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Burera District

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    • Afrika 2024
      Day 102

      Ruanda

      March 6 in Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      Wir sind in Ruanda! Der Grenzübergang war einfach. Nur eines hat uns aufgehalten: die Ruandesische Immigration wollte eine genaue Liste aller Unterkünfte im Land 🙈 Da war unsere Kreativität gefordert ☺️Read more

      See translation
    • Marise MalherbeRwanda, Uganda 2023
      Day 6

      Deur die grens na Uganda

      August 12, 2023 in Uganda ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Ons het vroeg opgestaan en klaargemaak, sodat ons kan ry om die kar 10uur in Musanze te kry, maar toe ons wil ontbyt bestel is hulle nog nie daar nie en ons vra toe maar dat hulle 'n mes en kookwater bring (ons het darem nog ons vrugte van die markie en Hermien het beskuit gebring en ons het koffie gekoop... dis Rwanda). Na ontbyt pak ons en ry Musanze toe.

      Maak nie saak waar mens ry nie, dit vat vrek lank want die spoedgrens is 60km/h en oral is trokke en fietse en mense. Daar is ook 'n deel waar die hele stuk klein kraaltjies is uit klippe gestapel. Baie mense is deftig aangetrek met die mooiste lappe en Bybels in die hand, besig om kerk toe te stap. Ons lees dat 11% van Rwanda SDA is en dus Saterdag kerk toe gaan. Dis grootendeels 'n Christen land met heelwat mense wat christenskap saam met hulle tradisionele geloof beoefen. Die meerderheid mense is egter katolieke.

      By Musanze is ons bietjie vroeg, so gaan drink gou 'n koffietjie terwyl ons wag en sien weer mense wat ons by Nyungwe gesien het. Richard bring toe net voor 11 die kar en ons ry na die grenspos. Ons nuwe kar is 'n silwer Kia Sportage en ons doop hom Silverback. By die grenspos laat hulle ons maklik deur van Rwanda se kant af (hulle haal die kar van hulle sisteem af, of so iets) en ons gaan deur na Uganda. Mens kan duidelik die verskil in die twee lande sien, maar die Engels is baie beter in Uganda.

      Als verloop relatief glad (hulle haal ons selfs uit die ry en laat ons voor staan om eerste gehelp te word) totdat hulle ons vra vir Visas (wat ons daar kan koop, omdat ons van Suid-Afrika is). Hulle aanvaar egter net kontant, waarvan ons nie genoeg het nie ($50 elk) en hulle ATM werk nie. Hulle het ook nie 'n kaartmasjien nie. Ons moet toe op 'n bankie sit en wag terwyl hulle probeer uitvind wat om te doen. Hulle is gelukkig baie vriendelik. Na 'n rukkie kom die doanebeampte terug en sê ons moet gaan geld trek in Kisoro en terugkom, maar hy het nog ons paspoorte. Hy sê toe een van ons kan gaan, maar ons vra of ons altwee kan gaan, maar dan los ons my paspoort by hom (Hermien moet haar paspoort hê, want sy bestuur). Hy sê dis reg. Ons ry toe tot by die checkpoint, maar die mannetjie daar sê die paspoort is nie gestamp nie en ons het nie 'n gate pass nie. Ons verduidelik vir hom alles mooi (sy Engels is bietjie meer op Rwanda se standaard as Uganda s'n - Rwanda is eerder Frans as Engels in daai sin). Sy sê toe ons hoef nie te worry oor die paspoort nie, ons moet net 'n gate pass gaan kry. Ons gaan toe terug en kry 'n gate pass en ry toe Kisoro toe (17 minute aan 10km). Die eerste ATM werk nie, maar die wag is 'n vrou met 'n massiewe geweer (ook vriendelik). Ons ry toe verder af in die pad en trek geld by Stanbic bank (die tekentjie lyk soos Standard bank). Daar sit ook 2 wagte buite die bank.

      Geld getrek, ry ons terug grenspos toe. Hulle laat ons vriendelik terug by die hek in. Ons gaan betaal die visa fooi en ontmoet 'n paar Grieke wat met min of meer dieselfde probleem sit.

