Seasons' Greetings from all and the Girls

Today I went out to the site with the Girls who are already starting to show signs of boundless energy waiting to be released. As the last day of work for the year, we called everyone together at lunchtime and I gave them best wishes from Sarah (in her absence) and me and of course from the Girls who sitting there watching everything with big eyes. The surprise for everyone was when I pulled out a pile of Elegant Africa compliment cards with each persons name printed on one with seasons' greetings to them and their families in, from Sarah, me and Andy, in Kinyarwanda. A personal touch they just couldn't believe which disbelief increased when I added 1,000francs (about £1) to each person's card. The guys just couldn't believe that we had done the cards, especially in Kinyarwanda and still a gift as well.

So from this little best wishes "ceremony" everyone was paid their wages and set off home for a festive season and having a well-earned rest before resuming on 8 January. In the next couple of weeks I'll add some photos and news of the girls as they grow and most likely sneak their way into everyone's hearts.

A Serval, a genet and the Ikoro Girls

Serval track photographed in the NW of the site

This photo was one of a few I took in the north-west of the site. After checking the measurements and following as many of the tracks as we could and deferring to the field guides on tracks, we've concluded that these are serval tracks. On showing the pic of a serval to some of the lads at the site, they immediately identified it as the animal they've been seeing on the site. The other tracks in the north we also confirmed as genet tracks. Unfortunately one generally can't tell different genet species from each other just from their tracks so we have to try and get photos to know what genet(s) we have there.

This of course brings up the subject of the leopard's presence on the site. Now while I have not photographed the other tracks yet that have been seen on the site (which the guys maintain are much larger than theses serval tracks) it takes mentioning that pretty much any animals with spots that looks cat-like is called "Ingwe" - Kinyarwanda for leopard. So on whether there's a leopard on the site, methinks the jury's still out on that one.

Now this morning when Andy and I got to the north western border to check for any new tracks, I was greeted by a little whimper and the small "growls" of 4 small puppies. They cautiously approached me from the hessian bag they'd obviously been lying on just inside our hedge. I think my jaw just dropped for a second or two before I called Andy over to get some guys to help me get them to the car. Just 2 days earlier I had been chatting to the Gorillas vet about letting me knwo when they find a dog looking for a home - now I had just got four!

I immediately phoned the vet to ask if I could bring the puppies over for him to have a look at. Whilst waiting for him to phone me back I got out a syring from the first aid kit and started giving them water which they promptly gulped down, clearly very very thirsty. They were also covered with lice and fleas with the skin between the fur not looking too good.

Anyway, we estimated their age around at least 4-5 weeks (our own opinion based on their size and their eyes being open) of which the vets later said was actually closer to 8weeks. Getting some shampoo,we took them home and started the whole wash, scrub and clean followed by some more water, milk and maize meal porridge. The vet later helped us out with some deworming treatment for a 3 day course. Having obviously not had much care or possibly even food lately, they lay down after this and slept a good few hours.

This was clearly going to be quite a bit of work to try and nurse them back to health and get them enough nourishment and hopefully keep them alive. I had just received a very nice Christmas present but was going to have to work to keep it. The guys at the site immediately said that whoever put them out didn't realise that the puppies they had abandoned will now most probably have a better Christmas than them, so I suppose it was a bit of a Christmas present for the puppies to have us find them. I immediately started referring to them as "my & the girls" which confused some Rwandese no-end - referring to them as humans?!

Final week for 2006

Yes, in the home stretch of 2006 and everyone on the site is pushing to finish their team projects before Christmas when we'll be stopping construction until after the New Year. Also the time when we're sending out Season's Greetings to everyone who's been involved with the project and supporting us.

We do also have a little suprise for the guys on Friday, their last day of work. On Saturday Sarah will be arriving for a Rwandan Christmas and New Year whilst Andy and Claude go and spend the Christmas with their respective families. For Sarah and me their's a large, large turkey waiting to be cooked on Christmas Day - no oven, so it will be buried in a hole with hot coals and covered with sand and rock.

Looking back on 2006, we've achieved so much and the guys have really worked well. From a Eucalyptus forest to a place where one can now visualise where everything is going to be and roads, pathways etc are taking shape - already adding even more character to a lovely site.

Last week was also the 1st anniversary of us signing the purchase contracts for the land - feels like yesterday. This was followed by the hedges being planted on the perimeter and the start of the Enviornmental Impact Assessment and eventually the removal and clearing of trees, the latter being our first real big work on the site. Starting with 4 guys working for us, we end the year with about 50 people working for us. Projections for the new year is that this number is likely to at least double with actual construction commencing.

Stonework of Note

The Reception stairs team with Andy (back right)

Yesterday the team building the approach stairs to reception finished their project. The stairs as they are stop about a meter below the present ground level of where the reception buildings are planned. This gives us the flexibility to add another step or two to the final approach into reception or leave at the final level and just increase the final section to meet up with the main building.

This is also the first project phase ( we have divided everything into mini-projects) that is now complete and has turned out to be a massive success. It does take mentioning though that this finished product is the 4th attempt which has turned out to be the final attempt. The good thing is that we've all learnt a lot from this little project and the guys also now have a much better idea of our expectations


Finishing taps to the Stone Table
A few days ago I mentioned about the rock that we planned to have shaped for use as a stone table. This is now nearly finished, tomorrow Elisa (busy shaping in the photo) reckons he'll be done. It is looking brilliant and may actually look quite well in the lounge. Elisa is one of our most experienced masons and quite a perfectionist when it comes to dimensions and whether the rock being shaped is level and/or the exact to the requirements.

New Seedlings Arrive & Stone Tabletop

Fig tree species (Ficus vallis-chaudae) used to make dug-out canoes

The guys from Ruhondo working at the site brought us the seedlings on Tuesday they've been nurturing over the past 6-8months. This included about 2,500 seedlings for the thorny hedge we're planting all around the site.

This morning I spent a half-hour recording all the different species on camera for our plant records - they had brought a total of 23 different species which excluding the hedge seedlings are mostly large trees used in the communities. Whilst photographing each species they also gave me the Kinyarwandan name which I can then try and trace back to the Latin/English name on the internet.

Quite a few of the trees are/were traditionally used for timber but there's a tree for example that was used to make bark-cloth from in Uganda - a Strangler Fig and the fig in the photo is/was traditionally used to make dug-out canoes from. There are also a few fruit trees including one with a fruit referred to in Kinyarwanda as umutima w'infizi which translates into the "heart of the bull". I have yet to see the fruit though as I don't seem to be able to find an English reference to this plant in Rwanda - yet.

As for the rest of the work on the site, all is progressing fairly well with huge advances being made on the pathway to the safari tents. The south-western corner of the road around the 4x4 campsites is taking shape now being one of the harder sections of this road to do due to the undulating terrain which we're trying to maintain as much as possible on this road.

The stairs at the drop-off point that will lead to Reception should be finished tomorrow to a level just below where we anticipate the Reception floor-level will be. The rest will be built into the Reception area after the buildings' floor levels are established.

A couple of the guys who are breaking rock at the restaurant area at the moment unearthed a massive rock (nearly in the shape of Africa as Andy commented) which we will get one of the masons to level on one side and then use as an outdoor table-top in one of the little "havens" on the site. We'll probably mount it on top of some tree-stumps cut to accomodate it. It is very large though and took about 15 guys to tip out of its resting place which should prove an interesting exercise in ancient transport on logs to its final destination.

Recording Plants

Grass-like species photographed (Flower approx. 10mm)

Last week I started recording the plant species on the site with the view of having most, if not all, identified by a botanist/ecologist for us. Starting out it soon became clear what a daunting task this is - in 3 separate 1m square blocks I photographed 26 different species.

