Rubondo Island National Park

Rubondo Island National Park is a unique and mesmerizing destination that deserves to be explored by nature enthusiasts. It is one of the two national parks in Tanzania that is situated on an island in the vast Lake Victoria, with the other being Saanane Island National Park. The park is located in the southwestern corner of Lake Victoria, about 150 km west of Mwanza, and it covers an area of 456.8 km2 (176.4 sq mi).The island is administered by the Geita District of Geita Region, and the island’s management is under the Tanzania National Parks Authority (TANAPA). The park is a sanctuary for animals, and it attracts a small number of visitors each year, mainly game fishermen and bird enthusiasts.Rubondo Island is a partially submerged rift of four volcanically formed hills, linked by three flatter isthmuses, and it has no rivers. The soil is volcanic, and the habitat is mixed evergreen and semideciduous forest. The forest covers about 80% of the island’s surface area, and it is interspersed with patches of open grassland and acacia woodland. The eastern lakeshore has rocky areas and sandy beaches, while the western shore supports extensive papyrus swamps lined with date palms.The park’s climate is characterized by a bimodal rainfall distribution, with peaks in December and April–May during the October–May rainy season. The annual temperature ranges from 19–26 0C.Rubondo Island National Park has a rich history, and it became a game reserve in 1965 to provide a sanctuary for animals. The island was gazetted as a national park in 1977, and today, it is uninhabited. Consequently, 80% of the island remains forested today. The 400 “fisherfolk” of the Zinza tribe, who lived on the island and maintained banana plantations, were resettled on neighboring islands and onto the mainland by the government in the late 1960s.Over a four-year period (1966–1969), 17 chimpanzees in four cohorts were released onto Rubondo Island by Professor Bernhard Grzimek of the Frankfurt Zoological Society. In addition to chimpanzees, seven other species were introduced to the island, including Roan antelope, rhinoceros, Suni antelope, elephants, giraffes, black-and-white colobus monkeys, and grey parrots confiscated from illegal trade. The common native fauna includes the vervet monkey, sitatunga, hippopotamus, genet, and bushbuck.Rubondo Island National Park is an ideal destination for those who want to experience a different kind of safari. Visitors can explore the island on foot, by boat, or by vehicle, and they can see a wide variety of animals in their natural habitat. Recently, the Prime Minister of Tanzania visited the park and ordered TANAPA to cooperate with tourism stakeholders for the marketing of Rubondo Island to maximize the number of tourists in the Geita region.