After a hearty breakfast at the hostel in Gisenyi on Lake Kivu, the four of us were ready to go. As we stepped outside, it started to rain and we immediately put on our rainjackets and backpack covers. Welcome to hiking in the rainy season. 

It was about 5 km to the start of the trail, so we hailed 4 motorbikes and eventually agreed on a price to get us to the end of pavement, where the dirt road started. It’s likely the Congo Nile Trail, which is really just a dirt road through villages along Lake Kivu, will disappear as it’s paved in the next couple of years, so we were happy to have the chance to do it.

About an hour in, the rain started. At first it was light, but pretty soon it was an all out downpour. We decided to risk moving on from our semi shelter of trees for a promised hotel marked on maps.me (if you’re going to Africa, download this app, it’s much better than Google maps for the region). The hotel turned out to be very nice, with a very nice washroom, and we waited out the rain in comfort. That turned out to be the worst of the rain while hiking, for the next four days, so hiking in the rainy season worked out pretty well. Plus, it wasn’t crazy hot, which was nice. We did however struggle to get our clothes dry after rinsing the sweat out upon arrival, but it wasn’t such a big deal. 

The first day was our longest, and we arrived at “basecamp”, the designated accommodation option, at around 3:30pm. We hopped in the lake, drank a lot of coffee, and ordered a buffet dinner. We were following a fellow traveler’s detailed blog about the trip, so pretty much knew what to expect in terms of food (very little other than mandazi, fried bread made with a bit of coconut milk, bananas and avocadoes), so had brought along some peanut butter to supplement our lunch and breakfasts. What we really wanted was a cold drink along the way, but it seemed fridges were in short supply, or the power was off. We never found one.

Knowing in advance that most of the basecamps charged per tent, not per person camping, we carried two 2 person tents between the four of us, which also cut down on weight. Gary was on a bit higher budget than the rest of us, so we took turns having a tent to ourselves. It was also around this time that I noticed a strange rash on my stomach. Hannah wondered if it was bedbugs, and I immediately clued in. I had woken up in the middle of the night with something biting me in the dorm at the hostel in Kigali, but the manager convinced me it must have been a mosquito, as my bunkmate did not have any bites. I must have carried the bedbugs with me from Kigali. Needless to say, I was not sharing a tent after this. 

The route was well marked both on Maps.me and well-signed, so it was great to not need a guide for once, and we enjoyed the beautiful walk along the lake. The kids were a bit annoying with their calls for money and pens, but we ignored them after saying hi and enjoyed the hike. 

The last day was the hottest, and a lot of uphill, but we also finished around 1pm, just in time for lunch. We had a three hour bus back to Gisenyi but needed food and a cold drink before undertaking that journey, so we walked into the fanciest hotel in the area, looking very disheveled, threw our bags down and shimmied up to the bar. It was one delicious Coke. It also turned out that the hotel was hosting a conference, and for about $5 USD, we could have the first crack at the buffet (buffets are very common in Rwanda, but usually mean you are limited to one plate and one very small piece of meat- but this one was a true buffet), and we couldn’t have been happier. 

The end of lunch also meant the end of the conference, which meant we caught a minibus directly from the hotel back to Gisenyi with some others attending the conference. Making good time, we decided to check out the local hot springs, which was right where the trail started. Local turned out to be the key word. I wouldn’t recommend going alone, but the water was nice and certainly hot, although I woudn’t say the whole experience was all that relaxing.

We went back to our local bar for brochettes and potatoes, and this time, cold beer. It was a perfect end to a great four days of hiking.