BIRDNEST Resort Executive Director Charles Kalyango broke news about the death of their director on the lakeside resort Facebook Page and local Tourism Fraternity WhatsApp groups.
The message said, “Dear friends, I announce the sudden death of Mr. Paul Henry Ryckeart Timbao “Pablo SilverBack”, Managing Director of BirdNest Resort in Lake Bunyonyi area said , Executive Director BIRDNEST Resort.”
PABLO (1 February 1955 – 12 April 2021)
Paul “Pablo” Ryckaert Timbao was a role model, a friend who changed our local community, an advisor, a good employer paying good salaries — and the person who put Lake Bunyonyi on the map by founding BirdNest Resort!
Before Pablo’s arrival to our community, there was just an ugly ruin on the only road, a visitor’s first contact with Lake Bunyonyi. It used to belong to Francis “Frank” Kalemera Kalimuzo, the vice chancellor of Kampala’s Makerere University, who opened a hotel here decades before anyone else.
In 1972 Idi Amin (Idi Amin Dada Oumee was a Ugandan military officer who served as the President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979) had him arrested and he was never seen again… After being briefly used by Amin as a holiday cottage, the hotel fell into disrepair.
In 2009 Pablo and fellow Belgian investors leased it, renovated the existing building and expanded it dramatically. They created a place without a match at Lake Bunyonyi and beyond. Its most prominent feature is the grass thatched roof that to us, locals, looks like a nest.
When you approach it in a canoe, it actually appears like many nests due to a number of smaller houses along the big one. Then when you enter the compound, it is all amazing and the services are better and faster than anywhere else.
No wonder BirdNest Resort hosts local celebrities like musicians and Golola Moses, Uganda’s big-mouthed kickboxer!
The excellent food of BirdNest was the main inspiration for us to start the Gorilla Highlands Silverchef cooking competition. Pablo graciously hosted one of these events at Lake Bunyonyi in 2017 and successfully took the role of the main judge in Musanze in 2019.
He was also the biggest advertiser in the Gorilla Highlands Pocket Guide. Moreover, our team benefited from getting canoeing and trekking clients from his resort. He was a great friend of ours …
The entire Gorilla Highlands family will miss him, but since God has called him for a minute or more, everybody shall pray for his soul — willingly, not forced, and wish him to rest in peace. We will miss him so much, and we pray that the broken hearts of his family and the BirdNest team heal as soon as possible. By Levi Ayebare, blogging at experts.gorillahighlands.com/daily-dose/2021/04/13/pablo/
Ivan Batuma, Kigezi Tourism Cluster Chairperson had this to comment “Charles , Birdnest Resort staff , family & Friends … We continue to pray for you at this time . Condolence and keep us posted”
Preparation for Send of Pablo.
There will be a virtual burial in Belgium on Saturday 17th April 2021 at 10:30am EAT, and which can be access via the link. Kigezi Tourism Cluster members, who will be around Kabale Town or Lake Bunyonyi and would like to be with staff & Friends of BirdNest Resort on Saturday same time 10.30am, are urged to contact Ivan so that they can be included on the list.
To learn more BirdNest Resort Lake Bunyonyi accommodation and top thing to do while visiting Kigezi Region, check out Responsible Tourism Co.
About Kigezi Tourism Cluster Platform
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The Kigezi Tourism Cluster Platform short for K.T.C.P is a consortium of various tourism stakeholders in the Kigezi region. Kigezi Region covers what are now Kabale District, Kanungu District, Kisoro District, Rukiga District, Rubanda District, Rukungiri District, in Southwest Uganda. The Kigezi Tourism Cluster Platform consists of the tourism stakeholders broadly categorized into; Public Agencies, the Academic and Research Institutions, Private Sector Operators along the Tourism Value Chain and the Local Communities (Banyakigezi).
To learn more about the tourism cluster, safe local experiences in the region, recommended accommodation and top attractions in Kigezi region, visit visitkigezi.ug
