East Africa, Victoria Falls and Madagascar

[Fruitloop50]

I've been reading this forum for several years and have obtained a lot of good informationfrom the generous people that post here. I especially like reading trip reports so thought I would give something back by contributing one of our own.

We have just returned from a month in Africa. Eight months ago I read some trip reports on AFF about gorilla trekking. We didn't even know that was something available to tourists, and it sounded fantastic, so we decided to give it a go.

Mr F is an avid reader of Wilbur Smith novels and said that he would like to visit the Masai Mara and the Serengeti. We then added a trip to Victoria Falls and a week in Madagascar.

We wanted to stop in Perth on the way home to visit family, so rather than flying back to South Africa to catch a flight to Perth, we flew from Madagascar toMauritius, and then caught a direct flight to Perth from there.

In total we have nineteen flights, and in most countries we are only staying for a few nights, but we will most likely never return to Africa so that's what we decided to do.

 

[Fruitloop50]

Flights

DPO– MEL Qantas, Y
MEL– DXB Emirates, J
DXB– NBO Emirates, J
NBO– KGL RwandAir, Y
KGL– NBO Kenya Air, Y
WIL– MRE Air Kenya, Y
MRE– WIL Air Kenya, Y
NBO– JRO Precision Air, Y
JRO– SEU Auric Air, Y
SEU– JRO Auric Air, Y
JRO– ZNZ Air Tanzania, Y
ZNZ– NBO Precision Air, Y
NBO– LVI Kenya Air, Y
LVI– JNB Airlink, Y
JNB– TNR Airlink, Y
TNR– MRU Air Mauritius, Y
MRU– PER Air Mauritius, J
PER– MEL Jetstar, Y
MEL– DPO Qantas, Y

 

[Fruitloop50]

Our flight to Dubai was on an A380 and we had two seats in the centre, two rows in front of the onboard lounge. Most of the business cabin was occupied by the coughnal women's soccer team and their entourage, who were pretty noisy at the start. We were a bit worried that they might make a racket in the lounge during the flight, but they all went to sleep not long after take off.

We didn't bother with breakfast since we ate in the lounge. My IFE didn't work and over the next couple of hours it was restarted many times. Eventually it worked but only in 'lite' mode which meant the flight path and cameras on the plane didn't work, and the selection of movies was only fifteen (with only four that were in English) compared to the dozens that MrF had to choose from on his. The FAs had been so apologetic about it not working I didn't have the heart to tell them it still wasn't working properly.

 

[Fruitloop50]

For lunch MrF had sweetcorn soup with croutons and warm garlic bread followed by beef tenderloin with a horseradish and tarragon sauce, broccolini, and a potato and celeriac gratin. He enjoyed it all.

I was sleeping when the meal service started but was awake and sitting up by the time MrF finished his entree. For the next twenty minutes FAs were constantly walking past me delivering food to other passengers, and taking away their dishes, and not once did any of them ask me if I would like my lunch.

Eventually, after everyone's dessert dishes had been cleared, I asked one of the FAs for something to eat. She apologised for the delay and said there had been a 'miscommunication' whatever that means.

I just had two entrees, the soup and an Arabic mezze. MrF had said that the warm garlic bread was lovely so I ordered that as well. The food was nice except that two of the dips in the mezze were partly frozen, and the garlic bread had been taken straight out of the cold fridge.​

 

[Fruitloop50]

The flight from DXB to NBO was on a Boeing B777-300 with the business seats in a 2-3-2 layout. The seats were angle flat but since it was a daytime flight, and just under five hours, it wasn't an issue.

For lunch we both had roasted tomato soup with cheese straws followed by African-style roasted chicken with rodo sauce (a tomato sauce), and coconut rice. For dessert I had chocolate pecan cake with dark chocolate sauce. Everything was really nice.

The service experience on this flight was excellent and all the staff were very attentive, always smiling, and couldn't do enough for us.​

 

[Fruitloop50]

We arrived in NBO at 7.35pm and had read that immigration can be a real zoo at this time. Fortunately there was only two people in front of us. After purchasing our visas we caught the shuttle to the Hilton Garden Inn Nairobi Airport Hotel, located four kilometres from the airport.


