The Detouring Doctor

For those of us not going on the gorilla trek the itinerary seemed a lot like “sloppy seconds”, a visit to the twin lakes in the morning and a pygmy village in the afternoon. I was wrong and the morning in particular, far exceeded expectations. Lake Ruhondo is a submerged volcanic crater. The waters are still and mirror reflective which made for magnificent pictures of the islands and the surrounding shoreline which featured the silhouettes of 8 different volcanoes.

We visited an island in the middle where the locals from the only village there turned out to provide a song and dance greeting.

Lake Burera at the top of the hill is a hydroelectric dam dating back to the era of Belgian colonisation in the 1950s.

The afternoon provided interesting insight into local village life but was a bit light on with actual pygmys.

It is 7pm and the rain is bucketing down. Not a good taste of what we are embarking on at 4 am the next morning, a walk inside the jungle to see chimpanzees in the wild. I awake predawn, the rain has stopped and it is surprisingly mild. It is with much anticipation that I pack and board our bus for the 1 hour bumpy ride to the trail head where our trackers are tracking the chimps.

A one hour steep climb along a rough track takes us to the patch of virgin jungle with the chimpanzees. I tread carefully through the thick undergrowth, there is no semblance of a track here. High up in the forest canopy I spot my first chimp. Then, as my eyes adjust I see another and then a mother with baby climbing on the branches and eating leaves. They are distant sightings and photography is useless but I here in the wild with them and that of itself is special. Then, in the blink of an eye, our luck changes. 

A large grey chimp decides to hang off a branch before shimmying down the tree. Soon others follow and suddenly they are at ground level. One large male sets himself on the ground chomping away at the leaves. Cautiously I approach easing my way ever closer until I am almost just 1 metre away from him. While these animals are wild they are habituated to humans and he doesn’t show any signs of anxiety or move. He is too busy eating. It seemed forever that I stood watching moved and mesmerised by the experience. I put my camera down and just take in the special wildlife encounter that I am privileged to be part of.

One of my group reminds me to take some video footage, not just stills. I realised that I have neglected to do this and switch it on. Serendipity intervenes for after 30 seconds of filming his eating he erupts into whooping noises and leaps up. Fearing retaliation I turn and retreat but he merely jumps away and summons the other chimps to follow.

Our small group takes leave and emerges from the jungle elated at being part of this very special experience.

Our last day following the Lake Kivu shoreline takes us to Rubavu. This is where the border with the much blighted Goma is and in essence it is one big city cut in two with the international border the eastern side is Rubavu and the west is Goma in the DRC.

Along the way we stop at hot springs bubbling out of the ground a byproduct of an active volcano n the DRC side. The water bubbling out of the ground is 75C and they have constructed a very basic shallow pond to sit in. Unfortunately it has not occurred to them to let some of the lake water to enter the pond and lower the temperature. At first I only dunk my feet in.I am persuaded to have a massage and mud treatment of my legs which evolved into upper body and shoulders and eventually gingerly immersing myself up to neck deep in the 40C water.

Lunch is on the “beach” at Rubavu before we head inland to Musanze. Musanze was known as Ruhengeri when I was here in 2009. A year later as part of the process of trying to heal the wounds of 1994 genocide all of the major towns and provinces were renamed as if to reinforce the break from the brutal past. In 2009 Anthony and I were here to see gorillas as this is probably the best organised place to experience this. We had a amazing experience and lots of great photos so I eschew the offer to go again (at the eye watering price of $1100 US).

DRC and Rwanda share a long border of which 89 km is Lake Kivu, the actual border being an imaginary line up the middle of the lake. The original trip had us hugging the shores of Lake Kivu but on the Congo side between Bukavu and Goma. The amazingly successful predatory advance of the Rwandan Backed M23 rebels have put paid to that. Nonetheless the lake is no less beautiful on this side and I gaze wistfully westwards and dream of DRC.

Our night here is spent in Kigora a lakeside resort and our hotel room affords panoramic views of Lake Kivu. We are treated to a sunset cruise on the lake firstly landing on Napoleon Island named for its shape resembling Napoleon’s tricord hat. We have a short walk through a fascinating bat infested forest.

