Cape 2 Cairo 2 Cape Blog

After a yummy buffet breakfast at the Hotel Des Mille Collines (in Kigali), we were locknloaded and refuelled. At the same time, we sadly had to say good-bye to our beautiful Alta, once again, who has been a great support to the team and whom we consider part of the group.

At 9:30am, it was time to rocknroll out of Kigali towards the west, to Cyangugu (now called Kamembe in the Rusizi District), via Butare, approximately 300kms in total. Ray finally got onto the KTM, first time on a bike since our departure from Cairo. As our Commander in Chief, he led the front of the pack while Arch took the rear. Die Hard style, Ray was the only one riding in shorts and a t-shirt while the rest of us had our protective riding gear on. Ule had kindly offered to take me on his motorcycle once again (since I’m such a fantatic of motorcycles).

It was an absolutely beautiful ride through the hills and mountainsides through windy, paved roads; that were in overall very good condition..with occasion potholes that each rider respectfully pointed out to the next in line as we were passing through. We passed hundreds of villages with villagers either shocked or excited to see us (shrieking with exhilaration or bewilderment when they realized a female was riding behind Ule).

We passed thousands of pastures, agricultural plantations of maize, bananas and rice. Rwanda is a stunning country and the Rwandans have gone through great effort to turn the country around since the Genocide of 1994..clean as can be and hard at work in turning the country to one that all of Africa can look up to. We stopped on several occasions to take in the beauty of the scenery.

We stopped on the side of a hill top to take some pictures, shortly reunited with the Headhunter and its passengers. Needless to say, a crowd gathered around us, staring, checking out the motorcycles and IVECO and thinking who knows what. As we were taking pictures and taking a rest, with striking silvery blue eucalyptus plants in the distance, Jacques and Archie all of a sudden scare the entire crowd (women, men and children combined) by taking out our “pet snake”. They all enjoyed the farse! 

A few kilometres later, we stopped on the side of a road surrounded by bamboo trees as the KTM was giving Ray some problems. Once more, the KTM was loaded onto the trailer.

Again, after another few kilometres, under Ray’s direction (now on the BMW and Archie in the Headhunter), we stopped at the Institute of National Museums of Rwanda, Ethnographic Museum, for those who wanted some cultural education, followed by a stop in town for some snacks and drinks.

Kenny, are keen rider, always joking around and smiling, except when he's tired of course

Ande, riding smoothly as he usually does

We rode through the Nyungwe National Park were we enjoyed a spectacle of dense tropical forests on either side, as far as the eye could see. On one side was to be the Nile and on the other the Congo River(however, the vegetation was so thick and bountiful, we would never be able to spot them).

The vegetation was so opaque neither Marlene nor I would ever be able to find a clearing to do our “business”.  The roads were beautifully paved until the last kilometres where the Chinese and Rwandan and Congolese workers were constructing and refurnishing the road (gravel, potholes and mud).

Just as we passed through an arch with a sign thanking us for travelling through the Nyungwe National Park, the forest changed into a tea plantation (Gisaku) so vast you would have thought it would never end. The supervisor of the tea plantation and its workers was quick on his feet and insensitively barred us from taking any other pictures. I had a word or two with him in French; basically letting him know-how ridiculous he was to object tourism and a friendly conversation. It was nevertheless a breathtaking view with the tea plantation and solid jungle in the backdrop with a menacing sky and loud thunder building up in the distance.

Several kilometres away from Cyangugu (or Kamembe), a bora-bora infiltered himself into the motorcycle file, taking over Brian in second position, as the rest of us struggled with the potholes. Needless to say, Brian started competing with him, desperately trying to regain his position behind Ray. It was quite a funny exhibition of egos (whether one sided or not!!)

As we arrived into Cyangugu, we could see the magnificent Lake Kivu on our right, with the late afternoon sun reflecting off of its surface. We first went through the Rwandan border with the authorities getting restless because we weren’t taking the right entrance into the office area. After half an hour, we finally went on to the Bukavu border post where the chief in command greeted us with disdain.

So close but yet so far:

James did not have a visa for the DRC (since he wasn’t supposed to still be with us at this point in time). I desperately tried to convince and negotiate with the commander in chief in French..explaining that it was perfectly normal to buy a visa (or even a temporary visa) at the border. I was in-between immigration and customs with issues arising as they usually do in the DRC (please understand, it is a backward country and there is never a moment of peace, but it is a country worth visiting for its beauty is beyond words. It is still a wild frontier and not for the faint hearted and definitely requires a lot of patience). At the customs office, the lady wanted to charge each biker a $15 entrance fee, but yet had not resources to stamp the carnets. I convinced her that it wasn’t the normal procedure and after she checked, she agreed to drop the entrance fee. The carnets remained unstamped!

The chief of command, on the immigration side, was ready to say good-bye to all of us since we wouldn’t leave our comrade behind. He didn’t care whether or not the DRC was losing out on 15 tourists and their money. The debate went on and on until I convinced him to call his boss, who himself agreed that James could buy a temporary visa, valid for 14 days. However, they were asking for $300 ($250 for the visa and a $50 entrance fee). Needless to say, that was an exaggerated and ridiculous amount that James would never agree to pay, even so for only a one to five day visit. I tried negotiating the price down to $100 but no can do. We all had our passport entry stamps cancelled, and headed back to the Rwandan border where our passport exit stamps were also annulled.

We drove a couple of kilometres to the Peace Guest House, owned by the Anglican Church of Rwanda (on Lake Kivu), where Ray negotiated a good price for our rooms. We were all very tired and hungry. We waited two hours for our buffet to be set up, but what a delicious buffet it was (steak, chicken, coleslaw, French fries, spinach, thick pancake, scrambled eggs and the most delicious sauce). Everyone ended up going to bed content and with a full stomach (well, except for Jacques and Ray who seem to be taking coca-cola as a substitute for food). [Note: the windows open towards the inside due to the mosquito net fixed on the outside. This is definitely mosquito country..and you can only imagine what dangers come with that. Everyone sprayed their rooms religiously and popped their anti-malaria pills quite hastily]