April 23rd – 26th 2022
Rwanda is a small country. One could drive across it in a day if so motivated, it’s smaller than the state of Maryland. It’s also a country that people don’t usually visit for a classic African safari. Akergara National Park offers elephants and lions and the like, or you can go gorilla trekking at the extraordinary price of $1500 per person.
For us we wanted to see the countryside and try to understand some of the horrific and complex history of the genocide. Somehow this country has gone from the very blackest of days in the 90s and brought itself to the forefront of East African economies at an incredible pace. Rwanda has developed at a rapid pace since the genocide and many have been lifted out of poverty in just twenty-five years. Kigali is often referred to as the Switzerland of Africa. We wanted to peer in and take a look.
Cyanika Border Post
Again we kept with our small border post policy, choosing to cross at Cyanika in northwest Rwanda. Checking out of Uganda was straightforward. Our carnet was processed without discussion. Crossing at these borders always seems to involve entering the same details in various registers. For customs, immigration, police and the gate guard we entered our names, where we are coming from, destination, vehicle registration number, phone number. As long as you don’t question the why’s of any of this our experience is the borders are fairly smooth.
The gate guard lifted the boom for us and we rolled into no mans land, between countries, to park again and have our covid vaccination cards checked. No request for a PCR test so far.
On the Rwanda side things felt different already. It is subtle, the change between countries, but noticeable. Here the uniforms were crisper and things seemed a bit more formal. First we were sent to wash our hands, walking through a brand new huge and totally empty building that seemed to be dedicated solely for hand washing.
Immigration took a long time. We were the only customers, but they spent an interminable time flipping through the pages of our passports looking for who knows what. But we had our pre-approved East African Visas (Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya in one visa) and knew that our papers were in order, they’d have to let us in eventually.
The officials were concerned about where we were staying and if we had bookings in Kigali. This is not a requirement for entry, and seeing this was going to be an issue we just fibbed that we had bookings at the Via Via guesthouse, since it was the first place we could think of. Finally we received our entry stamp.
Customs was fairly painless once the customs officer was actually found, which took some time. He had no interest in our carnet, instead giving us a Temporary Import Permit (TIP) for 15,000 Rwandan francs ($15 USD).
At the final gate we entered our details yet again and were off, into Rwanda. We had to check with the police officers at the gate, “We drive on the right now, right?” “Yes,” they responded. They drive on the other side of the road here, so we were in our right side drive car, driving on the right side of the road. Any passing was now a team effort.
Overtaking was not necessary though. There were hardly any cars on the road, just a lot of people. Gone were the swarms of boda bodas, we were instead back in the land of bicycles (also called boda bodas) and pedestrians. The roads were narrow and have no shoulders, so vehicles just drive more or less down the middle, leaving the edges of the road for people. When a vehicle comes from the opposite direction each car moves to its respective side and the people smoothly part like waves around rocks on the shore, flowing back into the road after the vehicles pass.
This organic system seems to work well. The occasional tidy looking bus came through, but otherwise the roads were quiet. The hills were similar to southwest Uganda, steep and full of picturesque terraced farms while nice big trees lined the road.
Lake Kivu was our first destination. The drive to the north end of the lake was attractive and uneventful. Gisenyi is the town at the north end of the lake. This town is pushed right up against the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Goma is the city on the other side of the border, with the big volcanic cone of Nyiragongo looming above all. This is the volcano that erupted in May 2019, with lava rushing down its slopes to kill some of the residents of Goma and sent tens of thousands fleeing across the border.
After picking up a couple provisions in Gisenyi we drove a few very lovely kilometers down the lakeshore to Rubona, which has a few guesthouses and hotels. There are no official campsites here, but more than once place offers car park camping.
Camping is not much of a thing in Rwanda. Even when places say they do offer camping it usually means they have some pre-erected safari tents you can stay in, or they have a place you can pitch a ground tent, but not near a vehicle. Self catering camping for vehicles with roof top tents (let alone trailers) seems almost unheard of.
