AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK

Akagera National Park was named after the river that runs along its eastern boundary; The Park is Rwanda’s famous Savanna reserve.  In comparison to the rest of the country, the area is relatively warm and low-lying, and plains support a cover of dense, broad-leafed woodland with lighter acacia woodland and patches of rolling grassland studded eloquently with stands of the superficially cactus-like Euphorbia candelabra shrub.
 
The west of the plains lays a chain of low mountains, which reach the elevations of between 1,600m and 1,800m.  The eastern part of the park supports a vast wetland. The mighty Akagera River feeds a complex of a dozen of lakes linked by extensive papyrus swamps and winding water.

Poaching in this area has greatly reduced wildlife populations in recent years, and what was formerly the north of the park is now a settlement area for returned refugees. The lakes that remain within the national park are routinely used to water domestic cattle – indeed, the long-horned Ankole cow is far and away the most commonly seen large mammal.

Apart from all that, Akagera is definitely worth visiting.  There is plenty of game around, like buffalos, elephants, zebras, giraffes, hippos and various antelope all reasonably visible.  The lakes support some of the highest concentrations of hippo you will not find anywhere in Africa, as well as numerous large crocodiles, while lion, leopard and black rhino are still in small numbers.  And the birdlife in Akagera is extraordinary – there are 550 species which include all sorts of rarities and some big concentration of water birds.                    .
Akagera National Park is one Africa’s game reserve where you can drive for some hours without passing another vehicle, and without knowing what wildlife encounter you might find around the next corner.  Akagera is also among the most scenic of savanna reserves, with its sumptuous forest-fringed lakes, tall mountains and constantly changing vegetation.

BACKGROUND
The park is known for protecting a wide diversity of habitats within a relatively small area.  Prior to the civil war, it was regarded as one of the few African savannah reserves to form a self-sustaining ecological unit, meaning that its resident large mammals had no need to migrate seasonally outside of the park boundaries.  Where that is still the case today is an open question:  roughly two-thirds of the original park was degazetted in 1997, and while some of the discarded territory is still virgin bush, it is probably only a matter of time before it will all be settled; putting further pressure on Akagera’s diminished wildlife populations. 

The northern boundaries of the park protect an area of 1,085km.  The eastern part of the park consists of an extensive network of wetlands, fed by the Akagera River, and dominated by a series of small to-medium-sized lakes.  Lake Ihema lies within the revised park boundaries and is the largest open water body covering about 100km.  The lakes are connected by narrow channels of flowing water and large expenses of seasonal and perennial papyrus swamps.  The eastern wetlands are important habitats to the protected animals within the park: they do not only provide a permanent source of drinking water for the large mammals, but also form an important water bird sanctuary.

MAMMALS
The large mammal populations have suffered badly at the hands of poachers but when you arrive at Akagera, you expect the worst, but you will be surprised to see how much wildlife that is still there.   The populations of all large mammals are severely depleted in comparison with ten years ago, while a few high-profile species, if not already locally extinct, however most large mammals are still sufficiently numerous to form a viable breeding population; in addition, with adequate protection, these members are likely to be supplemented by animals crossing into the park from unprotected parts of neighboring Tanzania which still support plenty of big game. 
These species include the African wild dog, perhaps a victim not of poaching, but of a canine plague which would have been introduced into the population through contact with domestic dogs.  The larger predators, spotted hyena and leopard are still around, but infrequently observed.
 Preceding to 1994, the park supported an estimated 250 individuals of lions, including a couple of prides that were uniquely adapted in the swamps, and others specialized in climbing trees.  During the civil war, large numbers of lion were hunted out by the army to protect the presidential cattle herds; more recently they have been poisoned by cattle herders living outside the park.  After a few years without any confirmed sightings, a female with three cubs was observed in the north of the park.  More recent published estimates have put the population from 15 to 60 individuals, but local sources have fewer estimates and have placed the total number of resident lions at less than 10.  That said, given the tenacity of this regal feline, and its tendency to wander long distances, it is one species that would naturally replenish itself through individuals crossing over Tanzania.
Smaller predators are well represented.  Most likely to be encountered by day are various mongooses (we saw dwarf, banded and black-tailed mongooses), while at night there is a chance of coming across viverrids such as the lithe, heavily spotted and somewhat cat-like genet, and the bulkier black-masked civet.  Also present, but rarely seen, are the handsome spotted several cat and the dog-like side-striped jackal.
One of the most common terrestrial mammals is the buffalo and, while the population is nowhere near the estimated 8,000 that roamed the park in the 1980s, it is probably still measurable in thousands.  Hippo, too, are present in impressive numbers:  on some of the lakes there must be at least a dozen pods of up to 50 animals, and the total population probably exceeds, 1,000.  The handsome impala is probably the most common and habitat-tolerant large mammal in the park and of the 11 antelope species which occur in Akagera, only the aquatic situnga is immediately endangered and unlikely to be seen by visitors.  Small herds of Burchell’s zebra are regularly encountered in open areas.

