After our tour through the Serengeti we had reached Lake Victoria, famous for the Victoria perch, and the town of Mwanza, famous for its numerous granite boulders, which are everywhere. The city is built between these rocks. The most famous is the Bismarck Rock, the tourist hotspot in town.
We found a great spot at the Mwanza Yacht Club, where we could park at a lawn next to the lake, with restaurants and bars next to us and the city in walking distance. There were so many birds around town, which was just amazing. We had pied kingfisher, egrets and open-billed storks in front of our car, around the fish market and the Bismarck rock sat numerous marabou storks and above circled a big number of birds of prey.
Max, our Tuk Tuk driver, took us through town for some shopping (mostly for spray paint), then to a local restaurant which served us delicious Tilapia fish. Afterwards we went to the Bismarck Rock to go on a trip over the lake.
The main attraction on our boat trip, was the visit to the fish market. Luckily the fotos don’t have the smell we had to endure there. It seemed the Marabou storks loved it though.
As fascinating as the fish market was, we were happy when we could leave it, as the stench was just incredible. We arrived back at the Bismarck Rock and continued our tour with the Tuk Tuk from there.
South of Mwanza, we had to cross the lake by ferry, but the Chinese are already building a bridge, to make it easier in future.
If you want a Tuk Tuk with guide, you can contact Max: +255 620 326 359, or if you want to arrange a boat trip Musa is your man: +255 754 257 066
We will continue now to Rwanda – more soon.