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  • TravelerAround The World 2025
    Day 11–13

    Nyungwe, Rwanda to Bwindi, Uganda

    January 24 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We had the bike trail planned way in advance of our trip and we do have some great things sorted out over the next month or so but we decided at the last minute to take advantage of being at the southern tip of Lake Kivu to visit Nyungwe National Park and do a jungle canopy walk.

    Big mistake. The website for the park is great and details all of the various activities we could do there and the canopy walk at 40$ each seemed like a reasonable price to pay for a 2 or 3 hour adventure in the jungle and to cross a 70m high suspension walk.

    What the website failed to mention was the park entrance fee. Wow! That was a shocker but as we had travelled 40 minutes to get there, we kind of felt obliged to go ahead and pay the entrance fee PLUS the canopy walk fee and make the most of the wildlife and birds in the park.

    What wildlife? Which birds? The best the guide could come up with was a quick Google search and an audio clip of something in the trees that we couldn’t see.

    There is a pic or 2 below of the views from the canopy walkway but at a cost of total cost of $$$, we will not be recommending this particular jaunt to anybody else.

    When we told Yannick from Lava Bikes, who was still with us to take us back up north, he said, “I thought it might be a bit pricey.” Cheers!

    The rest of Friday was a Transit Day - capitalised as there are going to be a few of these. Again, the distance wasn’t that great but this was Rwanda and the hills, bends and switchbacks are never ending. One corner is called Mother Mary, as you are supposed to cross yourself before going around it.

    However, the 6 hours did pass relatively quickly because there is always something to look at in a foreign land. As well as the 3 lads hitching a tow up one particular hill (photo below) on the back of a lorry, it was also a Friday which meant market day in each town or village we passed through.

    The usual busyness, noise and colour of the roadsides was multiplied many times over with goods and produce being taken to or away from markets stalls. With almost no 4 wheeled vehicles here, the volume of bikes and motorbikes was huge.

    As we neared the end of our journey in the border town of Ruhengeri, a second last minute decision to book a tiny, dusty back street guesthouse for the night, turned out to be an excellent one. Behind the big metal gates, Little Bird Paradise was indeed just that. Our host, Chance, was a wonder ordering us a takeaway, bringing drinks to our patio and providing the most wonderful garden setting for our last night in Rwanda.

    We are wondering how many last minute decisions we will make and whether we should keep a tally of good and bad outcomes. At the moment it is 1-1!

    Our last (ever) Rwandan breakfast provided by Chance, continued the feel good factor before Yannick, who had agreed to take us to our first port of call in Uganda, picked us up.

    We were strangely nervous about the border crossing having read too many stories about palms needing to be crossed. We needn’t have worried. It was a doddle and whilst the immigration official asked us if we had Yellow Fever Certificates, she didn’t actually want to see them😀.

    So by 1000, we were in country number three of our trip and heading up to Bwindi Inpenetrable Forest. This was a 2nd Transit Day in a row but with the prospect of gorilla trekking on Sunday and then 2 days R & R at Lake Matunda, the first sights and sounds of Uganda only added to our excitement.

    As we write this we are looking out across The Inpenetrable Forest which, right now, is The Invisible Forest. The end of the rainy season here has delivered yet another massive late afternoon thunderstorm. We sympathise with friends at home who have had some wind and rain recently, but the current deluge in Bwindi is actually rather exciting.

    Fingers crossed for clear skies and 🦍 🦍 tomorrow but for now, we need to catch up with the finale of The Traitors 🏰    Read more

  • TravelerStage Rwanda
    1
    Day 59

    N-W-Z Rwanda

    November 10, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We zullen eens beginnen in het Kinyarwanda (locale taal) hé.

    "Bite",
    De schoolbezoeken zitten er allemaal op, ruim 50 interviews achter te rug. Dit ter zijde heb ik zo ongeveer heel het land gezien samen met mijn persoonlijke chauffeur. Van prachtig gestructureerde theeplantages tot het onherbergzame wondermooie en koudere noorden van het land.
    Het schitteren van de gigantische groene bananenbladeren in de ochtend blijft elke keer opnieuw iets magisch hebben... Over groen geluk gesproken 😉.
    De komende maand zal druk analyseren worden en tussendoor wat ontspannen uiteraard!
    Voor de rest ga ik de foto's hun werk laten doen haha.    Read more

    See translation
  • Marise MalherbeRwanda, Uganda 2023
    Day 3

    Nyungwe reënwoud

    August 9, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Ons het opgestaan met die mooiste uitsig. Ontbyt is ingesluit by ons verblyf, so na ontbyt het ons klaargemaak en Uwinka visitor centre toe gery (vir 45min aan 34km). Die lorries ry vinnig en gaan oor in die ander baan om die draaie. Ons het ook bobbejane gesien langs die pad, maar hulle lyk maar soos in SA.

