Through Ruanda to Lake Kiwu 77 



on the further side, partly by means of canoes and partly by 

 hand labour. 



The camp had to be set up close to the bank, and was nearly 

 encircled by the winding of the river. This was a circumstance 

 of bitter regret to us on the following morning, as the whole river 

 valley was filled with the densest mist, it being only possible to 

 see a few paces off. The thermometer indicated six degrees 

 (Celsius), and both men and beasts suffered severely from the cold. 

 Still the sun, which was emerging from behind the mountains, 

 and the fatigue of the toilsome mountain journey thawed us 

 again, and by the time — about noonday — we had reached Kagira, 

 where Dr. Kandt had enclosed an estate, the hardships of the 

 early dawn were forgotten. 



Kagira is a back settlement differing in very slight respects 

 from an aboriginal village. It lies deep down in the valley, 

 close to the narrow mountain stream Mashiga, surrounded by 

 hills. Vainly one wonders why Kandt chose just this one par- 

 ticular spot for his abode, though it is said that the interest 

 attaching to the tomb of Sultan Msinga's father, Luabugiri, 

 which lies close by, was the attraction that kept him there. 



At noon next day we sighted from afar the deeply indented 

 fjords of Lake Kiwu. After a steep descent from the hamlet of 

 Bujonde to the banks, we encamped under shady trees on the 

 eastern point of the lake. It was a most extraordinary coin- 

 cidence that the first inlet with which we came in contact had been 

 christened Mecklenburg Creek by Dr. Kandt some years pre- 

 viously. 



The lake is conspicuously northern in its character on the 

 eastern side, for the bays and creeks cut deeply into the land, 

 winding between the towering mountain sides, which are some- 

 times 1, 600 metres in height. 



The air appeared disproportionately warm to us after the 

 temperature to which we had previously been accustomed, but the 

 water, which permanently averages about 2$ degrees (Celsius), 

 exercises a very beneficial influence on the surroundings. Croco- 

 diles are not met with in Lake Kiwu, so we lost no time in 



