On to Akagera... Hot and Bumpy!!

OK... this day is the day of the animal! 

No talking... just enjoy...

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!

If you didn't know any better you would think this
 day was the best ever!

The weather was great, the animals were out to see us
(all except the elephants), and the kids were able to ride on the roof of the safari van... at some points during the day.

 Bruce and Ed were supposed to have come with us but they got a call that they might be been able to meet with President Kagame sometime during this day...so they ended up not joining us!  ( for naught, too bad!)

But what you don't know about this day is that the North entrance to the park was closed... so we couldn't enter from the South.. drive the very bumpy roads North- to see the big game and exit 7-8 hours later out the north gate!  

We entered through the South gate and started driving North.  The safari van was tossing us from side to side
and sometimes almost out of our seats..  
but the worst was the 2 hours of flies that came 
flooding in the windows and biting us. 

They aren't harmful.. but they do like to nip... 
So... since the van didn't have air conditioning and
our windows had to be up... within minutes of closing them 
the intense heat started hitting us. 

We drank everything we had in the car and 
our poor driver was moping his head with a towel. 

It was extrememly hot in the vehicle!  
After the 2 hours though...the flies were gone 
and we were off with the animals.  

The problem was now that we had to do that SAME 
DRIVE BACK DOWN TO THE SOUTH GATE TO
EXIT THE PARK.  

So, we did that whole senario all over again.  

It's a wonder we made it home in one piece. 
We were exhausted... and

 Liora and I had to pop a few Advil from sore muscles!  

It really was a rough trip so by the end of the day 
we were glad the guys hadn't come with us.  Even though we
 missed them they wouldn't have enjoyed the ride.

So, the moral of this story is:

Do not take a safari vehicle to Akagera on 
a hot day unless it has Air!  

( We've learned that none of them do.) 

We did live to tell about it though and now we know. 

And so do you! 

love,
margie