    Hermien wil hê ek moet sê sy is gesond. Sy is nie. Sy is wel beter, en in haar element na vandag se stappery.

    By Uwinka betaal mens vir toegang en dan vir die Canopy toer en vir 'n gids. Ons kry darem afslag omdat ons van Afrika is, maar dis nog steeds maar duur. Mens mag nie loop sonder 'n gids nie. Daar is ORAL militêre mannetjies wat die woud beskerm. Hulle werk 12 uur skofte en bly ook in die woud. Die geld gaan gelukkig vir hulle werkskepping en bewaring van die woud, so dis nie so erg nie.

    Ons kry toe 'n gids (nie ek of Hermien kan haar naam onthou nie, maar sy is 26, baie oulik en het in die woud grootgeword). Sy doen tot 5 keer 'n dag die roetes, en as haar gaste wil draf, draf sy saam. Sy doen ook maratonne.

    Ons besluit (hmmmmm, ek wonder altyd van voor af hoekom ek vriende is met super fikse mense) toe om die canopy toer en daarna nog 'n 3 en 'n half ure hike te doen. Die Umuyove (dis die kinyarwanda woord vir Mahogany) roete is omtrent 5,5km lank en gaan verby 'n waterval en baie mahogany bome, wat massief en baie oud is (die militêre mannetjies beskerm hulle veral, want dis baie duur hout). Ons drink lekker water by die waterval en sien silwerapies en bergapies. Hermien maak seker dat ons elke 50 min klokslag snackies en water kry, want sy ken van endurance (ek nie). Die stap is wel baie af en baie op. En die laaste km tap ek uit en ry op 'n 'moto' - dis die motorfietsies.
    Voor die Umuyove stap ons eers na die canopy en loop oor die canopy walkway. Dit is in 2010 gebou en is ongeveer 70 m bo die grond so mens loop bo die bome en het die ongelooflikste uitsig. Dit bestaan uit 3 hangbrûe wat in totaal omtrent 200m lank is. Al die brûe word 2 keer 'n dag volledig nagegaan om te kyk dat als reg en veilig is.
    Nyungwe woud is ongeveer 970 vierkante km groot (een van die grootste en oudste beskermde reënwoude in Afrika) met 'n reënval van omtrent 2000mm 'n jaar.

    Hermien word Miena Mahogany gedoop deur ons gids, want sy dink sy is so lank soos 'n mahogany boom.

    Na ons stappie deel ons 'n hoender quesadilla by die koffiewinkeltjie in Uwinka en gaan dan huis toe. Dis gelukkig Mien se bestuur dag so ek vang 'n lekker nap tot sy skielik rem vir 'n lorrie wat letterlik in ons baan is, en later weer vir 'n trop bobbejane in die pad.

    By Nyungwe Nziza Ecolodge, waar ons slaap in die tent, en daar net koue water in die stort by die ablusieblokke is, gee hulle vir ons 'n sleutel van een van die kamers en sê ons kan daar warm gaan stort. Lafenis! Daarna gaan eet ons en kom slaap. Willem stick ons vir aandete vir vrouedag (cuuuuuute - dankie Willem).

    Hermien se stats (van haar Garmin af):
    ons het 15000 treë geloop,
    afstand was 8,25km,
    elevation 550m.    Read more

    See translation
  • True North TravelsAfrican Adventure
    Day 55

    Birthday Chimps for Katie

    November 9, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    We wake up at around 4am for a Birthday treat for Katie- today we're going to try and see the Chimps in Nyungwe forest in the south of Rwanda.

    Bleary-eyed, we climb into the car for the drive through the park to the meeting point. We only managed to find out where we are meeting yesterday, by calling about 4 different people in the National Parks agency. When we bought our permits online, there was no mention of when or where to actually go to see the Chimps. It basically just said "Chimps". It really feels like Rwanda isn't so geared towards independent tourists.

