By KARI MUTU

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The upcoming Sextantio Rwanda lodge on the Nkomba Islands of Lake Kivu has been named as one of the “most exciting new hotel openings coming in 2022” by luxury travel magazine Conde Naste Traveller.

The Italian-based Sextantio hotel group is known for developing unique properties inspired by the culture, ethnology and natural environment of a place. Expected to open in March, the Sextantio Rwanda, is constructed like a traditional village, using local materials, with a communal style dining table and a traditional open kitchen.

Thatched huts will serve as guestrooms, with traditional beds of straw mats and mattresses. The idea is to “prevent tourism from destroying the precarious natural balance of the area”, says a statement by Sextantio.

The lake that has views of both Rwanda and neighbouring Congo. Guests can take boat rides in traditional dugout canoes, visit local villages on cultural excursions, or track chimpanzees and other primates in the nearby Nyungwe Forest National Park.

Expansion to Kenya

Sanctuary Retreats is expanding its East Africa portfolio with a new luxury camp in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy near Mt Kenya, scheduled to open this July. Sanctuary Tambarare will have just 10 luxurious guest tents designed in Afro contemporary style “with lashings of luxury”. Tambarare means "flat open country" in Kiswahili and the conservancy has all the "Big 5" game and other wildlife.

Guests can participate in activities such as guided bush walks, night drives and lion tracking. Ol Pejeta is renowned for its large population of black and white rhinos, including the last two remaining northern white rhinos in the world, and is home to the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Kenya.

This is the second property in Kenya by Sanctuary Retreats, which has four luxury camps in Tanzania and the Sanctuary Gorilla Forest Camp in Uganda that is popular with tourists for gorilla trekking safaris in the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest.