Let’s Go Backpacking in Rwanda

Welcome to Rwanda

A few weeks ago, I entered a contest for travel bloggers and writers sponsored by Rwanda Tourism for a free, 6-day VIP tour of the tiny central-African country. 

Entry was simple, I tweeted their message just once. It was so simple, in fact, that after looking over the Facebook page with the contest rules, I didn't think anything of it.

Then, a few days ago, I saw that Kristin Luna announced on her blog, Camels and Chocolate, that she and Katie Hammel (new Editor at BootsnAll) won. 

I was happy for them, and buried my nose back in my laptop. And then, a few days ago, I received a tweet from Ben, who is representing Rwanda for the trip. 

Turns out they had an opening (Katie couldn't make it after all), and it was being offered to yours truly!

I am bouncing-off-the-walls excited to announce that I've accepted the 6-day tour of Rwanda!

That's right, there is no way I could pass up the chance to see endangered mountain gorillas in the wild, track chimpanzees, and learn about the tragic genocide that occurred there all too recently.

More specifically, the tour will include:

1. Rwanda's Volcanoes National Park and Nyungwe National Park
2. The cities of Kigali (capital) and Gisenyi
3. Gorilla trekking and bird watching
4. Rwanda ‘s newly launched boat on Lake Kivu
5. The canopy walk in Nyungwe and the Congo-Nile trail

The organized tour with myself, Kristin, and 3 other journalists will occur from March 20-26, 2007, however I intend to allow myself a few extra days in the capital city of Kigali to hopefully enjoy a homestay with the locals, and decompress before and after my flights on Ethiopian Airlines (via Addis Ababa).

Dave Lee

Dave is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Go Backpacking and Feastio. He's been to 66 countries and lived in Colombia and Peru. Read the full story of how he became a travel blogger.