More about Akagera.....

When we were at Akagera we saw the most interesting animals...these ducks are actually a golden brown color. Maybe they are geese but they were very unusual and pretty...hence, the photo. No reason, just shot over a hundred photos and the first time I have ever done this. And this Nile Monitor Lizard, maybe four feet in length sauntered by and upset the birds. You can see the bird to the right fluffing her wings out and as the lizard closed in the birds would display their colors, the breadth of their wing spans and hop about. They were unamused.

Hippos keeping cool during the hot afternoon in Lake Ihema.
These guys are gorgeous and are Topi. Their coloring is lovely, with black on the fronts of their heads and then, as you can see on their thighs down to their lower legs. Again, my photography does not do them justice. Their lower legs are a golden color.

And Diana or Adrienne thought these are called pom pom flowers....pretty. We spent quite a bit of time enjoying all things flowering and even spent time looking at and avoiding the acacia thorns. There are a variety of types of acacia which are eaten by the giraffes. Somehow they can eat the leaves and eat around the thorns that are a couple of inches long and spiky...as in, you best have your arms inside the windows or you will rip them to pieces.