Rusinga Island travel guide

Rusinga Island lies in the northeastern corner of Lake Victoria in Kenyan waters. Ferry access from Homa Bay is restricted due to the water-hyacinth problem in Lake Victoria, but the island is now linked to the mainland by a causeway. Rusinga is an austerely scenic island with high crags dominating the desolate goat-grazed landscape. A single dirt road runs around its circumference. The main town on Rusinga Island, Mbita, is unexceptional, though the excellent Lake Victoria Safari Village is nearby, but inland foreigners are rare and you are sure of a welcome. Life here is difficult, drought commonplace, and high winds a frequent torment. The occasional heavy rain either washes away the soil or sinks into the porous rock, emerging lower down where it creates swamps. Almost all the trees on the island have been cut down for cooking fuel or been converted into lucrative charcoal although there has recently been an initiative to plant new trees. These conditions make farming highly unpredictable and most people rely on fishing to make ends meet.

The island is rich in fossils, and famed for the 1948 discovery by Mary Leakey, the anthropologist, of one of the earliest austrapithecines remains, the skull of Proconsul africanus (P. heseloni), a sub-group of Dryopithecus, said to be 17.5 million years old. This anthropoid ape lived on the island three million years ago, and is believed to be a probable ancestor of the chimpanzee. Aside from the public interest it spurred, the discovery of the skull also ensured the Leakeys’ funding for their next expeditions. Louis and Mary, thrilled at the discovery, decided the best way to celebrate would be by having another child. Their third son, Philip, was born in 1949 almost nine months later to the day that the skull was discovered. The skull can be seen in the Nairobi National Museum.

Rusinga Island was also the birthplace of Tom Mboya, an important Kenyan political figure during the fight for Independence. A civil-rights champion, trade unionist and charismatic young Luo politician, he was gunned down in Nairobi by a Kikuyu policeman in 1969, sparking off a crisis that led to over 40 deaths in widespread rioting and demonstrations. There is a school and a health centre named after him, and Tom Mboya’s mausoleum lies on family land at Kasawanga on the north side of the island, about 7 km by the dirt road from Mbita, or roughly 5 km directly across the island. The mausoleum (open most days to visitors) contains various mementoes and gifts Mboya received during his life. The inscription on the grave reads: Go and fight like this man, Who fought for mankind’s cause, Who died because he fought, Whose battles are still unwon. You don’t have to know anything about the man to be impressed. In any other surroundings his memorial might seem relatively modest, but on this barren, windswept shore, it stands out like a beacon. Mboya’s family live right next door and are happy to meet foreign visitors, who rarely come here. A small donation towards the upkeep of the mausoleum would also be gratefully appreciated.

The island is popular with game fishermen and holds the IGFA all-tackle record for the heaviest Nile perch ever caught. Over 80 species of bird are found here, including fish eagles and bee-eaters. On the shores of the island you may see the rare spotted-necked otter, giant monitor lizards or hippos. Lake Victoria is renowned for its glorious sunsets, and after dark the Luo fishermen from the villages scattered along the lakeside can be seen out on the lake in their beautifully painted boats, lit by paraffin lamps. Boat trips to visit other nearby islands can be arranged locally with these fishermen....read more