Rubondo Island Camp

The Great Migration moves across the Serengeti–Mara ecosystem in a constant search for fresh grass. During the right season, you’ll head out on guided game drives to witness parts of this vast movement. Millions of wildebeest travel with zebras and gazelles, crossing plains and rivers while predators stay close. You’ll see long columns stretching across the horizon or sudden bursts of movement as herds react to danger.

Your guide tracks where the animals have been moving and plans the drive accordingly. Some drives bring distant herds across open ground, while others place you close enough to hear hooves, calls and the tension building before a river crossing.

Step out with a guide and explore the island on foot. A walking safari changes the pace of how you’ll experience the wild. Instead of covering long distances by vehicle, you’ll move slowly through forest paths and along the lakeshore, paying attention to tracks, droppings, plants and bird calls. Your guide explains how animals move through the area and what signs they leave behind.

You’ll come across giraffes, sitatunga or bushbuck feeding nearby, while monkeys move through the trees above. The focus is on observation and awareness rather than distance. Walking also lets you notice details often missed on drives, from insects and reptiles to small changes in the landscape.

Head into the forest with trackers to search for chimpanzees that live within the island’s woodland. The walk can take time as guides follow fresh calls, nests and broken branches to work out where the group has moved. When you’ll finally find them you’ll stop at a safe distance and watch how they feed, groom and move through the trees. Youngsters chase each other while older animals keep a close eye on the group.

The sightlines change constantly as they climb, drop and disappear into foliage. Your guide explains their behaviour, social order and how researchers monitor the population while protecting the forest they depend on.