Saanane Island National Park as seen from the eastern side of Mwanza city.
By Mboneko Munyaga
A five-minute boat ride takes you to Saanane Island National Park, offering visitors a truly captivating experience of Mwanza – East Africa’s only city with a wildlife refuge within its boundaries.
The island is a tropical forest paradise that both welcomes and awes visitors with its serene natural environment, blending harmoniously with the five foundational elements of the universe and nature: Earth, water, air, fire, and space (or ether). Due to Mwanza’s characteristic rocky formations, the 2.18 square kilometre island is a hiking-only National Park, making a visit a memorable escapade for the physically fit.
“This island never ceases to conjure images in my mind of being at one with nature,” said Dr Abed Mafwele, an American-trained dentist in town, who was visiting Saanane Island with his wife, Petronela, their five-year-old son, Constantine and a guest from Dar es Salaam, Teddy Chokeza Bidebeli, who promised to return – and perhaps camp overnight.
Saanane National Park is ideal for “lonely planet” tourists seeking an escape from the urban hustle and bustle and the dreary realities of life. A night spent camping on Saanane Island, with a roaring bonfire, ushers visitors into the dark hours while witnessing one of the most mesmerising golden sunsets over the water.
“In the next month or so, we shall have furnished all three luxury accommodation tents on the island,” said the Chief Park Warden, Assistant Conservation Commissioner (ACC), Dr Tutindaga George. The tents are nestled amid lush greenery, with only vervet monkeys for neighbours. The constant chirping of various finches — such as the Black-headed Weaver, White-browed Robin-chat, Black-headed Gonolek, Cliff-chat and Yellow-vented Bulbul — adds a musical symphony to the environment that only nature could compose.
In the distance, the gentle cooing of the Laughing Dove – a bird often associated with peace, love, and new beginnings – evokes a mythical sense of inspiration, celebrating the joy of simply being in the heart of God’s wonderful creation.
Saanane is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Visitors can spot the African Fish Eagle, Little Egrets, Egyptian Geese, Pied Kingfishers, African Pygmy Kingfishers, Hadada Ibises, Black-headed Herons, and the star of aquatic sprinting, the African Jacana (or “Jesus Bird”), which appears to walk on water. Cormorants act as the island’s hosts, welcoming visitors as they bask in the sun.
There is also a family of caged lions, “Mr and Mrs Sita”, which, according to tour guide Matiku Matiku, seem to differentiate between locals and foreigners. Additionally, the park boasts a herd of impalas that were relocated there. They appear rather territorial, with females mainly inhabiting one side of the park, while males stick together in a “Bachelors’ Club” on the other.
Saanane Island National Park is also home to four wildebeests – legendary icons of the Great Serengeti Migration – which appear remarkably tame. Visitors are not permitted to stray from the designated footpaths, but one bull approached as close as ten metres, seemingly offering quality photo opportunities to take home. However, a cardinal rule in the wild remains: “Never take liberty with game.”
Despite its fascinating and alluring features, Saanane Island rarely attracts locals. From 2020 to 2024, fewer than 900 Mwanza residents visited the island, compared with over 100,000 East Africans and more than 2,250 foreigners during the same period.
Generally, Tanzanians seldom visit their own natural heritage sites, game reserves, and national parks – even though the country devotes more than 30 per cent of its territory (roughly an area ten times the size of Belgium or Rwanda) to nature and wildlife conservation. ACC Tutindaga George said there were plans to promote more tours to Saanane Island, noting: “Sometimes, change is slow to come.” But it must come, she insisted.
