Rufji River

The German SMS Konigsberg, the most feared battleship of the period, terrorized the British along Africa's East Coast during World War One.  The English threw everything they had at her, and after taking serious damage in the Battle of Zanzibar, she took refuge deep in the Rufji River delta to affect repairs.  One Paul von Letow-Vorbek lead a guerilla army through out the world's largest mangrove swamp to resupply and repair the ship, moving parts and tools and huge plates of sheet metal through impossible terrain by hand, while British forces gave everything to thwart their every move.  The story of Paul von Letow-Vorbek's adventures rate as the greatest single guerrilla operation in history, and the most successful. I had read about it all in Wilbur Smith's "The Ghosts of Africa" long before I ever knew I was coming to Africa.  I flew over the Rufji river delta this afternoon, no doubt more comfortable in our Italian AW139 at five hundred feet and one hundred and forty knots than dear old Paul slogging heavy metal parts through the mosquito infested swamps while being hunted by Brits...

It was a crazy night out.  Hitting one of the local clubs early, the Bongo-Flava, a fusion of rap, R&B and urban afropop, was pumping and before long my toes were tapping, then my hips started swaying, and before I knew it my legs were moving, and I lost track of what my upper torso was doing, but we had a blast.  Sober, as I was on call the next morning, I still danced well into the morning, sweat soaked and happy.  After a short but restful sleep, over a breakfast of fresh mango and instant coffee, the call for a medevac flight from the rig to Dar es Salaam came in, and off we scrambled.  After assuring the poor soul was safely on the ambulance in Dar, we headed home, flying over the lush African bush and Indian Ocean Coast line, taking in the view.

As we came upon a small island with perhaps a dozen trees on it, the other crew member asked me how long I thought I might survive on such an island.  My first comment was regarding fresh water availability, and as we discussed methods of drawing moisture from the vegetation, we were shocked to find a complete village on the small bit of land!  Soon the breathtaking azure colour took on a muddy brown and we noted the numerous streams emptying into the ocean, and I dug out my Ipad, somehow getting decent internet on the 3G network, and identified the Rufji river delta.  My day was made.