Rubondo Island National Park is one of the only two island national parks located in the southwestern part of Lake Victoria, covering an area of 456 square kilometers.
The island also protects another 11 small islets.
Rubondo Island was first gazetted as a game reserve in 1965.
The Zinza tribe that used to inhabit the reserve areas were resettled to the neighboring islands and later received national status in 1977.
The courts have imposed a 6-week imprisonment penalty for people who land on the island unauthorized and a 6-month imprisonment penalty for people who attempt poaching on the island.
Rubondo Island is 2 to 3 kilometers wide and 28 kilometers long from north to south.
The island is made up of partially submerged rifts of four volcanically formed hills, with the highest being Masa Hills rising at an elevation of 1,486 meters above sea level.
The park is characterized by a mixture of evergreen and semideciduous forests, open grasslands, rocky areas, sandy beaches, acacia woodlands, and papyrus swamps.
Bernhard Grzmek, a professor of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, released 17 chimpanzees to Rubondo Island between 1966 and 1969.
These chimpanzees were captives from European zoos, although they were born in the wilderness.
Wildlife Animals of Rubondo Island
There are several animals inhabiting Rubondo Island National Park, and some of the wildlife you will see includes spotted-necked otters, hippos, crocodiles, large spotted genet cats, giraffes, elephants, vervet monkeys, bushbucks, sitatunga antelopes, buffalos, warthogs, black and white colobus monkeys, bush pigs, elephants, and hyrax.
The Rubondo Island chimpanzees are still undergoing the habituation process.
This is the process where wildlife rangers and other researchers visit the chimpanzee family on a daily basis to make them used to human presence.
Then, they will be opened up for tracking by visitors to the park. Sometimes, tourists can stumble upon chimpanzees while on walking safaris.
Sport Fishing
Rubondo Island National Park offers visitors an opportunity for fishing.
Tourists can engage in fly fishing, dead bait, spinning, or even trolling. Every fish caught must be released back into the lake, following the park’s policy.
Visitors will also need a permit to do sport fishing in the park and will be provided with an experienced guide to help them fish in designated areas.
Rubondo Island is an angler’s paradise, attracting many anglers who come for safaris in Tanzania.
Boat and Canoe Cruises
Tourists can explore Rubondo Island National Park on a traditional canoe or an engine boat.
This is one of the exciting ways to explore the park’s flora and fauna.
Birding
Rubondo Island National Park is also a birder’s paradise with several species of birds recorded.
Bird enthusiasts can spot some bird species like Egyptian goose, spur-winged goose, swamp flycatcher, red-capped robin chat, Abyssinian thrush, African thrush, African yellow white-eye, common bulbul, white-faced whistling duck, little egret, black crake, red-chested cuckoo, white-browed coucal, ring-necked dove, tambourine dove, blue-headed coucal, common moorhen, African openbill, hamerkop, great egret, African sacred ibis, long-tailed cormorant, African darter, water thick knee, long-tailed lapwing, common sandpiper, osprey, brown snake eagle, African fish eagle, crowned hornbill, lesser honeyguide, yellow-fronted tinker bird, white-throated bee eater, cinnamon-chested bee eater, rufous-crowned roller, African malachite kingfisher, giant kingfisher, pied kingfisher, mangrove kingfisher, brown-throated wattle-eye, pied crow, western violet-backed sunbird, olive sunbird, red-collared widowbird, little weaver, red-billed fire finch, common waxbill, pin-tailed whydah, African wagtail, winding cisticola, white-headed saw wing, brown-backed scrub robin, pale flycatcher, swamp flycatcher, southern red bishop, black-headed gonolek, brown-necked parrot, blue-breasted kingfisher, Nubian woodpecker, lesser honeyguide, western banded snake eagle, and Eurasian buzzard, to mention a few.
Guided Nature Walks
There are several walking trails established in Rubondo Island National Park. During nature-guided walks, tourists will come across various wildlife species, birds, and plants.
The nature-guided walks are usually led by an armed ranger guide who is knowledgeable about the park’s flora and fauna.
Visit Sukuma Museum
Sukuma Museum was established in 1968 by the Sukuma community to display and preserve artifacts of the Sukuma culture.
This is one of the places tourists can visit in Mwanza town if you’re interested in learning about the history and culture of the Sukuma people.