This was also only the smaller plants and not the larger trees and shrubs which were in these blocks. Some of the photos I was able to supplement with photos I had taken before on the site.

The other advantage of this is that we should be able to more readily for example, identify butterfly food and larval plants. There is of course the chance of stumbling across something which is a bit of a special species in the plant world and needs to be nurtured. A whole new road of discovery methinks.

Efficient Drainage

Pathway leading to Safari Tent sites
The pathway leading to the safari tent sites has become something I'm really proud of and the guys who are building it. The original plan was to build this pathway with volcanic rock and let it meander through the exisiting vegetation without creating any formal garden beds along it.

The outcome after a few weeks of rain and consequent plant growth has exceeded my expectations - not referring to the amount of work done but the final look of it, it was almost too easy.

The other great thing about how we built the pathway sunken into the ground is that there is no visible water run-off and no pools of water after the rain. The rain just seeps into the soil between the rocks and into the soil along the path where the grass and trees etc are growing. I must admit though that seeing the efficiency of it now during the rains is quite humbling as I didn't think it would work that well.

This very natural method of drainage we'll now make sure we use in the roads around the site too as this is clearly the way to avoid waterlogging of areas. The other thing is that had this pathway been built with paving and/or cement we would definitely have had to provide for drainage channels etc etc. Yes, everyone is working hard to achieve the results we want but Mother Nature seems to be on our side in a big way - as far as this is concerned anyway.

Back in Rwanda again

Stairs up to Reception from Drop-off point
Yes, after attending a very successful World Travel Market in London, I'm back in Rwanda. This wasn't the usual fly-back to Rwanda but driving back through Kenya and Uganda - quite interesting this time due to the massive amount of rainfall at the moment in central and east Africa. Very muddy and wet indeed.

On arriving back in Musanze Sunday afternoon with Andy, we stopped quickly at the site to greet the security guys and I had a quick look around the front areas. The guys have been working like demons and have acheived loads. The stairs up to the front of reception are taking shape too.

Monday was not a working day so my first working day again was today and was a bit like a homecoming with everyone coming up and welcoming me back. The road to the 4x4 campsites is also progressing very well with the southern part and approach cleared and rock being laid for the actual road. Most of the road down to the overland campsites is also ready for the rock to be packed in. My most pleasant surprise though was the pathway to the safari tents the guys were busy with when I left.

This now looks like a stone path through a wild garden with all the vegetation having grown quite a bit with all the rain. Immediately Andy and I got around to getting some other plants in along the way. At another place where the guys are battling breaking through a massive big rock I introduced an age old method i.e. making a very hot fire on the rock followed by pouring water over the hot rock. This resulted in quite a number of cracks which got some large chunks of rock out. There was a bit of surprise as to how I would know something like this as mzungus don't usually.

Elegant Africa FC: into the Final!!

Andy has updated on the outcome of the matches whilst I've been gone.

The team won the first two matches played while we were away;
EA vs National Police Academy (2-0)
EA vs 63rd Battalion (1-0)

In the semi-finals the team went through to the finals after a win on penalties (3-2) when the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

These results have apparently left the Musanze district quite surprised so there should be a large turnout for the matches.

On Andy and my trip to Uganda we stayed a couple of nights in Kampala and then moved on to the NRE camp at Bujagali Falls in Jinja. This turned out into a bit more than a visit for me with me talking myslf into a tandem-kayak trip down the Nile. There was nothing to worry about though and the trip was fantastic with me ending up hooked on kayaking now.

Although I'm London now for the wedding and the World Travel Market, I'll keep the blog updated with feedback from Andy.

Elegant Africa FC: win by default

This afternoon was the first match for our football team and I was ready with the video camera to record the event. We also had about 15-20 of the guys from the site there to support the team, armed with whistles and a variety of noise making things.

Although everyone was absolutely geared for a big match, it never happened. The opponents didn't turn up and the organisers declared a win by default 3-0 to Elegant Africa FC. Immediately the guys from the site came up for some reasons why the team should be so lucky, one of them being that my witchcraft involved in catching the snake yesterday kept the other team away.

Anyway, Andy and I are leaving for Uganda tomorrow to check out some things for the construction and also show him some establishments for tourists outside Rwanda including an overland campsite and safari tent camp. The football team have vowed to Andy that although he won't be there for the matches on Saturday and Sunday, when he gets back the team will have at least reached the semi-finals.

Progress & a Snake

Today I was unfortunately stuck in my office for the morning and also running around with banking etc but I managed to get out to the site about half 12. I did a quick tour through the site before the normal afternoon rain (this time of the year) which usually starts around 1:30-2pm.

The rock shaping is progressing well with rocks also being shaped for the Reception/Drop-off steps from the parking area. The latter rocks are shaped just so the top is flat and the front of each step will be reasonably flush - well, that's the idea anyway but I see the guys are shaping most of the sides. That's not bad though as these are all different size rocks so the irregular sized rocks will look good once they're laid down.

The pathway to the safari tents is progressing well albeit slowly and looking pretty good actually. Progress is slower here as the the rocks are being shaped as they're being laid and the rock is from the site - not the easiest "shapeable" rock.

At the 4x4 campsites side, the guys have cut through a ridge for the 4x4 road that will be going around that area and levelled a fair amount of the road either side of the ridge. Although not compacted yet its quite exciting to see one of the roads take shape already. This will probably be one of the first roads to be done on the site as there's no major levelling to do and being for 4x4's, won't be a "paved" road although the rock for this road will be fairly level and well compacted.

On one of the northern overland sites, the guys have started removing very large rock in order to start the levelling of the parking spot - a massive job in this case. The parking spot has to be dug out from the front with retaining walls being built around the sides in keeping with similar retaining walls on the site already.

Now getting back to the parking area, Andy and I got some guys to move rock onto an area with exposed soil so the rain doesn't wash the soil away. Whilst this was going on, there was a flurry of activity and shouts and luckily Andy and I were there - the guys were grabbing anything at hand to try and kill the little 30cm snake that came out. Aha I thought, my opportunity to catch my first Rwandan snake. Successful and holding it, I looked up to see everyone staring at me with very very big eyes. I spent about 10 minutes examining it - nobody could work the video camera and obviously nobody would volunteer to hold the snake while I took photos - so I had to have a good look before releasing it and then try and identify it from the field guide at home.

Even after I had released the snake, everyone continued staring at me and/or watching me out of the corner of their eye whilst working. Andy said that after I had left the site the guys were speculating about how much witchcraft I had that was able to pick up a snake and not get bitten. I'm sure this is not the last I've heard about this as the story spreads around Musanze and obviously, as these stories do, the length and size of the snake increases.

I wasn't able to make a confident ID from the field guide when I got home but it seems it was either one of the forest green-snakes or an olive snake. I'll definitely devise a way to get photos next time. Great afternoon though

Elegant Africa football team

I forgot to mention last week that we had just given our name to a local football team. Andy told me this when he cam eback from the stadium where all the players from the district had gone for a drawing of teams for a regional tournemant. The tournemant is organised by the Muslim commmunity for Ramadan and comprises teams compiled only for this tournemant. Andy was approached by a team which comprises most of the young players from Musanze and asked to join but mentioned that they didn't have a name for their team yet - he opted for Elegant Africa. Needless to say, they were quite chuffed with that.

The biggest competition apparently will be from the military battalion teams and the Police Academy but they are quite confident that the Elegant Africa team have a very good chance of taking the trophy. The coach is a big supporter of our project here in Musanze and also a keen player in the Musanze veterans' team. The first match our team will play is on Wednesday after Gacaca at 1pm. If possible, we'll get the big Elegant Africa Ikoro Tented Camp sign out to the pitch for the match.

