Travel Tuesday :: Swimming in East African Lakes

Have you ever swam in a lake? You definitely need to add that to your bucket list. Swimming in lakes is possibly the most freeing thing you could do in terms of swimming. See swimming pools have chlorine that just gets in your eyes and makes your nose run and gives you gas in case you drink it. Ocean water gets in your nose and mouth and you have to keep spitting it out and tasting it in your mouth and salt is not the most pleasant thing to drink or even taste. Now fresh water on the other hand is just super to swim in. Always nice and cold in a way that wakes you up once you jump in. No salt so it feels fresher than a shower. If you drink it while swimming (depending on how clean the lake is) it's totally fine because the water tastes nice. Most fresh water lakes are dark so it feels like you're swimming in a dark pit. It honestly is an amazing experience.

I shall start with Lake Bunyonyi in Uganda. Near the Rwandese border. Lake Bunyonyi has 29 islands and we camped on Bushara Island which has cheap camping sites $6 a person when we went. We got there at night so the beauty was revealed in the morning and what beauty that was. Bushara Island has a tree swing and a floating pier so you can sun bathe in the middle of the lake (well, not middle but I suspect you get it). It's so clean and you will meet very few people there on your swim. The cool water does shock your senses as you get in but the warmth of the sun soon takes the shock away.

Lake Bunyonyi is an experience I am not going to forget soon.

Honestly guys. You haven't lived till you jump into a lake off a swing. We spent half a day here when we were supposed to be on the road to Rwanda. We got to Rwanda way after midnight. (totally worth it) We should have probably spent another night there. Lake Bunyonyi is a place you want to visit and swim in.

Lake Tanganyika is the next example. Soon after Lake Bunyonyi we got to Burundi's capital, Bujumbura. If you go to Bujumbura you have to go to Bora bora beach for a sundowner and a cool swim in Lake Tanganyika. Bora bora has a cool restaurant that only opens from 11am till very very late (as late as there are tenants). They have a swimming pool (that is free if you are eating something) and it's right next to the lake so you can start off in the swimming pool and end up in the lake. But I digress.

Lake Tanganyika has sandy beaches and is a lot warmer than Lake Bunyonyi, maybe because Burundi is a lot hotter. It felt a lot like going to the ocean only that, fresh water which makes it awesome. The lake is rougher in the evening because of the strong winds and all in the evening. I'd advice you to use the evening to chill at Borabora and have a good time and then get up early for a calm swim at sun up.  The view is awesome and the water is so still in the morning that reflections are near perfect. Some photos below confirm that. The water is very warm in the morning and so clear, you can see the bottom of the lake. This is fantastic for a day in the sun and on the beach.

Lake Turkana is the last lake on my list for now. This made my most dangerous swim in a fresh water lake. A few friends & I had gone to Turkana in Nothern Kenya to see the solar eclipse and somehow in the midst of that adventure, we found ourselves in a campsite on the lake side. The bands in this campsite are so lake side that you actually hear the lapping of the lake as you sleep in your banda. The next morning we really wanted to swim but we'd been told that lake Turkana has crocodiles so we weren't too sure about it. After some adventuring on the lake side we got drawn to the shimmering blue of the water and decided to throw all caution to the wind and just jump in. The water was so nice. Very warm and very clear. The bottom of the lake has some rocks but you can just swim over them. About 10-15 minutes into our swim we saw a man running in a deranged manner screaming something at us. We thought, wow, he must be excited about the swim too. Turns out he was shouting at us to leave the water because crocodiles were in the water. We didn't see them so we don't know if they were nearby or not but we grudgingly left the water.

One item off my bucket list. Swim in Lake Victoria. I have to go back there for another swim that will hopefully not be ruined by a crocodile or the scare of one.

That is all in my Lake swim report as of today. I am still on a mission to swim more African lakes so this blog shall expand.

Have you swam in a lake before and have a crazy story to share? Please do so in the comments below.

God bless you guys.