14/08/2024
Yesterday, 5am we set out to the National Park at Akagera. It is a three hour drive. Speed limits in Kigali range from 60km to 80km. And there are speed cameras. There is enforcement . You pay a fine. The road was tarred all the distance. Not one pothole. Certainly not the fancy double lanes we have here.
Rwanda has more bananas than Cuba. Banana plantations everywhere. There is a rest shop along the way where you can grab coffee and sandwiches. And check your tires. (A slang for peeing) . We arrived at the Park after a dusty road of about 5km from the main road. You register and then start.
One of the guidelines is that if you are not out of the Park by 6pm… helicopters and co will be brought to “rescue” you. You will bear all that cost. Interesting! I wondered how one could get lost in a Park. The answer came when we started.
It’s a game search. Meaning you have to find the animals yourself. The Game park does not have as many animals as those of Tanzania and Kenya. So much more difficult to find.
We started. Drive up these roads and see nothing. Drive up that road and see nothing. Drivers would meet and ask if there was something where they were coming from. Exchange tips on where to find. Then we start sighting animals.
My daughters were eagle eyed. We saw the bulls, warthogs, hippo, Rhino, Zebra, baboons and others. This was after 5 hours. We were tired and exhausted. We met many drivers that had seen nothing. Our driver Mike said we had been lucky.
After 7 hours we found it. We were ready to go. Then we saw another one. And more animals that we had not seen earlier.
I turned to my kids and asked what we had all learnt… the answer was unanimous: there is a reward for persistence and perseverance. If you seek, you shall find. We started the 3 hours journey back “home”.
It had been a rewarding day. We had a guide to thank and a bit of luck? But again… you often create your own luck in life.
Courtesy: Ademola Henry Adigun