Yesterday was English lessons again with around 16 people attending and all progressing fantastically. A lot of the motivation also seems to come from their opinion that my Kinyarwanda is progressing faster than their English. We also had a good discussion around development and training in Rwanda and Africa in general - things they speculate about what's happening in the rest of Africa. It was good for me too to understand more about their perceptions on what their capabilities are and why they think the reason I'm learning Kinyarwanda quickly is because of my skin colour i.e. white people are more intelligent. I immediately explained that skin colour had nothing to do with skills and/or ability and the reason I was learning Kinyarwanda quicker than them learning English was because I was "forced" to speak the language - not many English speaking people around.

With a bit of discussion they became convinced that nobody is untrainable and the fact that they had not gone to a European school does not lessen their mental abilities. Very interesting discussion though and a very important point to be kept in mind when training people.

Most of my day today was spent in the office preparing drawings etc for the safari tents and planning for my departure on Thursday morning to Kampala and Nairobi.

Some Pics from Ikoro

Cutting the road to the campsites
The reception and office area is located just to the right of where these guys are working. This particular spot will be the road to and from the campsites. Continueing straight ahead will take you to the overland sites and taking the right fork (not visible here) will lead to the 4x4 sites.









Shaping of volcanic rock

This is volcanic rock delivered to the site and will be used for the building of the stone bathroom for the safari tent. Some of the stone shaped already can be seen next to the guys. This is done by the masons who will also be doing the actual building. It appears that the shaping of stone is an inherent part of the mason's skill set and also something they will learn before they learn the actual building part.







Breaking rock (notice big iron "stake" used to hammer into cracks)
The rock that's broken will be used for foundations, roads and some will be shaped for laying the pathways through the site. This morning I spent some time with the guys at the pathway to the safari tent shaping stone as well - not as easy as it sounds.









Guys stripping the bark from the trees we have cut down already.
This allows the wood to dry before we use it in and around the site. The wood will also be used in the interiors for some fittings etc. The larger pile in the front is all the smaller trees with the larger (and huge) trees packed in the pile where the guys are standing. In the background can a couple of piles of tree stumps that have been removed can be seen as well.

Regional Tourism & Local Sourcing

On Wednesday I attended a Regional Tourism Workshop in Kigali hosted by SNV (a Dutch capacity building organisation - www.snvworld.org ) and ORTPN (Rwanda Office for Tourism & National Parks). This was attended by representatives from the World Tourism Organisation, tourism authorities from Southern &Eastern Africa including people from Ethiopia and Cameroon. The theme for the day was how tourism can be applied to benefit local communities by following Pro-Poor ( www.propoortourism.org.uk/ ) guidelines. This was a very informative and well overdue workshop for the industry in this region and it was also good to see further confirmation that many of our plans for the future of Ikoro fall within these guidelines.

Yesterday started with a meeting with a consultant appointed by ORTPN to prepare proposals on Community Based Tourism. Andy and Emmanuel (site engineer) then also met me in Kigali where we set off into the city to see what more specialised building materials were available. This is preparation for us also comparing prices with certain items from Uganda.

Starting new things

Pathway to safari tent, compacted & ready for shaped stone
Today was a partially a move in a new direction with tasks on the site. Near where the prototype safari tent will be erected, the guys have started preparing for the stone pathway which will lead to this tent but will also link up to pathways linking all these tents to general front of house area. This being done by removing about 15-20cm of soil (1m wide) and winding through the existing trees where the basically shaped volcanic rock will packed.

Also at the reception lobby area, we started preparing to build the stone steps leading up from the drop-off/parking area to the lobby. This will also be built with shaped volcanic rock. For the shaping of the rock we have asked some of the masons who are already working as normal labour to get their "shaping" hammers and start on the shaping job. All the shaping is done manually and in the traditional way that is inherent to this area.

Our first big supplies deliveries also happened today; two 10ton trucks delivered volcanic rock that will be shaped for the building of the bathroom at the safari tent (ultimately also for the front of house buildings). The reason for bringing in "other" volcanic rock is that the rock we have on site can be shaped but with great difficulty as its less porous and will break off in chunks which doesn't really help when the mason just wants to do a few little taps with the hammer to finish the shape he wants. The rock on the site is fine for the roads, pathways and foundations though so we will still be using the resources we have on site.

A group of guys has also started digging out the road that leads from the reception area to the campsites. This consists of some areas of large solid rock which has to be broken and removed.

Busy Monday

Its all go again with an early start at the site (06:15) and getting everyone's tasks sorted out for the day. This took a bit longer than usual as most had finished the sections they had been working on so we refined the perimeters of clearing in some places and marked out the outstanding sections.

Quite a few guys started moving the massive tree stumps from the main building areas and some started to break the large rocks into smaller rocks for use in roads, pathways etc. Generally a very busy day at the site and everyone slugging it out - especially the "rock breakers".

We also spoke to the guys who would be supplying the volcanic rock that has to be shaped for building - this has to start now as we need to do the bathroom for prototype safari tent. They'll come and see us for an order early tomorrow morning.

Getting back this afternoon, I got stuck into the usual end-of-month admin which I'll probably continue tomorrow during the day with a short time only at the site. This all has to be finished tomorrow as there's a Regional Tourism Workshop in Kigali on Wednesday about Community Based Tourism and Pro-Poor policies etc.

The Ikoro Leopard!!

Yesterday late afternoon I went with Andy to change the security guards at the site and chat to the night guards and hear if there was any news and/or incidents. What they did tell me (in hushed voices) was that they had seen the leopard again 2-3 days ago. (People here have huge respect for leopards as they believe they are the spirits of their ancestors) Obviously I asked what they meant with "again" - never mind the fact that they saw a leopard got my attention immediately. I also quizzed them on all the aspects of their sightings as I didn't want to get all excited about a leopard and it was actually something else.

Apparently they have seen the leopard at the site about 4 times already. Usually walking from the northern side of the site and sometimes continues south over the main road. The one time they saw it was when they had done their rounds and got back to the fire (well almost anyway) when they saw the leopard lying down next to the fire and just watching them. Needless to say, they had to be grin and bear the cold for another couple of hours until the leopard left.

Then, last night around 10pm I arrived at the site with my tent and decided to pitch it around the middle of the site somewhere. Over and above the fact that I've always said I want to be the first to camp there, I now had another reason to hang around at night - a possible leopard sighting! Unfortunately it was a bit rainy all night so no sign of the leopard but definitely a grand experience waking up in the bush again with only the birds singing and the general nature waking up sounds. Forgotten how much I miss it - definitely not the last time.

This afternoon was also English lesson time again and there was a lot of big smiles and hearty greeting when the guys saw I was back. It does make one feel good when you realise the guys actually enjoy being part of the team.

What a Pleasant Surpise!

View from Laundry to Restaurant, Lounge & Bar

Arrived back in Rwanda yesterday via Burundi and on a flight that was delayed in Nairobi for more than an hour and a half, so by the time I got back to Musanze I was ready to just relax and fall asleep.

Getting up early this morning, I went with Andy to the site and have a walk around and discuss all the progress to date. GOSH!! I couldn't believe how much had been done in the time I'd been away considering the guys are only working average 4 days a week with the occasional work on Saturdays to collect stumps lying around etc i.e. tidying up a bit. Apparently the guys were a little disappointed that they couldn't finish everything that had been marked out although there were only 3 trees left to remove, so a pretty good job then.

