A set of photometric observations of the symbiotic nova RR Tel in different wavelength bands - visual from 1949 to 2002 and near-infrared (JHKL) from 1975 to 2002 - are presented. Near-infrared photometry is used to identify and study three periods during which the Mira component was heavily obscured by dust. The variability due to the normal Mira pulsation was removed from the JHKL data, which were then compared with the AAVSO visual light curve. We discuss these obscuration events as observed in the different wavelength bands. A change in the colour trend was observed with the colour becoming redder after JD2446000. Generally J-K was comparable while K-L was larger than typical values for solitary Miras. A distance estimate of 2.5kpc, based on the IR data, is given. A study of the behaviour of the permitted Fe II and forbidden [FeII] emission lines during the 1996-2000 obscuration episode suggests a larger flux decrease for the permitted than for the forbidden lines. No other correlation with line properties have been found. The most attractive model involves obscuration by optically thick clouds in the outer layers.