Natalie was one of the attendees at Untamed’s Trade Day Drink at the Holiday Fair 2019 was lucky to win an all-time eight-day trip for two people through Rwanda. As an experienced travel specialist, she enjoyed an unforgettable adventure that introduced her to the most beautiful thing that the ‘Land of a Thousand Hills’ has to offer.
I am very lucky to be able to visit the beautiful, unique and safe Rwanda in Africa together with my husband. With Turkish Airlines we fly via Istanbul to Kigali. On arrival in the night we go directly to our hotel Amata n’Ubuki in Kigali, and go straight to sleep. The next day there is time to have breakfast outside in the sun. It is delicious in terms of temperature, not hot thanks to its location at 1,500 meters altitude. With our guide/driver we drive around Kigali. We notice that it is very green, has many hills and that almost everyone moves here with mopeds. They also have a lot of mopeds here that serve as taxis.
Nyamirambo Women’s Centre
In the morning we visit the Nyamirambo Women’s Centre. This project was set up specifically for and by women in the community. They learn to work with sewing machines so they can make clothes, how to cut hair, how to start a shop etc. All to make money for the family. We have lunch at a local address. After lunch we buy some nice products from this organization. In the afternoon we go to the Rwanda Genocide Memorial. A piece of history that should never be forgotten. It is remarkable to see that it all started with the arrival of the Europeans who started to divide the population into groups. And the final terrible period 25 years ago. We are both silent of it, what a sadness this has brought, but how special to see how forgiving everyone is now. They’re looking ahead.
Nyungwe National Park, in 50 shades of green
The next morning we go to Nyungwe National Park. It’s wonderful to see how different this piece of Africa is compared to the Africa I’ve already seen, and how many different colors of green there are. The 50 shades of green of Rwanda… The temperature is about 20 degrees and sun and clouds alternate. The drive to Nyungwe National Park takes about five hours. Along the way we have lunch atop the mountain with a magnificent view. Our hotel Nyungwe House is beautifully located among the tea plantations. At the end of the afternoon we also go tea picking and we do a tea tasting. In the evening we have a lovely dinner inside by the fireplace.
The next day we get up on time and after breakfast we go to do the canopy walk. First a beautiful walk through nature, you can hear the birds around you. It’s quite a climb but fine to do. A stick facilitates walking. When we stand on the 60 meter long canopy walk we have a magical view. All in all, we’ve been here all morning sweet.
Lake Kivu
After lunch we drive to our hotel at Lake Kivu. We’re taking a little boat to an island in the lake. A community of about 300 people lives here. They speak their own language, have their own school and are self-sufficient. Although tourists are often tourists, the children are curious. I take some pictures and the kids love to see themselves. We get to see a dance from the women and then we buy beautiful homemade baskets. We’ll continue to the school. I brought a bag full of notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. These are gratefully accepted. In the dark we sail back to the mainland.
The next day there’s another one with a highlight. Early rise is rewarded. We’re going to look for chimpanzees. After a walk with a group of eight people, one guide an intern, we hear after a while the sound of the chimpanzees. This is so great. You see them fleas, sleeping, hugging and at some point it’s done and they go down and pull them on. There are other monkeys out there, Blue Monkeys. These monkeys are the only ones accepted by the chimpanzees. What an experience so in nature. After a delicious cup of tea/coffee at our driver’s starting point, we head to the northern part of Lake Kivu. We sail to our hotel which is magnificent on the lake. In the evening we eat freshly caught fish from the lake.
One with nature
We don’t have to set the alarm for the next day. Around us there are birds everywhere calling us to go out again. After breakfast we drive to our hotel in Volcanoes National Park. After lunch we go to the Dian Fossey Gorilla museum in Musanze. Here you can see what she has achieved for the gorillas. Then we’re going to canoe. A relaxed trip that is alternated twice by a rapid. You are one with nature and you can see the volcanoes very well here. We see, among other things, two species of kingfishers and ibises. After dinner we go to sleep on time; tomorrow is the day…
This can’t be described with a pen. This is beautiful, wonderful, unique.
It’s our last day, but it’s going to be one to remember. Today we go looking for the mountain gorillas. We are divided into the medium group along with three other people. Again, you can hire carriers that lift your bag but also help you with walking. Because it’s a climb for sure. The journey is tough. We only walk up for three hours via steep, narrow and blubbery paths. Also, it starts to rain. We rise from 2,500 meters to 3,200 meters altitude. But once on the spot…
This can’t be described with a pen. We see a mother and her young, a Silverback (the leader) and much more. In total, this family is here with nine gorillas. This is beautiful, wonderful, unique. The Silverback sleeps well and sometimes looks at us and then he sleeps on. So human, you can even hear him snoring. The little one is curious and doesn’t want to sleep. Every time you see him peeking at us. You really see that we humans and gorillas are the same. When the sun comes through, they all lie down and dry on it. Because it rains quite raining from time to time, the gorillas stay mostly in one place. After over an hour we have to go. That’s the deal. A maximum of eight people a day may be with a gorilla family for one hour. The trip down takes two hours. We walk through the blubber, in ditties and right through the bushes. Tired and so full in our heads of what we’ve seen.
Even now our driver/guide is ready to drink and eat with a table. We drive back to Five Volcanoes Boutique Hotel,freshen up and head back to Kigali. The end of our journey is in sight. We conclude our beautiful Rwanda trip and eat at the Pili restaurant in Kigali with our guide/driver before driving to the airport.
Rwanda is a truly wonderful destination. Really not dangerous. Rwanda is even one of the safest countries in the world and the safest country in Africa.