The massive area of Back of House where the kitchen, laundry and workshop etc will be has been finished and it looks like a massive road being made through the forest as this area all joins up with the restaurant, lounge and bar. The area where the campfire will be looks fantastic with the cleared "bowl" surrounded by trees on the perimeter through which the path from the bar/lounge lobby will lead.

The road around the 4x4 sites and the 3 ablution areas inside are done as well. Its quite daunting yet very exciting now being able to clearly see where everything will be. All that's left of the clearing proper is two safari tents and the outer perimeter of the restaurant which we'll mark out tomorrow and Monday.

I'll also get some photos over the next few days and try and get them posted on here.

London News

Travel Weekly (1 Sept 06)
Whilst in London there has also been some Ikoro related matters that we've sorted out and some new things we discovered.

The Travel Weekly magazine of 1 Sept published an article on Rwanda and included a quote from Elegant Africa about the Tented Camp. This was a fantastic piece of marketing for us so we're really chuffed with that. We also got hold of the new Rwanda Bradt Guide and all the details for Ikoro Tented Camp has been published with reference to the Safari Tents for the upmarket accommodation and also for the camping section. One of the community artisans co-operatives quote us in the guide as well with reference to the fact that we have already purchased some furniture from them and that we may be using some more of their products in Ikoro Tented Camp.

Tomorrow before I leave, Sarah and I will be meeting with Philosophy Design, our marketing company, to finalise our brochures etc for the World Travle Market 2006 in London (6-10 November).

Update from Andy in Rwanda

Andy has kept us posted by e-mail on the progress in Rwanda whilst I'm in London. He says the clearing is progressing really fast and they may have cleared everything or most by the 30th when I arrive back.

Andy has also been discussing technical issues and sourcing of materials with Emmanuel who will be our site engineer. This included gumpoles which make up the main super structure of the safari tents and the connection to the mains water supply.

The utilities company was going to cut through the road and lay pipes but it seems they've come across an easier (possibly even cheaper) option which would utilise existing structure underneath the road about 300m away from the site. We'll be quite happy if this works out as this road is an international road leading to the border with Uganda at the Cyanika border post so we would prefer not disrupting this flow of traffic.

All in all, it sounds like progress still hurtling ahead at the site.

On my way again

This morning I only spent a few hours at the site making sure that all is fine for the Andy and the guys to carry on whilst I'm away. Then it was off home to sort out money and admin for Andy.

One of te things Andy will be doing is starting to plant some banana trees in areas where we want to shield a particular location and there won't be any construction and clearing.

After this I set off to Kigali to Hotel des Mille Collines as I need to check-in for tomorrow's flight at 5am! I will spend a day and a half in Nairobi to sort out some flight tickets and also finalise the safari tents design, and then off to London where amongst other things we will finalise the brochures for the World Travel Market 2006 in November.

Long weekend - now Work

After a long weekend of catching up on admin and a trip on Thursday to Kigali, we were back to clearing today. Over the weekend we also some visitors to site including someone from Rwanda Tourism (ORTPN) from Kigali and some overland crew - all to see the progress and see what we have i mind for the locations of the different facilities.

This morning we employed another 10 guys, so we're up to about 45-50 people on site busy clearing. Andy also came back today from holiday, so him and I went on a tour to show him the progress whilst he's been gone. Now we have so many guys, most of the clearing will probably be done when I'm back in a couple of weeks andwe can start on leveling.

Today and tomorrow will I'll also be handing the baton over to him for a couple of weeks while I'm away in the UK. So loads of planning to do and making sure all that needs to be marked out for clearing is done. Planning on wages required and other planning that needs to be done for the construction of the mainframe for the safari tent prototype.

Last Clearing day (This week)

Construction of the bush toilet in progress
I decided to let the guys have off on Friday as there was a ton of admin etc waiting at the office to be done and I needed an office day. Unfortunately Andy is still on leave so I can't just leave the site at the moment and someone decides to start clearing an area that has to remain wild.

The bush toilet was finished today and must surely be one of the poshest bush toilets I've seen. With stumps covering the floor and thinner trees covered with leafy branches making up the "walls" and a rock pathway as the approach. As soon as I get some better internet connectivity I'll upload some photos of this nice little structure.

On all the areas I mentioned yesterday, the guys are still struggling on due to the the sheer size of the stumps and rocks. The big advance at the moment is the road to the 4x4 sites and the other approach roads from reception. The road is pretty much cleared all the way from reception to 1) bar delivery 2) all overland truck sites 3) near the southern 4x4 site ablution 4) the entrance from the main road.

On Sunday we're getting together again for English - Kinyarwanda lessons again and tomorrow I'm doing the now almost habitual trip to Kigali. After that, the rest of the time is office time.

Fencing & Toilet

Yip, we got the last lot of iron sheetin today and the guys finished the roadside fence and then also finished the security hut. Although the hut is just a temporary shelter, the guys did a good job and it looks quite good. Also a handy bit of shade for the security guys in the day (not that there's a shortage of shade between all the trees. We used just over 200 iron sheets of about 90cm wide for the front fence - about 140meters!

The guys building the toilet are doing some serious rock busting with an iron stake being hammered in to crack the rock. By this afternoon they had gone about 1.7m deep - still all rock. Although this is very hard work its heartening to know that we can get through it with manual labour when we need to later on during construction.

The back of house/workshop boys got themselves some seriously large stumps, two of them about a meter in diameter! Add to that the now all to well-known root enveloped rock and you have a task of note at hand.

One of the other teams kicked off today on the road going to the 4x4 sites and seem quite happy that I'm not just making it straight but winding through contours and very large trees, so progressing there quite well.

Also had to exchange some dollars for local currency today - the exchange rate is all over the shop now due to the USD moving so much (mostly down though).

Safari Tents, roads & new people

Southern border with iron-sheeting (looking toward S-west corner)
The guys finished another safari tent site and got cracking on the next one which when done means we have 3 safari tent sites done.

The delivery road to the back of the bar is done and the work there is progressing into the road toward the main entrance and parking (past Reception). Also the last two trees are going out in the approach road to the northern overland truck sites which splits into the road going to the 4x4 sites. The main entrance and parking area is now also looking a bit "bare" as the bulk of the trees and stumps are out there too - few big trees that went down today.

Today we took on another 10 people pushing our number of workers to 35. The new guys were taken out with the "experienced" ones to where they were working. About 10 people got starting in all earnest in the bar area with tall and big trees going down very quickly but work slowing down as the massive stumps seem reluctant to release their hold on the solid rock - but, they have to come out.

I also ordered the last iron sheets required for the small space left in the fence and the security hut so we can finish that tomorrow - hopefully.

Four of the guys also set off to build a temporary toilet for workers on site. This was of course a debate about where due to their consideration of how much and what size rock had to be removed but a site was eventually agreed.

English - Kinyarwanda Lessons

At 2pm today was the first of our Sunday English - Kinyarwanda lessons. I arrived 15 minutes early to find most of the work crew there already and the balance arrived shortly after that. It was heartening to see the old guys (50+) there as well, not leaving it for the youngsters only.

With a marker pen and white sheets of paper I started with the basic greetings first, writing the English on the paper for them all to write down/make notes whilst I wrote down the Kinyarwanda for the same word(s). It was a pleasant surprise to see that some of the guys already knew a small number of words with one or two knowing the odd sentence in English.

Throughout the guys were firing questions about plural and singular forms and similar words they had heard before. The lessons had been scheduled for 2pm as Rwanda was playing Cameroon (football) at 3:30, so they wanted to be finished. Naaah, the guys went on close to 4pm just wanting more and more!

