This was to be our last full day in Zambia along the lower Zambezi River, and was planned to be a relaxing one. We awoke to mostly bright, clear skies and slightly cooler temperatures with a dryer feel to the air. This was autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, and a mild cool front had come up from the South and passed during the night. It's still hard for me to imagine a cool front coming from the South, but that's what happens on that side of the world.

After breakfast, we had the choice of a canoe trip down the river or an opportunity to catch a tiger fish from the motor boat. Les immediately opted for fishing, but Linda, Carol and I decided in favor of the canoe ride. We were told that we could paddle if we wanted to, but each canoe would have a staff member in it with us and they would make sure we navigated properly. Carol and I wanted to ride together, so Tryson put Carol in the front, me in the middle (for ballast and stability, I guess, as I was the heaviest!), and he rode in the stern. The other canoe carried Linda in the front and one of the camp personnel whose name we can't remember in the stern.

Linda and Carol never had any desire to paddle. I made a show of paddling some so as not to appear like a total no-load, but Tryson and the other staff member did the real work. The sun was very bright in the drier air, so we applied sunscreen to our faces and arms, but I neglected my legs. They acquired a particularly nice shade of red that lasted until after we had returned to Texas.

View of the riverbank from canoe-level.

Tryson identified the little bird below as a water thick-knee. His knees looked thin to me, but that's what our guide book calls him as well. What do I know about birds' knees?

Most birds seemed to be aptly named. Why is this a "thick-knee?"

The picture below was taken at 10:20 just to show the canoes and the riverbank. We had pulled them ashore at a shallow spot where we could climb up the bank to level ground and "stretch our legs" and have something to drink that Tryson had brought along. No tablecloth this time, as there was no food.

The dirt along this section of bank really was this red!

The picture below was taken to show that we were truly just about at eye level with hippos in the river. We had been cautioned not to approach them too closely or antagonize them. We were also told that they are generally not aggressive and would leave us alone if not provoked.

This guy just doesn't look happy.

We have included so many pictures of hippos in this journal that it is probably appropriate to list some facts about these incredible beasts. Our bird and animal guidebook tells us the following: "The Common Hippo lives in grasslands in Africa. It has naked, sensitive skin that loses water rapidly and must be protected from sun. Hippos secrete through pores in the skin a viscous fluid (pigmented red in the common hippo) that seems to serve as an antibiotic and sun block rolled into one. Hippo tusks inflict terrible wounds during territorial battles between males, even though skin up to 1.75 inches thick (!!) protects their sides.

"Description: Huge rotund body on stubby legs. Ears, nostrils, and protuberant eyes placed high on head. Smooth purple-brown skin lightening to pink in creases and underparts. Feet have four webbed toes. Head has enormously expanded muzzle and wide gape (to 150 degrees). Lower canines up to 18 inches long (above gum) in male, sharpened against small upper canines; in prime bulls, middle pair of lower incisors (up to 10 inches long) projects forward like lances. Length: 11 feet to 12 feet four inches; Height: 4 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 6 inches; Weight: males 3,500 to 7,000 pounds, females 1,440 to 5,160 pounds."

Can you imagine a 7,000 pound hippo with 18 inch teeth attacking a 40 pound plastic canoe? We, in that plastic canoe, imagined it! We gave all hippos a wide berth!

The canoe trip lasted about two hours. It was pleasant, if a bit hot in the direct sun. We pulled into shore at another protected area and were soon met by Niel and Les in the motorboat. They had actually caught some tiger fish! I had imagined that the flooded, muddy river would not be ideal fishing conditions. Plus, the group from South Africa we had met at the last camp had little luck. I suppose it must have been the skill of the fishermen.

We were told that tiger fish were considered quite a game fish, as they put up a good fight. Although the natives eat them, they are said to be very bony, so most sport fishermen throw them back. Niel and Les said they had done that with most of their catch. They claimed to have caught 5, but we only saw one. Here's the obligatory proof of their success.

 
The mighty fishermen with their catch. Are they called "tiger fish" because of the stripes, or the teeth? You judge!

We don't have a good shot of Niel anywhere, so we cropped him out of the picture above to show him a little closer. We regret not having any picture of Annerita. We really enjoyed both of them so much.

We all climbed into the motor boat as the canoes were tied onto the back to trail behind us as we headed back to camp. Along the way, Tryson spotted an elephant almost hidden in the brush by the bank, so we slowed and angled in for a closer look. We got a much closer look than I had thought we would.

We zoomed in to get this picture from the boat. We weren't really quite as close as this appears.

This is about what it really looked like. He's actually right beside the water, just below the bottom of the picture.

We moved the boat and he turned slightly. He seems to be staring at us, but really was just eating.

The pictures above were taken at 11:35. We continued back to the camp, arriving in plenty of time to clean up before the drums sounded for lunch.

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