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[Fruitloop50]

We had breakfast at the hotel and it was a medium sized buffet with eggs cooked to order. The omelettes were good.

We had hired a driver for the day and first we drove 20km to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, located within the Nairobi National Park. The trust raises orphaned black rhinos and elephants, and where possible reintroduces them into the wild later on.


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When we got there we walked a short distance to a muddy watering hole. Shortly after one of the keepers came down the track followed by a very cute small black rhino. We were then given a talk about black rhinos and the efforts made to raise the orphans.

 

[Fruitloop50]

When the rhino left another keeper came down a different track followed by ten baby elephants. When they got to the watering hole they were each given a couple of large baby bottles containing cows milk and some other supplements. Each elephant was led around the watering hole by the keepers holding the bottles. After they finished drinking they romped around playing with each other.

 

[Fruitloop50]

After they left another eleven came down and the process was repeated. While all this was going on one of the keepers talked about the individual orphans and their stories, and about some of the other projects in which the trust is involved. It was really interesting and the elephants were unbelievably cute.

Next we drove to the nearby Giraffe Centre to learn about the breeding program of the Rothschild Giraffe, a subspecies of the giraffe found only in the grasslands of East Africa, and recognisable by the fact that they have no markings below the knees. When the breeding program was started just over forty years ago, there was only 130 giraffe remaining, and now there are 300.



We were each given a cup of food to feed them





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[Fruitloop50]

Finally, we drove to the Karen Blixen Museum, which wasn't very far away. The museum is located in the house that was owned by Danish Author Karen and her husband. The house was featured in the movie ‘Out of Africa’, based on Karen’s autobiography of the same title.

Built in 1912, Karen and her husband bought the house in 1917 and it became the farm house for their 6,000 acre farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills. Six hundred acres of the farm was used for coffee farming. Their marriage failed after eight years and in 1921 her husband moved on and left the running of the farm to Karen.

She lived at the house until her return to Denmark in 1931. The farm was then bought by Remy Martin, who broke the land into 20 acre parcels for sale. Subsequent development created the present suburb of Karen. The house was then owned by several different people until purchased in 1964 by the Danish government, and given to the Kenyan government as an independence gift.

The government set up a college of nutrition there and the house was used as the principal’s house. In 1985 the shooting of the movie began and the National Museums of Kenya expressed interest to acquire the house for the purpose of establishing a Museum. The Museum was opened in 1986.

The only way to see inside the house was with a guide, but you are allowed to wander the grounds on your own. Inside there is a lot of original furniture and some clothes used in the movie.

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[Fruitloop50]

For dinner we went to the hotel restaurant where they have a la carte or a buffet. We chose the buffet and enjoyed what we had.

French onion soup


Steak with mushroom sauce



Vegetable curry



Cod in a lemon sauce



Apple crumble and custard



Carrot pudding and custard



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[Fruitloop50]

The next morning we caught the hotel shuttle to the airport to catch our 2.10pm RwandaAir flight to Kigali, Rwanda. At twenty past two we were advised that the flight would be delayed for at least an hour due to technical reasons. An hour after that we were told that a further announcement would be made at half past four.

We went to a cafe to get something to eat and when we got back to the gate we were told the flight had been cancelled, and that we would be put on the next flight at 9.30pm. Instead of providing food vouchers for everyone they took us to one of the lounges.

I think it was the Aspire lounge. It was tiny and there wasn't enough room for all of us as well as the people that were already there. When some people left we nabbed a couple of stools at a table.

There was about eight bain-maries but they were all empty or had just a couple of spoonfuls left in them. In the ninety minutes that we were there they weren't replenished. There was quite a few cold appetisers, and cakes and biscuits, and they were pretty good.

We had been told to go back to the gate at 7pm to receive our new boarding passes but the staff didn't turn up until almost half past. Then they told us that the new flight would be delayed by a couple of hours. After a while we went back to the lounge and this time all hot dishes had been replenished.