Jenny had WhatsApp’d the Paradise Malahide Hotel about camping. Previous travelers had recommended it for informal car park camping. Unfortunately they responded that they did not allow this. We moved to plan B, the nearby Eden Garden Hotel.
Eden Garden had a couple modest bungalows and one spot that a vehicle can camp on grass by the lakeshore. The place appeared to be a popular spot to come for drinks in the afternoon, and we were solicited to buy fish that they’ll grill on request. It is modest, but pleasant. Well almost. The camping is sort of in the middle of things and we were a spectacle with our roof top tent. It felt like we were the fish in a fishbowl.
Loud music was playing so we went on a walkabout to take a break from it, hoping against hope that the revelers might move on come evening. Paradise Malahide was an easy walk, we strolled over to take a look.
The car park here was nothing special, but everything else here was much nicer than Eden Garden. Decent looking food, friendly staff, a nice ambiance to hang out on the beach. We had a beer and watched boats come and go and enjoyed the lakeside. On top of that, when we asked about camping in person they said that would be no problem. Lesson learned.
The highlight of the evening was watching a fleet of fishing boats head out, with huge long poles jutting out from bow and stern, pulsing with the stroke of the paddlers as they went out onto the lake. When the boats turned we saw that they are lashed together in a sort of curious trimaran.
Back at Eden we noticed a wedding was setting up next door. This did not bode well. It was not one of our better nights. The wedding blared loud music for hour upon our, almost until dawn. It rained hard that night, which did nothing to dampen the revelry, but it did keep us fairly subdued. We ate a simple dinner of pasta, huddled under the awning while we pondered how incredibly different Rwanda was to Uganda.
In the morning I watched those fishing boats come back from their nights efforts while hungover staff members stumbled out of their bungalows.
Rubona didn’t have anything to keep us and we wanted to explore more of the lakeshore. There is a series of local dirt tracks that has been stitched together down the lake shore and is pitched to tourists as the “Congo Nile Trail.” People frequently cycle it on mountain bikes or hike it and stay at guest houses or home stays along the way.
The Congo Nile Trail
I gather in the past that driving it wasn’t really practical, that it was narrow and more for small traffic, but our guide book implied that driving it was possible. The road is incredibly windy on the map and would be slow going, but there were a few places we could bail out to the tarred road up on the ridge if it was taking too long.
The road brought us down low by the lakeshore and high up on the hillsides, along coffee farms with drying tables and through many small rural villages.
In one spot we saw some cyclists gearing up to mountain bike part of the road. They warned us that there was a bridge out part way down the road and they weren’t sure if it had been repaired yet.
Along the way we met up with another vehicle, also driving the Congo Nile Trail today. It was two Portuguese guys that run a travel company, they were scouting Rwanda for future tours. After chatting for a bit and we agreed to travel in tandem in case there were any problems along the way.
After a few more scenic kilometers some locals waved us down and said there had been a landslide, the road was impassible. We had stopped for photos and were lagging behind our Portuguese friends. They were already there, up on the hillside stopped just before the slide. The locals were telling us we’d have to turn around, but we waited a little while and they made it through so off we went.
At the slide they had paid a few farmers to clear a narrow section of the track so they could get through, just. They were in a Prado and they had made it after a couple attempts (sorry Randy). Their undercarriage and running boards were filled with mud. The Honey Badger has better clearance and sailed through without complaint.
The rest of road was good to us, we drove by more coffee farms and fields of bananas, all perched on precipitous hillsides. There were stunning views of the Niyragongo volcano, which seemed to be emitting steam. Some of the buildings here had terracotta roofs, instead of the ubiquitous corrugated metal, and this gave it an almost mediterranean feel at times.
At the apex of every turn the lake glimmered below, the drive was stunning. This came to a quick end though when we arrived at the Nkora fishing village. Here the bridge was indeed out. The bridge was made from huge timbers that formed the road bed, placed across concrete piles. An entire section was missing, leaving a 10 meter wide gap across a fast flowing river.
We did some scouting, but there was definitely no way around and we had to back track. It is just as well anyway, at our rate of advance we’d be arriving late.
