It was a 30 hour journey for Glenn and I to get to Rwanda and 28 for Wayne and Simonne. The welcome by &Beyond was just what we needed and they walked us through the immigration and covid testing seamlessly. Settling into our villa at The Retreat, waiting for the green light from a negative covid test and going to spend the day recharging and …
Our culinary journey began on Qatar – food in business class was incredible. Or was it just that an international flight is a novelty… Once settled into the hotel, we opted for hanging out at The Retreat and tasting some of the local cuisine. Lunch was at Fusion, the local restaurant where we tasted some delicious starters, shared a lovely beetroot dish, falafel and kofta …
The day began with coffee and a workout, got to maintain that fitness for our trekking. Coffee in Rwanda is excellent, and our room had a machine that grinds the coffee beans for each cup, makes for the perfect cup of coffee. Today was our day to explore the city starting with a visit to the Genocide Museum. A very somber experience and hard to …
Exploring the city and discovering art and artists Read More »
Woke up to a sunny morning, just enough time for a brief workout followed by a cappuccino poolside. Now the adventures really begin… Roger picked us up at 9:45am – first stop Covid testing. We did both a PCR test and a rapid antigen test and then we were off. Journey was 98km’s but maximum speed is 60km/hour and the road was busy. Trucks, buses, …
Glenn is owning that chair and enjoying the environment… Food is sensational with many vegetarian options, fresh ingredients and salads. Photos tell it all… We took the opportunity to explore the property. Benjamin took us to the nursery where they are working on reforestation and irradicating the eucalyptus which is not indigenous to Rwanda. Then we walked through the onsite kitchen garden at Bisate Kwanda …
Left at 6:15am for our golden monkey trek. All equipped with gaiters, gloves and rain suits – needed for the cold and slightly damp morning. Did mean an early start as getting ready is a bit of a process… Good news the lodge provides all of these items and we did not need another Covid test!!! Navigated that dreadful road from the lodge again, I …
Big day today our first gorilla trek. We had a team meeting and opted for the medium level trek. Roger took care of all paperwork while we enjoyed the bistro – cappuccino for me, hot chocolate for Wayne and a black coffee for Glenn. After some time, we were called for our briefing with Fidele. We were going to trek the gorilla troop called Kwitonda. …
This evening we captured a sunset over Mount Bisoke, she was showing off for us – tomorrow we embark on our hike. The staff mention you don’t often see sunsets like that due to the rolling clouds over the volcanoes. Dinner was another glorious meal – I opted for soup and the lamb curry, delicious!!! As you can see we were having scintillating conversations and …
We got to breakfast at 6am for a quick coffee and a bite to eat (our regular routine) and to do final prep – staff helped put on our gaiters and we gathered fresh rain jackets and gloves. The laundry service is incredible here, even our boots are cleaned daily!!! Unfortunately, two of our party were not going to be joining us, Simonne was ill …
We were entertained to an amazing cultural experience this evening. The team at Bisate prepared a traditional Rwandan meal with live entertainment. We started with fired fish and banana chips with drinks. I opted for a glass of champagne, deserved after the hike, and Glenn a beer. Benjamin did some educational discussion and Alice was the lead singer in the ensemble which included all kitchen …
