The republic of Rwanda, the country of 1000 hills. This landlocked country is situated in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa. It is situated close to the Equator and has a sub tropical climate. It is also situated at a high altitude giving it a pleasant climate, although the nights can be cold. It is also home to and instrumental in preserving the mountain gorillas, sharing that region with the Congo and Uganda. It is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. People living mostly in the rural areas. It’s main source of income is agriculture, mostly for the home market but it exports large amounts of coffee and tea. It has a growing tourist industry, unfortunately, geared to the high-end sector. This means prices are sky high for the simple visitors. It is a former German Colony and was part of the east German Africa. But in 1916 Belgium took over the rule from Germany. When you mention the name “Rwanda” most people automatically think of the mass massacre or genocide that took place in 1994 and lasted for 100 days and cost the lives of over one million people. But this country has made a major turn around since then. Sorrow and hope, forgiveness and equality are all taught in the schools, but above all Pride…. Proud to be Rwandans. Like a phoenix arising from the ashes this country has made a remarkable turnaround. It has the fastest growing economy in Africa and the people look forward and not back.
The border crossing from Tanzania into Rwanda took just under 2 hours. The paperwork went quick but then the Tanzanians wanted to search the bike. They were looking for a drone. These are forbidden in most countries in Africa, and you need a special permit to use them. Unfortunately, most officials think that bikers are carrying drones. A lot of the vloggers, travellers blogging on You Tube, carry these. Once they were finished, I carried on and the Rwandan customs stopped me… They wanted to search but not for a drone but for plastic bags. These are forbidden in the country, as they are in the bordering countries. I protested that I had already been searched and another security guard confirmed that, so they let me go.
Tiggy Moondust getting searched… looking for a drone
I was on a mission. I was on my way to Kigali to meet up a South African friend, Phil. He is travelling eastern Africa in a Toyota forerunner with roof top tent, lovingly called Badger. Phil keeps a really tight schedule, so I had to hurry. The roads in Rwanda were really good but the speed limit was 60 km per hour. They twisted and turned their way up and over the mountains and they were full of trucks. It was slow going. Rwanda is also a high-tech country. There are hundreds of speed cameras situated everywhere. Traffic was intense, so it was slow going. After the border I was able to get a SIM card and was in contact with Phil. I stopped at a local coffee stand and got a coffee and 3 chapatis, that was my breakfast. There was nowhere to eat before the border, so I was starving.
Kigali is the capital city of Rwanda and its big and sprawling. Heavy traffic and thousands of little motorbikes. These are taxis. They carry people around the city. Helmets are compulsory in Rwanda, so they carry an extra helmet with them. I checked into a hotel and met up with Phil. We went out for dinner to an Asian restaurant, and it was really good. We had a good catching up chat and sharing travel stories. It was really good to see him again. I met him in Oudtshoorn South Africa. He is a fountain of travel information for Arica and a lover of the wildlife and birds.
Phil from South Africa. Note Badger, Phil’s home on wheels in the background.
I needed to do a few things in the city. One really important one was laundry. Saturday morning I headed off to a laundry that I had found on Google Maps, but it was closed. Walked to another one and it was also closed. But what was really weird everything was closed and there were no people about. I couldn’t figure it out. Then realization kicked in. It was Umuganda. Umuganda is a national holiday taking place on the last Saturday of every month for mandatory community service, everyone including the president do 3 hours of community service on these Saturdays, from 8 in the morning to 11. Umuganda is always on the last Saturday of the month. It is a way of building team spirit and pride in a clean united country. Kigali is a modern city with loads of shops, restaurants, and coffee shops. The streets are wide and paved with the exception of the side streets. They are ungraded dirt.
Kigali is a modern city…
I also wanted to go to the tourist office to check on the nature parks and hikes to the gorillas. This was a shock. Prices are sky high. A one-hour walk observing the Gorillas costs 1,500 USD. Also, there is no guarantee that you will see them either. Locals pay a lot less and SADC… South African Developing Countries also pay just under half of this price. Nyungwe National Park, a rain forest, entrance costs 100 USD for the first day and 50 USD for the second. camping cost 30 USD per person per night. A walk with the chimpanzees cost 160 USD for an hour. A walk over the suspension canopy over the jungle costs 40 USD. This a bummer. I was lucky enough to spend some time in the rain forests of Ecuador and the jungle of Guatemala where I heard howler monkeys, so I decided to give the park a miss.
That’s me striking the pose… looking down on Kigali
I did visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial. This was really something. It is not just commemorating the Rwanda genocide but all the genocides that took place in the 20th century. From the first genocide in the 20th century that took place in Namibia against the Herero and Namaqua tribes up to Bosnia in 1994/95, including the Holocaust and Cambodia. It laid no blame but just laid bare the truths and the role played by the international community. The role played by ignorance and fear of other beliefs and ways of life. Of the forceful colonization and imposing an alien way of life on an unsuspecting culture. It pulled no punches, it showed the photos of the victims, video of their stories and their hurt. It was not for nothing that there were boxes of tissues scattered around. In this place reading, looking, and absorbing brought a tear to the eye. But it also showed the healing process and revival of a country that had reached rock bottom and is now one of the best developed countries in Africa. I think that the Governments of the World should all visit this place, but more important the leaders of the United Nations should see with their own eyes what really happened and learn to be more effective.
Genocide Memorial, Kigali
Genocide Memorial Kigali, wall of names.