    We head into the outskirts of the National Park, but we soon get lost, as there aren't many signs, and it's pitch black out. We come across a large group of heavily armed soldiers patrolling the border with Burundi and ask for directions.

    When we finally find the meeting point, we're told that we have to drive another 1h30 in the opposite direction to where the chimps actually are. To do so, we must follow a tour group, whose local driver seems to have a death wish. He drives well over the speed limit, aggressively overtaking every other vehicle, and often on blind corners around the steep hairpin turns that are so common in Rwanda. We have no choice but to keep up, and drive hell for leather to keep up.

    Eventually, we arrive at a spot in the middle of the dense jungle, and we proceed on foot. We navigate a small path through the forest, with the rangers cutting back the overgrown foliage. We've been told not to get our hopes up too much, as the chimps often stay high up in the trees, so we can only spot them from a distance, if at all.

    Not long after we start walking, however, we hear the hoots of the chimpanzees. It builds up to a cacophony of howling and screeching, seemingly from all sides. The forest is full of noise and activity. The sun streams through the leaves into our eyes, temporarily blinding us. The screaming gets louder and louder, echoing from all sides, disorientating us. "Look!" say the rangers "Up in the trees!". And we see them. The forest canopy is busy with primates, both chimpanzees and the smaller owl-faced monkeys.

    The rangers explain that the owl faced monkeys live around the chimps for protection, chimpanzees being the most feared animal in the forest. It's strange to use the term "mutually beneficial relationship" here, as the chimps often turn on the owl-faced monkeys in times of scarcity, and eat them.

    We watch these huge beasts clamber through the trees, when all of a sudden there's a crash behind us. We turn to see a chimp walking through the bush, metres away from us. Then, we hear a rustling behind us, and a small family- mum, dad and baby- descends from the canopy to the forest floor, just in front of us. It's a real treat, and proof that they got the message that it's Katie's birthday, which is nice.

    After saying goodbye to our new primate pals, we head to the other side of the park. We are staying on the top of a tea plantation, with panoramic views over the forest. It's beautiful, and a little odd. The bar area is described as a Karaoke Bar, complete with mini booths for group sing-a-long sessions. However, there is no evidence of microphones, screens, speakers, or anything required for a half-decent Karaoke jam. We settle on a game of Ring-of-Fire, eating pizzas from the giant oven they've built here.    Read more

  • True North TravelsAfrican Adventure
    Day 54

    Lake Kivu

    November 8, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    To Lake Kivu now, a huge lake which almost completely forms the western border of Rwanda.

    We take a boat ride out on the lake to visit some of the islands. The first we visit is called Monkey Island, so-called because of the solitary Blue-Balled Monkey living on the island. We have no idea how it got there.

    Next up on the island itinerary is named Napoleon Island, after the distinctive hat-shaped hill. They should have called it Bat Island, as it is home to a huge colony of fruit bats. As we walk up the hill, you pass thousands of bats, hanging upside-down in the trees right next to the paths. The views from the top are amazing, and our guide also points out the next island over, which is a prison island for kids who have problems with substance abuse. Exiling them to a prison island- a la Alcatraz- seems a little heavy handed to us.

    On our boat tour is a German girl. We get chatting, and we ask her why she decided to come to Rwanda. She explains that she wanted to come somewhere warm, where she could swim. So, nothing to do with the history, mountains, wildlife or anything like that. Unfortunately for her, all freshwater lakes in Rwanda (and much of East Africa) are said to be infested with Bilharzia, a terrifying parasite that crawls into your skin before colonising most of your body, including the spinal cord and nervous system.

    We decline our guide's offer for us to have a dip.    Read more

  • Dobbs Away IIDobbs Without Jobs
    Day 99

    Nyungwe Forest National Park

    August 13, 2017 in Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Traveled through stunningly beautiful countryside ranging from tea estates, to rice paddies to rainforest. When we arrived at the park in the early afternoon, we joined a canopy walk that went into the forest and visited a very high and long canopy walk that had been built by the Canadians in 2010. Being afraid of heights, Christy was quite proud to have made it across – albeit very tentatively. Unfortunately we didn’t see any monkeys on the walk as it was packed full of teenage Rwandans who were so excited and busy taking selfies that it would have scared away any critters. Still, nice to see young locals enjoying their amazing parks. Fortunately we camped in the park and were able to see a few different kinds of monkeys in the morning – the forest monkey and blue monkey. Unfortunately we didn’t get any good photos – just a few from the iphone.Read more

  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017
    1
    Day 10

    Uwinka Overlook

    July 9, 2017 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    A luxurious lie in until 7.30am, breakfast of cereal, fruit and toast and departed for the canopy walk in Nyungwe Forest at 8.45am. The canopy walk, officially known as the Uwinka Overlook on the Igishigishigi Trail, is a 200 metre walkway suspended 90 metres above the forest floor, which affords spectacular views across the valley and is supposedly a good spot for bird watching.