Eventually I had to stop them and say that we all had to first practice the first heap of words from today - and I mean a heap of words. We agreed that I would speak Kinyarwanda with them answering in English and in that way also check each other's pronunciation.

I really enjoyed this day and it was great to see the smiles all round as people got the words right. Definitely a very rewarding part of the project.

Clearing again

Clearing at the site commenced with renewed energy again today. Five very large trees went down in the entrance & parking area and in the afternoon culminated in a lot of singing & shouting whilst carrying these large trees off to the collection point.

The overland truck parking are all completely cleared as well as the ablutions area for the southern overland site. The road between these sites has also now been cleared and the guys are well into the approach road from reception toward the 4x4 and overland sites - working toward reception. They will be meeting up with the guys doing the road from the bar delivery area probably on Monday.

As for the sites for the safari tents, the guys cleared one and a half sites today. At Reception, the guys are starting to clear the northern side of the Lobby toward the lounge and bar lobby.

Everyone is absolutely working like demons and with big smiles which makes me quite happy too (Much more pleasant to work with happy workers). We also set the time for Sunday for the English/Kinyarwanda lessons at the site, if it rains, we'll have it on the porch at the house.

The night watchmen also asked us if we could get them a couple of thick jackets as its getting very cold in the wee hours of the morning. This is luckily easily available at the market and with a bit of Kinyarwanda to my credit now, I managed to get local prices and not tourist prices - a difference of about £70 it turns out! Needless to say, the lads were very happy with the new thick jackets to compliment the little fire they have going at night.

A weekend of administrative time in the office ahead with 6am and 6pm trips to the sites for the "change of the guard".

Back in Rwanda

Well, back after a few lovely days with Sarah. Also a very productive meeting with the safari tent suppliers on designs, timeframes etc. I got back to Musanze, unpacked and set off straight to the site to see the day watchmen (the guys from next door on day shift). All well at the site and good to be back again. Needless to say the guys were quite surprised to suddenly see me turn up when they thought I was still away.

Tomorrow is Gacaca trials again so no work but I have to go to Kigali to sort out some business there and then in the afternoon I'll go and see the night shift guys too. I'll also put up a temporary rain shelter as its started raining quite regularly - just until we have the hut finished.

Surprise for the Work Crew

Today the first of the big/tall trees went down and got it on video. It was classic how the guys asked me 2-3 times if I was sure that the tree had to be chopped down. I also had to give a bit of advice on how to chop the tree so that it falls in a certain direction - for the safety of the guys and also not destroying the iron sheeting fence or the car, but all went well and the tree thundered down safely. This had been at the area designated for the workshop and was followed by another tall tree in the main entrance & parking area. Admittedly the second tree was much taller than the first and was in excess of 20m tall and took nearly everyone (20) to carry it to where we keep the cut trees.

As lunchtime arrived, I announced that Andy and I would be paying their wages and we would meet them at Hotel Ituze (small local restaurant with rooms) up the road for drinks. There was a moment of surprised silence before everyone burst out in big smiles and excited talk. Andy & I had decided to do this to reward the guys for work really well done over the last two weeks with increasing productivity.

The number of beer drinkers and non-alcohol drinkers was about 50/50 and we all had a great chat and some good laughs. They also asked that when we start again next week (when I'm back from Nairobi) that we setup their wages so they get paid daily, weekly or monthly as per individual choice. The English/Kinyarwanda lesson hour on Sundays will also begin then. It was obviously also necessary to tell them that the drinks is not something that will happen every week. These guys will now make up our core group in showing new starters the ropes etc as they know what we want and how we want it done.

I set off to Kigali today and am leaving tomorrow for Nairobi where I'll meet Sarah. Whilst in Nairobi we'll also be meeting the safari tent designers & manufacturers to finalise the way forward in that regard.

Tomorrow Andy will also get some guys together to go around the site and clear up some of the cut trees and stumps and move them to the central "collection" point at the southern part of the site. On Monday Andy then sets off for a well deserved 2 week holiday. SO back to blog next week when I get back to Rwanda.

(photos to be uploaded)

Two Sections Cleared

Yes, two sections have been cleared and are ready for levelling. The northern overland truck parking sites are finished and in the southern truck parkings, there's only one small tree left. The clearing of the north/south road between the two sites is also in progress albeit a bit slower due to massive amounts of rock having to be removed to get the trees and stumps out.

Also in the Reception area there's big work in progress with a tree growing on what seems to be solid rock or very large rocks anyway. This is literally where the reception counter will be, so something all of us will remember when we stand there next year with arriving clients.

Tomorrow is Gacaca trials again so no work at the site but I will be off to Kigali to go an sort out some tickets for my flight to Nairobi over the weekend to meet Sarah.

Border Fence & Interesting Finds

Today the iron sheeting for the southern perimeter fence was delivered while the guys finished the framework. We also started work on the frame for a shelter for the security during the construction. Speaking of which, I discovered today that every community has their own little group of people who look after the security of the community - a bit like a neighbourhood watch. This security is run by ex-soldiers and is quite well organised.

Seeing as we need security on site, especially with materials being on site and loads of wood (the latter very sought after due to ban on chopping trees without official authorisation), we decided to employ the local community security, the leader of which is also presently working on the site. They would make available two people for the night shift and for late afternoon and full day shifts, the boys next door will be on site.

Back to the fence, the guys started putting up the iron sheeting in the afternoon and will continue with that tomorrow. Its something that goes reasonably fast especially with a couple of the guys being masons/builders and do these things as if its second nature.

Whilst offloading the stumps at the house this afternoon, something caught my eye in the one tree stump - a bullet casing was stuck inside the wood. It seemed to be from a FN rifle and probably from somewhere during or just after the war in 1994. I have taken photos of it and will upload one soon.

Great Start for New Week

Our new week started a bit earlier when we had a meeting yesterday afternoon with the local co-operative that conducts waste disposal in Musanze. They were previously just a small community association but with the change to new provinces and districts etc, they are now a province-wide co-operative. In Musanze alone they employ in excess of 50 people ranging from the actual disposal at the landfill to the guys who go around with their hand-drawn carts to collect waste from the town. Our discussion was about the seperation of different kinds of waste eg; glass, paper etc which they already do and also encourage in the town.

Today at the site was a hive of activity as all the guys just seemed to jump into the work in high gear. The southern perimeter (on roadside) fence frame was also finished. Most of the clearing today was in the two overland truck parkings, bar delivery road, reception and some work in the entrance parking area. The work is hammering on with some teams getting stuck into tree stumps that seemed to have "absorbed" massive rocks, also realising that it may be more than one or two days on that particular tree stump.

(photos to be uploaded)

Stumps & More Stumps

Zoom of rock inside stump
These two pics show how some of the roots have grown around the rocks to the point where the rock is completely enclosed within the roots and becomes part of the tree stump. Getting a stump like this out becomes an even harder job as the difference between rock and root is not always clear. This of course also adds to the weight of the stump



Stump with rock inside
This pic shows the whole stump with the rock inside. Although the rock seems small, it becomes apprent on closer inspection that the roots are relatively thin around the rock and conceals the largest part of the rock.
Pile of stumps from 2 days
Today I started moving the tree stumps from the site to the house. Large part of the reason is to remove the temptation for people to go onto the site when we're not there to remove this all as firewood, the lack of which is a large problem in Rwanda as cutting of trees is against the law (to minimise soil erosion). There are still a few stumps on the site but they have proved impossible to move by even 4-5 guys except if we chop them up. Don't really want to chop them up yet as we may use them around the site in the final stages.

