Bonny Robb, our intrepid General Manager, recently undertook an extensive visit to Rwanda and came back totally
inspired by the Land of a 1000 Hills. Rwanda is a small landlocked country, bordered by Uganda to the North,
Tanzania to the East, Burundi to the South and the Democratic Republic of Congo
to the West.
Even though it’s one of Africa’s
smallest countries, it has approx.
10 million inhabitants, making it one of the most densely populated.
Key Areas:
Kigali – The
capital city, Kigali, was completely destroyed during the genocide in
1994. There is now a lot of construction
going on and a buoyant rejuvenation of the city centre. Our favourite hotel was
the Serena Hotel Kigali which boasts an 800-seater auditorium for conferences.
The Rwandan Genocide Museum is a stark reminder of a turbulent past but well
worth a visit. Kigali Airport, the main hub for all flights coming into Rwanda,
is a short 20minute ride from the city centre.
Nyungwe National Park
Located about a five hour drive
from Kigali, Nyungwe Forest is
predominantly an area you would visit to enjoy guided nature trails and walks
in the spectacular indigenous mountain rain forest. The forest is acclaimed for its biodiversity
and for being one of the most endemic species-rich areas in all of Africa. The
forest protects one of the region’s largest and oldest remaining patches of
montane rainforest.
Accommodation is recommended at the Nyungwe Forest Lodge, part of the Shamwari
Collection. It is beautifully laid out on the edge of the spectacular
indigenous forest and set on the tranquil grounds of a tea plantation. The lovely, large sized rooms have been
carefully designed to be eco-friendly.
Chimpanzee Trekking is also available at three
different areas of the park, although a separate section of forest, known as
Cyamudongo Forest, approx. 40minute drive from the lodge, is known as the best
viewing area.
The chimpanzees are still not that habituated
to man so you have a 50/50 chance of seeing them. We see this developing into a
more formal activity in the next two years.
You definitely need to be physically fit to enjoy this excursion.
Other activities include a visit to Banda
Village, Canopy Tree Top Experience and a tea estate tour.
Lake Kivu & the town of Kibuye
Kibuye is a
picturesque town on the shores of Lake Kivu and has been put on the map, due to
a first-ever methane gas to electricity conversion process. This was developed
in Rwanda and is now considered a tourist attraction because of its uniqueness
and ecological value by contributing to energy saving....It currently produces
more than 4% of the country’s electricity supply.
Another lake-side
town is Gisenyi, sold as the “St Tropez of Africa”. This may take a while to
live up to its name.
Volcanoes
National Park and the Gorillas
Musanze is the
nearest town for departure of the Gorilla Trekking, approx. a 25 minute drive.
This is approx. a two to three hour drive from Kigali.
The Gorilla trekking
day starts with a 7am registration, followed by a ranger briefing on the lawns.
Of the 13 groups of Gorillas in the area, 7 – 10 of the groups are
visited by tourists during trekking. Three are still not habituated and the
other three are being used for research purposes and are seldom exposed to
tourists. Gorilla families are very territorial and will generally be found in
a similar region. With this knowledge, the park rangers have categorised the
various gorilla treks into easy, medium and hard treks.
Easy generally means a 20minute walk up to the edge of
the park through farm land areas and a further 15- 30 minute walk inside the
actual forest.
Medium generally means a 20 minute walk up to the edge of
the park through the farm and then a 45 – 75 minute walk uphill, inside the
actual forest.
Hard – means a 20 minute walk up to the edge of the park
through the farms and then a serious climb up to the top reach of the
mountains. These are generally not
offered, except in the peak season, and guests would need to be really fit to
reach these Gorillas.
Once you reach your
family of Gorilla’s a few rules are in place; to
minimise the possibility if transmitting human diseases, visitors are asked to
maintain a distance of 7m from the gorillas. Guests need to be fit and healthy
when visiting the gorillas.
Viewing time is
limited to one hour and a maximum of 8 visitors are allowed per group.
Photography is allowed, although no flash photography of the gorillas is
permitted.
We do not recommend a
day trip from Kigali as it is an early start (you need to leave your nearby accommodation
at least by 6am to reach the starting point) and you finish the trek around
1pm. It is worth spending at least 2 nights in this region – apart from the
Gorillas, there is also the opportunity to trek Golden Monkeys and a visit to
Dian Fosseys grave. The area really offers very beautiful scenery.
There is a lot of
accommodation in the area to choose from.
Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge (5 double cottages, 2 suites and a family
cottage) * highly recommended
Gorilla Mountain View
Lodge (36 rooms) * 3 star but very close to National Park entrance
Shamwari Gorilla Nest
Lodge (currently under renovation)
Virunga Lodge (8
chalets with spectacular views) *highly recommended, although furthest from the
National Park entrance
Weather: Rwanda has a temperate climate with
two rainy seasons from February to May and October to December. It has two dry seasons: the short dry season
– January and the long dry season from June – August
Interesting Fact: Plastic bags are banned in Rwanda –
making it a very clean country. Guests
should be advised to leave all plastic bags behind else they will be
confiscated on entry.
Getting around: Generally guests would drive
between destinations in 5-seater 4x4 vehicles. Charter flights are available in
some area, although very expensive.
Our thoughts:
This most definitely is a niche destination,
but it is an once-in-a-lifetime experience, it is off the beaten track and it
most certainly is wild!
If these attributes “tick the boxes” for your
next incentive, then Rwanda may just be the destination you are looking
for.
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