Travelling From Lake Bunyonyi to Kigali
Chris and I took a canoe out on Lake Bunyonyi for a couple of several hours. It was so serene… until eventually the thunderclouds rolled more than. Options for an afternoon hike disappeared as the rain came down.
Luckily we awoke to very clear skies (albeit nonetheless dark) the upcoming early morning as we set off in advance of dawn to the assembly point for gorilla trekking. We climbed up to Ruhija, as a result of the fog, observing the sun rise above the mountains. Tom and Chris trekked the Bitukura family of mountain gorillas, while stating “trekked” could be a little bit of a extend. The gorillas had been only a couple of hundred metres from the street! No matter of how prolonged you trek while, it’s nevertheless an awesome encounter to sit in this kind of near proximity to these animals and observe their interactions with each and every other. You can actually see how we are related to the gorillas and there is one thing profound about sitting in the forest with this sort of shut kin.
From Lake Bunyonyi we wound our way by the mountains into Rwanda, to Ruhengeri (or Musanze as it is also known as). We put in fifty percent a day with John, a regional tutorial who showed us the twin lakes of Burera and Ruhondo from the wonderful vantage point of Virunga Lodge. We savored lunch on the lake shore, dreaming of shopping for land and having a vacation property in this amazing corner of the world.
Early the upcoming early morning Chris and I headed to the Parc Countrywide des Volcans to trek the Golden Monkeys. Like the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest in Uganda, the Volcanoes National Park is dense bush. And like the mountain gorillas in Bwindi, the Golden Monkeys do not treatment for paths to make it easy for us to get to them. But you can find a serious emotion of experience as you defeat your way by way of what would seem to be uncharted territory to obtain these exceptional creatures.
We determined to adjust our itinerary a bit and head to Lake Kivu in its place of paying out an extra evening in Ruhengeri. The major tourist town on the lake is called Gisenyi and will come extremely suggested. On the other hand it is proper on the Congolese border with Goma only a number of kilometres away and that very day, M23 rebels marched into Goma and seized it. On mastering the rebels were practically on Goma, we determined to avoid Gisenyi (it was just a little bit way too close for convenience) and as an alternative went to Kibuye. To get to Kibuye, the most direct route once more would be to go to Gisenyi and head south together the lake shore. But we felt safer taking a unique route and ended up travelling via the most wonderful landscapes imaginable, effectively well worth the detour. Our guesthouse, Lodge de Sainte Bethanie, was set appropriate on the lake shore and our rooms seemed out over the h2o.
We took a boat experience on the lake in the early morning, landing on Napoleon Island for what we ended up advised was to be a chook seeing walk. Not a chook to be noticed, but hundreds and 1000’s of bats circling overhead. The island was essentially a somewhat tall mountain jutting out of the lake, and we hiked to the best. From the top we could glimpse out over the lake to the Democratic Republic of Congo in one path and (in closer proximity) Rwanda in the other, as effectively as all the little islands dotting Lake Kivu.
Kigali was our last stop, wherever we frequented the Genocide Memorial. It is a powerful exhibition, but demanding to remark even more with no sounding trite or waffling for internet pages. Our last evening meal was at Lodge des Mille Collines, with pre-dinner cocktails by the pool before heading upstairs to the Panorama fantastic-eating restaurant. What a way to cap off a superb journey. Thank you Tom and Chris for being this kind of magnificent journey buddies, and wonderful initial clientele!