This had us back tracking to the NR11, which loosely follows the ridge above the lake further inland. It is a new road of perfect tarmac and also full of beautiful vistas, winding south and parallel to the lake. It brought us to Kibuye, which lies roughly half way down the eastern shore of the lake. Here there is a peninsula with many bays, coves and inlets with a small town and several guest houses and hotels.
Kibuyu
Again there is no official camping in the area, but we washed up at the Musaya Hotel. They have a wonderful spot set aside for impromptu campers. As we rolled up we even found there was even another camper already here. Happily there was room for both of us on green grass, with a great view of the lake.
Here we met Toby and Isabelle, from Holland. They were on their way north and we swapped travel notes and stories and had a really nice evening socializing. Rain threatened, but for once it held off for the night. At one point we asked the staff for a fire in the fire pit, and they wanted to charge us some outrageous amount, like $25 USD, for the wood. Isabelle counter offered $5 USD and they said “Sure.” This is the sort of odd thing you just have to shake your head at and ignore.
Even though we’d had a lovely evening in Kibuye we were on a mission to get south. In the morning we said our goodbyes to Toby and Isabelle and headed to the capital, Kigali.
So far the roads in Rwanda have been excellent but this was not the case on the drive to Kigali. For about half way, from Kibuyu to Muhanga, the road is a rough potholed ribbon of hell. We were growing skeptical of the Switzerland thing. Somewhere along the way we pulled over and I could smell the brakes.
After a little investigation we found the rear hubs and brakes very hot. I doused them with water and they gave a hiss of steam. Now we were worried. Did we have seized wheel bearings? Or was something wrong with the brakes? After fruitlessly paging through our service manualwe got out the satellite phone for the first time of the trip and called the calvary, JB’s Autos in Cape Town. JB is a renown Land Cruiser specialist that has worked on our car before.
He turned out to be out of town, but one of his mechanics asked us a few questions to diagnose the problem. He noted that, logically, you won’t seize two wheel bearings at the same time, so it had to be the brakes. “Have you been doing any driving in mud?” he asked. Oh yes we have. He went on to tell us to just get the car washed, mud can get stuck in the brake calipers and cause unintended braking.
I continued to douse the brakes to cool and rinse them with all the spare water we had. With ginger driving and engine braking we rolled into a town about 25 kilometers away and immediately go the car wash. After this we have had no issue, but with that episode behind us it made us feel like getting the car serviced and inspected was a higher priority.
Kigali
As mentioned, Rwanda is sometimes called the Switzerland of Africa because of how clean and organized Kigali is. While we were in the capital we planned to satisfy our curiosity about this city, and also get the vehicle serviced and fill our gas bottle. It was a little early to do the service and the gas, but supposedly they’d be easy to do here and we might not find that the case for a while after this stop.
We arrived in Kigali more or less at rush our. There was construction on the main thoroughfare and we were pushed into the side streets, off the maps on the GPS.
In bumper to bumper traffic we moved through the rough dirt back streets of Kigali, at one point the road disintegrated in to some sort open air of truck repair yard. To escape we were directed up a rocky dirt hill that was so steep we actually had to use low range 4×4. Our impression of Kigali was not exactly Switzerland, I think that claim might be a wee bit exaggerated.
Our first stop was to the headquarters of the gas company. According to iOverlander, to fill a foreign gas bottle you need to pay at headquarters first. This turned out to be a wild goose chase and also not true. In the pouring rain I failed at the gas company HQ while Jenny battled dense traffic and lack of parking in downtown Kigali. This particular quest was abandon for the time being.
Finally we rolled into the Step Town Hotel which also offers car park camping. The other popular options, the Via Via guesthouse and Kigali Youth Hostel, had closed during covid. Here at Step Town they were very friendly and we quaffed down a beer, trying to wind down from our hectic arrival in town. Cooking in the parking lot seemed a little weird, so we ordered a goat stew and beans and rice from their restaurant. The goat stew was fine enough, but the beans and rice was amazing.
The next day we headed to a workshop recommended by Toby, who had also needed a service on his Toyota. He had recommended Akagera Motors, which is confusingly inside the Toyota compound, somehow still associated with each other in a way that is not clear. With the Cruiser in for service we had most of the day to kill. Akagera offered us a driver for the day, though at an inflated price. We haggled down to $30 USD for six hours and then hit the town.
