Africa's not for Sissies

Chapter 12: Hippos and Crocs

I woke up in a haze the next morning. Had I really leaned out over the edge of the truck bed to slap hands with people in passing cars? Had I really drunk that much marula?

"Ready for our hike?" Jerry asked.

"What hike?" I asked.

"We're going hiking with Edi. We're going to go see hippos."

"Hippos? The most dangerous animal in Africa. Why would we do that?" Then I realised what else he'd said. "Edi's going?"

"Yaw, you organized it last night."

"I did?" I had to stop drinking African booze.

Edi was waiting for us outside. She was standing next to a pale, freckled, read-headed guy.

"This is Fred," she said, "he's coming too."

I looked askance at him. Who was this Fred guy? I shook his hand. He had a firm handshake, but not bone-crushing like James'.

We went to the trail office before setting out to register for the hike. There was information about the various hikes available, ranging from a few hours to the whole day. Jerry suggested the longer trail, but Fred said, "I can't handle that much sun."

Edi pointed at her feet. "And I'm only wearing sandals."

So it was agreed we would do the shorter two-hour "Hippo Loop."

Registering meant writing our names on a board. There wasn't anybody around, so I knocked on the office door. Nobody answered so I continued to knock, louder and louder – I even tried knocking on the window – until the door finally swung open with a loud creak and a squinting man yawned at me. "What you want?"

He was fully dressed and clearly worked there, but didn't appear happy to have been awoken. I wasn't trying to be a jerk. I had genuine concerns.

"We want to register for the Hippo Trail."

He gave me a cross look and pointed at the board.

"Can I ask a question?" I asked.

He folded his arms. "Ask."

"Is it true that hippos are the most dangerous animal in Africa and kill more people than all the other animals combined?"

I knew this was true. Since our arrival, I'd been reading everything I could find about hippos, as well as all the other dangerous animals that lived here at the sanctuary, but I wanted to make sure everyone else was aware of this fact.

He shrugged.

"And since the trail is called 'The Hippo Loop,' I was just wondering if, um, we should be worried?"

He looked at me like I was a child. "Do you plan on swimming?"

"No."

"Then why you 'fraid?"

Everyone laughed.

"But I heard they charge people –"

"They only come out of the water at night," he said, "just be back before dark. Nothing to worry."

"And what about crocodiles?"

"Stay out of the water."

"I also heard there were leopards?"

"You should be so lucky to see leopard."

Somehow, I didn't think that would be "so lucky" and I was about to tell him, but he closed the door in my face.

It was a beautiful day, and it wasn't long before we got our first glimpse of zebra, kudo, waterbuck, springbok, and wildebeest. We stopped at a fast flowing river. Edi immediately kicked off her sandals and cooled her feet in the water. Fred began to splash his face.