Explore Mwanza the beautiful lakeside city
Explore Mwanza the beautiful lakeside city : Mwanza is a lovely green place in the northwest part of Tanzania. It is famously known as Rock City. The city is composed of large stones with great attractiveness and appearance. This is the main reason why people call it the “rock city”. Simply because of the stones and wandering some of the roads and houses built with rocks. Lake Victoria surrounds the city to about 75%. The remaining 25% is the beautiful scenery of rock mountains, of which houses cover almost all part of the hills. So, the first impression a visitor gets is to see many hills in Mwanza with big rocks. Most of these hills have many houses built on them. Another is to see a large freshwater lake known as Lake Victoria. This lake has many species of freshwater fish such as Tilapia, Catfish, Lungfish, and the famous Nile perch, which can grow to become very large, weighing upwards of 100 Kilograms. Freshwater fish of Lake Victoria is also the most unique and delicious, typically the tilapia (Sato in Swahili) and the Nile perch (Sangara in Swahili). These types of fish can be parboiled, smoked, fried, or roasted. The visitors get amazed by delicious dishes when served with Ugali or cooked rice (Wali in Swahili)
Sukuma is the native residents of the city, although other tribes are there. They are undoubtedly very kind and caring to their visitors. Don’t miss to watch the traditional dance of the Wasukuma, a dominant tribe of the area. In addition, there are other kinds of people from different regions of the country living in Mwanza, but most of them, are from the northern part of Tanzania, the Haya, and Kurya tribes. They are civilized people and very welcoming. Mwanza is a good place for entrepreneurs. The Presence of many companies also leads to more employment opportunities like Cocacola, Pepsi, and the fishing company. The city has enough space to develop still. It has the biggest shopping mall in town or even Tanzania, the Rock City Mall. The city also comprises beaches for refreshing near the lake zone. Rock Beach is famous because of its big rack, and Malaika Beach has a quiet place for relaxing, swimming, and a special buffet. The city itself looks beautiful, surrounded by Islands and Rocks. The attractive islands which most of the visitors want to see are,
Saanane Island
A journey to Sanane Island takes only five minutes by boat from the mainland city of Mwanza. The Island covers approximately 2.18 Square Kilometers in total. Sanane Island has a Game Reserve found inside Lake Victoria. It is the smallest game reserve in Tanzania. There are different natural animals on the Island which include; crocodiles, water hyenas, Otters, snakes, tickles, leads, and Genet. There are also shifted animals from parks to stay on the Islands, such as impala, zebra, boar, and monkeys. The lions and elephants are also there, but they are in cages. There are a lot of tourist activities you can do on the Island, watching animals, hiking rocks, viewing birds, whistling, and enjoying the sunshine. You can choose camping on the Island since there are lodges with the access that one can need. The prices are very cheap to stay for several days. The Island is one of the recommended places to visit on a safari to Northern Tanzania’s lakeside city of Mwanza.
Rubondo island
Rubondo Island is the second largest Island in Lake Victoria after Ukerewe Island. It has a national game reserve. The wild animals in the Game Reserve include; Sitatunga, wild pig, crocodile, hippo, elephants, giraffes, monkeys, Baboons, and chimpanzees. The government of Tanzania declared it to be a game reserve in 1977. The Game Reserve covers the natural vegetation of the Congolese forest nature. The forest vegetation decorates the Island with a green look and fresh air. There are also attractive beach resorts and Nice hotels for resting after walking around the Island.
There are also fishing activities done on Rubondo Island. You will sit in the boat while enjoying fishing tilapias and Nile Perch. Nearby the island communities are living around, which is another attraction, where you will see their traditional weavings, caving, dressings, and cultural tool.
Ukara island
Ukara Island is along the shores of Lake Victoria. It has a geographical area of 80 square kilometers with eight (8) villages. It is located about Ten Kilometers (10 Km) in the Northern part of Ukerewe Island. Ukara Island is popularly known for tourist activities, the indigenous system of farming, and the high population. The Journey to Ukara island from Mwanza city moving through the lake water by boat takes about 4 hours to reach the island, and the cost is only $ 11.
In Ukara there are many attractive places to visit. First is the Fishing Village. There is a village called Chifule where many fishermen live. There are also few people working there as not as fishermen. You will see local fishing boats made using forest wood, the fishermen teams, livestock farmers, and beekeepers.
Ukerewe island
Ukerewe is the largest Island of Lake Victoria within the Mwanza Region of Tanzania. Most importantly, it is a great place to visit on safari to the Lakeside city of Mwanza. Attractive features and beautiful places to visit on Ukerewe Island include,
Ginnery: the Gennery started in 1905 at Matungururi village, and it was the first Ginnery in East Africa. On Ukerewe island, it was a factory for ginning cotton (removing the seeds from cotton). In those days, the ginning of cotton was by using firewood. The ginnery now remains as golf within theIsland.
Ulwengo cave: The Ukerewe elders used the cave to preserve meat in historical days. Their main activity was hunting. The hunters killed the wild animals and preserved meat in the cave. Later on, they sold meat to fellow community members in demand. The cave was in the down area between the rocks where the rains could not penetrate inside the cave. The cave is so safe and looks like a large house. Surprisingly, the cave has a section in which the money ware stored after selling the preserved meat. In 1964, the government of Tanzania established it as a museum of cultural artifacts for the Ukerewe society.
Rocky hills: the hills are in Andebeju Village on Ukerewe Island. They are big and tall rocks. The hunters
used the hilltops to observe the locations of the wild animals. The hunting the leader stayed on top of the rocky hill while guiding the hunters of animals. There are more activities and enjoyment to have on the Island. You will have a perfect the ferry ride, taking the best fruit juice on the Island, cycling mainly on a
gravel road wearing skin-fit clothes, a Nice relaxing evening on Ukerewe, and watching Ukerewe traditional dance.
Probably nothing strikes when someone visits Mwanza for the first time because the city has favorable climatic conditions. Furthermore, Mwanza is a city with political stability and has good social services like health care centers, recreation facilities, and security of the highest degree. Also, the price of goods in Mwanza is affordable, meaning that all classes can get services. Generally, Mwanza is better when compared with Dar Es Salaam. Welcome to Mwanza, Tanzania.
