THE CHANGING FACE of RWANDA Gorillas, Chimpanzees, Volcanoes and a Sensational New Lodge
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This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use, please contact client relations at 1-866-831-4314 or email [email protected]. THIS MONTH: EAST AFRICA ADVENTURE & GHENT, BELGIUM ONLINE: TOP 5 BEACH RESORTS IN TANZANIA & SEYCHELLES APRIL 2018 SINCE 1979 Traveling the world in search of truly enchanting places A silverback mountain gorilla seen at a distance of 20 feet in Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda THE CHANGING FACE OF RWANDA Gorillas, chimpanzees, volcanoes and a sensational new lodge he capital of Rwanda, Kigali, comes rises to an elevation of 6,070 feet. On one One side effect of Rwanda’s remarkable T as a shock to most first-time visitors. hilltop, there is a clump of new, shiny renaissance is the rapid growth of upscale Conditioned by harrowing accounts of the high-rise buildings. Elsewhere, walls and tourism, a development encouraged by 1994 genocide, it is reasonable to expect a roofs tend to reflect the color of the rich the country’s forceful leader, President place that is broken and sinister. But, on red earth. Only occasionally does the dark Paul Kagame. The primary purpose of my arrival, after the 90-minute flight from past reemerge. My driver pointed out the trip was to see Wilderness Safaris’ new Nairobi, the airport seems modern and Hôtel des Milles Collines, famous as Hotel Bisate Lodge, next to Volcanoes National well-organized. The streets are unusually Rwanda in the 2004 movie of the same Park, a reserve famous for its population PHOTO BY ANDREW HARPER clean, and the people appear to be cheerful name. He then explained, matter-of-factly, of mountain gorillas. However, several and prosperous. that he too would have been murdered other projects are underway. Next year, Leafy and temperate, Kigali sprawls had he not been working as a chauffeur the distinguished South African company across four ridges, the highest of which for the Swiss Red Cross at the time. Singita will open Kwitonda Lodge nearby. Andrew Harper editors travel anonymously and pay full rate for all lodging, meals and related expenses. Since the launch of Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report in 1979, the featured hotels and restaurants have been selected on a completely independent basis. For comments and inquiries concerning The Hideaway Report, please email [email protected]. Bisate Lodge, clockwise from left: The exterior of the main lodge and villas; our bedroom; balcony; and the bar area. One&Only Gorilla’s Nest is also expected From a distance, the lodge buildings PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER to debut shortly. Wilderness will soon look like a collection of gigantic weaverbird expand into Akagera National Park, on nests — cocoonlike structures made of Rwanda’s boundary with Tanzania, where shaggy thatch. These are stacked up a lions have recently been reintroduced. And steep hillside, which is all that remains One&Only already manages Nyungwe of an eroded volcanic cone. As my vehicle House, in the south of the country. pulled up, I was serenaded by half a dozen It is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from staff members. I was then formally greeted Kigali to Volcanoes National Park. Before by Ingrid Baas, a charming young Dutch long, the peaks of the Virunga Mountains woman, who, along with her husband, easily impressed. But my first glimpse of appear on the horizon. The range rises Rob, manages the property. Bisate left me breathless — both literally to nearly 15,000 feet where the borders Bisate is connected by a network of and figuratively. of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic steep stone steps, and given that it lies at Having introduced me to several Republic of the Congo converge. The an elevation of 8,100 feet, I was slightly beaming members of the staff, Ingrid led highest volcano, Mount Karisimbi, is out of breath by the time we reached the the way up another flight of stone steps occasionally capped with snow. main lodge building. The rustic exterior to Villa No. 4. This displayed a similar Bisate Lodge opened in June 2017 had left me entirely unprepared for its design aesthetic but on a smaller scale. A and comprises six “villas.” Located a dramatic and vibrantly colored interior. spacious bedroom came with walls clad 35-minute drive from park headquarters, Garreth Kriel of the South African firm in woven-grass matting, a parquet floor, it is surrounded by farms and small Nicholas Plewman Architects based his a king-size bed and a writing desk. Two ROOM AND BAR PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER settlements. Wilderness Safaris purchased