International travel agency
Rusinga Island, lies in the eastern part of Lake Victoria at the mouth of the Winam Gulf. Part of Kenya, it is linked to Mbita Point on the mainland by a causeway. The local language is Luo, although the ancestors of the current inhabitants were Suba people who came in boats several hundred years ago from Uganda as refugees from a dynastic war. The island is also notable as the family home and burial site of Tom Mboya, who before his assassination in 1969 was widely pegged as Jomo Kenyatta’s successor as President of the new nation of Kenya.
Most residents of Rusinga make their living from subsistence agriculture (maize and millet), as well as fishing. Constant onshore winds cool the lakeward side of the island and provide clean beaches with ideal swimming and boating conditions, but poor roads between Rusinga and the nearest town, Homa Bay, inhibit trade and tourism. The brightly glittering black sands of the beaches are made of crystals of melanite garnet, barkevikite hornblende, and magnetite eroded from the uncompahgrite lava fragments in the agglomerates that overlie the fossil beds.
This is the best place to wind up your rigorous safari, experiencing the other side of Kenya that is less talked about or advertised. The Island can be accessed through Mbita causeway ferry that takes about 45 minutes. To get to Mbita from Nairobi, you can travel to Kisumu through road (8 hours drive) or take a 45 minutes flight from Nairobi.
Rusinga Island Lodge, Kenya is one of the best places to stay if you want to enjoy this quite Island to the maximum. Though there are other budget-friendly places in Mbita on the shores of Lake Victoria, it is all worth saving for this particular lodge. The lodge located in this remote Island has very green manicured lawns with exotic trees providing a haven for many bird species. Located at the shores of Lake Victoria, it offers great views at its terrace where one can spend most of the time just gazing and inhaling all the beauty. Read more