Over the Rufii river. That was my lucky day, an elephant crossing is quite a rare occurrence across such a wide river.
The Indian ocean, rarely disappointing especially at low tide over reefs and mangroves.
The Nyerere bridge in Dar es Salaam.
The Mkapa bridge across the Rufiji river.
And a bit further here is the Rufiji delta at low tide reaching the Indian ocean.
A few pictures of the saltey lake Eyasi
Katasunga plain in Katavi NP but that is a normal recurrence in the rainy seasons, except we are not really in a rainy season. The weathermen blame a dipole in the Indian ocean for the last weeks or months. At least the buffaloes are happy and safe.
More seriously farmers are losing their harvests and people have died, 44 in the last months, life must be hell down there.
Some rivers disappear.
An airstrip that nearly becomes an island could be of no use...Mbuyu airstrip, Selous reserve.
The biggest river in Tanzania, the Rufiji, has overflowed too, Selous.
The great Ruaha river here flooded.
This section of the great Ruaha was nearly dry a few weeks ago, near Msembe airstrip.
Rufiji river in the Selous, the usual sandbanks are gone.
Mdonya river near Msembe, usually dry...
Fields in Rufiji delta.
Rufiji river near Mtemere airstrip.
This southern part of the Rufiji is most often dry...
In this era of drones let me precise that I take these aerials while flying the plane myself. The challenge is quite different.
All the animals below come from the Selous reserve in southern Tanzania along the Luhego (Luwegu) river and the Rufiji river. There are many airstrips in that huge reserve which we have good reasons to fly low and slow, that is while taking off and landing.
Hippos gathering and a fish eagle on take
2 ground hornbills (bucorves en français) land near a fish eagle at lunch
Egyptian geese.
Saddle-billed storks (jabiru d'Afrique)
Egyptian geese, a few yellow-billed storks and hippos.
Waterbucks (cobes)
Buffaloes.
Wildebeests (gnous)
A little crossing to Mafia island last week, Tanzanian Indian ocean. About 10 minutes of flying between these pictures. No passengers, flying over a beautiful area, what else to ask for (except a mile high club renewal, ok…). No drone was used.
Fishermen along the Rufiji delta where fresh water starts to mingle with sea water.
Where plankton meets mudflow coming from the Rufiji river and normal sea water. The stark contrast between the 3 surfaces amazed me…
2 mud flows from the Rufiji river.
A mix of low tide, mud and plankton around this tiny island near Mafia (to be seen in the distance)
Mafia island at low tide.
As usual, no drone was used! Just me and the aircraft. And no passengers. this was just before landing in Msembe, Ruaha NP.
Whereas in the Katavi NP, I got those buffalos splashing in the flooded Katasunga plain.
and further these zebras and topis (damalisques en français)
Finally some hippos in a colorful pond.
In the Mikumi NP, a giraffe was unfazed by my take off.
Elephants and hippos in the Great Ruaha river, Ruaha NP. When that river is fully flowing, the sand banks will disappear.
Msembe airstrip again, some visitors….
Wildebeest (gnous en français) somewhere in the Serengeti one early morning.
Tanga town on the Indian ocean.
Ruaha river and residents in the Ruaha national park.
Selous reserve, some side lake and river near the Rufiji river. They were created some decades ago by massive floods. The dead white trees show the waters haven’t receded to this day.
Mahale village, lake Tanganyika. The red spot is a giant fishing net being repaired.
Mafia island at low tide.
On the Indian Ocean between Mafia island and the main land, one can observe that sharp separation in the waters. Those sediments (well I guess) seem to come from the island.
Fishermen village in the Rufiji river delta.
Flying along the Rufiji river and its numerous side rivers and ponds is an amazing experience, well for those you can appreciate. I have spotted artists who had taken fascinating selfies while boarding the airplanes but didn’t shoot anything while in the air…
Buffaloes, about 50, not a bad sighting at all.
Just one little flight, 40 minutes, from Mafia Island to the Selous reserve.
Notice the fisherman village on the edge of the forest.
Here is a sail boat on the Rufiji river.
The Selous in the north is crossed by the Rufiji. This area between Stiegler’s Gorge and Mtemere is quite flat and sandy so the river’s arms and ponds change quite a lot when the rains show up. Here are 2 ponds which were dry and quite colorless 2 weeks ago.
Yes I know I love these posts about a stunning spot shot in so many minutes, whether it is the lake Natron or lake Eyasi or today the Selous. But the diversity in such areas is so phenomenal that I love the exercise.
These pictures were shot between Sumbazi and Mtemere along the Rufiji river on one flight.
Before landing at Mtemere.
The same buffaloes on the right hand side, the clouds can move fast.
A pond and the river, the water colors don’t match.
This rainy season was not excessive, far from it. The water level has gone down, and some water puddles are momentarily visible on sand banks which have been submerged for a few weeks.
Some trees survive the floods every year, other don’t. Those white dead trees are quite common along the river.
Shot with Leica M8, 28mm
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