Lake Kivu

We went to Lake Kivu over the April 8th weekend and to the town of Kibuyé. Lake Kivu separates Rwanda from the Congo. About a three hour drive from Kigali, it makes for an easy weekend jaunt. Driving in this country, however, is always an adventure so one never knows how long it might take to get to one’s destination. We saw the aftermath of two very ugly accidents on the way up and back, which did not make us feel very confident about getting there and getting back. Enough though about Rwandan driving because I could write a dissertation on the subject!
Kivu is a huge lake whose waters are of a greenish, blue hue. Millions of years old, it’s part of a volcanic system that spews methane every 10,000 years or so. Massive extinctions of fauna ensue when this occurs, so there are very few types of fish that live there. Because of the paucity of fish varieties, there are no crocodiles, nor hippos that inhabit its shores. It’s also extremely deep and breathtakingly beautiful. That beauty is essentially due to its unspoiled nature. There are very few “hotels/resorts” dotting the shoreline in and around Kibuyé. Although this area has been inhabited and cultivated for centuries, one still gets the impression that he’s looking at pristine territory.
Small islands dot the surface of the lake and most are named for their distinctive shapes like Star Island which you guessed it, looks like a star from a bird’s eye view and Napoleon’s Hat, which is shaped like the little corporal’s head gear. We took a boat tour with some local guides, Cassim and Azam, in a rickety old boat that we had our doubts would make it through the promised two hours. This was probably the best part of the entire adventure, nonetheless. We had the whole boat to ourselves and when we got to Napoleon’s Hat, Azam led us around the millipede, bat infested island on a nice hike. Guava trees, ponderous with their ripe fruit are a source of food for both. Cows and goats also inhabit the place and we had to be careful where we stepped because we obviously were on the same well worn path used by cows, goats and humans alike. According to the guides, at some point in the island’s history, cows and goats swam over and populated the place. It looked like an awfully far swim to us, but one never knows about such things.
We came across a group of fishermen on a break from fishing the little tiny minnow-like fish that are sold fresh but also dried in huge mounds and sold in the Kigali market. They also catch larger Tilapia, but it’s really not a very lucrative profession given their appearance. The boats are made of wood and look like they date back to the third century or so. There are long, curved poles extending from the sides that pull the net through the water. The boats have no motors, nor wenches and are entirely man-powered.
The highlight of the boat tour had to be by far the bats. A huge colony of fruit bats inhabit Napoleon’s hat and we managed to find them once we got back in the boat and swung around to the other side of the island. The guides made a general ruckus to get the bats out of their hiding places and airborne. It was like watching some B grade horror movie seeing them fill the sky. Huge in comparison to the insectivore variety, it wasn’t difficult to see how they attained their size given the incredible amounts of guavas and other fruits available as a food source.
We stayed at the Comoran Lodge. It’s owned by a French woman. It was a lovely place and we were quite comfortable. Unfortunately, the lodge’s restaurant fare left quite a bit to be desired even though we did partake of Bisque à l’écrévisse (crawfish bisque) the first night. Its rather remote location, however, limits other dinner options. Breakfast too was a bit Spartan for the American palate, but our stay was most enjoyable and relaxing, nonetheless.
We especially enjoyed spotting, trying to identify and photographing the wide variety of bird species that inhabit the area. We still haven’t bought the bird guide, so we’re going to post a few that we couldn’t identify and hopefully our former Fulbright buddies from Nebraska will let us know what they are. We did come across the beautiful Bishop in all his glory, a number of Kingfishers, fire finches and a whole bunch of exotic fellows that left us clueless.