Camp during the floods

 

Rufiji River overflowing

 

There has been some unplanned flooding of the river, temporarily flooding around 50m (160 ft) of land just below where we have our camp. This has caused flooding of crops as most of the land around the rivers edge is cultivated. This has also brought in many more hippos and crocodiles, both of which regularly pass through our camp. We can hear hippos throughout the day and night, a rather pleasant chortle is constantly heard in the background. I have luckily not run into them at camp but their trails are impressive and clearly identified by their casual plowing through high grasses and bush.

There have been lions roaring across the river nearly every night as well as the usual shouts of the galago. There is a chorus of frogs and dozens of distinct insect sounds that blend into a flickering soundscape. Unfortunately there are also plenty of mosquitos, caterpillars that cause skin irritation, and spiders with a mean bite. I wrote about the numerous spiders before and that was back in dry season, imagine how many more there are now that the insects they eat are plentiful?! Once the sun sets it is shocking how fast spiders put their webs across the walking paths so you have to be alert or carry a stick to clear the paths.

As we exit the rainy season there are more partly cloudy sunny days than overcast and drizzly ones. The rapid plant growth which was crescendo over the past few months suddenly drops off and the wilting plants, although still green, give a palpable feeling of slow decay. We'll soon enter into the long dry season so I enjoy the rainy season while I can!