Saanane National Park is located on an island in Lake Victoria. The park covers an area of about 2.20 square kilometers. Saanane National Park was established as a zoo in 1964, making it the first zoo in Tanzania. In 1991, the island was designated as a game reserve before being officially gazetted as a national park in July 2013. The park’s name was derived from the former owner, who was called Saanane Chawandi. This park is a must-visit for clients on Tanzania safaris.
Saanane National Park is about a 20- to 15-minute boat ride from the town of Mwanza, Tanzania. Most of the park’s animals were ferried there between 1964 and 1966. This is also one of the parks located within a city in Tanzania. The island is composed of three islets and an aquatic environment; it has also been recorded as the smallest game park in East Africa. It’s still a great place to go for Tanzania holidays.
Saanane Island is the best place to do a one-day tour, providing tourists with panoramic views of the park and the magnificent Lake Victoria which is the source to the longest water body in the world. Saanane national park boasts a variety of animals as well as numerous bird species
Some of the activities to be done at Saanane Island can be seen below
Game viewing:
One of the most rewarding activities any tourist can engage in is taking a game drive. Saanane national park is blessed with a lot of wildlife namely: elephants, impalas, black rhinos, warthogs, bushbucks, buffalos and many more primates that can be seen are the velvet monkey, patas monkey and colobus monkey, to mention a few. The Da-Brazza’s monkey is also found onSaanane Island, making it the only place to find this species in the country.
Guided nature walks:
Tourists can take guided nature walks to the sunny beaches as well as explore the whole Saanane national park on foot, this provides you with opportunities to come in close contact with wildlife and nature; you will be able to see flowers and insects and many more.
Rock hiking:
Tourists can hike up to the island and have gorgeous views of the vast spreading lake Victoria and come across a lot of game like vervet monkeys, elands, impalas, elephants, buffalos, zebras and many more while coming across many plant species. The rock beacons will give you very majestic views of the lake, especially when you view them from the Bombay cave.
Boat riding:
Taking a boat ride from Lake Victoria will expose tourists to water birds, crocodiles and hippos lunch can also be packed and enjoyed in the water; these rides always last for about one and a half hours the splendid lake will also expose you to many aquatic animals like crocodiles; there are also several fish species to see.
Sport fishing:
Fishing is one of the recreational activities tourists can enjoy while at Saanane island national park, your tourist guide will take you through the fishing session tourists are advised to come with their fishing gear and must acquire permits for fishing in the designated areas before doing this activity the commonly caught fish here are Nile perch and tilapia.
Bird watching:
Apart from being a very scenic lake, Lake Victoria is a home too many water birds both migratory and residential birds alike some of the birds to be seen at the Saanane Island are
Picnic sites:
There are a number of tourist picnic sites where tourists can enjoy their packed lunch and enjoy Victoria’s cool breeze.
Saanane national park can be visited all year round; however, the best time of the year for visiting the park is from June to August for those who love to do wildlife viewing, the vegetation is short and animals can easily be seen. The best time period for bird enthusiasts is from November to March.
