A
pair of fish eagles guards the gentle bay, their distinctive black,
white and chestnut feather pattern gleaming boldly in the morning
sun. Suddenly, the birds toss back their heads in a piercing,
evocative duet. On the sandbank below, a well-fed monster of a
crocodile snaps to life, startled from its nap. It stampedes through
the crunchy undergrowth, crashing into the water in front of the
boat, invisible except for a pair of sentry-post eyes that peek
menacingly above the surface to monitor our movements.
Rubondo Island is tucked in the southwest corner of Lake Victoria,
the world's second-largest lake, an inland sea sprawling between
Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. With nine smaller islands under its
wing, Rubondo protects precious fish breeding grounds.
Tasty tilapia form the staple diet of the yellow-spotted otters that
frolic in the island’s rocky coves, while rapacious Nile perch, some
weighing more than 100kg, tempt recreational game fishermen seeking
world record catches. Rubondo is more than a water wonderland.
Deserted sandy beaches nestle against a cloak of virgin forest,
where dappled bushbuck move fleet yet silent through a maze of
tamarinds, wild palms, and sycamore figs strung with a cage of
trailing taproots.
The shaggy-coated aquatic sitatunga, elsewhere the most elusive of
antelopes, is remarkably easily observed, not only in the papyrus
swamps it normally inhabits, but also in the forest interior. Birds
are everywhere. Flocks of African grey parrots – released onto the
island after they were confiscated from illegal exporters – screech
in comic discord as they flap furiously between the trees.
The azure brilliance of a malachite kingfisher perched low on the
reeds competes with the glamorous, flowing tail of a paradise
flycatcher as it flits through the lakeshore forest. Herons, storks
and spoonbills proliferate in the swampy lake fringes, supplemented
by thousands of Eurasian migrants during the northern winter.
Wild jasmine, 40 different orchids and a smorgasbord of sweet,
indefinable smells emanate from the forest.
Ninety percent of the park is humid forest; the remainder ranges
from open grassland to lakeside papyrus beds.
A number of indigenous mammal species - hippo, vervet monkey, genet
and mongoose - share their protected habitat with introduced species
such as chimpanzee, black-and-white colobus, elephant and giraffe,
all of which benefit from Rubondo's inaccessibility.
RUBONDO NATIONAL PARK