Rubondo island national park is an outstanding paradise for bird enthusiasts and tourists on sport fishing safaris, the park is located on an island in the southwestern corner of Lake Victoria; the main island is a composition of ten small islands. 80% of Rubondo island national park is covered by forests; the park covers an area of 457 square kilometers. It is one of the most adventurous Tanzania safari parks.
Rubondo island national park is about 150 kilometers from the town of Mwanza in Tanzania; the park is also composed of four volcanic hills covered with semi-deciduous forests. In the 1960s the government relocated the Zinza tribe, who lived on the island and survived on banana plantations, to the other islands. Rubondo Island was gazetted as a national park in 1977 but it was a game reserve from 1965. It is an awesome place to be for your next Tanzania adventure holiday.
During the years 1966–1969, chimpanzees were introduced to Rubondo Island, and other animals like elephants, antelopes, giraffes, white Columbus monkeys, and black Columbus monkeys were also introduced to this island.
Despite being small in size, there are a number of tourist activities to be done at Rubondo island national park. Some of the activities are listed below:
Chimpanzee trekking:
Chimpanzee trekking can be done at the Rubondo island national park though the Chimpanzees are rarely seen, visitors can come across animals like elephants, bushbucks, giraffes, hippos, pythons and bush pigs, not forgetting exclusive butterflies.
Boat rides:
Boat riding at Rubondo island national park offers a thrilling experience as you view the magnificent lake shores and the tropical forest canopies entangled on the beautiful hills, giving you a wilderness experience in Africa’s newest island national park, boat rides provide you with views of the second-largest freshwater lake and also the source of the longest river in the world.
Sport fishing:
Sport fishing is one of the fabulous activities to do while at Rubondo island national park, the fishing is done in the designated areas and with an experienced fishing tour guide. tourists are required to come along with their fishing gear and acquire permits for fishing after paying additional for fishing, which is excluded from the conservation area fee.
Camping:
Camping is one of the best ways to experience and come into close contact with the wilderness. Rubondo island national park provides camping sites where visitors can enjoy a packed bush lunch the campsites offer kitchen facilities, bathrooms, toilets and dining as you hear whispers of the wilderness.
Bird watching:
Rubondo national park is renowned for harboring the world’s migratory birds, but the most common notable birds here are African fishing eagles, kingfishers, egrets, ibises, herons, storks and many more water birds the park is said to contain over 200 bird species.
Guided nature walks:
Tourists can engage in Tanzania guided safaris while at Rubondo island national park, the park has got various walking trails, which include Banda to pongo camp, airstrip to pongo, airstrip to mamba point, mamba point to Mlaga kageye road, and maji mtakatifu to mchangani These walking trails give visitors a thrilling experience as they come across wildlife, butterflies and a lot of plant species.
Rubondo national park is an ideal place for a family holiday or weekend getaway. The park can be visited year-round; however, for bird enthusiasts, the best time to visit is from November to March, and for wildlife lovers, it’s from June to August.
Rubondo national park can easily be accessed from the town of Mwanza, Tanzania, to Nkome via Geita and from Mwanza to Kasenda via Chato. Once tourists are in Kasenda or Noon, they can access a boat to take them to the park. Scheduled and chartered flights are also available.
When visiting Rubondo island national park, tourists should endeavor to book in advance, as accommodation units are not many; the place to stay will depend on the tourists’ choice.
