primate species alongside the chimpanzees. A Uganda safari to the park provides travelers with great and memorable experiences including chimpanzee watching, nature walks, tree identification, bird watching and more.

Chimpanzee Habituation:

Related to chimpanzee trekking, chimpanzee habituation is yet another experience in Kibale National park participated in by travelers. A chimpanzee habituation permits is sold at US$250, which is quite higher than the chimpanzee tracking permit, but the experience is quite awesome.

Chimpanzee habituation entails a traveler to be with the chimpanzees for the whole day. This gives them an opportunity to learn more about chimpanzees, their behaviors, feeding habits and how chimpanzees participate in different activities within their respective groups.

Chimpanzee habituation is best done during the month of March, April and November when there is limited number of travelers visiting the national park for chimpanzee trekking.

To all travelers planning to participate in this activity, it is recommended to book a chimpanzee habituation permit in advance foe easy allocation of the chimpanzee group. It is different from chimpanzee trekking where a traveler can get a chimpanzee trekking permit even at day of arrival.

Chimpanzee habituation experience is a long daytime and this requires one to carry packed food and some drinks for refreshments. Raincoats, jackets long trousers and long sleeved shirts are recommended.  This is because of the unpredictable weather conditions in he forest in that it can rain at any time of the day.

In the past years, the number of people participating in chimpanzee habituation experience was limited to only six. However, presently, a group of twelve individuals is allowed to interact wit a chimpanzee family for the whole day. This is a great opportunity to travelers interested in chimpanzee habituation in that the number of permits has been now increased.

While spending time with he chimpanzees and following them up, travelers have great opportunities to encounter other animals in the national park such as the different monkey species, butterflies, birds among others, all which adds to the final experience.

Although travelers are allowed to spend much time with the chimpanzee during the proves, there are reminded to keep a distance o seven meters from the animals, this is because chimpanzees are the closest relatives to human beings sharing 99.9% of human genes. This makes them so susceptible to human disease and this distance is encouraged to ensure safety of these rare animals.

Concerning g the years, children below 15 years are not allowed to participate in the habituation process. It is similar to gorilla habituation that is also done in Uganda. Travelers in the chimpanzee habituation process follow trails in the forest in search of the chimpanzees depending on where they spent the previous night.

All travelers must go for a short briefing about the do’s and don’ts in the process and then follow a guide for the safety of bot the chimpanzees and the travelers. Guides carry some weapons just to scare the wild animals away but they do not shoot.

In conclusion therefore, chimpanzee habituation is the best experience that every traveler should not miss out, all travelers to Kibale national park should there fore include chimpanzee habituation is there package for the greater and memorable experience.  Every travel interested in visiting Kibale forest national park can book with a Ugandan tour operator for a great and memorable experience.

Highlights bout Kibale national park:

• It is a main destination for chimpanzee trekking and habituation.
• It has many other primates along side chimpanzee
• Birding takes place there
• Nature walks
• And many tourism activities take place there.

Of the hundreds of awesome activities that South Africa has on offer, probably the most popular activity on offer is Game Viewing. Game viewing on any of the many game reserves in South Africa provides an opportunity to see South African wild life in all their beauty in their natural habitat. On a self-drive expedition, with a guide, on horseback, on elephant back – whatever your preference, you’re assured of a memorable game viewing experience.

Probably the most well known game viewing location in South Africa is the Kruger National Park. Home to South Africa’s Big 5, the Kruger National Park offers an incredible self-drive route through the open veld where you’ll see countless variations of buck, zebra’s, giraffe, leopard, lion, springbok, cheetah, eland and countless others. Self-driven game viewing trips offer the benefits of being able to determine the pace of you journey, however without a guide who knows the area well, you might miss out on seeing something special.

The Kruger National Parks game viewing isn’t limited only to self-drive expeditions. The park has been very well developed to cater for many different preferences. Guided groups will be taken out into the bushveld, where you’ll camp overnight and experience the bushveld at night with all its fascinating sounds and sights.

The Eastern Cape offers much in the way of game viewing. Whilst most game reserves offer Big 5 game viewing, the popular Addo Elephant Park just outside Port Elizabeth lays claim to being the only park in South Africa that offers Big 7 game viewing! The 372 000 ha park is home to all of the South African Big 5 and in addition, there’s a 120 000 ha marine zone where you can spot the majestic whale and the much feared great white shark.

10 Minutes outside of Port Elizabeth, is the Seaview Lion and Game Park. Although it’s doesn’t offer game viewing of all the South African Big 5, it does offer the incredible opportunity to interact and play with lion cubs. R40 will get you up to about 30 minutes playtime with either the very young cubs, or the slightly older and more boisterous cubs. It’s an unforgettable experience and definitely worth doing. As you drive through the park, you’ll pass by giraffe, zebra and all sorts of buck. The Seaview Lion park also offers the rare opportunity to view the unique White Lion as well as the beautiful tiger.

Kwa Zulu Natal also has many choices for exceptional game viewing. The St Lucia National Park offers not only beautiful game viewing, but is also known as a birder’s paradise because of a the enormous variety of birdlife. Swaziland’s game viewing is one of the top in the country because of its raw beauty and rugged terrain. The Swaziland game viewing parks are not overly commercial and thus offer game viewing in its most natural form.

One of the hardest animals to spot when you’re game viewing in South Africa, is the leopard. Because of its reclusive nature – spending most of the day in the trees out of sight – game viewing trips don’t often get to see this incredible animal. However the game viewing parks in Mpumalanga offer some of the highest concentrations of leopard per square kilometer in South Africa. A day or night spent in most of the game parks in Mpumalanga is bound to include a number of leopard sightings – definitely worth the trip

Game viewing in South Africa offers more diversity of wildlife and more excitement than any other country in the world – make sure you don’t miss the wonders of game viewing in South Africa.