Jeff's Tanzanian Adventure: Saanane Island Park

On Saturday Charles came by in his little Toyota to take Jeanne and I to the smallest of the Tanzanian National Parks: Saanane Island National Park. This park was established in 2013 and it covers only an area of 2.18 km. The park is located on an island in Lake Victoria and can be reached by boat in about 10 minutes, from the TANAPA offices on Capri Point in Mwanza town.

From the internet:

The park made a record of being the first ever National Park to be located within the City and the smallest National Park in both Tanzania and East Africa. The Park is the home of mammals like Impala, Rock Hyrax, Velvet Monkeys and Wild Cats. The presence of “De-brazas Monkey” underscores its potential as the only Park in the country inhabiting the species. Reptiles are also dominant; they include crocodiles, Monitor Lizards, Agama Lizards, Pancake and Leopard Tortoises, Snakes particularly Python.

Saa Nane Island was named after its previous owner, Mzee Saanane Chawandi, a fisherman who turned into a farmer and later shifted to another island (after being compensated) to pave the way for conservation efforts in the early 1960’s. The Tanzania government officially owned the island in 1964 as the first ever government owned zoo. Originally its territory measured some 0.7 square kilometers comprising both dry land and water. However, Saa Nane National Park annexed and includes two other smaller islets known as Chankende Kubwa and Chandkende Ndogo both located in the southern part of the main island into the bargain thus increasing its protected area to 1.32 square kilometers. The main objective was to promote intense and conservation education in wildlife and to promote recreation to the people of Mwanza. (http://www.tanzaniatourism.com)

A few of the animals there...

Jeanne, Charles and I had a wonderful time in the park. Initially we were worried that, after our short boat ride we’d walk around a little and 20 minutes late we would be headed back to Mwanza town in the boat. It would be an expensive outing for a couple of Mzungus and their Tanzanian friend. (National parks are much more expensive for foreigners.). Instead, when we reached the island, we were met at the island by a young man named Juma who took pleasure in explaining where the various cages were when the island was a zoo, how the island came to be a park, and other important facts. He also led us on a lengthy and demanding hike. We explored every inch of that very rocky island. There were hills to climb, viewpoints to stop at, dense patches of bush to push through and plenty of animals to see. We were able to see impalas, rock hyraxes, tortoises, and lizards. We also had a whole package of cookies stolen out our hands by very brazen monkeys.