No work was done yesterday due to the Gacaca trials (community based Genocide trials).
Today: we intended to only have 20 people again for today but we started off with some bad news that 2 guys had been arrested for inconsistant evidence during the Gacaca trials (the community based Genocide trials) which is a 3month prison term.

There were, as expected, a lot of people we didn't employ on Wednesday so there wasn't a shortage on the labour front. We had decided that for this 2nd day of employment for the new labour, we would be reasonably lenient on people arriving late. Andy explained to the ones who were very late that unfortunately they would have to come back again on Monday. At the end of the day, Andy explained that as of Monday we would only employ the people who are there on time. During this little talk I discovered that there was actually a Rwandan saying that refers to "keeping time like a mzungu" i.e. being precise with timekeeping like a white man.

The guys worked superbly and large areas were "un-stumped" with some minor trees also starting to get the chop, nothing over 10cm diameter yet though. I sustained a bit of a back injury whilst carrying a tree stump and stepping in a hole and trying to keep my balance. Hopefully I can get it sorted by Monday with some rest over the weekend. A ittle bit of stretch/exercise may help so I'll try and get some pics of the areas done today.

The wood for the fence of iron sheeting was also delivered today, so the fence should be up with iron sheeting by Tuesday morning and the site will officially look like a construction site.

Clearing - Day 2

Digging out stump in lounge/restaurant area
Today we got working with 20 guys in 10 teams of two and just concentrating on getting tree stumps out. In the Reception area where we had started yesterday, the guys made a huge dent in the work to be done there. Some gus started around the lounge and restaurant areas and the seemingly mediocre stumps there ended up in being some of the biggest diggings of the day. The first photo, and old man digging, ended up in a hole nearly a meter deep. The good thing was that the old man in this area was clearly experienced in this and gave the young lads a lot of good advice and guidance over and above the fact that he himself worked like a demon.

Very large rock removed to get tree stump out (Back of Hse)
Once again this involved getting the rocks out before the stump would even budge. This was also only in respect of tree stumps with very young regenerated growth on - so no tree chopping as such yet. The rock in the second photo was so large and heavy that it took 3 of us to move it with a 4th person levering it.

Clearing - Day 1

We started the day early with 2 guys from next to the site and 2 from Ruhondo. The initial task was to get the holes done for the corrugated iron sheeting fence at the road side (southern) border. Taking off at a run we had this done in just an hour and a half.

Having all the tools on the vehicle we decided to start on taking out stumps in the reception area. This little "exercise" confirmed my thinking that it would be hard work although the reality was even harder. The Eucalyptus in many places seems to grow just on top of the rocks but in actual fact finds a crack between the rocks and grows through there with a root that's 1cm thick. When the root is eventually out you can see the flat thin root that has just folded itself around the rocks to get down into the soil.

We had a full day and it was great to get some physical labour in although the guys were hugely surprised to see me physically working as well. Initially they would come up and take the tools from me and carry on what I was doing and then eventually realised there's no point as I will just find another tool and carry on.

At one stage we also had a snake come out from around the diggings, pencil thin and about 20cm long and slate grey with some black spots on the back near the head. Getting closer to try and catch it, I got grabbed from behind by one of the guys shouting that its a snake - even the snake stopped moving at this commotion, luckily. It took about a half hour to explain that I knew about snakes and would attempt to catch them if I was sure of what I was doing. The guys had thought I had never seen a snake and was still not happy with the idea that I would think of catching them. Anyway, that was the first one I had seen at the site and is definitely not the last I'm sure.

Tomorrow I'll be taking some photos of the clearing as we'll have 20 people tomorrow working at the site. It was hugely encouraging to see what we had achieved with only 4 people today though.

Almost all Systems Go!

After a reasonably quiet weekend the new week started at a smashing pace and didn't seem to have any intention of slowing down.

At the District Director of Land's office we handed in the final document for the letter confirming building approval. The guy there said that it should be ready by Wednesday and jokingly further said it would be way before we got permission to cut the Eucalyptus trees (anticipated to take a week).

Setting off from here we had an hour and a half before meeting the Agricultural Officer from the Cyuve Sector about the tree cutting permission. Quickly into the bank and then conveniently some of the guys from the Ruhondo (at the lake) community were around so we started the planning for the wood we would need to make the frames for the corrugated iron sheeting "fence" on the roadside border. They can manage to get it cheaper and have the planks cut up cheaper than we can so - the job's theirs. This should be ready in about 5 days.

Off to the Cyuve Sector office, pick-up the Agricultural Officer and the ex-Agricultural Officer from the previous Ruhengeri Council and back to the site. After throwing the plans out on the ground and discussing them for about 20minutes, we were told that it was fine and we could continue with cutting the trees - permission granted. The amount of approximately £16 had to be deposited at the National Bank as the Sector Council fee for this permission. I'm sure my jaw was haning on the ground as everyone looked at me very strangely - I couldn't believe how quick that was. So off again and deposited our £16!

Then Andy phoned the District Director of Land's office and jokingly asked if our letter was ready as we had the permission to cut the trees. The guy there was apparently a bit bowled over and promised it would be asap.

We had time for a lunch with the Chief Park Warden, Justin and caught up on what was going on and also sharing the good news with him.

Andy and I then got into the hardware shops for sme basic tools and requirements to start working tomorrow morning. Very interesting twist again (funny that) - get a price for a pick-axe and you think "Mmmm, not bad at all." then.... it doesn't include the handle which can be bought at the market and there aren't any till Wednesday. I couldn't believe it, our great starting moment was going to be delayed by absentee pick handles!!

Reminding Andy that nothing in Musanze was ever completely "finished" or "sold out", we hunted around the town and found loads, well actually only 6, handles. YES - it was all really up and go now.

So probably about a 7am start and then rock 'n roll. Also the start of my exercise "routine" as I will be putting in a substantial amount of physical labour and looking forward it.

2 Kigali Days

I spent all day in Kigali on Thursday with our lawyer going through all outstanding matters and in particular discussing the EIA. This also culminated in a meeting with the EIA consultant and the environmental agency, the latter whom we had a meeting with this afternoon.

The 2nd meeting with the environmental agency was only this afternoon so in the morning Andy and I went and paid our building approval fees. The latter will hopefully be confirmed by letter during the 1st three days of next week during which we will also be working on getting the authorisation to cut the Eucalyptus trees during clearing.

We should be able to commence clearing in the next 10 days, so in the meanwhile everything is picking up speed (I hope) and Andy and I are getting on with the preparations to commence at the word go. Quite an exciting time now as we seem to be getting within spitting distance of the start of clearing and construction.

Back in Rwanda

Got back from the UK today on a flight over a very cloudy East Africa via Bujumbura (capital of Burundi). At the stopover in Bujumbura our plane was met by a military guard of honour and about six vehicles collecting somebody - unfortunately never got to see who it was.

Then this afternoon in Kigali I dropped off some documents at the office of the environmental agency for the EIA and in return got a letter with some new queries on. Not exactly the homecoming I anticipated but I'll be back in Kigali tomorrow to see what we can sort out on the EIA queries.

In the meanwhile Andy had been quite busy at the site preparing some new plants we want to supplement the existing hedges with - well, rather make them as impenetrable as possible without using fencing. He had gone to Kisoro (Uganda) to get some seeds of the Mfata-ingwe plants which is also used in Rwanda but we couldn't get seeds here. The name of the plant that grows into a hedge roughly translates into a plant that keeps leopard out. Apparently, if you/anything gets stuck in this bush, you'll not be able to get out unless someone arrives to hack the plant off you.

Andy had planted the seeds on the inside of the mid-western border where they established a little area for the seedlings with a rough roof cover to protect them. As they mature, we'll plant them out to the border hedge areas. Hopefully I'll get to the site and get some photos of this over the weekend.

