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Nyungwe
Tropical Rain Forest |
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Baby Mountain
Gorillas, Parc National des Volcans |
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A silverback
Mountain Gorilla, Parc National des Volcans |
In August 2006, Dean led a group of adventurers on a 10-day
photographic safari to the four corners of Rwanda. Click
here to see the map.
Akagera National Park: Set at a relatively low
altitude on the border with Tanzania, Akagera National Park
could scarcely be more different in mood to the breezy
cultivated hills that characterise much of Rwanda. Dominated
scenically by the labyrinth of swamps and lakes that follow
the meandering course of the Akagera River, the most remote
source of the Nile, this is archetypal African savannah
landscape of tangled acacia woodland interspersed with open
grassland.
Nyungwe Forest: High-altitude,
mountainous rainforest in southern Rwanda established as a
forest reserve in 1933. The conservation area consists of
approximately 378 square miles (970 square kilometers). The
forest is located in the Albertine Rift, a series of
mountain ranges beginning at the Rwenzori mountains in
western Uganda and Congo, continuing south into the Lendu
Plateau in eastern Congo. Contiguous with Kibira National
Park in Burundi, Nyungwe is one of the largest mountainous
rainforests remaining in Africa.
Parc National des Volcans: "In
the heart of Central Africa, so high up that you shiver more
than you sweat," wrote the eminent primatologist Dian Fossey,
"are great, old volcanos towering up almost 15,000 feet, and
nearly covered with rich, green rainforest - the Virungas".
Situated in the far northwest of Rwanda, the Parc des
Volcans protects the steep slopes of this magnificent
mountain range - home of the rare mountain gorilla - and the
rich mosaic of montane ecosystems, which embrace evergreen
and bamboo forest, open grassland, swamp and heath.
An exhilarating trek through the
cultivated foothills of the Virungas offers stirring views
in all directions. Then, abruptly, the trail enters the
national park, immersing trekkers in the mysterious intimacy
of the rainforest, alive with the calls of colourful birds
and chattering of the rare golden monkey, and littered with
fresh spoor of the mountains’ elusive populations of buffalo
and elephant. Through gaps in the forest canopy, the
magnificent peaks are glimpsed, easily accessible and among
the highest in Africa, beckoning an ascent.
On the first day of their gorilla
trek, they visited the Sabyinyo Group, a group comprising 9
individuals and boasting the largest silverback in the
region, Guhonda. On the second day, Group 13 was
visited, a group comprising 19 individuals, led by the
silverback, Nyakarimba.
During this trip, Dean embarked on
his first humanitarian assignment - he visited five primary
schools in the town of Ruhengeri to deliver supplies of
school stationery, which he purchased with the help of
generous donations from expats living in Dubai and sponsored
by United Parcel Service (UPS) who air freighted the goods
to Rwanda. Click
here to read the story. |
