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My crew has been off the radar now for a couple of weeks of exploration around Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest freshwater lake.   Bouncing back after a 20 hour bus ride from Arusha to visit a friend’s family in Issenye, we continued  to the granite-boulder-studded city of Mwanza (aka Rock City).  It was here that Speke first laid eyes on Lake Victoria and rightly labeled it the source of the Nile.

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On New Year’s Eve our crew took the ship Victoria through the night from Mwanza to the quiet port of Bukoba on the western side of the lake.  There we organized transport with our new friend Naima to the seldom visited Rubondo Island National Park.    We had heard that Rubondo is a bird paradise, but beyond that we didn’t know what to expect.

Rubondo is indeed a bird paradise, but that description hardly does it justice.  This 25 sq. km. island has to be one of East Africa’s best kept secrets.  It is nearly completely undeveloped and teeming with wildlife from lush tropical rain forest to savanna grassland and papyrus swamp.  Resident species include elephant, giraffe, hippo, python, and even shy chimpanzees.

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In our time on the island we barely saw another soul aside from our party and the staff.  There are beautiful banda’s right on the beach and a roaring fire is kept stoked day and night.  However, I preferred to sleep out in my tent the first night in order to see the stars over the lake and listen to the waves, frogs, crickets and hippos.

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While hiking and Land Rover excursions are offered by the park with a ranger escort, the boat safaris are what set Rubondo apart.  Our boat captain Tua had an unbelievable knowledge of the island, its waters and its wildlife.  One evening Tua safely circumnavigated half the island by starlight, arresting three poachers in a boat along the way.  We had such a wonderful and productive time photographing Rubondo.  It is one of those special places in the world that I will be happy to return to many times.

Having parted ways with my friends, I am back in Mwanza preparing to fly back to Arusha tomorrow.  While I had intended to spend most of January in Ethiopia, I have changed plans and will leave the Simian Mountains for another journey.  Instead both Libby and I feel compelled to do more work with several nonprofit organizations before getting on that long plane home the 27th.  Along the way, I will trek in the Usambara Mountains and explore a few more islands off Zanzibar with my trusty friend Baboo.

My work schedule the rest of the trip is fairly tight and I am not sure whether I will have the opportunity to update the blog again before returning home.  In the meantime, please enjoy this longer slideshow of the images created over the past couple of weeks.

-Hudson

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FOR BEST VIEWING CLICK FS (full screen) BELOW THUMBNAILS

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SL = Start & Stop Slide Show; FS = Full Screen; PGC = Commercial Link (ignore)

It’s been tough to download, edit, and blog with the power out all across the islands.

Today I am plugged into the generator-supplied power and Wifi at the Livingstone House Bar and Restaurant (yes it was THE Dr. Livingstone’s house many years ago. The “bright side” of the power outage is the view of the stars over the old city at night.  The lights created by street-vendors with lanterns and candles are like tiny islands between the big generator equipped hotels.  Most of the city feels like it must have 150 years ago.  Not a bad Christmas all in all.

We have had the good fortune to stay with our close friends Baboo and Mariam at their spare flat in the heart of Old Stonetown.  Their friendship has led to such great times and amazing photographic opportunities.  As our friend Bob Krist always says, there is nothing like a good fixer!

I have very little generator time to write all I’d love to tell.   So far we have explored the Island’s forests, slept on a small adjacent atoll under the stars, sailed in two dhows, eaten copious amounts of local seafood, spice, and the best fruit in the world.  Oh hell, as I proofread this list, I see that it hardly begins to do the Zanzibar experience justice…  Please enjoy this brief slideshow to get a taste of one of the best places in the world.  I’ll be blogging more as power availability allows.

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FOR BEST VIEWING CLICK FS (full screen) BELOW THUMBNAILS

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SL = Start & Stop Slide Show; FS = Full Screen; PGC = Commercial Link (ignore)

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