No Cars, No Safaris And No Tourists

Sun Herald

Sunday February 22, 2004

Arnd Petry

This is the other Kenya, one very few people know about, writes Arnd Petry .

THE islands in the middle of Lake Victoria lie well off the path beaten by tens of thousands of tourists to the better-known parts of Kenya.

But for those seeking to leave the world of mobile phones and urgent appointments far behind, here is a place on earth where time passes at a leisurely pace. This is an Africa without the safaris and the tribal dancers, first discovered by anglers seeking to land Nile perch, which can reach up to 70 kilograms.

Tourist camps have been built on Mfangano and Rusinga islands to cater to this trade. For the keen fisherman, no price is too high and no road too long for that special fish.

The islands can be comfortably reached only by air, the light aircraft taking off and landing on a grass runway on Mfangano Island only after the goats and sheep have been chased out of the way. The animals are employed as effective grass trimmers.

There are no cars and no real roads, only footpaths winding into the hills overgrown with shrubs.

Tourists tend to make their way by motor boat from the airstrip, choosing between Mfangano Island Camp and Rusinga Island Lodge , the only two camps in the area.

The stay does not come cheap. Two nights in one of the 12 beds on offer at the Mfangano Island Camp costs 860 euros ($1400) per person, including the flight from the Masai Mara National Park, one of the more popular game reserves.

The huge Lake Victoria appears to all intents and purposes like the sea. It covers a surface area of about 69,000 square kilometres; only Lake Superior in North America is larger.

The sweet scent in the air reveals that this expanse of water stretching to the horizon is not in fact the sea, 6000 kilometres away, to which it is linked by the Nile.

The large stocks of fish in the lake provide sustenance for many animals, and the uninhabited Bird Island provides a glimpse of the diversity of species.

Here herons, storks and cormorants perch at the water's edge, while kingfishers wait above, watching for their prey.

A metre-long monitor lizard rustles through the grass, and an otter pokes its head out of the lake.

The people along the lake, primarily from the Luo tribe, live mainly from its fish. Their main link to the outside world is the small town of Sindo Beach on the mainland shore.

Sindo Beach is little different from many other African towns. Its streets are lined with one-storey concrete box-like buildings, many of them with verandas in the colonial style.

There is little to draw the tourist to this out-of-the-way spot, but it is precisely this that lends the place its charm in the eyes of some at least.

Modern African life is played out in front of the visitor's eyes.

Fishermen beach their wooden boats, coloured blue, yellow, green, or a mixture of all three, on the dark brown shore.

The larger Nile perch go to the trader who has arrived from Kisumu with a refrigerated truck, while the smaller colourful perch are sold to the women of Sindo Beach.

Behind the boats a girl is washing a tin pot and plastic cutlery in the lake. And behind her are ducks, herons and ibises. The women stop their chores regularly to chat and laugh.

Then they balance large buckets of water on their heads and set off on the long walk home, the rhythmic swaying of their hips banishing all thought of haste.

I F YOU'RE GAME

Most people will want to combine Lake Victoria with game viewing. Adventure World offers the chance to experience the lake with two packages available through overland specialist Dragoman . Details: 1300 363 055.

BEST FLIGHTS

Most package tour companies offer a number of air fare options as part of your deal. For independent travellers, Gulf Air has daily flights from Sydney with connections on to East Africa five days a week. Details: 9244 2199.

© 2004 Sun Herald

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