I'm back! Arriving In The Congo!
Hi I'm Danny! I'm travelling around the world! Follow me.
Hello everybody! It's been a little while now since I've posted on here and I've been on some incredible travels throughout Africa. This year was an absolute highlight - I got to witness mountain Gorillas in the wild!
I remember growing up and hearing about the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the hundreds of thousands that were killed over this 100 day war. Now, here I was, driving through Rwanda, from Kigali to Goma in the bordering Congo and I couldn't believe it: this was one of the most beautiful places I'd ever been.
Rwanda is affectionality known as the Land of the Thousand Hills and it really lives up to this name. We drove up and down endless hills, green forests, and rich agricultural land.
It is absolutely amazing to see how Rwanda has developed and recovered after such a huge tragedy. Out of all my travels through Africa, it is by far the cleanest and most organised place I've been.
Despite the huge differences that once existed between the slaughtered Tutsi tribe and the Hutu (government backed tribe) things are clearly different now. If you ask someone today which tribe they belong to, they'll all answer the same way: I'm Rwandan.
As we approached the border I was thinking about the corruption I'd seen in Zimbabwe on my last visit - road blocks set up to stop cars and ask for money. Rwanda had been the total opposite with friendly and welcoming locals and officials. Going into The Congo I could feel the mood change.
As soon as we entered The Congo one of the immigration officials stopped a friend I was travelling with to ask for 70$ for an incorrect Yellow Fever certificate. After hours of arguing it was down to 30$ and we were on our way. This was the SAME building we had entered in Rwanda!
This corruption is certainly one of the many issues that face Africa, but to be honest I quickly forgot about it - here I was with a real chance to get up close to an animal I've dreamed of seeing for over 10 years.
Follow me here and check my old posts!
Bonito's beautiful waters
The 2000 year old sinkhole | Underground Cave Diving | Untouched Blue Caves | Floating Down the River | Ziplines into crystal clear water | Bonito is absolutely Stunning | 50 SBD Giveaway!
Columbia & Trekking to the hidden city
First thoughts about Columbia | Trekking to the hidden city (Day 2) | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Trekking to the hidden city (50 SBD Giveaway!)
The Pantanal Wetlands and Wildlife
My Trip to The Pantanal | Swimming With Caiman | Giant Guinea Pigs | Photographing Blue Macaws | We got attacked my Howler Monkeys! | 50 SBD Giveaway
Amazing photos :)
Man that first photo is incredible. I've always wanted to travel there. One day!
Stay tuned.. I'm sat with a coffee writing up my experiences from the rest of the trip including coming face to face with these mountain gorillas!
i have friends who used to run tours, and they used to sneak into the congo with their local guides. they were walking through the bush and came across a huge one...he proceeded to run his hand across their chests. My friend is a big guy, and he said he's never been so scared in his life!
Amazing story and photos @dannystravels I have only been to Burundi and the Republic of Congo. Got to see some lowland Gorillas there. Amazing!
Beautiful pics!
Thank you for sharing with us your experiences. Have you seen the Sebastiao Salgado's movie, "The Salt of the earth"? If not, I think that you will love it. I will write posts about art and travels. In you are interested in these topics check my profile 😊!
What an exciting adventure, spectacular landscapes and wildlife, being in contact with nature is a ski experience, following you.
Awesome adventures.
Wat ah you dowing In ma village?
great job your brother has a habat instinct in taking pictures
That is awesome man. Let's hope we can save the gorillas. Good luck.