Rwanda isn’t too easy for the independent traveller. Buses are cheap and easy, but if you want to get off the beaten track it costs a fortune….hotels either come in the $6 a night bracket (many double as brothels according to the lonely planet!) or the $150 a night NGO bracket. There’s not much inbetween.

Yet we found our way to Lake Nivu, that separates Rwanda with Congo, and found the perfect hideaway (primarily for weekending NGOers). It was a beautiful place to watch the nightly thunderstorms, eat goat brochettes and soak ourselves in the local brew of Mutzig. A great place to while away a couple of days while we wait to make the trip through the relative no-mans land of central Tanzania. We have 7 days to get to Zanzibar. Even with expected delays that should be plenty.