From the balcony of my room at Centre Diocesain de Pastorale Inshuti—a place locals simply call Pastorale—I gaze out at the southern flank of Lake Kivu. The scene is mesmerizing.
After a long day’s ride, I’ve finally checked into Rusizi, the final stop of my journey along the Kivu Belt. Last night I was in Karongi. But this adventure began much further north, in Rubavu, where Lake Kivu first brushes Rwanda’s border with the DRC.
Yes, I have traveled the entire belt—riding the lake’s shoreline from north to south. The stretch spans a little over 200 kilometers, a distance most bikers would cover in two to three hours. I took two days because I wander often, adding off-road twists to the exhilaration. It's those small detours and unplanned stopovers that make the road more rewarding than the destination.
There’s a special rhythm to riding along Lake Kivu. At one moment you’re cruising past tea plantations, the next you’re climbing a ridge that reveals sweeping views of the water below. Fishermen wave from wooden canoes, children call out from the roadside, and time seems to bend around the simple pace of life here. By the time I rolled into Rusizi, I wasn’t just covering ground—I felt like I had stitched together pieces of Rwanda’s western frontier.
Back at Pastorale, the view looks like the last page of my Kivu Belt adventure. From my vantage point, the Muhumba Peninsula juts boldly into the water, parting it like the staff of Moses. It’s 4 p.m. I was hoping to capture the sunset, but I barely saw the sun today. My plan is simple: to sit back, breathe it all in, and maybe jot down a few notes.
Tomorrow, the tempo will change. I’ll trace the source of the Rusizi River—Lake Kivu’s only outlet—then dive into the bustling commercial streets of Kamembe. The highlight, though, will be a much-anticipated visit to Gihaya Island. The day after, I’ll push onward to Nyungwe National Park, but not before another lake adventure: a boat ride to Nkombo Island, the largest inland island in Rwanda.
For now, though, it’s just me, the balcony, and the shimmering calm of Kivu’s southern waters.