Lake Victoria

By far the largest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria borders the country’s East African neighbours Uganda to the north west and Kenya to the north east. Fishing industries and the agricultural land around its shores have made the area an economic centre of Tanzania, especially Mwanza.

In the 1950s the carnivorous Nile perch was introduced to Lake Victoria, proliferated like wildfire and decimated the indigenous fish. However, Nile perch can only live in open, fully oxygenated fresh water. But almost the entire shoreline of the lake has become clogged with a dense mat of an introduced weed called water hyacinth. The oxygen-depleted shallows created by thick beds of water hyacinth have inadvertently provided a safe haven for some indigenous fish and their numbers are, once again, on the increase.

The lake has some spectacular varieties of freshwater tropical fish. Its shores are peaceful and pristine. Gently sloping hills lead to the soft blue waters of the lake as fish eagles woop at dawn eager for the small fish that swim in Victoria’s rich waters. There are many small islands like Lukuba or bays like Speke that offer excellent surroundings for some leisure days after your safari.