The memorial is also a graveyard for 250,000 of the victims of the genocide. A lot of the bodies were exhumed from the mass graves and given a dignified burial. Some of the coffins are on display and there is an underground chamber where bones are displayed. I didn’t visit that one. The memorial is free. You can take an audio guide that costs a fee. I forget what it was but think 20 USD. The money goes to the upkeep of the Memorial. I took the audio guide. This is also a place where relatives and survivors go to pay their last respects, or just to be with their loved ones again. There are fresh flowers on a lot of the graves, testimony to the grief that still exists.
Genocide Memorial Kigali, Graves
Genocide Memorial Kigali
Instead of visiting the national park, I went to Kibuye on lake Kivu. I took a main road over the mountain RN7. It started off good but deteriorated rapidly. I kept thinking it will get better but it got worse. It was really bad. Then came road works. I ended up doing a mixture of gravel, sand, and mud. Google maps had offered me an alternative route that was longer, but I thought that it will get better. Also, I didn’t do my research. There was a warning for this road in the travel app iOverlander. Anyway, we made it. 4 hours to do 80km.
Found a nice spot to stay with a brilliant view over the lake. I organized a boat tour for myself. You can choose what you want to do. I took a 3-hour tour. This one went first to Napoleon’s Hat Island. There we went hiking up a steep incline to the top of a mound. The hike went through a thick forest with hundreds of bats and loads of different birds. There are wild cows living on the island. They swim from island to island. They are called the swimming cows.
My boat to Napoleon’s Hat Island
Napoleon’s Hat Island
Bats on Napoleon’s Hat Island
Napoleon’s Hat Island
Tri-Catamaran… 3 canoes lashed together
It was a good hike, a scramble up there
Meditating cow, Napoleon’s Hat Island
From there we went to Monkey Island, home to the velvet monkey. By now it was late in the morning, so we didn’t see many monkeys. They were all asleep. Then the last island on the route was Peace Island. This was home to a tribe, as was the other islands. They farmed the land. But as their numbers increased there were grave concerns for their health. No running water, electricity, or sanitation. So, the government moved them to the mainland. Giving them a lump sum of money and a plot of land. The islands now belong to the people, they are free of charge, and you can camp on them, but you can’t build houses. The ruins of the original settlements are still there.
Velvet monkey
Hiking trail Monkey Island
Peace Island
Kibuye
Kibuye
I had a really beautiful view of the lake and one morning with sunrise as a fishing boat was making its way towards land. This was a traditional outrigger canoe. It was like 3 canoes connected together with long bamboo poles. The people paddling were in the outside canoes and someone was handling the nets in the inside canoe. Another person was keeping rhythm for the paddlers by hitting a coconut shell with a bamboo stick. They were so far apart that they needed this otherwise they would be going around in circles. The sound drifting over the water. It was so tranquil and peaceful. Unfortunately, I don’t have any photos because they were too far away. Plus, this moment was for me alone.
Sunrise on a fishing boat Lake Kivu
Sunrise on the Lake Kivu
Breakfast before leaving Lake Kivu
I really didn’t want to leave this place, it was really nice, but I had to keep going. I headed to the Uganda border and stopped near a town called Ruhengeri, 25km from the Ugandan border. I camped first in a place called Red Rocks. It is a guesthouse and camping. They are also actively involved in the local community. Supporting many different projects. They also support and encourage local artists and sell their work in the campground shop.
Tea plantation
I had also met a Dutch gentleman who was married to a Rwandan woman. She owned a guesthouse in town, that she had inherited from her parents. This was one of the oldest guesthouses in the area. He offered me a good rate, so I went there for a night as I needed to post, and they had good Wi-Fi. It was also the same hotel that Dian Fossey stayed at, way back in the 80s, whilst she was living with the gorillas in the nearby mountains. Her chalet is still preserved to this day in memory of her. She was instrumental in saving the mountain Gorillas. My chalet was just across from her’s.
My camping spot in Red Rocks… I was totally alone there
Red Rocks Cultural and Art Centre
Red Rocks Cultural and Art Centre
This young lady was really into music and I spent a fantastic evening with her chatting and playing music. Her name is Peace
Dian Fossey Chalet
Dian Fossey Memorial
Just before the border I had stopped to count my Rwandan money and to check the conversion rate, ready to negotiate with the money changers. Whilst stopped a green Toyota Hiace minibus pulled up in front of me and a man got out and started to speak to me in Dutch. He had taken some photos of me riding as they were behind, and they knew that we would meet at the border as this road was going nowhere else. I gave him my contact details and he sent the photos to me by email. He and his wife live in Rwanda now and his daughter lives in Kabale, Uganda. They were on their way there with the whole family and in-laws. It was a good meeting. We met again at the border.
Me riding to the Uganda Border, photo taken by Henk Pots
Me riding to the Uganda Border, photo taken by Henk Pots
If you would like to see some of those fantastic places, then fluff up the cushion in your favourite chair, make a nice wee cup of tea and grab a nice big slice of cake and click your way through the like named photo album on my Facebook page RideLiveExplore: Facebook Photo Album Rwanda
Thank you for reading the posts, looking at the albums, liking and commenting. Thank you for sharing this incredible journey with me, I appreciate it. My real time location is back in Amsterdam, Netherlands!
Asante Kawaheri hadi wakati mwingine ……. Swahili for “Thank you bye until next time”