This traveller's magnet is the main reason to hang around in Monkey Bay, with a sheltered beach bookended by smooth boulders and campsites on the sand or mountainside. Rooms are basic bamboo affairs, but the beach bar is appealing, with lounging cushions, wicker swing chairs and a relaxed vibe. Come dusk expect communal fires, drum circles and backpacker bonhomie.
Myriad activities and volunteering opportunities are available, including walking trails, guided village visits and rental of a dugout canoe, rowboat and motorboat. From dusk until the following morning, be careful of swimming over to the reedy inlet next to the camp's main beach – a traveller was once mauled by a croc there. In this area, if there are reeds, mud banks or a stream or river flowing into the lake, crocs and hippos are a possibility.
Mufasa is around 500m from the main harbour.
