mrcheevus

Believe it or not, this place has resorts! We stayed at one on the Rwanda side – a retreat center for missionaries, but the place was built like a resort on the French Riviera. The food wasn’t very good but the scenery was stunning. The room (suite) was comfortable and tastefully decorated. The mattress was foam (they don’t really have good mattresses in the middle of Africa) but comfy.

It is completely safe to swim here due to high levels of methane in the water. No parasites, no large animals like crocodiles or hippos to endanger you. In the evenings, the fishermen come by in dugout canoes, with huge nets strung from their bows, singing! It is truly idyllic – like a flash back in time when places like the Riviera or (closer to me, Okanagan Lake) weren’t hopelessly overbuilt and developed. Absolutely gorgeous.

Useful tip: if you are flying anywhere and connect through Nairobi, don’t sweat having to stay in a hotel outside the airport. They have sleeping rooms at Gate 1 downstairs for cheap – a heck of a lot cheaper than getting an exit visa and staying in a hotel – also safer.

Getting to High Level is a long drive but you learn a lot on the trip. Crossing the Peace River is a sight. Driving past farms where there should be no farms. Indian land. Hardly any night in the winter, and hot! but short summers. You get to see real wilderness up there, and accessible too due to the oil exploration up there, roads are everywhere.

Is the best of the Rocky Mountain hotsprings I would say. The vistas are tremendous and the 3 temperatures of pools was refreshing and fun. You can also hike up to the site of the original resort in a steep canyon where the hot springs seep out of the very ground.

A year after I got married my wife and I and a couple we know canoed for a week on Myrtle Lake in Wells Grey Park. There is no road access and no power boats are permitted on the lake. It is surrounded by high mountains and the fishing is amazing. At one end there is a waterfall, north of that is a river you can follow up 10 km to a hiking trail to an extinct volcano.

Stunning. Beautiful. Peaceful. Try Bubba Burgers! They are awesome! Rented a convertible and drove around the island. Going back for our 10th anniversary.