extraordinary design on the traditional armchairs and an occasional table were the site, parts of which are now being forms of the old Rwandan Royal Palace set on a cowhide rug in front of a double- reforested, from 103 villagers, thereby at Nyanza. The result is a tour de force sided lava block fireplace, on the far side injecting around $500,000 into the local of fluid lines, soaring ribbed ceilings and of which I discovered a huge bath, with economy. The stated aim of the project was sinuous balconies. Expanses of woven a black oval tub and a separate shower. to create a model for socially responsible rattan, massive blocks of local wood, A balcony extended the full length of the tourism. The lodge brought numerous leather sofas, fur throws and a huge villa, appointed with loungers from which temporary jobs in construction, as well conical fireplace made of rough lava blocks to gaze at the volcanoes. After about five as a smaller number of positions for all help to create a unique and powerful minutes, I decided that Villa No. 4 was EXTERIOR: CROOKESANDJACKSON full-time staff members. And a farmers’ sense of place. Having seen more wildlife somewhere that I would be in no hurry cooperative now supplies fresh produce. lodges than I can remember, I am not to leave. 2 THE HIDEAWAY REPORT APRIL 2018 That evening, having enjoyed a glass group by the park authorities — hence of wine with my fellow guests beside the a total of 96 people a day — and are fire, I was treated to an excellent dinner, permitted to spend precisely one hour in As I was chiefly preoccupied served by staff who managed to be both close proximity to the animals. Such is “with not falling over, I failed friendly and professional. Throughout my the demand, the cost of a daily trekking to notice the silverback until a stay, the standard of the food at Bisate was permit was recently raised to $1,500. far superior to that at most safari lodges. I arrived at park headquarters at guide grabbed me by the arm. The varied and imaginative menus are around 7:00 a.m. To my pleasure, I found The enormous creature was accompanied by an extensive wine list. that I had been assigned to the 25-strong sitting just a few yards away. (Private wine tastings can be arranged Agashya group, which would require a in the spacious cellar.) straightforward hike of around an hour and a half. Seven years earlier, I’d been through the bamboo, but this time the lthough Bisate offers a program of given Dian Fossey’s Susa group, which had trail was relatively wide, dry and not A excursions that include escorted necessitated a grueling ascent through particularly steep. village walks, as well as hikes of various dense bamboo forest, before the trees About an hour later, the guides called a lengths and degrees of difficulty (including were replaced at around 10,500 feet by halt, and we were told to stockpile walking challenging full-day trips to the crater lake thigh-high ground cover. sticks, tripods and anything else that a at the top of 12,175-foot Mount Visoke and After a 20-minute drive, we arrived nervous gorilla might mistakenly conclude the Karisoke Research Center, established at the trailhead. There local porters to be a gun. Nowadays poaching has been by Dian Fossey), the primary activity is, were waiting to help carry rucksacks virtually eliminated in Volcanoes National of course, trekking to see the mountain and camera equipment and to assist less Park, but it seems that the animals retain gorillas. A total of approximately 900 athletic visitors on the uneven ground. a race memory from the days when they survive in the wild. Around 400 live in Ever thoughtful, Bisate had provided were routinely hunted. The trackers, who PHOTOS BY ANDREW HARPER Volcanoes National Park, with another walking sticks, gaiters and gloves (the remain in the forest to follow the gorillas’ 100 in Virunga National Park, a reserve latter being to protect against virulent movements, told us that the Agashya group on the western slopes of the mountains in local stinging nettles). We set off into the was nearby, and I suddenly became aware the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An forest, following the guides, who cleared of a complex, musty smell. additional 400 are to be found in Bwindi inconvenient branches and creepers Having been reminded that we must Impenetrable National Park, 60 miles to with their machetes. On my previous maintain a distance of at least 20 feet, the north, in neighboring Uganda. trip, I had been obliged to crawl through speak only in whispers and avoid direct Male mountain gorillas average 430 narrow tunnels that had been hacked eye contact with the dominant males, pounds in weight, though the dominant silverbacks can grow to well over 500 pounds and stand nearly six feet tall.