Another week gone!

Another week has sped by with us still waiting for the EIA approval but that's possibly a little light we see blinking at the other side of the tunnel. This week was also mostly in the office again - bah!

OnWednesday morning decided to get the old legs exercised again and blood circulation going and went for some photography and birding to the site. What a pleasure, our nesting Golden-Breasted Bunting has a very healthy looking chick in the nest and the Paradise Flycatcher parents were flying around with their young one. A pair of Chinspot Batis (small flycatchers) was also busy building a nest. Oh yes, and another new species for the site - Black-headed Batis (a totally new one for me), that brings the site list to 51 species.

From there, we met our attorney in town and then decided we'll make a relaxing day. Andy went off to football practice and I went to see how my pool playing skills had deteriorated at Hotel Urumuli against the local patrons. Quite an entertaining and amusing time it turned out to be and I also became the target for "revenge" games whenever I won - yes, great fun.

Yesterday and today I was busy preparing for my trip to London and spent time at the banks this morning followed by a haircut at the local barber or "hairdressing salon". Its the second time I've gone to cut my hair there and it still remains a novelty for passersby (funny that - only the second time a "mzungu" has gone in there). The guy who cut my hair last time, proudly took his place this time and let the others know that he's an expert with mzungu hair now. A dollar later and I had a pretty good haircut, as good as anywhere else labelled as "civilised".

Sunny Weekend

Saturday and Sunday turned out to be lovely sunny days and also time for me to get a bit domesticated.

Saturday was car valet day, miles and miles of dust and mud to be washed off - inside and out. This turned to be quite a good day for it as I managed to get some good sun and a little bit of exercise (there was some serious scrubbing to be done). Turns out I got a bit of sunburn but these things happen. So after a good productive day, out for a beer with Greg and some of the people from the Dian Fossey research centre.

Sunday, a little bit more relaxing with some chores around the house. I also spent some time working on the birds of Rwanda checklist booklet and managed to make a big dent in that as well. Andy got back early from Uganda so we set about making some nice thick creamy vegetable and cheese soup - mmmmmm!

Today was more or less an office day and starting to get documents etc etc ready for my trip to the UK and sorting things here that need to be dealt with in my absence. We did have a nice spell of rain today, something we haven't had for quite awhile (being dry season and all) and it was very welcome indeed. The temperatures have dropped quite a bit now but living up here we're more used to these temperatures than the really hot days they have in Kigali.

Running Around

This past week turned out to be a bit of a run-around. I went to Kigali just after midday on Monday to try and sort out part of the EIA report and stayed overnight at the Hotel des Mille Collines. Things didn't turn out as planned, so back to Musanze and the next morning back to Kigali again.

The Wednesday trip was more productive as I handed in the documents required by REMA for the EIA. The time in between till now was spent mostly in the office at home on the pc - so unfortunately nothing exciting there.

A Nesting Bird

I went out for an early morning birding session again this morning which turned out to be really productive. Also had a young lad who has distinguished himself as a bird spotter. He's the brother of one of the guys who always help us out at the site but still at school.

One of his spectacular finds was a bird on a nest, a Golden-breasted Bunting - I had already walked straight past it when he called me back and pointed it out. I managed to get some photos and explained to the guys that we need to stay well away from the nest so that we don't disturb it and/or alert predators like other birds of prey etc to its location.

Now its time for some buckle down and write report(s) for the rest of the weekend.

TGIF

Most of today was set out for the admin set at home with an afternoon meeting set up with REMA followed by a late afternoon spot of birding at the site.

The meeting went very well and it was good to chat at length with someone from REMA just in general as well about their work (they're a very new agency). Discussed the EIA queries and I made a commitment for early next week to submit the required info.

Andy and I then left for the site where we very soon realised how much quicker it gets dark in our "forest" at the site than in general. Once again not too many species but really good sightings including a pair of African Harrier-hawks hanging around and a migrant (we think according to its plumage etc) Grey-hooded Kingfisher. I hadn't seen a kingfisher up here at all yet so this was a most pleasant surprise and managed to get some record shots - due to distance, the pics aren't good at all.

Also saw some of the waxbill species we saw yesterday that had been new ones for me. So a most productive day on all fronts. A long weekend of EIA work ahead for me which I'll temper with a couple of hours birding in the morning before settling in behind the pc for the weekend.

Tourism Association

I was in for some morning meetings here in Musanze and copious amounts of coffee.

Greg introduced me to Japhet, the chairman of the Amahoro Tourism Association which is the umbrella association for a large number of community-based projects in and around Musanze. Japhet hails from Birwa Island, one of the islands on Lake Bulera. There is estimated to be around 176 families (approx. 560 people) living on this island that also has a church and a school on. Almost all the people practice subsistence farming but used to historically fish in the lake for a living. They're of course hoping the moratorium on fishing is lifted soon so they can start fishing again. The soil is fairly poor, so they do battle a bit with crops.

The associations represent a variety of activities like banana-leaf weaving, tailors, woven chair making and then a variety of cultural activities like dancing, drumming and explaining the old traditional religion in which many trees play(ed) a significant role. I'll find out more about the latter because I know we have some of the trees that featured in this religion, on the site.

The birding at 11am was very productive although the numbers were obviously not as good yesterday, being over midday. We were also hugely distracted by the butterflies - their time of the day for hill-topping (checking and ensuring territories are in order). The picture above is one of the butterflies we encountered in the north-east of the site.

Liberation Day celebrations etc

Moth at the house a few days ago
Forgot to say, yesterday was Liberation Day in Rwanda. A National holiday with much celebrations around the country. In Kigali for example, veterans from the war in 1994 were honoured with medals at the Amahoro Stadium. In Musanze there were also celebrations at the Musanze stadium and was in a similar thread. I didn't attend unfortunately - was doing month-end admin.

This morning Andy and I started with a daily routine (for a few days anyway) of going to the site for 2-3 hours and listing the bird species on site. This morning we were there around 6:45am and ended with a pretty decent 28 species for the 2 1/2 hours with a few new ones I hadn't seen at the site yet. The flycatcher and seed-eater species were particularly well represented. Tomorrow we're going out there from about 11am and the next day after 4pm and so on. This way we get a fairly good idea of the species one can find on a regular basis but also the infrequent visitors.

There probably won't be much else on the agenda this week other than the birding etc as the week is set out for admin including finalising the EIA queries so we can get that back to REMA.

Kigali & Admin

Yesterday was a long day in Kigali again with meetings literally from arriving till departure at 5:30 the afternoon. Turned out to be quite productive though in most instances.

We got some short admin queries from REMA, the environmental agency, about the EIA we had submitted, so a bit of work there but nothing major though. There doesn't seem to be any problems with our proposals on being environmentally friendly and the general way we intend to do things at Kioro.

Also spent some time with one of the tour operators in Kigali and we ended up planning the publication of a bird list for Rwanda, possibly with corporate sponsorships from some Rwandan companies.

Then an afternoon meeting with an organisation that specialises in capacity building throughout Rwanda, a really worthy cause as this is something that is very high on the "Required" priority list here. Also discussed our plans as regards training of staff and people in the neighbouring communities.

Today was a more admin-ish day with all the work that goes with finishing off the month-end matters that still hang around - month-end having been on Friday.

Caving

Andy & I got all our gear together for a bit of exploration commencing after Andy's football practice. This included headlights, flashlights, cameras, extra batteries, first aid kit etc etc - one never knows what to expect you know.

