Southern Province, Rwanda Travel Journals & Blogs

Hugh Wells The African GLO Tour 2018
Day6
To Mahanga
May 28, 2018 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C
A big one! 20 miles up hill for first climb, then a bit of downhill and more up hill - another long downhill, but just to keep us tired another 15 mile uphill to finish. 90 miles and 11000 feet (from strava so maybe not totally accurate) climbing. But what amazing views - breathtaking and for some of the ride not many people around. Many children running with us and a puncture attracted a crowd of probably 100 kids who had just come out of school. Many cries of 'Hello muzungo', good morning (in the afternoon) as well as 'give me money!'
All in all a great day!

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Psalm 19:1Read more
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May 28, 2018, 9:15pm · ⛅ 19 °C · Altitude: 6,135 ft · 2°5'59" S 29°45'7" E
Rwanda Gahogo Kabgayi
LouisaJames Rwanda
Day3
Musanza - on the bikes again
July 11, 2017 in Rwanda ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C
Eight of the group headed out of town for a six hour bike ride. Most were old mountain bikes from the mid 1990's but they did as required. After lots of 'good mornings' and high fives with the children we rode on dirt tracks to two different lakes with islands and beautiful outlooks. It appears that few tourists head through here as we were objects of interest when stopped or riding through villages. After a drink in a little cafe, a few bike stunts from James raised some cheers to keep the crowd happy. After crossing over the lake in a boat with the bikes, a short climb led to a stunning descent with cultivated fields and woodlands. The lung busting final ascent on the road bought us back into town for a well deserved cheese toasty with chips!Read more
Lyndsay McDonnell
I knew you two couldn't keep of bikes for very long but that was a new experience for you - a bike on a boat!! It sounds and looks an interesting day. Have fun, love xxxx
7/12/17Reply
Good to see you cycling love Gem
7/12/17Reply
mg.bigadventure
Bikes on the boat - great! Looks like you're seeing quite a wide variety of scenery already. Hope you're enjoying having most of the organising done for you...
7/12/17Reply
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Jul 11, 2017, 9:30pm · ⛅ 24 °C · Altitude: 4,439 ft · 2°0'0" S 30°0'0" E
Rwanda Masaka Nyabihungira
Lioba Werner Unsere Weltreise
Day3
Save
April 26, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ 🌧 21 °C
Die nächsten drei Tage (Freitag-Sonntag) verbringen wir im afrikanischen Ursprungshaus des St. Bonifatius Ordens in Save, Ruanda.
Dort wird das 70 jährige Jubiläum gefeiert.

Am Samstagvormittag erkunden wir das kleine Dorf Save. Es gibt hier Schulen und Kirchen zu entdecken sowie ganz viel Landwirtschaft. Auch einen Markt gibt es am Dorfeingang.
Am Nachmittag organisiert Annerose zwei Mototaxis und wir fahren in in die 15km entfernte “größere Stadt“ Butare. Hier verbringen wir 2h. Es ist ganz nett hier, aber so viel gab es nicht zu sehen. Die organisierte Rückreise klappt nicht und wir organsieren auf eigene Faust eine Mototaxi-Fahrt zurück zu den Schwestern.Read more
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Apr 26, 2019, 2:00pm · 🌧 21 °C · Altitude: 1,774 m · 2°32'45" S 29°46'21" E
Rwanda Gatoki Gatoke
Gorillas and game parks
Day10
Kigali, Rwanda day trip
December 14, 2019 in Rwanda ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
We travelled across the border to the capital of Rwanda, Kigali in a small group with Kelly, Michael and Steph. Known as the place with 1000 hills. The scenery was spectacular and lush green. It was noticeable how clean the country is compared to Uganda and Kenya and they also drive on the other side of the road like in Europe. There is also a 1 hour time difference.

It was very sad day learning about the genocide which started in April 1994 when the Hutus turned against the tutsis killing over 1 million people in 100 days. Tutsis across Rwanda were raped and tortured then massacred even by their own neighbours.
The tribes were defined by the Belgians by the number of cows owned with 10 cows or more being named the Tutsis.
We stopped by at a school where the girls were told to divide into the 2 groups but they refused and were all raped and killed
We then stopped at a view point of the river where lots of bodies were thrown which led to fishing being prevented for a year due to finding human remains inside the fish.
The memorial we visited held the mass graves of over 250 thousand people in just 14 graves. There is one open grave for remains which they are still finding .
We also visited a memorial where the 10 Belgian soldiers who were protecting the prime minister where killled.
Following that we visited Hotel des Mille Collines from the movie Hotel Rwanda for lunch which was a place which looked after Tutsis in hiding.Read more
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Dec 14, 2019 · ☀️ 25 °C · Altitude: 1,595 m · 2°0'22" S 29°55'7" E
Rwanda Nkingo Rubona Shyenga
Ron's Odyssey Rwanda & Tanzania 2018
Day5
King’s Palace Museum, Nyanza
February 4, 2018 in Rwanda
Woke up at 6:00 am with no plans for the day, I decided to visit the King’s Palace Museum located at Nyanza, 2hrs drive from Kigali. Joshua my cab driver had requested a $100 (RFW 85,00) price tag for the trip, I would be damned if I spend such colossal amount for a 1hr walk around the museum, so I decided to negotiate it down by sending an offer of RFW 40,000 ($48) to him by SMS. After waiting 1hr without any response I contacted the taxi driver Oliver who took me round the museums 2 days ago. He promptly agreed for the amount so we sealed the deal for 12noon. Joshua later called making a counter offer of RFW 50,000 I allowed him to present his case after which I told him I already agreed for someone else upon which he now agreed to take me for my initial offer. I politely declined. Seems he is out to exploit foreigners.

The trip to Nyanza from Kigali took 2hrs. Route was very scenic, with dangerous curves as we kept going up hill one moment and down hill the next moment. Movement was slow due to trucks on the road and the nature of the road, also traffic police were situated along the road with speed guns.

The King’s palace museum consists of 2 parts. The first is a replica traditional hut made from wood, with the floor covered with mats, also saw the famous long horn cows of the king. There are 2 smaller traditional huts shaped like the kings but much smaller. The first is for a virgin girl who is the custodian of the king’s milk while the second hut is for a virgin boy who is the custodian of the king’s wine.

The 2nd part is a modern brick and cement building built by the Belgians as a replacement of the original king’s palace which they burnt down earlier.
In all the museum walk around took 1hr but it was worth the time as I had nothing else planned for the day.

After a 2hr trip back to Kigali, I asked the driver to drop me off at M- Peace Plaza for late lunch. The plaza is supposed to be a shopping complex but there were few shops, most of the spaces were unoccupied.

Had an early dinner later in the evening, went down to the reception to settle my outstanding bills after.Read more
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Feb 4, 2018, 10:00am · Altitude: 1,801 m · 2°20'59" S 29°45'3" E
Rwanda Nyanza Bugura Kazababo