Day 5:
Mbita – Sindo – Ruma National Park
After breakfast, we drive to Sindo, then to Ruma National Park.. Drive to Nyati camp or Kamato or Oribi Guesthouse to check in, followed by lunch then proceed for a game drive. Ruma National park lies in Western Kenya, close to the shores of Africa’s largest inland Lake, Lake Victoria. The park is considered the last retreat and the sanctuary of the endangered and threatened Roan antelope which is considered one of the Africa’s rarest Antelopes. This park was established as Lambwe Valley game reserve in 1966 to protect its indigenous population of rare Roan antelope which exist nowhere else in Kenya. It acquired national park status in 1993 and renamed Ruma National Park on the request of the local community in honor of one of the most powerful Kenya’s wizards, the much-feared Gor Mahia who was living high on a hill which now forms part of the Kanyamwa Escarpment, from where he could watch over all people because his magic was so powerful that he controlled not only South Nyanza, but far beyond. The classic image of East Africa is realized in Ruma National Park, a land of rolling Savannah dotted with picturesque Acacias and backed by dramatic hills. Compact in size, the park is easily traversed by only two major routes and offers a unique mosaic of reverie woodland, golden Savannah and magnificent Escarpments. Well away from the beaten tourist track and relatively infrequently visited, it is also a park that excels in tranquility and the solitary enjoyment of the wilderness.
Lying on the flat floor of the seasonally watered Lambwe river valley, the park is bordered to the South East by the breath taking Kanyamwa Escarpment and to the North by the dramatic Volcanic plugs of the beautiful Ruri hills. A long, narrow corridor of land contained on a first-shipped peninsular extending into Lake Victoria, the parks terrain comprises largely black cotton clay soil, scenic rolling grassland and open woodland thickets dominated by species of Acacia and Balanites. Apart from the Roan antelope which has a sanctuary here, we have also plenty of Africa Buffalo (the only native African cow) it is believed that Ruma National Park was the origin of almost all the animals found in Maasai Mara which were driven away by the Luo community, who are farmers and animal hunters by nature, through Migori, Lolgorien and into Maasai Mara. To prove this, keenly you could check the African Buffalo in Ruma National park with the normal Buffalos you can see in Maasai Mara are quiet different and more so, the Buffalos in Ruma National park are very Wild and have wide horns with very hard and big forehead which were protecting them from the bullets, arrows and spears of the hunters hence they remained behind. The park also act as a home to the common waterbuck, the Aardvark, the honey badger, the solitary nocturnal African civet, Serval, Genet, Topi, Impala, Vervet Monkey, Olive Baboon and at night you can hear the sound of the secretive Leopard and the common sound of the spotted Hyena which will give you the memorable sound of African bush. Return to Nyati campsite or Kamato or Oribi Guesthouse for dinner and overnight.