Rwandan Safari

16 years ago, Michelle was getting close to finishing up her PhD program at UW-Madison.  This would be a significant achievement and something she had worked 5 years to earn!  She decided that to celebrate, she wanted to plan a trip to Africa and do a proper Safari.  This was something she had always dreamed of doing, and had been on the top of her travel bucket list for many years.  A few months later, she found out she was pregnant with our first daughter, Teagan…bye-bye African Safari!! (We love you Teagan😜!!)

Fast forward to 2026 – We are traveling to Africa and will be in Rwanda, a place that offers amazing safari opportunities.  We started to look at our options and get quotes on what was possible…We were SHOCKED with the cost it would take.  For a budget friendly – 7 day Safari (sleeping in tents), it was going to cost us $12,000 for a family of 4!!  Needless to say, that was not in our budget during a year when we are not working and attempting to travel around the world for 10 months on money we had saved up!!  After months of continued research, we made peace with the fact that an African Safari was not in the cards at this stage in our life (and we could likely book a similar safari in India for a fraction of the cost).

Then, while traveling and booking additional outings in Rwanda, we met Ben!!  Ben (who was mentioned in our previous post about the Rwanda Genocide) is currently at University for Tourism and Hospitality and he also owns his own tour guide business called Ben Journeys Africa.  When we started talking, he asked if we would be interested in working with him to do a day long safari at Akagera National Park.  We asked for a quote and were THRILLED that a day long trip would fit in our budget!!

Ben picked us up at 5:30 am in their 4×4 Jeep along with another guide and his business partner, Maurice.  The drive to Akagera National Park was about 2 ½ hours.  The park borders Tanzania on the far east side of Rwanda.  The park is smaller than some parks in Tanzania and Uganda.  It takes a full day to enter the south gates, drive through the park, and exit the north gates.  

The morning Safari was slow.  We saw a few different Antelope, but nothing too big and none of the Big 5.  Before too long though, we started to see just about everything we had hoped for!  All day long, we saw Elephants, Giraffes, Hippos, Rinos, Buffalo, 2 different Monkeys, Worthogs, and a lot of different antelope!  Plus, many of them were very close and provided great photos!  

We all had different animals we enjoyed seeing the most.  Mine was the elephants and Rinos!  The elephants were SO HUGE, while at the same time giving off a calm and social vibe.  The Rinos reminded me of seeing a 4×4 Jeep with horns walking through the bush!  Molly’s favorite was the little monkeys.  They were so cute to watch:). Teagan also enjoyed the Elephants.  Michelle liked the Hippos and their – “I’m going to lay here quietly, but if you F w/ me, you’ll regret it vibes!” 😆

The entire day was magical!  From the animals to the beautiful landscape to lunch at the park.  Ben and Maurice were wonderful guides and provided a tremendous amount of knowledge and perspective.  We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to go on an African Safari and those memories (along with the others over the past month) will stay with us for years and years!!

P.S. if you are looking to visit Rwanda!  We highly recommend connecting with Ben for all your needs!  He really is a special person and we know you will be pleased with his hospitality and warmth.  His contact information is below.