The cruise concludes with a close pass around monkey island where a vervet monkey very obligingly sits on a rock and seemingly poses for photos before bounding off into the bush.

Shrieks and yells ring out as we are enjoying coffee and snacks at a cafe in Nyungwe National park in Rwanda. A cheeky Colobus monkey has snatched a sugar bowl from those of us snacking on the balcony and races up a tree to have a feed off sugar and then drops the bowl. He comes back for a bread roll from another punter.

We have just come back from the tree tops canopy walk and enjoying a quick lunch before the drive to see the colobus monkeys.

These arboreal primates have long been a mainstay at Melbourne zoo. The opportunity to see them in the wild does not disappoint. We are driven out to the edge of the rainforest and have a sometimes slippery walk to the trackers at the edge of the canopy. At first what action there is occurs high up and made for poor photography. Eventually they come lower and gain in confidence allowing for better photography and a much better experience.

The land borders between Rwanda and Burundi are closed, a product of the ongoing battle between Hutu and Tutsi that even predates the 1994 genocide. In 1994 Hutus killed 1 million Tutsis in 3 months. Since then Tutsis have remained in Rwanda while displaced Hutus fled to DRC and Burundi. Burundi is majority Hutu and there is no love lost between the two to this day.The trip between Bujumbura and Butare in Rwanda is less than 2 hours by road but we are forced into an international flight to Kigali and then a 3 hour drive back down to the park. We spend the first morning in the national museum and a laid on dance performance for us.

Burundi’s second largest city resumed the role of political capitol in 2019. Bujumbura remains the economical capitol. Gitega is a smaller and much more pleasant city with asphalted tree lined roads and less scruffy buildings.

Our first morning has us in a private guided tour with th curator. While small and basic the guide brings it and the history of Burundi to life.

Our main reason for coming here is to see the Gishora dancers. Situated on the site where kings of Burundi reigned they have preserved the original royal dwelling which are thatched roof huts.

This has been a designated world heritage site since 2014. In my travels I have seen many “cultural shows” and generally I am not a fan. Typically they are lame and contrived. They appeal to the western tourist who feels warm and fuzzy about ticking the ‘’cultural sensitivity” box but in this case boy was I wrong! African drums beating persistently and menacingly, these guys delivered a high energy, spine tingling performance as my photos attest.

Finally a drive out to the impressive Karere Falls completes a long but highly satisfying day.

Burundi’s largest city of 3 million people graphically illustrates the parlous state of this impoverished nation one of Africa’s poorest. This is a country where the average wage is around $1 per day. It is a country where long queues form outside of fenced off petrol stations because the country chronically experiences severe petrol shortages. The dusty potholed roads of the city are choked, with people notwith cars. Queues sometimes 100 people long line up for seats on the few minibuses that still run. The downtown area is dirty, run down and impoverished It is easily the worst African city I have  seen. It reminds me of bigger versions of the dusty most rundown backwater towns I travelled through in places like Tanzania in 1986 as a backpacker.

Sadly the actual topographical setting should be idyllic. Beautiful Vedant mountains lush with vegetation cascade down to the shores of Lake Tanganyika which is like an inland sea. Buj is like a blight on the landscape. Our first stop today is the Stanley – Livingstone meeting place monument. Dr David Livingstone the Scottish doctor and missionary has always been a  hero for me. In 1869 when news from Livingstone to the outside world dried up they sent Henry Morton Stanley’s to find him. Against the odds he found him and uttered the iconic phrase “Dr Livingstone I presume”. That happened at Ujiji in Tanzania in 1871. Stanley returned home but not before exploring and mapping the mighty Congo River and a substantial portion of what is now DRC. Stanley became a great explorer in his own right.

This monument commemorates their second meeting when a severely ill Livingstone stood before Stanley. Stanley returned to the west and Livingstone died shortly after around Zambia.

A quick detour to the monument celebrating Burundi’s independence in 1962 completes the tourist sites here.

Outside of Buj we drive 2 hours to our next destination. The road is a winding mountain road with green all around. Fields of bananas, tea plantations and redolent eucalypt forests are all around. The lushness of the vegetation is a revelation.