Two countries share one shoreline here, and the border runs between the beach bars. Gisenyi, now officially Rubavu, is Rwanda's lakeside resort on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, and the Congolese city of Goma starts a few kilometres across the line, under the dark cone of Nyiragongo. The volcano is the dominant fact of the landscape: its 2002 eruption sent lava through Goma, and its crater holds one of the world's largest lava lakes, glowing red at night when the sky is clear. Cross-border crowds, market women with baskets on their heads and boda riders weaving between them give the town a restless energy.
The road that leads here is among the most beautiful in central Africa. The Congo-Nile Divide road runs along the ridge above Lake Kivu, a spine of high hills that separates the watersheds of the two great rivers. It rolls through tea plantations, terraced banana groves and eucalyptus, and every few kilometres the lake appears below, a hammered silver sheet scattered with islands. The Rwandan roads are well surfaced, clean and lined with people walking, cycling and carrying loads, so a rider needs to be alert, slow and generous with the horn. Motorcycle taxis are everywhere, and helmets are the law.
Lake Kivu is odd. It is one of the African Great Lakes, and it contains huge quantities of dissolved methane and carbon dioxide trapped in its deep water, a hazard that scientists monitor and that Rwanda taps for power. The surface is safe and calm, and because the lake is free of bilharzia, as locals say, swimming from the town beaches is popular on weekends. Fresh fish, grilled tilapia and the small sambaza, are the staples at lakeside restaurants, usually with a cold local beer and a plate of plantain.
Gisenyi is a proper town, with fuel stations, banks, hotels and plenty of food, and it is the place to stock up before heading anywhere else in the region. Fuel is easier to find on the Rwandan side than in the remote hills. The border post is close, but the Congolese side is another matter, and the situation in the eastern Congo has been unstable for years, so take advice before crossing.
Volcanoes National Park, home of the mountain gorillas, lies about an hour to the east, and the road to it is a good ride too. The weather is mild at this altitude, with rain most afternoons in the wet seasons and clear, bright mornings.