Time has absolutely flown since we last posted and already our stay at La Locanda, the Dian Fossey hike and our canoe down the Mukungwa river seem like a long time ago. I’ll just give you a quick run down and some pics before we tell you a little bit about our time in Lusaka too.
La Locanda was a really lovely surprise, when we booked our trip to the Volcanoes National Park we knew we wouldn’t be spending a lot of time at our accommodation so went budget. Our lovely Italian host Alberto was warm and welcoming and our room, although a little bit quirky, had everything we needed. The food was great and Alberto made a fantastic hot chocolate and had it bought to our room when the rain fell torrentially for two hours.
Quirky light in the corner of our room??
We only spent two nights at Alberto’s but fitted a lot into our day and a half.
The first day we hiked the Dian Fossey trek. It was as hard as any part of Kilimanjaro mainly because of the ankle deep mud for much of the walk. As the gorillas live in rainforest and it is the beginning of their rainy season the whole walk is peppered with marshy land and deep mud. Despite this and not getting to see any gorillas we still really enjoyed our trek which was enhanced by the company of a lovely American couple. Our guide could have been more informative but was very quiet only pointing out the main areas of interest and otherwise chatting to the porters. We didn’t really understand the need for these on a three/four hour hike but our American friends insisted they were necessary to carry their lunch and water and pull them out of the deepest patches of mud.🤣
Rob’s driving skills were again put to the test as we drove along a 2km route, that I can’t even begin to describe, to the start of our hike. I honestly think that if the guide hadn’t been travelling with us we would have taken one look at it and made an about turn but as it was there was no turning back. I have never been so pleased to arrive somewhere, luckily the beauty of the hike made us forget we still had to go back.😩
We also discovered one of the gorillas buried beside Dian Fossey was called Effie! I can’t believe you named your gorgeous girl after a gorilla Libs.🤣🤣
Once we arrived back to our room we decided to watch Gorillas in the Mist as we’d heard and seen so much of what took place and where. Rob hadn’t seen it before and it’s been a long time since I watched it so it seemed like a good idea. We are both loving it but haven’t finished it yet as WiFi is fairly intermittent across Africa. Still, it’s something to look forward to each night and quite exciting never knowing how much we’ll get through before the thingy starts to spin.
Our second day was spent canoeing the beautiful river Mukungwa. It was so, so peaceful and relaxing and our lovely guide Eloi, with his perfect English and unbelievable knowledge of every bird on the river bank was the perfect companion.
There were lots of highlights throughout the three hour trip but our main ones were two lots of rapids, the first one nearly capsized us and the second one was through an amazing narrow tunnel of sugar beet where we saw a malachite Kingfisher up really close. We didn’t get a picture as we were struggling to stay upright in the canoe but Eloi said he did and will forward them on soon.😊
Another highlight was courtesy of some young boys. We could hear children’s voices beside the river but couldn’t see anyone until Eloi pointed them out about forty feet up the trees. The way they can climb the trunks that have no branches for the first twenty feet is amazing
It’s not easy to see but high up in the second tree from the right is a child. There were a few others up there too but he’s probably the clearest.
We also loved this little fellow who as soon as he saw the canoes coming, stripped off, jumped in the water and clambered into Eloi’s canoe. He rode along for a little while before jumping out and swimming across to be reunited with dry land. He wasn’t at all camera shy and was delighted to be the subject of my photography.
Just like the roads, the river was teeming with people in some parts and with wildlife in others.
A traditional dug out canoe
A stork – just for you Maria
People all along the river bank
Captain of the canoe
Such a great trip thanks to Eloi and Kingfisher Journeys – highly recommended if you’re ever in Rwanda.
We drove back to Kigali that afternoon and spent our last night at the Martin Aviator Hotel before our early morning flight to Lusaka in Zambia.
Martin Aviator Hotel – only place with a free room as the Family Planning Convention took place in Kigali. Maybe they need to improve their provision of access to Television.🤣🤣
I’m sorry – that was meant to be a short catch up but Rwanda was amazing and I’m already planning a return visit.😊
Rob & Emma's Trip 