The Rufiji River

Walking to the water.

The Rufiji River is 600 kilometres (370 mi) long, fed by the Kilombero and Ruaha Rivers. It's the largest river in Tanzania and signifcant portions run through protected areas, most notably Selous Game Reserve and the newly established Nyerere National Park. We took a work trip out there and had a fantastic time poking around the river and understanding the landscape. We were maybe 100km from the ocean but the river was already quite wide with numerous tributaries, islands, and other seasonally flooded areas. I was surprised as farmers put crops in the sand either on the shore or other parts of the riverbed. There are nutrient rich bushy areas before you reach the sand, and finally the water.

Hippos and crocodiles are in the area though local residents told us hippo numbers are reducing due to poaching. It was very unclear how we could cross the river but we eventually got someone to show us the crossing. There are a few community-owned boats that are communally used among community members. Apparently the going rate is 200tsh per person if it's in a big boat and 1,000tsh per person if it's chartered and anyone can offer this service. We thought we'd find a regularly run type of local ferry service but the system was far more informal than I expected. It also appeared to be a BYOP (bring your own paddle). When we successfully crossed to the the other side of the river, our guy stashed his paddle in a bush. It was a good move. When we came back our big boat was gone and what remained was a small boat a quarter full of water, with more seeping in every second. We heard a voice from around the bed and though we were in luck. Alas, an even more precarious boat came around the bend...

Yeah, I think I'll pass on the lift in that dudes boat.

Our guy took the paddle out of the bush, bailed the boat, and went to pick up the larger one. We waited in the shade and sure enough he came back with the larger boat. The larger boat was quite sturdy, seemed to leak at an acceptable rate, and held six of us with room to spare. The paddler had a long stick to push through shallow water gondola style and a small paddle for open water. We passed a group of hippos and a crocodile basking in the sun, so it's safe to say we were all carefully examining the river-worthiness of the carved out log. Although I wish the paddler had a larger paddle (or even two, canoe style?) the boat was sturdy. We all held our breath when we got temporarily beached on a sandbar. Stepping out of the boat to dislodge the boat in crocodile infested waters is not recommended but sometimes necessary. After a small push we were off.

It was a lot of fun to explore the river and cross over to see the temporary farming and grazing camps. People are living rough with small solar panels and basic houses. Many will only farm temporarily and frequently cross the river to go to town but it still must be rough. People were friendly and welcoming though notably surprised to see us!

Turtle on the loose

Larger and smaller boat. The guy had a long pole, it was just like Venice.

This is what a house off the grid looks like.

These two mamas were weaving mats and baskets.

Member from the Sukuma tribe with his cattle going for water. I was hoping to see some carnage with a crocodile but alas, there was none.