Also very common are three savannah primates:  the dark, heavily built olive baboon, the smaller and more agile vervet monkey, and the tiny wide-eyed bush bay.  The forest-dwelling silver monkey, although listed for Akagera, is probably now very rare, possibly even locally extinct, due to habitat loss following the reduction in the park’s area.  For the same reason, it is debatable whether Africa’s largest swine, the giant forest hog, still occurs in Akagera.  The smaller bush pig, a secretive nocturnal spices, is present but rarely encountered, while the diurnal warthog is very common and often seen.
Two large mammal species that don’t occur there naturally were introduced to the park prior to the civil war.  The first of these is the Maasai giraffe, which was original herd of two males and four females produced its first offspring in 1988 and had since multiplied to a population of around 60 zebras.

In 1957, Akagera became the recipient of Africa’s first black rhino translocation, when a herd comprising five females and one male was flown in from the bordering Karagwe region of Tanzania, and was supplemented by another male a year later.  The rhino prospered in the dense bush and by the early 1970s had colonized most of the park-one individual is said to have strayed south almost of the park – one individual is said to have strayed south almost as far as the Rusumo Falls.  After then came the wholesale rhino poaching of the 1980s, by the end of that decade no more than a dozen individuals survived, and it was long thought that the remainder were shot in the civil war. 

Although the African elephant used to occur naturally in Akagera, the last recorded sighting of the original population was on the shores of Lake Mihindi in 1961.  The present-day herd is descended from a group of 26 youngsters that was translocated to Akagera in 1975, part of an operation to clear all the elephants from the increasingly densely populated Bugesera Plains to the south of Kigali.  Up to 100 adult elephants were shot in the process, while a young American filmmaker Lee Lyon was killed by one of the survivors upon its release into Akagera.  By the late 1980s an estimated 45 individuals roamed Akagera and, although population growth was stunted by poaching during the civil war, the current population of that least 100 is probably the largest the park has supported in 50 years.

BIRDS
Akagera is the most important ornithological site in Rwanda with a checklist of 550 species recorded before its area was reduced in 1977 and now, they are probably closer to 525 species.  In addition to being the best place in Rwanda to see savannah birds and raptors, Akagera is as rich in water birds as anywhere in East Africa, and one of the few places             where   papyrus
Among the more colorful and common of the savannah birds are the gorgeous lilac-breasted roller, black-headed gonolek, little bee-eater, Heuglin’s robin-chat and brown parrot.  The comical grey hornbill which are less colorful but impressive and noisy bare-faced go-away bird.  The riparian woodland around the lakes hosts a number of specialized species, of which Ross’s turaco, a bright-purple, jay-sized bird with a distinctive yellow mask, is the most striking.
A notable future of Akagera’s avifauna is the species such as the crested barbet, Arnot’s chat and Souza’s shrike, all of which is linked with the brachystegiawoodland of southern Tanzania and further south, but has colonized the mixed woodland of Akagera at the northernmost extent between Lake Victoria and the Albertine Rift. 

The savannah of Akagera is one of the last places in Rwanda where a wide range of large raptors reside.  White-backed and Ruppell’s griffon vultures soar high on the thermals, the beautiful bateleur eagle can be recognized by its waving flight pattern and red wing markings, while brown snake eagles and hooded vultures are often seen perching on bare branches.
Most of the savannah birds are primarily of interest to the dedicated birder, but it is difficult to image that anybody would be unmoved by the immense concentrations of water-associated birds that can be found on the lakes.  Pelicans are common, as is the garishly decorated crowned crane, the odd little open-bill stork and the much larger and singularly grotesque marabou stork.  Herons and egrets are particularly visible and well-presented, ranging from the immense goliath heron to the secretive black-capped night heron and reed-dwelling purple heron.  The lakes also support a variety of smaller kingfishers and shorebirds, and a prodigious number of fish eagles, whose shrill duet ranks as one of the most evocative sounds of Africa.
On a more esoteric note, the papyrus swamps are an excellent place to look for a handful of birds restricted to this specific habitat: the stunning and highly vocal papyrus gonolek, as well as the more secretive and nondescript Caruther’s cistocal and white-winged warbler.  Akagera used to be regarded as one of the best places in Africa to see the shoebill, an enormous and unmistakable slate-grey swamp-dweller.

REPTILES
The Nile crocodile, the world’s largest reptile and a survivor from the age of the dinosaurs, is abundant in the lakes.  Some of the largest wild specimens you will encounter anywhere are to be found sunning themselves on the mud-banks of Akagera, their impressive mouths wide open until they slighter menacingly into the water at the approach of human intruders.  Not unlike a miniature crocodile in appearance, the water monitor is a type of lizard which often grows to be more than a meter long and is common around the lakes, tending to crash noisily into the bush or water when disturbed.  Smaller lizards are seen all over, the colorful rock agama, and a variety of snake are present but, as ever, very secretive.

