Goodbye Rwanda

Stunning view of Volcanoes National Park from Kwitonda

Our final day in Rwanda was, inevitably, a travel day.

After several early starts and muddy hikes, it felt almost luxurious to enjoy a relaxed breakfast before Jeff arrived at 10am to collect us. Before heading back to Kigali, we made one final stop: the Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.

The campus is a modern conservation and education centre dedicated to continuing the work of Dian Fossey, the American primatologist whose decades of research helped bring global attention to the protection of mountain gorillas. Entry comes with a suggested donation of USD20 per person, although in reality there isn’t much opportunity to decline.

Still, it was well done. The exhibits struck a good balance between information about gorillas, Fossey’s work, and the ongoing conservation efforts that have helped mountain gorilla numbers slowly recover over the past few decades.

They gave us a tour of the ridiculously luxurious 4 bedroom self-contained house for hire. Yes please to an emotional support person holding my hand while I have a bath...

Ellen DeGeneres Campus of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Actually superinformative

Singita Kwitonda had many of his personal effects and photographs he had taken as a mini museum

Hey we've seen that somewhere before...

We did a personality test and apparently I'm like Digit, one of Dian Fossey's most favourite gorilla

Mal learning gorilla speak

A singe photo clearly showing the loss of habitat

From there it was about a three-hour drive back to Kigali and our final hotel of the Rwanda leg: Hemingways Retreat Kigali. Our stay there was shorter than originally planned thanks to a sudden change of travel plans.

Like many travellers, we had to pivot because of flight disruptions linked to the most recent military conflict in the Middle East. Qatari airspace had closed, which meant our planned route to Kathmandu via Doha was no longer possible.

Bah humbug to Qatar not becoming country number 78. Instead we gained a bonus country: Uganda.

Our replacement routing with Turkish Airlines would take us from Kigali to Istanbul, with a brief stop in Entebbe along the way. After that came a thirteen-hour layover at Istanbul Airport followed by another seven-hour flight to Kathmandu. Both flights were redeyes, departing at 02:10 and 01:50 respectively.

Not ideal, but the best option from a fairly uninspiring list of alternatives.

Originally we had planned to visit the Kigali Genocide Memorial that afternoon. It’s one of the country’s most important historical sites and a place many travellers say is essential to understanding Rwanda’s past. Unfortunately, once our schedule shifted, the available time slots combined with our included hotel massage meant we didn’t quite have enough time to do the visit properly.

The massage, however, was excellent and a wonderful way to relax. We followed that with a quick dip in the pool, an early dinner at the hotel restaurant, and a short attempt at sleep before the alarm inevitably dragged us out of bed again.

And just like that, our time in Rwanda came to an end. It had been an extraordinary 8 days: rainforests, chimpanzees, elephants, gorillas, golden monkeys, and some of the most spectacular lodges we have ever stayed in. Rwanda had quietly delivered one of the most memorable chapters of this entire trip.

Now it was time to see if we could survive the journey to Nepal.

Wish us luck.

This was a thud back down to reality

It was still very nice, we were just now a little spoiled

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