Travel Review: Tanzania Safari & Rwanda Gorilla Treks, Nyungwe Forest Park, Ngorongoro Crater, Memorial In Kigali

It's a challenge to single out just of few of the most memorable parts of our trip, but among the highlights for us were the following:

We loved all the treks in Rwanda, both in Nyungwe and Volcanoes National Park.  I am glad that we decided to do two gorilla treks, since each of the groups was very different, as was the terrain in which they were located.  My husband would probably put the golden monkey trek very high on his list too. 

The Genocide Memorial in Kigali is a "must" for anyone traveling to Rwanda.  It is remarkably well curated, providing a tremendous depth of information not only about the 1994 genocide but about other instances of mans' inhumanity to his fellow man in the course of the 20th century.

We've been on safari before in various places in Southern Africa, but our experiences in Tanzania topped them all.  We will never forget seeing over a thousand zebra at Hidden Valley, experiencing a lengthy encounter with a stunning leopard, and watching the nearly simultaneous births of about a dozen wildebeest in a woodland I dubbed "the maternity ward."  I suppose I could say that we were lucky, since we managed to see nearly everything we hoped we would, but honestly I don't think we would have without the skill and patience of our guide.

Our travels in Tanzania went beyond the typical safari experience in ways we welcomed as well.  Picking up on our interest in everyday life, our guide took us on a walking tour of a small town (Karatu) where we very much enjoyed seeing the fruit and vegetable market and interacted with vendors and customers (with our guide as translator, of course).  We also visited two different Maasai cattle markets, an experience that made the visit to a Maasai boma pale in comparison. 

Equally memorable was the unsolicited kindness of everyone with whom we interacted along the way.  We never felt that hotel/camp staff or tour guides and rangers were motivated by gain, but rather that they were genuinely intent on ensuring that we felt welcomed and left with only the most positive feelings about themselves and their country.