The River Otter Conservancy

Jan 25th  2024 It is a lovely, light morning and we sit on the large rocks in the stream, munching our sandwiches (apricot jam is the filling plus some cheese).  As I look up at this cascade at this time of late winter, I know that today will test my climbing and balancing skills (in reverse order).  Some people - like Dinesh, our fabulous tracker-cum-guide-cum plant encyclopaedia - are naturals at this: they climb easily, skip lightly on rocks and move like they are on land.  If you can think of an opposite to this, picture me there, huffing my way up, slipping on dry rock, planting my stick in sand for dear life and holding everyone back at half their pace.  But there is nothing - nothing - that I love more than walking up a stream.  Every step and turn is picturebook pretty and the morning rays lend an ethereal glow to the drooping canopy which, in this stream, is rich and intact.   When I walk up a stream, Life rocks (it isn't a pun you would take to though). We do this study,