Updates

The next couple of days I'll be updating the blog with photos of the project and snippets of news since the last update. Unfortunately, I only have photos after March as my laptop was stolen during a visit to South Africa which contained about 5,000 photos including ones of the project - a dear lesson and reality check in backing up the data and photos to external media.

Anyway, as you'll see from the posts after this, there has been huge progress in all aspects of the project. Our number of employees has also swollen and now stands at around 260 people with 200 working on the site itself and another approx. 60 on a stone quarry we purchased for the rock to be shapped for the building.

Enjoy the journey with us through the review of the last few months.

New Pathways

To date most of the photo updates have been shown pathways that are in the area of the safari tents and the 4x4 campsites. Some new pathways have now been completed in the overland campsites areas. These link different levels and/or terraces of campsites to each other as well as roads and facilities. In some places I've laid them out so a path end on a ridge near some campsites which would have a nice view and/or is just a quiet spot away between some trees where people can sit and have a read or think.

Keep in mind that all these pathways will have lanterns hanging along them at night so its not going to be a hunt/fallover in the dark to see where you're going.

Pathways leading from the large main campsite to 3 other campsites and bathrooms.

Zoomed in to the upper left of the previous photo - showing a terraced campsite to the right of the pathway.

Path leading off on one side to the bathrooms (far mid-left) and one onto a little rise on the ridge and the nearest one leads to another campsite and viewpoint.

Happy and Prosperous 2008

Just wishing all a very happy and prosperous New Year and may all your dreams and wishes come true.

All holding out we'll be celebrating our first Christmas and New Year in Ikoro Tented Camp in 2008. Things are moving fast and furiously - most of the time anyway.

Last week we employed another 40 people and this week will be another 50 employed bringing our total of people working on the site to 170. This coming week sees us connecting to our mains water supply and also the first concrete being thrown for floors.

Foundations commence on the restaurant, lounge and bar in this coming week too.

Please feel free to contact me if you're in the area and we'll show you around.

BEST WISHES

Marcell, Sarah and Andy

General Update

This last while has been a lot of admin and planning work but things at the site are about to start picking up speed with marking out of foundations and final campsite layouts commencing.

Also recently got hold of an article that appeared (April 23 - 27, 2007 publication) in the East Africa Business Times on Ikoro Tented Camp after an interview with one of their journalists. We got a full page in the digest section and a very positive article. A copy of the article appears here http://www.rwandagateway.org/article.php3?id_article=5258

The number of tourists in Musanze is rising very fast as we hit the peak of the season with larger numbers also staying longer in the area, partly also due to people waiting for their turn to track gorillas and permits are spread out over a few days.

At the house, we've appointed Dio as the new housekeeper and cook. He has some previous cooking experience from Hotel Muhabura here in town, so we'll be teaching him a few more skills as we go along. The idea is to reach the point where he runs all household matters including the cooking side of it - maybe even end up at Ikoro as one of the staff there.

Update after Long Delay

Yes back on and able to update the blog again. I'll be posting the updates from the April 15 post with the relevant in the header. There was some great progress and a short delay but with other things happening though.

I've also been doing some exploring around Lake Bulera checking out future options for activities as well and have some pics of the spectacular Rusumo Falls too. Those pics I'll post on here and/or on the Africa Photo blog too (link from this blog on the left).

Mpisi, my 4-legged girl is also doing brilliantly and hasn't stopped growing yet but being my best friend out there and also our security. There'll be some recent pics of her too.

Anyway, enjoy the following posts.

Start 2007 update

Work commenced on the site again 2 weeks ago whilst I was on a short trip to the UK. Everyone has jumped in again with renewed enthusiasm and clearly well refreshed after the festive season.

In these 2 weeks, the guys have done a fantastic amount of work again some of which I'm told, was to impress me with how much can be done in a short space of time. Well, success on that front - I am impressed, hugely so!

Very soon we'll be able to do deliveries of building materials to various points on the site via the roads that are progressing rapidly. I've driven my car into the site on the exisiting roads and well impressed. Other than the odd spot that we had to attend to that wasn't as compacted as we thought, the roads so far are looking great.

As for the pathways, I'm going to have to start drawing a map of them and the roads so we can give our clients a layout map. Very pleasing yet humbling seeing the pathways winding through the trees and knowing how much sweat had gone into the making of them.

The "girls" i.e. our puppies have grown a lot and are now ready for their next set of injections including the rabies jab. This will happen in the next few days and then sadly but necessary, we have to say goodbye to "Akajama" and "Ingwe" who are destined to becoming city girls. I'll get some pics of them up here before they go though.