THE Long VIEW

Just a few years ago, gorillas were the only draw for visitors to irrepressibly beautiful, once-war-torn Rwanda. Today, the country’s diverse wildlife—from silverbacks and chimps to the Big Five—makes it not only one of Africa’s great safari destinations but also one of its most inspiring conservation success stories.

- MARCIA DESANCTIS

MY FIRST MORNING GAME DRIVE AT MAGASHI CAMP HAD BEGUN UNEVENTFULLY. SNUG IN A FLEECY PONCHO AFTER A BRIEF THUNDERSTORM, I SIPPED A MUG OF COFFEE AS OUR GUIDE, A 28-YEAR-OLD SOUTH AFRICAN NAMED ADRIAAN MULDER, OFFERED UP THE STANDARD COMMENTARY FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT: “THOSE ARE TOPI ANTELOPE. THEY CAN RUN MORE THAN 50 MILES (80 KILOMETRES) AN HOUR.” WARTHOGS SCOOTED FOR COVER, AND VELVET BUSH WILLOWS SHONE IRIDESCENT FROM THE RAIN AS OUR VEHICLE SLURPED THROUGH GULLIES OF MUD, BUMPING ALONG THROUGH MAGASHI’S 15,000-ACRE CHUNK OF AKAGERA NATIONAL PARK, IN NORTHEASTERN RWANDA.

Suddenly a voice came crackling over Mulder’s two-way. It was one of Magashi’s trackers, who monitor wildlife on the concession. Mulder did an abrupt U-turn, then looked over his shoulder and said, “I’m actually shaking now.”

As we rounded a curve in the road, it became clear why. Standing stock-still on the grass, against a billow of retreating thunderclouds, was a lone rhinoceros. “It’s Mandela,” Mulder whispered, his voice tight with emotion. Then: “You are the first person ever to see a rhino in the wild at Magashi.”