Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. It is shared between Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, and about half of it lies in Tanzania. Its south-eastern shore at Speke Bay is only a short drive from the western corridor of the Serengeti, which makes it an easy and very different addition to a northern safari.

This is the home of the Sukuma, Tanzania's largest ethnic group, who farm cotton, groundnuts, cassava and sorghum and keep large herds of cattle. A drive into the hills behind the lake passes villages and farms and a local school, and a short walk up a granite kopje gives views over the countryside.

Out on the water, fishermen paddle wooden canoes and bring their sailing boats home after a night's fishing far out on the lake. We arrange a canoe trip to a fishing village and a visit to a traditional healer in one of the Sukuma villages.

Our seven-day mid-range safari spends two nights by the lake at Speke Bay, between game drives in the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.