Edmund travels to Tanzania Edmund tells the story of his trip out to Tanzania. The Diocese of Kagera is a church ‘area’ in the north-west of Tanzania; it is linked with the Diocese of st edmundsbury and Ipswich (most of Suffolk). This is the first of a series of powerpoints telling some of the things he got up to in Africa.

I’m off to Tanzania in Africa. What should I pack? Edmund is going to Africa; he is not sure what the weather will be like. Have you got any ideas?

Can you find Tanzania? How will I get there? Edmund wonders if you can find the big continent of Africa and the country of Tanzania which is where he is going. Can you find Tanzania? How will I get there?

First I travel to Heathrow airport in London to board our plane. Edmund travelled with Kenya Airways. Kenya is another country in Africa. Our first stop was Nairobi.

The staff on the plane welcome us. The staff on the plane were so friendly. Edmund wondered what it was like to work on a plane. He was looking forward to seeing what jobs the staff did. The staff on the plane welcome us.

We fly for about 10 hours to reach Kigali in Rwanda. The nearest airport to our destination is in the next-door country, Rwanda. We land at its capital Kigali. It looks beautiful from the air.

We land at Kigali Airport. Edmund was so excited to land. He was going to stay in this lovely city for the night before travelling on to Kagera in Tanzania. You could find Kigali on a big map of Africa. The plane had previously landed in Nairobi, and flew over much of Lake Victoria to reach Kigali. It was going on to Bujumbura in Burundi.

We go to a hotel for the night We go to a hotel for the night. Everyone is friendly and helps us settle in. Edmund had his picture taken with the hotel porter who then showed everyone to their rooms. The hotel is run by a group which specialises in helping women traumatised after the genocide and proceeds from travellers and business people can be recycled into the charity. Behind the porter’s head you can see basketware etc made by the women helped by the project.

Let me show you inside the hotel room. Do you know what this is? Edmund was already having fun. Whatever is he up to!

I saw it when I was helping write the diary of our trip.

Did you guess? It is a mosquito net! Edmund did not know; he hoped he hadn’t made any holes in the net when he was playing in it.

At bed time you untie the net and sleep under it like this. Can you think why? He had just found out that the net was to keep away the mosquitoes which carry malaria. Big hols would not be a good idea. Why not?

It is hot and very humid in Rwanda. I liked the balcony best. Guess why. It is hot and very humid in Rwanda. Before breakfast the next day, Edmund enjoyed sitting on the balcony in the slight breeze.

Today we will travel from Rwanda to Tanzania Today we will travel from Rwanda to Tanzania. Ngara is just across the border. Edmund looked at the map to see where they were going today. It was the final stage of his trip. Today he would get to Tanzania. See the tip of the red arrow – actually only about 30 mins from the border with Rwanda. 3 hours drive from Kigali to the border, then around 30 mins to get to Ngara town, and another 15 mins up a large hill to get to Murgwanza village where we stayed and where the Diocesan offices and cathedral are.

I am hoping to ride a moto-taxi. The first part of the day we all went out and about to look round in Kigali. Edmund loved the moto-taxi. The helmet was a bit big but helped keep him safe. The language spoken is Kinyarwandan but we communicated largely in French. We visited the Genocide memorial centre and went to change money. We needed Rwandan Francs and Tanzanian Shillings – this tells you something of the colonial background in these two countries. Kenya was also shillings. The moto-taxi is ubiquitous. The driver gives you a helmet to wear when you pay. Some travellers carry their own! This is a relatively cheap form of transport but a bit hair-raising. I am hoping to ride a moto-taxi.

Next we take a taxi and drive to the border with Tanzania. After looking round Kigali, the taxi comes to fetch us and we drive to the border. See how green the countryside is. It is about 3 hours through small towns and lush farmland. This country is very fertile and green. The scenery includes lots of ‘collines’ or hills, very circular almost cone-like in looks – Rwanda is the ‘land of a thousand hills’.

At the border, we show our passports. Finally we have reached the border with Tanzania. When we change countries sometimes we need to show a passport. Do you know what this is? Forms need to be filled in at either side of the border. Man number 18 in the picture is being helped with the form-filling by Rev Absalom, our guide. Literacy is not very high.

The border guards check my passport too. Most bears do not have passports but Edmund is very special!

Behind me is the border. We will drive across the bridge into Tanzania. Look! says Edmund, I can see the border! Can you see it too? Under the bridge runs the Kagera River, also known as the Akagera. It is one of the remote sources of the Nile, originating in Burundi and emptying into Lake Victoria. The border is at Rusomo Falls, where two rivers converge. You can see the falls from the bridge. They are not high but quite dramatic. They were much in the news in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide as the Kagera was used to dispose of corpses when thousands were murdered on the river banks. The river brought the massacred bodies into Lake Victoria, via these Falls.

The bridge goes over the Rusumo Falls. Beyond the barrier is a long bridge. It goes over these falls and into Tanzania. That water looks very fast and dangerous, Edmund thought. The bridge goes over the Rusumo Falls.

What will Tanzania be like? Edmund is glad the long journey is nearly over. It has taken a lot longer than going on the school bus or driving to the shops! Two days of travelling! What will Tanzania be like?

Then they were over the bridge and Edmund saw Tanzania for the first time. It looked lovely but where were all the people and the houses? Don’t worry, said Rev Absalom. We will be at Ngara Town soon and then you will see lots of people and houses and shops and bicycles – all sorts of things. I am looking forward to it, said Edmund; it is my first visit to Tanzania. The skies build up for the afternoon rain typical of a tropical climate. This area of Africa is quite high up, vegetation is lush, and temperatures, though hot, are not as searing as in other places in Africa.