After deciding that the Gisakura Tea Estate wasn’t for us, our next stop was the better-known Gisakura Guesthouse (sometimes called the ORTPN Guesthouse, because it’s next to the ORTPN office and used to be part of it).
The beautiful setting of the Gisakura Guesthouse
A fairly spacious, very clean double room cost 25,000RwF (£28), with two toilets and showers shared between three rooms. Best of all, the showers actually had hot water, whereas everywhere else we’ve stayed since Kampala a month ago promised it had hot water, but actually didn’t.
If you’re staying in Nyungwe on a budget, there aren’t many options. The Tea Estate is quite inconvenient; to stay at Uwinka camp site in the heart of the forest you need your own food (which basically means you probably need your own car too as there aren’t many shops around). The Guesthouse is comfortable, not too pricey, and it’s convenient: you can buy your park permit from the adjacent ORTPN office, and the excellent waterfall trail departs from here. The habituated colobus monkeys are nearby, too.
Most people – unlike us – who arrive at the Guesthouse seem to have a driver with them. This is useful, because there’s only one member staff who speaks much in the way of French or English, and she is often away in Kigali. Luckily we didn’t anything too complicated. Meals have to be booked in advance, and are ridiculously hearty. Breakfast (included with the room) consists of a giant vat of porridge, an omelette, three or four slices of toast with jam, peanut butter and Nutella, and some fruit. Trying tracking chimps after that little lot. The “light” lunch option is a giant vat of soup and three toasted cheese sandwiches – each – while dinner (and the “not-so-light” lunch) is an epic sequence of stewed beef or fish, rice, peas, chips and fruit. For this reason, the staff think you slightly strange if you eat three meals a day; we did anyway, because (a) we were going on long(ish) walks, (b) our biorhythms are accustomed to eating three times and, erm, (c) we’re on holiday.
The Guesthouse is set in some lovely gardens, and there is even a thatched area at the end where there is a campfire every night. We were very happy with an easy schedule of walk in the morning, sleep or relax in the garden in the afternoon, stuff our faces, fall asleep.
Thatched camp fire area visible in the foreground - good for drying off clothes if you're unlucky on your walk!
There’s even some nature that comes to see you while you’re blogging.
Vervet monkey
Sunbird
*waves hello to the monkey* How cute is that? I am having serious holiday envy. Hope you’re having a wonderful time. xxx
If it makes you feel any better, I’m writing the blog retrospectively. In real life, we’ve spent the last week in a hotel in Kigali, occasionally venturing out to deal with estate agents who think we’re idiots ($1000 a month for a poky two-bed flat? Are we back in London?!), it has rained all day, and Jess has a tummy ache.
Heard you’re off to Ireland soon anyway…? Good luck with it, am sure it’ll be great craic (insert other patronising Irish stereotypes here) x
[...] kicked off with the Waterfall Trail, which is around 11km, departing from Gisakura. From here you walk through the edges of the tea estate to the beginning of the trail itself. Even [...]