We settled into the spacious cabins at ‘Serenity by the Lake’. The gardens surrounding the cabins were shady, nicely kept and occupied by a number of peacocks going about their business.

Had a swim in the pool before going off on a tour to a nearby fishing village. Another immersive experience.

Our group of nine was split into threes for a paddle out into the lake, although we were actually in a bay (12 kms across) off the main body of water. We were paddled around for a while seeing a few water birds and traditional fish traps in operation.

Fish traps, reeds that are growing. Fish enter through holes at bottom of trap and can’t exit!
There was a vigorous race back to shore by the boat crews, accompanied by some native singing/chanting.

Lake Victoria is the second largest lake, after Lake Superior, by area in the world. Prior to boating we had a potted history of the lake. The lake has borders of three countries running through it and is suffering from over fishing due to growing populations.

After the boat trip we wandered back to the bus through the main street of the village. Soccer was being played on some rough ground, the ball made from tightly rolled up cloth.

The experience was a little confronting, the village more needy than others we have experienced in travelling around. At the end we walked through the village school, there are about 500 students. It was six o’clock and school had finished for the day. But a tutoring class was still going and we were welcomed in for a look.

Bit of an eye opener, about 60 grade 4 (9-10yo) students crammed in one room. Black board and chalk and not much else. One teacher. The kids gave us a big cheer and welcomed us with a song. At the end they sang their national anthem, a very proud group of Tanzanians indeed! Not sure how many Aussie kids (adults as well?) know the words of ours let alone sing it in such a rousing way! Two school rooms seem to have been sponsored by Australian groups, ‘Boomerang’ and ‘Kookaburra’.

A short but interesting stop. In the morning we left for the Kenyan border, about a three hour drive. There we changed vehicles, passed immigration, and had new Kenyan guides to take us on to the Masai Mara.