      Ons ry toe om by Ruhija kamp te kom in Bwindi woud, waar ons vanaand slaap, want ons moet nog ons permitte vir more se gorillas kry. Ons ry mooi binne die spoedgrens (50km in die woongebiede, 80 op die oop pad) want mense sê daar is oral polisie wat mens vang en omkoopgeld wil hê. Daar was nie so baie nie, maar dalk rus hulle bietjie op Saterdae. Ons ry nog so lekker, toe daar skielik massiewe 'spike strips' in die pad is en die pad toegemaak is. Gelukkig sien ons toe polisie uit 'n tentjie kom, en hy laat ons deur, sonder om enige iets te vra. Ons albei se harte het so 'n slag of twee gemis. Dit was toe net die ingang na 'n ander woud, waardeur ons moet ry.

      Uiteindelik in Bwindi woud, word dit grondpad met 'n redelike afgrond. Hier is die spoedgrens 40 en dit lyk nie na die heel lekkerste pad op aarde om te ry as dit reënseisoen is nie. Gelukkig is dit nou droog. Die plantegroei is baie welig en lyk anders as Nyungwe.

      Ons kom toe hy Rahija Community Rest Camp aan, waar ons die volgende 3 aande slaap, en ontmoet vir Cylia, die bestuurder. Sy is so oulik en help ons met alles en om ons permitte vir môre te reël. Hulle het 'n sjef wat kom vra wat ons vanaand wil eet... hoender met aartappels of groente met aartappels. Hy is 'n gekwalifiseerde sjef wat internasionale, sowel as plaaslike disse kan maak (die disse was uhm lekker, maar nie internasionaal nie). Hulle gee ook ontbytopsies, want ons moet 7uur eet dat ons 8uur by die inligtingsessie van die gorillas kan wees. Hulle pak ook vir ons 'n middagete/snack box want mens kort eet en drinkgoed omdat mens nie weet hoe lank jy gaan stap voor jy hulle kry nie.

      Ons gaan eet 19:00 aandete en kan ons fone, ens. daar charge, want die kragopwekker is dan aan. Die kamp het net sonkrag, en die kragopwekker van 19:00 - 22:00. Daar is drade vir krag, maar die regering het nog nie krag voorsien nie. Ons moet ook sê wanneer ons wil stort, want hulle maak water warm in 'n donkie en dit moet dan vir daai tydgleuf na ons kamer gelei word. Dis ontsettend mooi waar ons bly, letterlik in die woud, met die mooiste uitsig. Ons het 'n huisie met 2 groot dubbelbeddens en 'n lekker badkamer, met 'n hout balkon. In die eet 'area' maak hulle 'n lekker groot vuur in die middel want dis effens koud. Ons raak toe aan die gesels met 'n duitse gesin wat vir 3 weke in Uganda toer.

      Ons kom maak toe ons goed reg vir more se stap en kom slaap, want dis vroeg opstaan môreoggend.      Read more

    • TravelerAfrica 2024
      Day 5

      Rwanda Tidbits

      November 3 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

      On Sunday, we transferred to the Rwanda Airport, to catch a flight to Tanzania. I was surprised how much I enjoyed Rwanda. It is beautiful (green rolling hills) and clean. It's definitely a culture shock though. From Kigali to Ruhengari, there is one main paved road. It is abuzz with activity. Women carrying baskets and large full sacks on their heads, children (including very young) walking to/from school on their own, men on bicycles hauling huge loads of stuff -- we even saw one transporting a door on his bicycle, cows and goats being herded by their owners. All of this with motor bikes and cars making their way along this narrow road with barely a shoulder. I have no photos of this, unfortunately, but vivid memories.Read more

