By Todd Gustafson

Our first day was a day full of travel. We took a 5:30 a.m. flight from Arusha via Dar es Salaam. We landed at 8:30 a.m. and at 8:40 a.m. we were through customs with bags in hand!  My guy, Costaud, was there to meet us with Husain, our second driver. We spent the night at the FABULOUS Kigali Serena. I had a 3-room suite with 2 full baths, a living room, a study and a master bedroom.

The next morning, our breakfast at the Kigali Serena was delicious. We loaded the vehicles and went on a 9:30 a.m. city tour starting with the Genocide Museum. This is one of the most important and well-done memorials I know of. Not only does it chronicle the causes, implementation and aftermath of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, but it also gives a global perspective that includes genocide in Namibia, the Balkans, Armenia, Nazi Germany, Yugoslavia, and Cambodia. It’s a sobering place, but the Rwandan answer and the changes they have made as a people are inspirational.

Lunch was at the first “mall” in Kigali, and Manzi, the owner of Thousand Hills, joined us. Tommy Rogers asked Manzi if he knew where to get a jacket because he had accidentally left his in Arusha.  Manzi said Tommy didn’t need to spend all that money for a jacket that would be used for just a couple of days, so he literally gave him the jacket off his back.

It was a two and a half hour drive on a new, smooth road to get to Volcanoes National Park where we checked in, got our rooms (which were huge and beautiful with a roaring fire in each), and saw the sun go down behind the volcanoes. Before dinner, we got the chance to discuss camera gear and shooting strategies. Tomorrow we will see the Gorillas.