The plane finally took off at 12.45am and we arrived in Kigali an hour later, Just before 1am local time. For a snack on board we were offerred the choice of a beef or chicken roll and we both chose beef. The 'beef' was perfectly circular thin pieces of something pink, a bit like odd looking stras. Mr F enjoyed his but I didn't touch mine.

We're glad we don't have any more flights with RwandAir.



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[Fruitloop50]

We are staying overnight at the 5 Swiss Hotel in the centre of Kigali, and we arrived there at 2am. The room is pretty old and dated but it has everything we need.



Breakfast is included in the room rate and was a tiny sad looking buffet, but at least it was free and we had no other options. They offer omelettes cooked to order but we didn't feel like one.

 

[Fruitloop50]

At nine o'clock we were picked up by our driver Godwin, who will be with us for the whole time we are in Rwanda. He was supposed to pick us up at eleven but because we arrived late yesterday, we weren't able to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial, and he kindly offered to come early and take us there this morning.

It is only a few kilometres from the hotel but the traffic was crazy so it took quite a while to get there. As well as cars and trucks, there are thousands of motorbikes, and almost every helmet worn was either red or yellow. A lot of the riders were wearing vests with 'taxi moto' printed on them which means you can hire them and ride on the back.​

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[Fruitloop50]

At the memorial we first watched a short film with survivors telling their stories. Then we looked at the excellent exhibition with written information, pictures and videos detailing the lead up, the events of that day, and the aftermath. Outside in the garden there are mass graves with approximately 250,000 people buried there.

The memorial is really well done and well worth a visit if you are ever in Kigali.

 

[kpc]

At the memorial we first watched a short film with survivors telling their stories. Then we looked at the excellent exhibition with written information, pictures and videos detailing the lead up, the events of that day, and the aftermath. Outside in the garden there are mass graves with approximately 250,000 people buried there.

The memorial is really well done and well worth a visit if you are ever in Kigali.

View attachment 393962View attachment 393964View attachment 393965View attachment 393966View attachment 393971

We visited in Oct last year. Very moving. The film ended on a positive note.

 

[Fruitloop50]

Next we drove to Kingi, one hundred kilometres north east of the city. We really enjoyed the drive. The scenery was wonderful and it was nice passing through all the little villages and watching people go about their daily business. The drive takes quite a long time because the road is only one lane each way, and really hilly, so often you get stuck behind slow trucks. It took just under four hours including a stop for lunch.

Most of the time there are no footpaths so everyone just walks along the side of the road. There was so many children, many only about four or five years old, and Godwin told us they walk home from school to have lunch, and then walk back to school again afterwards. They all looked so happy and were always smiling and waving.

There are lots of fields growing crops, a lot of bananas and corn, and most of the many people we saw working in them just use hoes. We didn't see any tractors or other mechanical farm machinery.

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[Fruitloop50]

Lots of people ride bicycles and carry all sorts of things on them like huge bundles of wood or sugar cane, massive bags of straw, furniture, and big bundles of large yellow plastic containers that are used to carry water. Mostly they were pushed when they were going up the hills and the bikes with the really wide loads sometimes had two people trying to balance everything while they were walking.



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[Fruitloop50]

Stopped at a cafe on the way for lunch. Fish and chips, and a grilled tuna and vege sandwich.

 

[Fruitloop50]

When we arrived in Kingi we went to the Ellen De Generes Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. It has been open for a couple of years and is a research and education centre that continues Fossey’s legacy, and advances the work of saving gorillas from extinction.



Fossey was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from 1966 until her murder in 1985. Her killer has never been found but many suspect it was poachers. Her research and conservation work helped reduce the downward population trend in mountain gorillas.

Gorillas in the Mist, a book published two years before her death, is Fossey's account of her study of the gorillas, and her prior career. In 1988 it was made into a movie.


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There was a lot of interesting information about gorillas, and Fossey's actual cabin has been relocated here, with her furniture and some personal effects inside.

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