    We were joined on the tour by 5 local Rwandans and 5 Chinese nationals who live in Rwanda (Chinese companies manage a lot of the road building in Rwanda), so we were a group of 15. The Rwandan government is trying to encourage locals to visit tourist spots in their own country by offering discounts to locals - the tourist price for this walk is $60 USD, but locals only pay 5000 Rwandan Francs ($6 USD).

    It was a pleasant 45 minute walk down to the start of the canopy walk, then single file across the suspension bridge. We took our time making the crossing and loitered on the platforms for quite a while, but disappointingly only saw one Blue Monkey in the distance, and no birds for the entire journey.

    On the way back to the hotel for lunch we spotted a couple of L'Hoest monkeys (formerly known as Mountain Monkeys) near the road who hung around long enough for a few photos (lunch was Caeser Salad and a beef burger).

    We had a free afternoon so took up Aloys' offer of a lift to the centre of Kamembe for some shopping. Being Sunday afternoon not much was open, but we had some interesting chats and made a few small purchases.

    We had a briefing in the lounge in preparation for our trip to the DR Congo tomorrow, then dinner was in the hotel restaurant (fillet pepper steak and potato croquettes x2).    Read more

  • Darren and JanetRwanda 2017
    Day 8

    Nyungwe Forest, Waterfall Hike

    July 7, 2017 in Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Cereal and fruit for breakfast this morning and a civilised 8.30am departure for the Waterfall Hike in Nyungwe Forest. The weather is a couple of degrees cooler in this area, but still pleasantly mid 20s and no rain.

    After a briefing at the rangers station we drove with our guide Christophe to the start of the trail. After tucking our pants into our socks to avoid getting ants up our legs, we set off through the tea plantations, but then the going got tougher once we entered the forest. The path was well marked, but had some steep sections, so the walking poles they provided came in handy. The valley was thick with lush rainforest undergrowth, but only a few birds spotted (and some toads).

    The walk to the waterfall took 90 minutes, so we were looking for a rest and snack. The return journey took a little longer.

    Lunch was at the Gisakura Family Hotel - buffet of beef in tomato sauce, cooked plantain, rice, spaghetti, potato chips and steamed pumpkin.

    After lunch we went in search of Black & White Colobus monkeys. The guide was in contact with some trackers who had located a group of about 30 near the edge of the forest, so we only had a few minutes walk. We spent almost an hour watching them jumping from tree to tree along defined "roads", playing, grooming and looking after the 3 youngsters in the group (about 3 weeks old, all white). Also spotted Dent's Monkey and a Blue Monkey, who was acting as lookout from the top of the tallest tree.

    Arrived back at the hotel after dark, had dinner in the hotel restaurant after an African "short wait", ie 90 mins! - whole tilapia for Oliver, chicken and maize for me.

    Bed just after 10pm in preparation for an early morning tomorrow.    Read more

  • TravelerSoutheast Africa
    21
    Day 39

    Exploring the jungle of Nyungwe

    March 5, 2023 in Rwanda ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    The day started out with us getting surprised by a gigantic baboon trying to break into a fridge in camp. He didn't succeed and was soon shoo'd off by the camp security. But that was quite a sight in the early morning.

    Fortunately, we didn't trust my rebel instincts. We had heard from the camp manager that we'd have to present negative covid tests for the entry to the national park we planned on visiting today. My plan was to just take some of the self tests I carry with me and do them on site. Ultimately, the decision was taken to go to the health center some five minutes away and get the tests done there. Testing was as uncomplicated as always, they were just really slow in administering them. Luckily they offered to send the results to us via text message, so we didn't have to stick around for the results.