The first stop was another sally at our gas bottle quest. After much driving around we arrived at a nondescript fuel station. Around the back they were filling gas bottles and without any fuss agreed to fill ours. They had the right adapter and after some waiting around, victory! This will be the last time we need to go through these gymnastics, by the next time we need gas filled we’ll be back in Southern Africa.
From here we went to the Genocide memorial and museum. During all this driving around we passed through the embassy district and some other very tidy neighborhoods and we began to see where the Switzerland thing comes from. Most of Kigali is as clean, if not cleaner, than the average western city, and certainly way more organized than many other African cities. Kigali has functioning stoplights, lines on the roads and traffic laws are, mostly, obeyed. Motorcycle taxis are regulated and well behaved, with helmets and license numbers on their jackets. Police abound and appear to mostly be keeping order, not stopping drivers for the modest shake downs that are common in some other countries.
The genocide looms large in Rwanda, and while we drove around the country it is hard to not think about it often. The memorial and museum are impressive. We took a self guided audio tour, and after three hours we’d had our fill of genocide. The museum has a good cafe and we retreated for lunch. Over lunch, and really over the next few days, we discussed the genocide, and the museum.
While in Kigali I happened to pick up a copy of the PanAfrican Review, which I found to be full of articles full of Rwandan pride, but also dripping in visceral resentment of western governments and colonialists. At the museum there too was an undercurrent of, “this was the colonists fault.” I had not expected that particular part, though the West didn’t wield any machetes it certainly played a role.
Nobody debates* that the genocide was horrific, and of course everyone wishes it had not happened or that intervention was dispatched right away,
*almost. There are in fact genocide deniers.
The history of the genocide, including the lead up, the approximately 100 days of brutal killing, and the aftermath, are fascinating. It is also full of unsolved mysteries, such as who actually ordered the assassination that kicked off the killing. Reputable sources have said it was actually Paul Kagame, who is now the president. Other sources have said it was a rogue Hutu military element. The true answer is still a mystery.
To understand Rwanda and the genocide is difficult. The history is complex and nuanced. Basically for years various Hutu leaders, both in government and media, stoked racial hatred of the Tutsis. Then an assassination of the Hutu president kicked off what is now known to be a preplanned campaign of murder of Tutsis, perpetrated by Hutu militias. Paul Kagame, a Tutsi, lead the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) to end the genocide and the RPF came into power.
In 2000 the RPF president resigned and Kagame took his place. Now, 22 years later, he is still the president of Rwanda. He has turned into something of a benevolent dictator. Officially Rwanda is a democracy, but there has been no meaningful opposition to Kagame for sometime, in part because of barriers thrown up by his own party.
On the other hand it seems that Kagame is incredibly competent, unlike many of his autocratic compatriots. They claim a zero tolerance policy to corruption, and while that might be an exaggeration, Rwanda does rank higher (higher being less corrupt) than many European countries, and most other African countries, on the Corruption Perception Index.
All this we found fascinating. Of our visit to Rwanda, it isn’t the scenic hillside views or beautiful lake Kivu that I will think of. It is the complex thoughts about the genocide and Paul Kagame’s regime.
These ideas were swirling in our heads as we were returned to the workshop. The vehicle was done and happily there were no surprises.
Car park camping at the Step Town Hotel was as good as one could hope for in the city, but it still wasn’t that great. It seemed like camping in Kigali, or Rwanda in general, was awkward. Instead we decided to not force the issue and got a room.
Kigali also has some good restaurants, and happily we found a hotel, Heaven, that ranked high on both eating and sleeping. It’s a sprawling complex in the city offering multiple restaurants and a wide array of rooms, up to $600 USD a night. We opted for one of their more modest rooms, but again our last minute arrival came offered with a discount.
Dinner was delicious. We ended up chatting with our server for a while. She was in her early 20s, born after the genocide. She said that if you travel or meet people and tell them you’re from Rwanda they’re sometimes scared, as if somehow Rwandans are all genocidaires. She said that her generation don’t want to be known for the genocide and are working hard to shake that reputation.
