Geography and genocide

In only 250 miles we had experienced one of the most spectacular and varied combinations of geographical topography in a lifetime of travelling but it was what followed which will be the abiding memory of this remarkable trip to Africa's Western Rift.

THE WESTERN RIFT
The Great Rift Valley stretches 3,700 miles (6,000 kms) from Mozambique to the Middle East but one small 250 mile stretch on the Uganda Congo border brings together the full range of the Rift's hugely variable topography. The four photographs below illustrate the point starting where our trip started: at the Murchison Falls.


THE MURCHISON FALLS


The Murchison Falls where the kilometre wide White Nile falls into the Great Western Rift Valley in northern Uganda through a ravine which narrows to 21 ft
















LAKE EDWARD


Lake Edward - one of a chain of lakes on the fault line of the Great Rift lies south of Murchison and Lake Albert.










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THE RWENZORI MOUNTAINS

The most unexpected of the four illustrations - the RwenzorI Mountains otherwise known as the Mountains of the Moon just south of Lake Edward where snow covered Mount Stanley reaches 16,761 ft (5109 metres). The Uganda Congo (DRC) border runs through the line of the Rwenzori peaks.


















THE VIRUNGA VOLCANOES
At the end of the Rwenzori chain where the Uganda Congo border meets Rwanda are the eight peaks of the Virunga volcanoes. The volcano group includes two of Africa's most active, one of which, Nyramuragira, is shown here erupting in 2002

























MOUNTAIN GORILLAS?
And if this small section of the Western Rift was not sufficiently endowed with the spectacular there is one more little bonus - the slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes are home to the Mountain Gorillas of Dian Fossey fame. Used to humans but living fully in the wild, family groups of 15 to 20 animals are a remarkable sight

SO WHERE EXACTLY IS THIS LITTLE NEST OF JEWELS?



The Great Rift Valley can be seen as a scar on any map or satellite photograph of Africa running from Mozambique in the south to the Dead Sea and Golan Heights of Syria in the north. _____________

The map shows the central part from the Red Sea to Lake Malawi. The Rift Valley is not a single element but splits into two between the Arabian and Red Seas in the north and between the Eastern and Western Rifts in the centre. The 250 mile section illustrated above lies just to the west of Lake Victoria from Lake Albert at the foot of the Murchison Falls to the Nyiragongo and Karisimbi Volcanoes.



A CHANGE OF MOOD
Our onward flight was from Kigali the capital of Rwanda and half a day's drive south of the Virungas. During that day the mood and focus of the trip changed as dramatically as the scenery we had just left. The change was caused partly by the conversation with our driver and guide Kirenga and partly by our visit to the Genocide Memorial in Kigali. Initially Kirenga, discussed the economics of Rwanda and the fact that the whole region: Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and parts of the Congo and Tanzania were dependant on a single ocean gateway - Mombassa on Kenya's Indian Ocean Coast. This regional depedance on one port was one of the reasons behind the re energising of the East African Federation which had originally comprised Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania but was now expanding to include Rwanda and Burundi. Some of this briefing took place leaning on the bonnet (hood) of our Landrover.