    • TravelerAfrica
      Day 27

      Twin lakes fishing

      November 5, 2023 in Rwanda

      We had not had wifi or data for a couple of days now, and as such we could not communicate with Caroline (Vic's friend) to discuss what time they would have their driver pick us up. We had been told 8am, but it was a lot easier for him to pick us up first. So the time changed to 7:30am but we had no way of knowing. As such, I was in the shower when the driver arrived, and we ran around trying to make breakfast, organise our belongings, and have a coffee. Although slightly late, we eventually made it, picked up the others, and headed to the twin Lakes. We arrived at a port and participated in some local fishing. I'm not sure exactly what I expected when we decided to do fish, but when they sent us out in little wooden boats with some reeds as fishing poles, I was quite surprised. I did not know what we could expect to catch, but based on the gear, they didn't expect us to catch much. We paddled out to some floating grasses and began to drop lines out just to the side of the boat. At first, there was not much luck, but gradually, we started pulling in tiny fish, which i do not know the species name, unfortunately. Their size ranged from about 1 cm to 5 cm. This was quite strange as they would definitely have been below the legal limit in Aus, but clearly, no such rules exist in Rwanda. So there was no fish turned away, and eventually, the volume started to pick up. Vic secured the most fish of the day, and due to a late increase in performance by me, we probably beat the other boat with Caroline and her 2 friends. The views from the lake made the trip worthwhile, but the fishing was actually a lot of fun. Obviously, there were no big catches, but it was a lot of fun to be fishing and being almost certain to get a bite, at least every couple of minutes. It felt more like a game with the ease in which we caught them. The surrounding areas included mount Bisoke, an active volcano, a few dormant volcano's; Mikeno, Gahinga, and Muhavura. Not to mention, a few very large mountains such as Mount Sabyinyo and Karisimbi. This made for acceptional scenery the whole time we were on the lake, and it was truly a wonderful experience. We were out there for probably 2 hours in very overcast conditions, yet somehow managed to dodge all the rain- which started as soon as we got back to land. When we arrived back to shore, we gave the little fish we caught to the kids to add to their own collection. Our guess is that they cook and sell them to make money, so we were happy to help them out as best we could. We were then ferried across the lake to an island where we sat for a few drinks and lunch. Although this was only supposed to be for a couple of hours, our lunch literally took 2 and a half hours to get out to us. This meant our poor captain sat and waited this whole time, but it was out of our control. We were very frustrated ourselves with how long it took. We had been telling Caroline about our tour and she was very intrigued. So much so that she had decided she would join until Zanzibar. An exciting and sudden prospect. She would be joining us tomorrow in Kigali.

      After the low awaited lunch, we eventually got off the island and back to the mainland. We asked our driver to take us to Byiza Lodge. We only wanted to go here for the view, but it ended up being incredibly nice and fancy. The views were even better than we expected. We could see Lake Burera, all the mountains and volcanoes, the beautiful farmland, and even 360 degrees to Lake Ruhondo. Though the views to this lake were slightly obstructed, the rest of the views were incredible and easily made the trip worth it. We stuck around for a while, playing cards and drinking while we admired the view from the restaurant. By the time we got back, dinner was ready, and we basically ate and went straight to bed. Ending a great day.      Read more

    • True North TravelsAfrican Adventure
      Day 50

      Twin Lakes

      November 4, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

      Today, we picked up a car for our Rwandan Road Trip. First impressions are that the roads are amazing. We've been used to driving in Uganda, where good paved roads are few and far between, and traffic police lurk around every corner. Here, though, the roads are immaculate, the speed limit low, the drivers patient and polite, and the views are incredible.

      The road network winds its way up, around, and across the many hills that litter Rwanda. They call this the land of 1000 hills, and climbing to the top of each one, you're rewarded with panoramic views in every direction. It's a beautiful country.

      We're heading north, to Lake Ruhondo, one of two "twin lakes". Its sister lake, Burera, sits high above Ruhondo, separated by a steep hill which is only a couple hundred metres long. This geological formation means that there's a big hydroelectric dam on the shores of Ruhondo (the lower lake). It's that power station that is our destination. From there, we're picked up by boat and ferried to our accommodation, which sits on the end of a peninsula jutting out into the lake.

      The views from the lodge are stunning. Directly opposite, towering over the lake, are three of the five Volcanoes making up Volcanoes National Park, sitting like some ancient city skyline.

      We head out for a walk with two of the hotel staff, who are there on internships learning about the tourism sector. We walk around the lake, through little villages, until it's too dark to see, then walk back in the pitch black.

      It gets chilly here, so we wrap up and sit around a fire after dinner. The fire, strangely, has been built in a wheelbarrow which is just plonked down in the middle of the bar area, which itself is decorated with Christmas lights. It's different, but I wouldn't describe it as cosy.

      The next day, we head up to Lake Burera to have a look. To get close to the lake, we have to drive up a vertiginous dirt path, before crossing a narrow, rickety, wooden bridge over the lake run-off channel. It's a little like an Indiana Jones film, and we're watching the wheels out of the car to make sure they don't fall off the side.

      After looking at the lake, and watching the locals fill their boats with big yellow jerry cans of local beer, we head back down, and off to Volcanoes National Park.      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Burera District, District de Burera, Akarere ka Burera

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