    Since breakfast was served late (most of it we only managed to get for takeaway since they had messed up the schedule) and the testing was also late, we ended up in yet another race against the time. We were told that all trips from the park headquarters start at 08:00 sharp. It was a wild 50min drive to make it there on time, with a fairly challenging road that was winding through the rainforest. No chance really to go faster than 40km/h at any point in time.

    Soon after we entered the general park area we spotted the first few primates. Some cute velvet monkeys, as well as a whole platoon of baboons. Nyungwe is known for the many types of apes populating it, most famous of them the chimpanzee. None of the rare mountain gorillas live here, though. Something else that caught our attention was that there were military patrols everywhere! Like, literally everywhere. Some of them were walking along the road, others were standing next to the road, spaced out some 50m to the next person. Each patrol had one person with a gigantic radio, several people with rifles, and one person with a huge machine gun.

    We later found out that the military patrols were instated because reckless drivers kept falling off the road and disappeared in the jungle below. It would sometimes take weeks to discover that someone had wrecked there. Their role was to be first responders and alert for more help with their radios. Another unofficial reason is most likely that the border to Congo is not far, and a fair amount of goods transportation happens along that route. As well as some illegal border crossings, we would imagine.

    We made it to the park headquarters at 08:00 sharp. The first thing we were asked for was our covid test. They wouldn't have accepted our self tests, so we dodged a bullet there. We then, however, got a big fear confirmed. At the lodge they had already advised us that there would be a 100 USD fee to be paid per person to be allowed into the park. This annoyed me a lot, as before that I had checked a lot of different resources and it wasn't mentioned anywhere that were would be a fee like that. The previous night I had done even more research, and nowhere on the web was any mention of this fee, so I had figured the lodge guy had just made it up - he was dodgy anyways...

    Turns out he didn't lie. To make matters worse, the 100 USD only included the permission to enter the park. On top of that, we were charged 40 USD per person to be allowed to use the famous Canopy Walk of Nyungwe, and an additional 25 USD per group for the obligatory guide without whom we would not be allowed to go anywhere. We ended up paying 305 USD for the two of us for a "walk in the forest". Now, that really soured my mood. But we had traveled far for this experience and neither was I willing to go back now. So onwards we went.

    Only five people entered the park on that day, a group of three and the two of us. Two guides were assigned to the groups, so we had a private guide. Our chosen tour included the canopy walk and an approximately six hour long hike to five picturesque waterfalls. The hike was beautiful. The canopy walk was... nice, but nothing special that would warrant a 40 USD pp price tag. So we really took our time there and even blocked the other group from advancing for a bit. Though that of course wasn't our intention.

    The remainder of the hike was also great, as we really got a chance to immerse ourselves in the jungle. There were gigantic mahagony trees, some 200-300 years old, that really put everything to scale. We didn't manage to spot any chimps, but heard them once or twice. The ground was quite muddy, and we had to apply some careful balancing acts to not lose our footing in many places.

    Both Anne and I are pretty fit when it comes to hiking, and we did the 6h hike with the canopy add-on in 4h30min total. After yesterday's chaos we decided to head back to our camp for another night and relax overlooking the tea plantations during sunset.    Read more

  • TravelerTom et Momo au soleil
    1
    32
    Day 134

    La forêt de Nyungwe

    March 19, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Le Rwanda ce n'est pas seulement un petit pays aux collines verdoyantes. Au sein d'un territoire aussi grand que l'Auvergne il abrite plusieurs beaux parcs nationaux, notamment la forêt de Nyungwe à l'extrême sud-ouest du pays.

    C'est notre seconde forêt tropicale après Mgahinga en Ouganda. Un peu moins en altitude que cette dernière, très humide, les arbres y sont monumentaux et la végétation très dense : Ficus, acajous d'Afrique, énormes fougères, lianes dans tous les sens... On y trouve également des singes (dont des chimpanzés) et de très nombreux oiseaux, parmi lesquels le fameux Turaco (gros oiseau au plumage bleu et multicolore, avec une crête qui lui donne un air de punk) que nous aurons la chance de voir !

    Malgré la menace persistante de la pluie, le lieu est propice à de belles randonnées, forcément accompagnée d'un guide. Seul petit bémol, ce parc n'est pas vraiment "backpacker friendly" : sans notre propre véhicule il est assez difficile de se déplacer d'une porte à l'autre et les Rangers ne sont pas très aidant. Nous manquerons donc d'aller voir les chimpanzés... Mais il y a déjà tant à faire !    Read more

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