I am now visiting the fifth destination of the campaign dubbed 30 Districts Expedition. This is a series of trips across all 30 districts of Rwanda. Before I launched this content marketing campaign, I had a familiarization tour around the country.

I have already covered more than 10,000 kilometers on Indakangwa, the made-in-Rwanda adventure motorbike I am using. To put that into perspective, that’s the distance between Capetown, South Africa and Alexandria, Egypt.

Traveling in a car feels like watching a movie but doing so on a bike feels like starring in that movie. Adventure riding is one of the most thrilling activities I have ever indulged in.

In 2017, I started visiting different parts of Rwanda and sharing my travel experiences through this blog and a number of mainstream media outlets. 2017, 2018 and 2019 were memorable years. The first two and a half months of 2020 were even more adventurous but what followed was a dramatic turn of events that culminated in a 43-day nationwide lockdown and an extended period of movement restrictions.

After spending two months battling boredom at home, I hit the road again. This time, I started traveling solo while limiting interactions with members of the host communities for obvious reasons. Whilst missing my pre-Covid group tours, the new experience gives me more time to write blog posts, digital magazines and books.

I have also been camping more than I used to. Sleeping in the jungle with a thin layer of nylon being the only thing separating me from wild animals sounds crazy but very intriguing. My most unforgettable camping experience is the night my tent was blown away by the wind when I was bonding with fellow campers around the campfire a few shrubs away. Have you ever walked home in the middle of the night, only to find your house is missing? That’s what happened to me.

One of my most memorable rides took place the day I twisted the throttle to the source of Mukungwa River and proceeded to My Hill Ecolodge on the shore of Lake Ruhondo. From My Hill, I saw all the five volcanoes lined up along the border. That was a sight to behold. I also had a lot of fun riding from Rubavu to Rusizi through the meandering Kivu Belt road. Crossing Nyungwe forest was absolutely sensational. I had the same feeling along the Congo Nile Trail. I can go on and on.

So far, I haven’t experienced any technical issues, with hick ups in the main switch being the only exception. However, I changed the switch before it caused any serious headaches. Although the tires are still in a very good condition, new ones will be worn after 15,000 kilometers. At the end of my current campaign, I will return the motorbike to the factory and replace everything else except the engine. Just like that, Indakangwa will be restored.