day 9

During the night the rains had come and although they had all but stopped by morning the dry river running through camp was now in full flood. Quite how fast the conditions change in the rainy season is another truly amazing feature of this part of East Africa. We had been told that just one month earlier the green and dense wilderness we were living in had been scorched and brown, bear trees and hardly any grass.

Sadly this was the day we were to leave, having existed with no phone signal and no wifi for so long we were totally relaxed and immersed in our natural environment. We chose a leisurely get up and a late breakfast. Sitting watching the red chested cuckoo that entertained us on our veranda and the monkeys that played in the trees and to look at us as much as we watched them, listening to the beautiful bush chorus and looking on to a new river.

The all male camp staff had welcomed us with a song, been on hand at all times and served us 5 star meals. They were all there to wave us off, we will miss our temporary family and the lovely camp above.

An impressive executive small plane was waiting for us and we left ahead of schedule to take the 2 hour flight to Dar es Salam, picking up other passengers at another camp airstrip and Zanzibar. At the first pickup our take off was aborted because a giraffe had walked onto the airstrip. We turned around went to taxi back to the start and the big guy strolled off unaware of the scary moment he gave us.

extras; the river in flood, the river by comparison the day before, an island off Zanzibar