I knew very little about Rwanda prior to arrival other than the tribal war that peaked about 15 years ago between the Tsutsi and the Hutus resulting in 800,000 people being murdered in the course of but a few months. There was another 2 hours of sunlight left so coming into the airport I got a good view of the surrounds. The flight departed at about 5 PM and landed again about an hour and fifteen minutes later. Landing at the smaller Nairobi Wilson airport I was transported to the main airport for my flight into Kigali, Rwanda. He designed our personalized trip based on things we wanted to do and plac.I made it back to Nairobi on Friday via a private plane flight back into the Mara with Rex, the pilot from New Zealand and Dave, another white Kenyan about 65 years old who serves as a photographer and fill in camp manager for Governors Camps. Wies was beyond helpful right from the get-go. 'We had such an incredible trip to Africa! We did gorilla trekking in Uganda, had three different safari experiences in Tanzania and finished with a beach vacation in Zanzibar. We felt that the Yellow Zebra representatives really knew their s.' 'We enjoyed our whole experience, from planning our trip - we had a useful meeting with Yellow Zebra to discuss what we would like to see and the advantages and disadvantages of going at different times of year - to the trip itself. 'Good communication and well presented package' They put together an unbelievable trip which exceeded my expectations. I gave them an idea of my priorities & a budget but not much else.

I'm so happy that I ended up going with Yellow Zebra Safaris. 'I'd never been on Safari before so was unsure who to book with. YZ did a great job of answering questions (and there are a lot of them first time you go on safari) and getting me the documentation I needed. I had used Matt for previous trip and the customer care was outstanding. 'I booked my next trip to Africa with Matt at Yellow Zebra. Other activities include golden monkey tracking, bird-watching walks, hiking and escorted mountain bike ride excursions.Many people who come here for a couple of days find the area so beautiful that they wish they were able to stay longer.

On some days you can be lucky and find them in less than an hour, whereas on others you may have to trek for as much as the six hours! They can be long and extremely challenging so clients need to be reasonably fit.

This lodge is particularly well located for gorilla-tracking as it is only 1 km from the park headquarters where all the treks start.

A family suite has a second bedroom with en suite bathroom. They each have a large sitting area, bedroom, en suite bathroom, dressing room and a sheltered veranda where guests can sit out and admire the breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside. Guests are accommodated in cosy cottages, built in stone with terracotta tile roofs. Two patios give spectacular views of the Virunga Volcanoes and the surrounding farmland. The main lodge building is large and comfortable with a sitting room, dining room, library/games room and a shop. ACCOMMODATION & FACILITIES AT SABYINYO SILVERBACK LODGE: Flights go daily from Nairobi to Kigali and take 1 hour 15 min. Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge is a two hour drive from Kigali. However, this comes at a price it is extremely expensive! ACCESS & LOCATION: Not only does it have a premier location close to the forest, but it also offers reliably good comfort and service which can be hard to find in Rwanda. Nearly half of the world's population of mountain gorillas live here. We highly recommend Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge. It sits in the foothills of the Virungas, a massive chain of 15,000 foot volcanoes which straddle the borders of Rwanda, Uganda and Congo.

Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge is situated in the Parc National des Volcans in north-west Rwanda.

Sabyinyo silverback lodge