First of all we set off for Musanze Caves which is about 2km from the centre of Ruhengeri with the entrance located just off the side of a school's football pitch. Arriving there, no indication of where the caves could be but venture toward the further end of the football pitch and you find this huge, lush green depression. On the far side of this depression (at least 15-20m at the deepest point and about 50x30m) there's a natural volcanic bridge - amazing with vegetation growing over the edges, hanging down and partially covering the opening between the bridge and the ground.

The cave is closer to where one parks the vehicle and has a massive entrance. We had established that this had been the site of a massacre during the war in 2004 and people were not encouraged to enter which was also enforced by regular checks by the military. We respected this and were allowed though to enter the immediate entrance area of the cave. Gosh!! Massive is an understatement - width and height and just disappearing into the dark. We didn't spot any bats but the some of the school lads who accompanied us say that at dusk one can see the bats coming out - another day to be set out for that!

From here, we set off to Kinigi Guesthouse for lunch and discuss the plans they had made for us to visit the Kinigi Caves. The manageress told us that she had managed to get hold of the Executive Secretary for the local council who had sent someone to accompany us and also give directions to the caves. After a fantastic lunch we set off with the 4x4, and was I glad we had a 4x4! The road made its way through villages, totally off the beaten track, and at times petered out to little tracks but great stuff. I was thinking that if I enjoy it that much, imagine how the tourists will enjoy it once its set-up as a proper excursion.

The distance was probably only in the region of 3-4km from the Guesthouse but trust me, it took us awhile to get there. Then out of the blue,between some Eucalyptus trees, the manageress and our guide says stop, we've arrived! My reaction was "Oh...?! Ok."

First to our right, we walked/trekked down about 10m in height through thick vegetation, not unlike the vegetation you find when tracking the gorillas. Eventually down there, a cave about 20m long and about the same width and up to 10m high roof with a small exit on the opposite side. While I'm there taking pictures and video, Andy starts chatting to some of the young lads who are telling us how regularly they see leopard going in and out of the caves. One sighting they had, the leopard had abotu 6 youngsters with her! Today though, no leopard.

Apparently one of the older men said that it would be of no use for us to take flashlights as they don't work in those caves. I only found this out when we left but the guy must have had huge surprise when my headtorch DID work! There was no explanation given for this belief but that is what they believe and its not negotiable.

Going up to road level, our guide took us above the exit of the cave we had just been in and you could see the entrance to another cave about 20m further. We didn't go into this but this one is apparently about 2km long until you exit to above ground and a few meters further enter another set. According to the guide and manageress, there are 3 sets of caves like this and believed to join up with the Musanze Caves we had been at earlier today. An estimated trip of 3-4 hours wlaking through the caves.

Community based tourism is on the agenda for these caves with ORTPN, Kinigi Guesthouse and IGCP preparing to train guides to take tourists on excursions through the caves. They do need to regular recces first before taking people in due to the leopards apparently finding these caves irresistable. What a day though!

Animals & Insects

Moth - possibly Palpita sp.
The last three days including today was spent in the office with e-mails, spreadsheets etc, so nothing really interesting there.

What I've started doing to brighten up my day though is to spend an hour or so in the morning or late afternoon, photographing insects and/or other little creatures that make their appearance in and around the house. These pics I'm using to compile checklists of insects, reptiles, spiders etc. The most fruitful of this lot has been the moths with some interesting and sometimes weird looking moths making their appearance. (around 4,700 known species in Africa!!)

The butterflies are a bit harder but we'll eventually get there. To date I haven't been able to find existing checklists of various species for Rwanda but only lists of endemics of the Albertine Rift. Granted, that at least gives one a bit of a starting point to work from otherwise its compiling and collating from various sources and see what comes out.

In the meanwhile, Andy and I are making arrangements to go and visit some caves in Musanze and Kinigi tomorrow. Exciting prospect of exploration.

Productive Kigali Day!

Yesterday, (another day in the office) was spent setting out everything I needed to do today in Kigali. This all turned out to be quite worthwhile as today was huegly productive and I actually managed to do everything I had planned to do in Kigali plus more.

Best of all was that by 2pm we were ready to set off back to Musanze! Nothing really interesting though - things like insurance and passport matters. I did meet Edwin though who was the officer in charge of tourism (for ORTPN) at the Volcanoes Park. He's presently back here, working on his thesis,from the UK where he's busy with his masters degree. The degree he's studying for is tourism related. We'll be meeting in a couple of days to discuss tourism and the present and potential future community involvement.

A Batty Weekend

The weekend turned out to be hugely interesting although it was in front of the pc at home. I had posted a request for information on a forum about the species of bats in Rwanda and received a reply that made my jaw drop.

This reply I received had a list of bat species for Rwanda but there was a note stating that it was considered incomplete and more species await "discovery" - the list contained 48 species! That's incredible considering the country's size and included a Rwandan endemic! I immediately set to work to formalise the list a bit i.e. on a spreadsheet and then started collecting information on the species and bats in general.

What an education! I knew bats were very interesting and actually quite intelligent mammals but I spent every other moment gaping about some other information about bat behaviour and some great bat trivia. This culminated on Sunday morning with a basic document compiled on general info on bats and a checklist containing some pics/drawings of different species.

This got me going on some of the other checklists I've collected, collated and/or compiled from a variety of sources including frogs and birds and the start of the reptile checklist, the latter being compiled as we go along and are able to identify species.

Sunday evening, one of the overland tour groups came over to the house with their crew for a BBQ and a dvd on the gorillas. A pleasant evening indeed and lovely end to a weekend that I felt like a kid in a toy store with all the new information on our natural history here.

End of Week & a Hospital

As the week was drawing to an end it seemed to slow down a bit to a virtual standstill but as usual this may be just before it all picks up again to the speed of light. Yesterday I spent the morning doing an article on the Pitta we had at the house for a magazine. This is apparently going to be in the August/September edition, once there, I'll give the name of the magazine and the link. The rest of the day was spent catching up on phone calls and e-mails, the "I'm still here, what's the progress?" type.

This morning I had my first experience of the Ruhengeri Hospital which I had to visit due to some insect bite I had that looked decidely dodgy and needed a bit more than just homegrown TLC. The experience wasn't bad as would be expected but definitely an eye opener again on how admin slows things down - something I know people even complain about at hospitals in the first world. It was all about getting paid up before hand for anticipated treatment and consultation and no, I don't know how the anticipated treatment costs is measured having only paid 60pence for that and £3 for the consultation.

Luckily Andy was with me as my Kinyarwanda and French is definitely not up to par for the admin process. The doctors are fine, most of them, if not all speak English as well. Then down to waiting for your turn, seeing the doctor went pretty smoothly and quickly but the "treatment" was a "bit" of a longer wait. At the latter, one collects your number which they call as they finish treating patients. Interestingly, not surprising though, is how some people slip in and one could be forgiven for thinking that your maths teacher in primary school had her counting all wrong as there seemed to be 6 numbers between 17 and 19. I know people will ask and how was the treatment - well it was fine and hygienic as required. It did convince me though that nurses around the world are all taught how to deal with sensitive wounds etc with the least sympathy whilst producing the biggest flashing smile.

From here it was on to the "Pharmacie" to get the tablets the Doc had prescribed, two sets for a week. This went very quickly indeed and although not expecting to pay a fortune, I never expected to only pay £1.3 for the medication.

One thing I can say is that all the staff were hugely friendly and helpful, from the doctors to the security guard at the gate and on the grounds. I presume the security guy who looks after the grounds has built up a little bit of medical knowledge too (well, it seemed like it) as he was often shown/explained some wound, injury or illness and he looked suitably sympathetic and directed the patient to be to the correct place.

Another new experience in Rwanda albeit a hugely educational one.