rwanda: journal

kigali

it was a startling reminder that we had entered a former french colony when half a kilometre from the border a minibus came hurtling towards us on our side of the road. andy in the driving seat wasn't going to give in, it was for the minibus to move out of the way. a head on collision was imminent. then the realisation hit, we were in the wrong. the french drive on the right. we moved over and nervously took the next blind corner, still apprehensive. do the rwandans really drive on the right? there was no other traffic on the road so we were unsure. we ventured on, blaming the french for our near accident. with hindsight the guard at the border had been trying to tell us something in french. french isn't our forte and we had wrongly interpreted his instruction as him having a problem with where we had positioned our vehicle at the barrier. c'est la vie.

 
colour coordination at its best, ruhengeri

with rwanda being such a compact country it didn't take long to reach the sprawling capital. somehow we found our way to the centre and embarked upon a mission to obtain money from our credit card. with some relief we achieved this after visiting a succession of banks. i felt like dr. evil asking for one million francs, but we needed a lot of cash to pay for the gorilla tracking.

kigali was bustling, not really a city, more of an oversized market but pleasant enough. we made a reservation to see the mountain gorillas and then headed to a guesthouse where we enjoyed good food and our first rwandan beer; called 'the chairman' a satisfying 8% alcohol volume. we were yet to discover the delights of 'primus' in its generous 730ml bottles. clearly someone in rwanda likes their beer. it was at breakfast that we were grateful to the french for their evident culinery legacy.

ruhengeri

from kigali we wound our way steeply upwards into rwanda's central highlands. the land rover was emitting an increasingly loud ringing sound from the transmission. this was exacerbated by the cd player giving up on us too. the scenery, however, was breathtaking. misty blue layers of volcanic peaks stretched out beyond the heavily cultivated slopes.

beside the roads and in the villages, people went about their business and unlike some other countries in the region, they looked like they actually had some business to do. perhaps it was the cooler climate, but there was certainly a bustle about the place, the country itself had a refreshing air of productivity.

goods appeared to be mostly transported on top of the head, particularly by the women. nothing new in africa, but it seemed here that nothing was too large, too cumbersome, or too heavy. the clothes of the women were always bright, layers of colours wrapped over one another; some contrasting, some clashing, some garish, some stylish. above the fine clothes and the heads held high balanced sacks of coal, bundles of firewood or half a dozen large clay pots. the loads were born effortlessly and balanced as if glued.

 
everywhere cultivation, central highlands

the town of ruhengeri itself - which isn't much more than a strip of poorly stocked shops, a police academy and a couple of petrol stations - lies at the foot of the parc des volcans. the park encompasses the forested slopes of a chain of large volcanos which, when glimsed between the clouds, loom so large that you can't believe how they could possibly have been hidden from view. the volcanos form part of the virunga massif, which spans the borders of the drc congo, uganda and rwanda and forms the last bastion of the mountain gorillas. it was these endangered apes that we'd come to see.

after a very early breakfast and half an hour's drive along a dusty track we reached the national park office at the appointed time of 6.45am. the officials had no knowledge of the booking we'd seen entered into the computer in the capital, but the requisite $750US in cash seemed to solve the problem. we were allocated a guide and given some information about the specific group of gorillas that we would be visiting. we were lucky, we were allocated to the susa group, the largest group, with around 30 members and 3 silverbacks. even luckier, there was only four of us treking to that group; us and a young hungarian couple who we already knew from the hotel.

 
volcanic peaks, ruhengeri

with all the logistics sorted, we were back in the land rover, on our way to find the gorillas, very excited and only a little miffed at driving back past our hotel three hours after we'd got up. after leaving the cars we collected our entourage of rangers - who carry serious looking machine guns and are apparantly trained in counter-terrorism by the israeli special forces - and headed steeply up hill, weaving through the small fields of subsistence farms before hitting the park proper. once inside the boundary the undergrowth was dense and the gradient unrelenting. some of the foliage had sticky velco-like hairs which clung to our clothing whilst we tripped and stumbled through nettles and brambles. when we paused for breath it was possible to admire the jungle, the twisted trees, stunted by the altitude were draped with silver green lichen. our guide communicated by walkie-talkie with unseen trackers further up the trail. in front of us the rangers fanned out, whilst another maintained a constant rear guard. it was from the neighbouring parks in uganda and the congo that tourists and guides had been abducted and killed in 1998/9. the rangers were both a reassurance and a reminder of that.

 
the silverback, parc des volcans

after less than an hour's climbing the guide turned to us and without ceremony told us to put down our bags as the gorillas were just there, in the adjacent clearing. it seemed a bit sudden and we were still a little unprepared as we waded into the low vegetation after the guide. and there he was, the silverback. it wasn't the half-glimpsed leaf obscured distant encounter that i'd been expecting. he was just sitting there in full view, just a couple of metres in front of us. he was certainly alert to our presence but seemed pacified by the gutteral growls of the guide. i was impressed. the silverback relaxed completely, turning away from us and rolling onto his back. beside the silverback was a mother and baby. they were so close; too close even for the zoom lens on the camera. of course, we snapped away madly.

when the trio moved off we followed them up through the clearing. we thought the best may be over, but at the risk of sounding like a sports commentator, it had only just begun. the group was spread across the hillside, mostly on the ground but some climbing and tumbling clumsily in the trees. we moved freely amongst them and they in turn moved around us, making their way slowly through the undergrowth, eating as they went. the vegetation was only at waist height but it obscured even the largest gorillas surprisingly well. it looked a little like cow parsley, perhaps crossed with rhubarb or celery and the gorillas ate it greedily. standing in the centre of the clearing we could hear munching and growling all around, perhaps the whole group surrounded us (27 of them the guide said). every now and then a rustling and snapping would alert us to a gorilla about to burst from the greenery at one side or another, often passing literally within a metre of us with their peculiar lopsided gait.

