We just had an amazing long weekend at a camp in the south of the country, along one of the big rivers. There were some minor logistical bumps in the road, but we like to think of it as practice for all of our future adventures once friends and family start to visit. The accommodations were lovely, the food was delicious, and we saw an abundance of elephants and hippos. This first post is devoted to the the blog's namesake: the majestic river horse.
A family of hippos hanging out next to a sandbar. The gates to the major hydroelectric damn had been opened so the water was very high when we arrived on Friday. But the shut the gates sometime during the day on Friday so the water dropped close to two meters overnight. That whole sandbar was underwater the day before.
Another, larger family group hanging out. We went out on boat rides on Friday afternoon, and then again Saturday morning and afternoon. Each time we saw 5 or 6 big groups (hippo groups are called a pod, herd or bloat) like this. They were always very aware of our presence but did not seem bothered. They would sink under water and then pop back up snorting and shaking their ears to clear out the water. We saw lots of baby hippos, including a few standing on top of their mothers backs.
We also saw some solitary hippos, which were most likely young males who had been kicked out of their family groups but had not yet established their own families.
This small puppy was out on the river bank having a snack.
He was even kind enough to give us a profile shot highlighting his shapely legs and scary teeth.Elephants, crocodiles, and, of course, the logistical shenanigans involved in this adventure still to come so stay tuned.
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