You find this unsploit wilderness in the southwest corner of the large, shallow Lake Victoria, bordered by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. The hilly island has some open areas – mostly papyrus swamps and long grass plain – but over 80% is dominated by forest.

Before the 1960’s one wouldn’t stand a chance of spotting picture perfect safari wildlife. It was Professor Bernard Grzimek – famous for putting the Serengeti under worlwide attention – who included Rubondo in a mammal rescue project as a reaction to poaching and shrinking environments. 

And so, in the 60’s and 70’s, the remote human and predator-free Rubondo became the perfect refuge for the introduction of large mammals such as rhinoceros, elephants, roan antelopes, chimpanzees and giraffes. Unfortunately poachers got wind of it and wiped out of  the rhino and roan antelope populations, but various other species became often-encountered residents.