Maybe you have felt this before.

Maybe you have wanted to get out of Kinshasa, but the ordeal of leaving the city makes you think twice.

After a few online searches, we decided to brave it out.

We initially wanted to go to Bombo Lumene (see my old post from 2020 link) or Ibi village, but we had been told that the road is not safe (See article of a fight between the Teke and Yaka tribes). It just so happened that there were also skirmishes that same Saturday near Mbankana which is a little further from Maluku (RFI article from 4 days ago). A friend’s farm had also been attacked several months ago in that area.

Anyways, come what may, we said, what the heck, let’s get out of the traffic, pollution, noise and trash that Kinshasa happily produces day and night.

We set our sites on a lodge that had received a lot of good reviews from friends in Kinshasa. It was called La Bohême de Maluku, the bohemian of Maluku. Incredibly, they are one of the few lodges with a website!

I was told it was a beautiful piece of land with great rooms. Their Instagram is full of pictures of sunsets and orchids. The prices seemed alright and probably worth it.

Our first thought was to go by road, but we figured that, with a boat, it may be more enjoyable as it was really on the edge of the Congo River.

So on Saturday morning, we headed to the lodge on a speed boat from the Majestic River Yacht club. The most expensive and tricky part of this whole trip is getting a boat, fuel and driver to go upriver to drop and collect you. If you can get a good rate or a big group to share the costs, go for it. If you are alone or with one person, the trip by road is more economical but perhaps not as enjoyable.

In any case, we went upriver for 1 hour passing by big boats filled with people fishing, transporting charcoal, tree trunks or beer crates. Some were just sleeping on their pirogues.

We were so gobsmacked by the menacing cloud formations that we passed the lodge and ended up in a thunderstorm that was luckily only just beginning.

Google Maps worked (there is signal pretty much on the whole boat trip!) and we were able to see where we needed to go.

After getting a bit wet, we made it to the shore of the lodge.

A kind man, Gilbert, welcomed us and took us and our belongings straight to our room. It was a short walk into the property. There was a well maintained garden with plenty of beautiful orchids facing the river. Yellow brick houses with 2 to 3 bedrooms were built at an angle from the river front.

Our lodge/room was attached to a larger building with a shared patio and a combined kitchen and living room space.

The beds were set on top of a brick and cement base but were very comfortable and the rooms had stylish decorations (african prints, fresh flowers). All the lights were made of ratan and the shower was covered of small orange hue pebbles that gave the room a rustic look.

We had running water and electricity the whole time.

Another block of three or four single rooms were under construction and a pool was also in progress.

Note : To book the room we had to pay upfront in the lodge’s office in Kinshasa.

The kitchen was fully equipped with a gas stove, a fridge, utensils, plates, casseroles and pots.

The man in charge, Joseph, offered us a nice fresh grilled fish caught by the local fishermen, a local green vegetable and rice for about 20$. I enjoyed it a lot.

There are no drinks or food available if you don’t ask in advance. We had brought drinks, a meal and snacks.

In the afternoon, we got a lot of rain so at night the weather was cool. Luckily, we didn’t need any air conditioning (there isn’t any anyways!). There’s a ceiling fan in case it does get hot.

After a nice quiet night (Noise warning : some boats pass very close to the shore of the lodge and they use very old engines that make a racket!), we got served breakfast (2 fried eggs or omelette), toasted bread fresh from the nearby village (arrived by pirogue!), avocados, margarine and a hot espresso.

There is a bit of Wi-Fi if you approach one of the houses. The manager Joseph lives on the property with his family.

A few meters away there is a small village where fishermen, women and children seem to live. You hear them chatting in Lingala throughout the day. People on pirogues also pass by the lodge greeting you. There is also a very steep, muddy and sandy road that leads back to the main road but we didn’t go up very far.

There is not much to do if you don’t like reading or swimming (stay close to the shore, it gets deeper quickly!). You can go for a walk but only for 10 or 20 minutes. Watch out for mosquitoes, there are plenty!

Note: the owners later told me that it’s possible to go for longer hikes to the surrounding hills, play volleyball or mini football.

The rest of the day was spent looking at the passing boats (some were especially loud and frequent!), eating, snacking, reading and talking.

Eventually we took the speed boat back at around 4pm. The ride was incredible, with the sunset, the various villages on the shores, passing by Republic of Congo villages and huts, greeting fishermen on pirogues, the peace, quiet and beauty.

It was a real break for the madness of 20 million people in Kinshasa. Truly worth doing if you can free yourself for 2 days. The team at La Bohême de Maluku really did a great job making us feel as far from Kinshasa as possible.

Thank you so much to them.

A very recommended experience for anyone who needs a break 🙂

I hope you enjoyed this post! Any comments? Leave below!