HAZARDOUS ANIMALS
Although it is technically forbidden to leave your vehicle accept at designated lookout points, the guides in Akagera seem to enforce this rule somewhat whimsically.  Bizarrely, some guides seem to be unduly nervous about approaching elephant and buffalo in a vehicle but are dangerously blasé about trying to sneak up on the same animals on foot.  It is probably worth noting that, whatever your guide might say; is extremely unwise to leave the vehicle in the presence of elephant, buffalo or lion.
Hippo and crocodile are potentially dangerous, and claim far more human lives than any terrestrial African animal. Therefore you should be dawn or in overcast conditions, when hippos are most likely to come out of the water graze.  The danger with hippos is getting between them and the water; you have nothing to worry about when they are actually in the water.  Special caution should be exercised if you camp next to a lake you should not wander too far from your site after dark, and take a good look around incase you need to leave your tent during the night. 
The most dangerous animal in Akagera is the anopheles mosquito. After dark, you should wear long trousers and thick socks then smear any exposed parts of your body with insect repellent.  Many tents have in-built mosquito netting which will protect you while sleeping, so long as you don’t hang a light at the entrance of your tent, which might make a swarm of insects enter inside the tent. 

ACCESSIBILITY.
Using a private vehicle, Akagera can be reached from Kigali in a two hours long drive and from Kibungo or Rwamagana in about one hour.  The only usable entrance gate, 500m from the new Akagera Game Lodge, is reached through a 27km dirt road which branches from the main surfaced road at Kabarondo, 15km north of Kibungo.  This dirt road is in fair condition, passable by any vehicle except after rain.  Within the park, however, a 4x4 is advisable, though any vehicle with good clearance should be okey in the dry season.
Reaching Akagera on public transport is quite problematic.  Any minibus-tax travelling between Kayonza and Kibungo can drop you at the junction, from where the only realistic option is a motorbike-taxi and you assume that you can find one.  Inside the park, unless you are staying at the Game Lodge, no walking is permitted with or without a guide, and there is no vehicle available for game drives.

FEES CHARGED.
 A one-off entrance fee is US$10 for non-residents, US$ 5 for foreign residents and no fee is charged for Rwandan visitors and covers the full duration of their stay.  In addition, the park levies a one-off vehicle fee of Rfr2, 000-10,000 locally registered vehicles or US$10-50 for foreign registered vehicles, depending on the size and type of vehicles, with the highest fees applying to trucks and buses.  To this must be added a game viewing fee of US$20/30/50 (non-residents) US$15/20/25 (foreign residents or Rfr2, 500/3,000/5,000 (Rwandans) for one/two/three days. You should note that this fee is charged per calendar day (as opposed per 24 hours, so you pay for two days if you do an afternoon and morning game drive either side of an overnight stay) but that visits of longer than three days are treated as a third-day visit (in other words, you pay nothing more to stay on for a forth day or longer).  No fees are levied simply for staying at the game lodge.  Regular visitors can buy annual permits – for foreigners these cost US$60 (one person), US$100 (couple), and US$150 (family).

ACTIVITIES IN THE PARK.
Boat trips are available on Lake Ihema, and are worthwhile.  You should Book in advance through ORTPN in Kigali.  Close encounters with outsize crocodiles and large pods of hippo are all but guaranteed, and you will also pass substantial breeding colonies of African darter, cormorant and open-bill stork.  Other water birds are abundant:  the delicate and colorful African jacana can be seen trotting on floating vegetation, fish eagles are posted in the trees at regular intervals, jewel-like malachite kingfisher hawk from the needs, while pied kingfishers hover high above the water to swoop down on their fishy prey.  Of greater interest to enthusiasts will be the opportunity to spot marsh specialists such as blue-headed coucal and marsh flycatcher.

GAME DRIVES
 Game drives are available if you ideally have a 4x4 unless if you are staying at the lodge. Guides are provided at no extra charge and they will help you to find your way around.  The game-viewing circuit is in essence limited to one main road running northwards from the park headquarters at Lake Ihema.  Most of the lakes are passed by this road, or can be approached using a short fork.  North of Lake Hago, the road branches into two main forks, one of which heads west into the Mutumba hills.  The possibilities for game drives are restricted by the fact that the park can only be entered near Lake Ihema and the Game Lodge.  In a long half-day, you could realistically travel from the entrance as far north as the Mutumba Hills, and back.  To head further north requires the best part of a day, with the option of using the exit-only route north of Lake Rwanyakizinga emerging on the main tar road to the Uganda border.  The tracks in the far north are very indistinct, and should be attempted only in the company of a guide.  Once back on the main road, the guide can be dropped at Kayonza or Kabarondo junctions with enough money to make his way back to the headquarters by motorbike-taxi.
Starting from the entrance gate, a hilly road through very thick scrub leads over about 5km to Lake Ihema.  It is on a humid and mosquito-plagued island near the eastern shore of Ihema.