Rufiji River Camp

 

There are a lot of things that I love about our Rufiji River camp. The location on the edge of the riverine forest provides habitat for all sorts of wildlife, both resident and passing through. It is about 400m from the river, safe enough to avoid the season flooding but close enough to enjoy the views or stroll down to the water. 

In August the climate is not as humid as the rest of the year and some cloudy days accompany very random and extremely light showers. The camp has resident Brown Greater Galagos that cry throughout the night. Elephants come through camp regularly, passing through to get to the river to drink. I was excited to see a Southern Giant Pouched Rat as well as a pair of dikdiks one evening. There was a troop of Banded Mongooses that were caught seeking shade in our banda one afternoon.

I was also happy to see Angolan black-and-white colobus monkeys. The baboons and Blue Monkeys were also around though not as aggressive as in times past. I think my previous visits to the camp have been dominated by building logistics and I haven't had time to properly reflect on and enjoy the environment. But now that I have time to enjoy it, I absolutely love the camp. The evening walks down by the river to view the sunset are epic!