Rwanda has shown an incredible rate of development in recent decades. Some are not entirely convinced by the impressive numbers, but at some level the numbers don’t matter. Just look at the city, with its skyline of modern buildings, its clean streets and high level of order. It’s clear Rwandan’s take pride in this city and their country, and everyone we met was professional and courteous. Not really speaking French meant it was hard for us to have real conversations, but pretty much everyone left us with a positive impression.
After a night in the hotel room it was time to head off. After just four nights we were on to Tanzania. This short stay is a disservice to Rwanda to be sure. It was still the rainy season and we were still seeking the dryer climes to the south. We decided that if we returned to Rwanda we would self drive, but also instead stay at some the many decent guest houses and hotels that we found everywhere, instead of trying to camp.
The road out of Kigali towards the Rusomo border post is easy going. After a little more than an hour we cleared the traffic of the city and were once again cruising along a good road with little traffic. The further east we traveled the more tame the topography got, and by the time we arrived at the border post we saw only the modest hills of Tanzania. Dryer, with more undeveloped land and less of those beautiful farms.
If you glance at a map you might ask why we didn’t head south via Burundi, just to the south. We wanted to, but Burundi and Rwanda are not friends, some business about Burundi accusing Rwanda of supporting an attempted coup a few years ago. There are rumors the border will be open soon. Inshallah.
Obviously our visit to Rwanda was very short, but it still left a real impression. It is for sure worth a visit if you’re on an overland tour. With the difficulty of camping I think if we come back we’ll just accept that we’ll be staying in a lot more guest houses.
Tanzania via Rusumo Border
The Rusumo border post is a modern One Stop Border Post (OSBP), with both country’sofficials housed in one building. After inspecting our covid vaccination cards we entered and simply went down the line of windows. Checking out of Rwandan immigration and customs only took five minutes. Checking into Tanzanian immigration was also a cinch since we already had a multiple entry visa.
Tanzanian customs took forever, mostly just waiting for the customs officer to surface. After he finally showed up it was pouring rain and any interest in inspecting our vehicle ceased entirely. We paid the cashier for our TIP and were on our way.
One of the problems with traveling to northwest Tanzania from Rwanda is there are no good camping options. It is too far to drive from any campsite in Rwanda to any campsite in Tanzania in one day. We knew this, so we hadn’t made any special effort to start early out of Kigali, knowing that wherever we slept tonight would probably be not that great. We call this “weird camping.”
Now where exactly would that be?
The Nitty Gritty
Cyanika to Rubona (Eden Garden) – 93km, 2h 52m
Rubona (Eden Garden) to Kibuyu via part of the Congo Nile Trail and some back tracking – 122km, 7h 6m (not an impressive speed of advance!)
Eden Garden – I have to say that we do not recommend the Eden Garden Hotel. Maybe staying here would be okay if it wasn’t a party night. The ablutions are somewhere between non-existent to terrible, where Jenny had to tip toe through a space with people passed out in the corners. I can’t remember the price, but it seemed like a lot.
Boat trips are available to a nearby island, a popular excursion. Prices started at 30,000 francs and after we declined the price dropped rapidly.
Musaya Hotel in Kibuyu – This is marked as Holiday Hotel on T4A and OSM, but that is incorrect. There are many good iOvelander reviews for this spot and we concur, the best place we camped in our brief Rwanda tour. They give you a key to a room for a toilet and shower, the only downside is this is a little far from the campsite. Otherwise this place is great.
Refilling a Cadac Bottle in Kigali – All the info you need is in this thread, post No. 14. I think if when we come to East Africa again we’ll bring one Cadac bottle and buy an E. Africa bottle in Tanzania, making sure that our gas bottle holder can handle the bigger diameter (the one we have now does not. Side note: we have an Alu-cab gas bottle holder, which not only can’t handle the bigger size but also cracked. I have repaired it with net twine, the sailor’s version of duct tape, and it is holding together for now. We added this filling spot to iOverlander.