Rwanda ~ Burundi

Up Catalog

Rwanda

      The Belgian colony of Ruanda-Urundi became independent in 1962 as two new countries, Rwanda and Burundi. The first stamps issued by Rwanda showed the continent of Africa with a silouette map of ... Burundi! There were eight stamps in the set, all with the same design. One stamp is shown.

SCN 1-8

     See the stamp below which shows the shape of Burundi.

SCN 46

A' Kagera National Parc

     The  A' Kagera National Parc in Rwanda was created in 1934. It covers over 2500 sq km (1000 sq miles) of savannah to the west of the A' Kagera River (the frontier with Tanzania). The Park is partly covered by the river and its adjacent papyrus swamps.
     The Park is a habitat for over 500 species of birds. A wide variety of wildlife  including elephant, hippopotamus, wild boar, lemur, baboon, buffalo, bushbuck, crocodile, duiker, galago, genet, giant eland, hare, hyena, impala, leopard, lion, monkeys, roan antelope, topi, wart hog and zebra roam the magnificent park.
     Some have claimed that Hutu extremists were trained at secret camps in the Park, where they were being trained as Park rangers according to government sources. Following the war Tutsi refugees were resettled in the Park. There is a problem for both people and wildlife because of the landmines that were planted there during the war.

SCN 106