The Otters of Lake Tanganyika

In the early morning and late evening we often see otters fishing and playing in the lake. They are very shy but if we go kayaking in the morning we are able to get very close to them before they realise what we are. Believe it or not, this photograph was supposed to show one of our little otter friends, but you will have to just use your imagination and enjoy the view of the sunrise instead. 

My little helper

Containers have been arriving from all corners of the globe with various fittings and finishings for the lodge. Maverick decided to help me unpack and count all the linen. As you can see, it was an exhausting job! 

Full moon

Full moon taken from our patio at 7am. 

 

The August sunsets

August is one of the dry months at Lake Tanganyika. The grass turns brown and everyone starts burning firebreaks around their villages. This gives us the most beautiful, firey red sunsets. 

 

Chris' 40th Birthday

Friday 28th July was Chris' 40th Birthday. To celebrate we spent a few days in the Katavi National Park, which is a 4 and a half hour drive from Kipili. 

We stayed with Steve in a tented camp, called Sable Camp, which is in the north of the Katavi National Park. Steve arrived from South Africa in February this year and stayed with us on Lupita for 5 months helping Chris. He is now setting up Sable Camp, so it was great to spend time with him catching up. 

Sable Camp is also owned by the same investor as Lupita Island. After being there for only a few hours, we all agreed that it should be called "Fish Eagle Camp" because there are 6 resident Fish Eagles that sit in the palm trees and call all day long. The Fish Eagle happens to be my favourite bird, so I was in heaven. 

The birding was superb, but Katavi has more than just birds to offer. Our game drives were filled with gin & bitter lemon, kilimanjaro beer, redd's cider and plenty of fun. By the time we arrived back at Lupita we really felt as though we had been away for weeks instead of a few days.