 
baby gorilla, parc des volcans

i couldn't honestly say that, like david attenborough, i was enchanted by staring into the eyes of a wild gorilla. but it was certainly a unique and magnificent experience, and one that far exceeded our expectations. to stand in the jungle surrounded by these tragically endangered creatures, with whom our ancestral relationship is so plain to see, is truly a privilege and a wonderful thing to behold.

lake kivu

from ruhengeri we drove east, following the line of volcanos to lake kivu and the congolese border. cnn had reported some unrest in that area, so we were cautious, but believed the trouble to be on the congolese side of the border. we passed a transporter lorry loaded up with shiny new toyota jeeps, with UN logos painted on the sides. from what we'd seen in uganda, sudan, and ethiopia, a fleet of brand new 4x4s seemed to be the first step in solving any crisis.

at gisenyi on the lake itself though, all was quiet. lake kivu is renound for its beauty and its beaches, but on a grey, overcast morning it wasn't at its most appealing. so after a quick coke we were on the move again. the narrow dirt road that runs south, parallel to the lake looked a lot less promising than it had on the map. nevertheless, it was the only road running south so, after a little humming and harring, we took it. at least on the bumpy track we couldn't notice the noises the land rover was still making or feel the vibrations that shuddered the steering wheel at certain speeds.

 
no wasted space, central highlands

high up in the hills again, we could no longer see the lake, whose shoreline the gps told us we were still loosely following. we felt like we were suddenly somewhere very remote and were pleased that there was actually only one road to follow with no turn offs, as rudimentry as it was. the people seemed very wary. if we waved, people waved back and smiled. but the children here didn't shout for money or pens or sweets as we approached. they didn't even shout "mzungu" (white man). mostly they ran; ran away and hid. some of the adults did too.

after several hours in the hills, the track wound its way down again. the sun was out now and we had a fine view of the lake, its bays, coves, turquoise lagoons and many rocky little islands. on reaching the shore at kibuye were able to fully appreciate the lake's charm. it looked more like the italian alps than east africa; like lake como without the poseurs, flash cars or sports bikes. of course, neither did it have the luxurious villas, boutiques or fine restaurants. but sitting at a parasoled table, eating fresh fish and drinking cold beer whilst the gentle waves lapped the beach in front of us, we dined far more stylishly than we'd been able to afford in italy.

 
reminiscent of northern italy, lake kivu

kigali - kibungu

from kibuye, we drove back to kigale then east to the tanzanian border the next day. for the last two days the skies had been increasingly black and the rain more frequent. being at such altitude, sometimes we were almost cold. we wanted to get down to the low, hot plains of tanzania. our plan had always been to drive straight down the eastern shore of lake tanganyika, the most direct route into malawi. we'd heard it was a bad road but hadn't worried about that too much - we'd crossed the sudan for god's sake.

we still wanted to do some last minute research though, particularly as we'd heard some reports of banditry in the area. we did some internet searches, reading the accounts of the few other overlanders that had travelled that way. it sounded atrocious; particularly in the wet season, when the roads are listed as impassable. well the wet season had certainly started and that coupled with the complete lack of accommodation, infestations of tetze fly and prevalant banditry was enough for us to change our plans. we would instead follow tanzania's narrow network of good roads. this was a little frusting as in order to get from north to south we would have zigzag via dar es salam on the coast; traversing the width of the country twice. and tanzania is a wide country (about 1,000kms). the compensation was that we'd get to visit the serengeti and ngorongoro crater again (we'd been there on our honeymoon), which we weren't going to do because of the expense, but oh well, if you're in the area ...

 
tea pickers, central highlands

the land rover was still squeaking. all the symptoms pointed towards the universal joints - we'd had to change one in ethiopia. with a long drive ahead of us, i decided to remove the propeller shafts and check the joints. we were at a small guest house, not far from the border. as i removed the shafts, i was reminded that i'd done exactly the same thing at the ethiopian border prior to crossing into kenya. the west of tanzania is as notorious for its lawlessness as northern kenya and i marvelled at the timing of these things. and as on that occasion it appeared that the uv joints weren't the problem. at least it's always good to know what it isn't.

 
not so camera shy, ruhengeri

we only spent a short time in rwanda but we're glad we made the decision to visit. with its mountains, lakes and forests rwanda is a lovely country and in the main it's hassle-free. outside of kigali no-one tries to sell you anything, children wave excitably at the side of the road, and you can get out of the car without becoming an attraction yourself. you won't find a backpacker hostel or camping facilites but the hotels are good value, driving is easy on good roads and then of course, there's the beer.

rwanda: accomodation

rwanda: other info

entry checks: for the first time since europe a visa wasn't required. no charges for the land rover either.

costs: we paid between £8 and £10 a night for a decent room with ensuite; camping not widely available. meals cost from £1.50 for breakfast to around £3 for dinner. a big bottle of beer 65p and fuel around a dollar a litre.

money: there are no atms anywhere. cash can be obtained on a credit card from the bank of kigali (in kigali) only, a small fee is charged. the gorillas can be paid for in dollars, euro or sterling but not local; you can turn up and go the same/next day.

must sees: the mountain gorillas and the virunga mountains in the parc des volcans; lake kivu at kibuye; the central highlands with its remote villages and tea plantations; women and children carrying wood, charcoal, clay pots, and water containers on their heads.