Lake Kivu

The KICS staff retreat at Lake Kivu was our first adventure out of Kigali.

Africa definitely broke us in. Read on to hear more.

The van with kids is ready to roll out.

         

       A few sights along the way

First stop - Nyanza

(The King's Palace)

 There are 3 replica huts... one for the virgin milk maid, one for the king, 

and one for the boy who tested the beer.

The original palace of the king had about 20 different huts.

It was nice and cool in the king's hut. Those layers of grass really block out the heat.

The king's cows are specially bred.
This cowboy entertained us with his cowboy call.

Everybody hold still.

This is the "modern" palace for the king. 

It was build by the Belgians who took control of Rwanda for a time.
Side note: there is currently no king of Rwanda.

 After our stop at Nyanza, we were off to Kibuye.

 From our hotel, we took some boats out for an afternoon adventure.

 Michal was happy.

Presley and Afton were happy.

Poor little Wyatt was not feeling well.

If you look hard enough, you might make out land in the distance.
This is the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Our first stop - Napolean's Hat Island,
based on its shape.









 




It's other name is Bat Island,
for obvious reasons.

 

We left our little ones on the shore with a few friends
and took the older kids on a hike up the mountain.

 Michal took off, but Afton was pretty hesitant...
earth that slips beneath your feet,
steep inclines, and of course, BATS.

He was a trooper. With a lot of encouragement, he kept climbing.

 .

We stopped near the top to catch the view.

 

 

  Nearly there.

 Look who made it to the top!
Michal had a great time and Afton conquered some fear today.
This experience was so cool.
All of you who have seen Afton struggle with sensory challenges would have been so proud of him!

 



 Taking a break at the top...



before we head back down

The trek down was a little intimidating.

Meanwhile at the shore.. 

Crazy girls.

Our next stop - Peace Island. 

We heard there was a 

monkey on this island, but we couldn't find it.
Some from our group thought it was a trick or that the monkey had been long gone.

.

 It's no monkey, but we found this poisonous guy.


We began loading into the boats, a bit disappointed when...

the monkey came out to say goodbye! Perfect timing.

On the way back to the lodge.
Our Lake Kivu adventure was a great way to spend the afternoon.

For the first night, our family stayed in "the apartment". It sounds neat, but, in reality, it was infested with mosquitos and did not have adequate nets. Aside from the incredibly uncomfortable beds, water that ran out mid-shower, and cockroaches we had to sweep ourselves, we managed to get a little rest.

 

By morning, every member of our family had hundreds of mosquito bites. Poor Wyatt had them all over his face. Thankfully, we got to spend our second night in a VIP room. Ah... sweet relief.

Despite the accommodations, our retreat was somewhat restorative. We had great worship with our staff and encouraging time in the Word with Chris Shelby.

Here's hoping for another family adventure where nobody's sick and the mosquitoes aren't biting.