Lake Victoria Tours
Rubondo Island National Park is situated on an island in one of Africa’s great lakes, Lake Victoria, which is the continent’s largest lake by area.
Lake Victoria is geologically young, only about 400,000 years old.
The lake was formed when westward-flowing rivers were dammed by an upthrown crustal block.
Lake Victoria and its islands host several reptile species, for example, hippos, Nile crocodiles, spotted-necked otters, African helmeted turtles, African clawless otters, giant otter shrews, Williams mud turtles, and variable mud turtles.
Mammals and primates can also be seen on some of its islands, such as chimpanzees, elephants, bohor reedbucks, sable antelopes, waterbucks, march mongooses, and many others.
Lake Victoria is shared by Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.
The world’s longest river, the Nile, derives its source from Lake Victoria in Uganda.
80% of the lake’s water comes from direct rainfall, and its only outflow is the River Nile.
Lake Victoria boasts some of the highest species of fish in the world, and the lake is also the world’s largest tropical lake.
A lot of aquatic birds can also be found in Lake Victoria. It’s said that the lake has dried up at least three times completely since its formation.
Where to Stay
There is limited accommodation at Rubondo Island National Park for tourists to sleep in.
Some of the camps you can stay at include Rubondo Island Camp and Bandas.
Getting There
Rubondo Island National Park is located 150 kilometers west of Mwanza.
The park can be reached by boat from Kasenda village or from Nkome.
Tourists can fly from Nyerere International Airport to Mwanza Airport and then use a speedboat to reach the island.
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Rubondo Island National Park is during the dry seasons of June to September and December to February when the weather is favorable for wildlife watching. The best time for birding is from November to April when migratory birds are present at the park.
Saanane Island National Park
Saanane Island National Park is another of the island national parks found in Lake Victoria, Tanzania.
The small park covers an area of only 2.18 square kilometers and can be visited on a day trip from Mwanza town.
In 1964, the present-day Saanane National Park was gazetted as an animal garden and changed to a forest reserve in 1991 until 2013 when it was upgraded to a national park.
The park is renowned for its beautiful rocks dotted in its forests and shorelines.
Saanane Island National Park is a habitat for numerous animals such as patas monkeys, vervet monkeys, warthogs, black rhinos, rock hyrax, De Brazza’s monkeys, elephants, wild cats, zebras, and bushbucks.
There are about 137 species of birds recorded on the island, including freckled nightjar, African black coucal, African harrier hawk, plain martin, garden warbler, spotted palm thrush, variable sunbird, red-winged starling, swamp flycatcher, African thrush, common swift, tawny-flanked prinia, African wagtail, village weaver, slate-colored boubou, red-cheeked cordon-bleu, white-browed robin chat, cinnamon-chested bee-eater, lemon dove, long-tailed cormorant, and African pygmy kingfisher, to mention a few.
Serengeti National Park
Serengeti National Park is one of the most popular national parks in Tanzania, renowned for its wildebeest migration.
The park is home to 550 cheetahs, 4,000 lions, 2 million ungulates, 1,000 leopards, 250,000 zebras, and much more.
Serengeti National Park was first established as a game reserve in 1930, where sport hunting was permitted until 1937 when hunting was prohibited.
The reserve was upgraded to national park status in 1951.
The park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was also declared a Lion Conservation Unit in 2005.
Serengeti National Park boasts as one of the best places for wildlife viewing on earth.
It’s a rewarding game drive destination, and some of the animals found in the park include lions, leopards, cheetahs, African bush elephants, cape buffalos, spotted hyenas, aardvark, serval, caracal, hippos, common warthogs, African golden wolf, banded mongoose, ground pangolin, bat-eared fox, striped hyena, black-backed jackal, African wild dog, common genet, African civet, honey badger, vervet monkeys, olive baboons, patas monkeys, cape hare, yellow baboon, crested francolin, and hyrax.
Mount Kilimanjaro
Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest mountain and the world’s tallest freestanding mountain located in the Arusha region of Tanzania in Kilimanjaro National Park.
The main activity done at the park is mountain climbing, and it attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world every year.
This can be combined with a visit to Rubondo Island National Park.
Tourists can also visit other tourism destinations in Tanzania like Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Olduvai Gorge, Tarangire National Park, Lake Manyara National Park, Zanzibar Islands, Nyerere National Park, Arusha National Park, and Mikumi National Park, to mention a few.