Tales from Kulafumbi, Tsavo, Kenya, East Africa - Images of Kulafumbi: The House & Land

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'Kulafumbi' is our family home in Kenya, East Africa. 'Kulafumbi' is a play on the Kiswahili words "kula vumbi", which mean "eat dust", because it was so hot and dusty building our house in this remote, wild, wonderful place. Kulafumbi borders the Tsavo National Park - with no fences between us and the Park, the wildlife comes and goes of its own free will and treats our land as its own, which is exactly how we like it. In turn, we provide a protected area for the wild animals to do as they please. This protected area also creates an important buffer for the river, which forms the boundary between us and the park.
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Images of Kulafumbi: The House & Land > March 2008 Flood

River rising
The river started rising in the morning of the 29th March, until it reached the highest level we had seen this year, over the top of the wide white sandbank at Hippo Bend, into the Tana River Poplars to the left of the house...
Ian photographs rising river from atop the well
Small crocodile seeks temporary refuge on rock island...
...but it won't be long before it has to move again, as the river levels continue to rise, and all the rocks disappear below the surface of the raging red torrent.
Even the large crocodiles seek refuge in calm backwaters
A lizard watches the flood from the safety of our balcony - great vantage point!
The river floods further and further into the Tana River Poplar stand
Downstream, the reed islands are battered by the water
The water creeps higher and higher up around our well
River breaks a new channel through behind the Fig Tree opposite the house
The Athi River starts to flow into the dry Mtito riverbed
Higher and higher...
...and higher and higher...
The Fig Tree opposite the house is now completely engulfed by water
The river eats away at its banks and surrounds our well
River lapping around our well
The river banks being cut away by the water...
...as more of the bank falls in...
A Yellow Billed Stork watches the torrent rushing by
A male Agama Lizard stays just out danger
The river carries with it pieces of debris from upstream...
...like this huge dead tree, carried as if were merely a twig
The reed islands (with weaver bird nests) are battered...
And finally, the reed islands disappear from sight below the water
Amazingly, the day after the flood, the islands reappear...
...and start recovering very quickly....
The reeds at the river's edge take longer to recover
After the flood subsides, the new course and character of the river is revealed
Where the bank has been cut away, interesting sand strata can be seen
The wet mud in the evening light creates pretty patterns
The giant log on the beach has been buried under sand...
The elephants will be upset, as this was once a favorite scratching post for them!