AFRICA – Part III.
Friday 5th and Saturday 6th June 2026.
Rwanda continues to impress us, and we will be sad to leave tomorrow.
After leaving Akagera National Park on Thursday (which is on the western side of Rwanda), we drove several more hours to the eastern side, arriving at our hotel beside Lake Kivu just before dusk. It had been a big day with nearly 12 hours of driving, and we were feeling the effects of the rough roads and not-so-comfortable seats in the Land Cruiser.
The hotel was really lovely; it had an old-world colonial-style charm, and our room was generous and comfortable. I was especially pleased to see there was a bath, and also a small veranda which looked over the pool and beyond it to the lakeside.
We enjoyed a great dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, which overlooked the pool, and were particularly happy about the breadbasket – by far the best bread we’ve had since arriving in Rwanda. We both had steak, Dave’s cooked just as he likes it (WD) and mine was unfortunately the same, rather than medium-rare as ordered! Not to worry, it was still tasty and the vegetables were extra delicious!
We slept remarkably well, which considering we have been at a new location each night is pretty good. Usually, it takes me a night to get used to the place.
The breakfast buffet was exceptional. There were only six of us in the restaurant at 8am, and I’m not sure if others had eaten earlier, or if the hotel was quiet, I suspect the latter. There was a HUGE array of options, more varieties of fresh fruit than you can imagine, lots of hot options including some delicious, creamed spinach (yum!) and so much pastry and cake options that Dave didn’t know what to choose. There was also an egg station where they cooked you whatever you liked – Dave had scrambled eggs and I had waffles!
Jado met us in the lobby at 9am and walked with us to the lakeside where we boarded a small boat for a lake ‘cruise’. The boat was pretty basic, with a 12 hp motor. Not a lot of power for tackling the reasonably strong wind, and I understood afterwards why Jado had suggested we go earlier than 9am!
The tour went for two hours, and we had both a guide and a boat driver with us. We passed a natural gas platform, an island that in the past had been a punishment place for unmarried mothers, then stopped at a fishing village where we hopped off the boat and had a wander around. The colours and sights were vibrant and interesting and the fish on display so fresh that there was none of the usual fishy odour you sometimes get at a fish market.
It was downwind on the way back from the fishing village, and in no time, we were disembarking and getting back in the Landcruiser and heading towards the Volcano Mountains in the north-west Musanze district, around two hours from Lake Kivu.
A banana split and a plate of hot chips (in that order) for Dave, and a very ordinary chicken pasta for me made lunch at a small restaurant in the city of Musanze. Jado (our guide), lives in this city, which is the second largest after the capital of Kigali.
Our accommodation for the night was at the lovely Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel. At check-in I booked a massage, they took our dinner orders and explained the next day’s activities. Again, I was delighted by the large deep bath in our room, the perfect place to soak after a very good massage. What a lovely afternoon!
Dinner was exceptionally good, much better than expected from a small hotel (eight rooms only), and the staff were lovely and friendly, even bringing some hot coals for warmth beside the table. They took our orders for breakfast, and we again slept pretty well – given we knew we had to be up at 5am for a 6am departure to the Golden Monkey Trek.
In hindsight, we could have probably managed the Gorilla trek, rather than the Golden Monkey trek, but when we first planned the tour, the website said the Gorilla trek required a ‘good level of fitness’, which immediately put me off! Regardless, seeing the very rare monkeys was fabulous, despite the cold and rainy weather. I’m sure Dave could think of 1000 things he would have rather done, but he agreed to come with me and didn’t complain (much). The hotel staff fitted knee-high gaiters on us before we left, and we wore the raincoats that have been travelling the world with us for the last few years and hardly worn!
The trek wasn’t long, in fact only about 5000 steps, but it was wet, misty and muddy… so a little hard going. I did take a small tumble after slipping on mud – in hindsight I should have packed hiking shoes rather than just white sneakers!
My sneakers were no longer white by the time we finished the walk, but when we got back to the hotel, they whisked them away while giving us each a five-minute foot massage. About half an hour later our shoes turned up at the door of our room – cleaner than they had been to start with!
After another delicious meal in the hotel restaurant, we loaded the car and headed back to Kigali for an overnight stay before our flight to Johannesburg tomorrow. (On writing this we’ve just been told the flight is delayed and we are going via Lusaka – could be an interesting day!)
I have quite a bit more to tell you about my feelings on Rwanda, but will keep that for a separate post. In summary though, it was even better than we had anticipated, and I’m very glad we came.