A Holiday to Remember: Writing a Recount and a Travel Blog

1Reading: a travel blog post

A Holiday to Remember: Walking in the Treetops
Posted on 3 January 2026 by Grace, S1 A

Last December my family spent three days with my uncle in Rusizi. On the way, we stopped for a whole day in Nyungwe National Park, a huge mountain rainforest in the south-west of Rwanda. It was the best day of my holiday.

We left Huye very early, at five o'clock, because the road through the forest is long and winding. At first I was sleepy and cold, but as soon as the sun came up, I couldn't stop looking out of the window. The forest was a thousand shades of green, and clouds were hanging in the valleys like white smoke.

At the park office, a guide called Jean-Paul gave us a short talk. He told us that Nyungwe is home to thirteen kinds of primates, including chimpanzees, and that in 2023 it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then we walked down a steep trail to the canopy walkway, a narrow bridge of steel cables and nets that hangs high above the forest.

While we were crossing it, the bridge swayed gently, and I held the rope so tightly that my fingers went white! But when I looked down, I forgot my fear. Below us, the tops of the trees looked like a green sea, and a troop of black-and-white colobus monkeys was jumping from branch to branch.

After that, we ate a picnic of chapati and avocados at a viewpoint. Later in the afternoon it started to rain, as it often does in a rainforest, so we ran back to the car, wet and laughing.

I will never forget the moment I saw the monkeys from above. If you ever visit Nyungwe, take a raincoat, and don't look down until you reach the middle of the bridge!

2Understanding the blog

1. Where is Nyungwe National Park, and why did Grace's family stop there?
2. Why did they leave Huye at five o'clock?
3. Name two facts the guide told them about Nyungwe.
4. How did Grace feel on the canopy walkway at first, and what changed her feeling?
5. Why did the family run back to the car?
6. Find two comparisons (using like) that help the reader see the forest.
7. Who is Grace writing for? Find one sentence that speaks directly to the reader.

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1. In the south-west of Rwanda. It was on the way to her uncle's home in Rusizi.
2. Because the road through the forest is long and winding.
3. Nyungwe is home to thirteen kinds of primates, including chimpanzees; it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2023.
4. She was afraid (she held the rope so tightly that her fingers went white). When she looked down and saw the treetops and the monkeys, she forgot her fear.
5. It started to rain.
6. "clouds were hanging in the valleys like white smoke"; "the tops of the trees looked like a green sea".
7. For readers of her blog who might visit Nyungwe: "If you ever visit Nyungwe, take a raincoat, and don't look down until you reach the middle of the bridge!"

3How a recount is built

4Vocabulary: describing a trip

5Grammar: time connectors

6Speaking

Tell the class about your best holiday day in one minute. Use the three parts of a recount and at least four different time connectors. Listeners note the connectors they hear.

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Last August my family visited Akagera National Park, in the east of Rwanda. We left Kigali at dawn. At first we saw only grass and trees, but after an hour a herd of zebras crossed the road in front of our car. Then, while we were having lunch, a giraffe walked slowly past the picnic area. Later in the afternoon we took a boat trip on Lake Ihema and saw hippos and a huge crocodile. In the end, I was so tired that I slept all the way home, but I dreamed about giraffes!

7Writing: a personal recount of your last holiday

Write a recount of your last holiday or of one special day in it (150–180 words). Plan it in three parts first. Use the simple past and the past continuous, at least five time connectors, and one detail that shows a feeling.

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Harvest Days in Gicumbi

In the December holiday I stayed with my grandparents in Gicumbi for two weeks. It was bean harvest time, so they needed every pair of hands.

On the first morning Grandfather woke me at six. At first I was grumpy, because the air was cold and the hills were still covered in mist. We walked to the field with baskets on our heads. Then we pulled up the dry bean plants and piled them in the sun.

Two days later, when the plants were dry, we beat them with long sticks to free the beans. While we were working, my grandmother was singing old songs, and soon everyone joined in. After that, my cousin and I picked out the small stones from the beans for hours.

Finally, on my last day, Grandmother filled a bag with beans for my mother. My arms were sore and my hands were brown with dust, but I felt proud: some of those beans were mine.

8Unit project: A Holiday to Remember travel blog

1. Choose a holiday or a day out that you remember well. It does not have to be far away: a day at a relative's farm is a good subject.
2. Plan with the three-part shape: orientation, three to five events, ending.
3. Draft your post (180–250 words) with a catchy title, the date and your name.
4. Illustrate it with one or two photos or drawings, each with a caption that says what to notice.
5. Review: swap with a partner and check each other's post against the rubric below.
6. Publish the final version on the class wall or the school website.