Kenya · Safari

2-Day Ruma National Park Safari from Kisumu with Rusinga Island

2 Days Round trip from Kisumu Easy pace

Endangered Roan Antelope in Ruma National Park

The journey

Trip highlights

01 Spot the endangered Roan antelope in Ruma National Park, one of Africa's rarest antelopes
02 Enjoy extensive game drives in a tranquil park far from the beaten tourist track
03 Tour Rusinga Island and visit Tom Mboya's Mausoleum on family land at Kamasengere
04 Interact with traders at Akala Market and learn about this old traditional cattle trade

Discover Ruma National Park on this 2-day tour from Kisumu, with game drives in one of Kenya's least-visited wilderness areas and a visit to nearby Rusinga Island. This park is considered the last retreat and sanctuary of the endangered Roan antelope, one of Africa's rarest antelopes, and offers tranquillity and the solitary enjoyment of the wilderness well away from the beaten tourist track. The journey also covers Tom Mboya's Mausoleum and Akala Market, adding cultural and historical insight to your safari experience.

This park is considered the last retreat and sanctuary of the endangered Roan antelope, one of Africa's rarest antelopes, and offers tranquillity and the solitary enjoyment of the wilderness well away from the beaten tourist track.

From the itinerary

At a glance

What this trip includes

Duration 2 Days

Tour type Private

Activity level Easy

Accommodation Not included

Transport Included

Wheelchair access Not applicable

Cities Kisumu, Homa Bay, Kisii, Migori, Nairobi, Kendu Bay, Ruma National Park

Languages English

Day by day

The itinerary

Day 01

Kisumu to Ruma National Park Safari

Depart from Kisumu after an early breakfast by road, passing through Kendu Bay and Homa Bay town to Ruma National Park through Nyatoto Gate, with an en-route game drive to your accommodation for lunch.
After lunch, embark on an extensive game drive.
Return to your accommodation in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay.

Dinner and overnight at a budget hotel.

Meal Plan: Lunch and Dinner

Day 02

Ruma National Park, Rusinga Island and Return to Kisumu

An early morning pre-breakfast game drive is planned on this day.
Then depart after breakfast back at the lodge with your packed lunches to Rusinga Island for a tour around the island. Rusinga is an austerely pretty island with high crags dominating the desolate, goat-grazed landscape. A single dirt road runs around its circumference. Life here is difficult, drought is commonplace, and high winds are a frequent torment. The occasional heavy rain washes away the soil or sinks into the porous rock, emerging lower down where it creates swamps. Ecologically, the island is in dire straits: almost all its trees have been cut down for cooking fuel or converted into lucrative charcoal.
The drive brings you to Tom Mboya's Mausoleum, which lies on family land at Kamasengere on the island's north side, about 7 km by the dirt road from Mbita, or roughly 5 km directly across the island. The mausoleum, open most days to visitors, contains various moments and gifts Mboya received during his life. Tom Mboya, a civil rights champion, trade unionist, and charismatic young Luo politician, was gunned down in Nairobi in 1969, sparking a crisis that led to over forty deaths in widespread rioting and demonstrations.
Eat your packed lunch at a convenient place on the island.
Then drive to catch the 3 pm ferry to Lwanda K'Otieno.
Pass through Akala Market, which is famous for cattle sales across the whole of the Nyanza region, to learn - after interacting with both sellers and buyers - the tricks and preservation of this old traditional trade, which attracts buyers and sellers from as far as Kisii, Migori, Kadem, Karungu, Kanyamwa, Gem, Alego, and beyond.
Arrive in Kisumu in the evening to check in.

Meal Plan: Breakfast & P/lunch

Where this trip takes you

Ruma National Park, Rusinga Island high crags, Tom Mboya's Mausoleum, Akala Market

The route

Where you'll travel

Tour route map — Round trip from Kisumu 7 cities · 2 Days

The fine print

Trip details

What's Included

Professional English-speaking safari guide/driver
Guaranteed departures for two or more passengers booking this safari
Transport in a safari van with an open-top
All applicable game park entrance fees
All meals included while on safari
Pre-tour itinerary document
Extensive game drives
Bottled mineral water is provided in the minivan while on game drives

What's Not Included

Domestic and international airfares and departure taxes
Personal communication charges for telephone calls, faxes, email, etc.
Tips and gratuities for your driver/guide
Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
Laundry services
Between-meal snacks, parks, attractions, and events not included in your itinerary

Know before you go

Ruma National Park lies in Western Kenya, near Africa's largest inland lake, Lake Victoria. The park is considered the last retreat and sanctuary of the endangered and threatened Roan antelope, one of Africa's rarest antelopes. It was established in 1966 to protect its rare indigenous Roan antelope population, which exists nowhere else in Kenya. It acquired national park status in 1993 and was renamed Ruma National Park at the request of the local community in honour of one of Kenya's most powerful wizards, the much-feared Gor Mahia, who lived high on a hill that now forms part of the Kanyamwa Escarpment.
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 tranquillity and the solitary enjoyment of the wilderness. Apart from the Roan antelope, the park also has plenty of African 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 support this, you could compare the African buffalo in Ruma National Park with the buffalo seen in Maasai Mara, as they are said to be quite different. The buffalo in Ruma National Park are described as very wild and have wide horns with a very hard and big forehead, which protected them from the bullets, arrows, and spears of hunters, hence they remained behind. The park also acts as a home to the common waterbuck, the aardvark, the honey badger, the solitary nocturnal African civet, serval, genet, topi, impala, vervet monkey, and olive baboon. At night, you can hear the sound of the secretive leopard and the common sound of the spotted hyena, giving you the memorable sounds of the African bush.
A professional safari escort is available upon request at an extra cost.

Logistics