Hippopotamus. Olifant River, Balule Gamer Reserve, Greater Kruger NP, South Africa

One of the things that attracted me to Viva Safaris was the inclusion of a 4 hour bush walk at Balule Game Reserve, part of the greater Kruger National Park in South Africa. Experiencing the African bush from a Game Viewer (a converted Land Cruiser or Land Rover with high seats and open sides) and experiencing it on foot are two very different things. The Olifant River, a perennial river that flows across Kruger, is not far from Viva’s Tremisana Lodge were we stayed, and we were driven out to walking distance and then walked up over a ridge and down to the river. There were, as promised, Hippopotamus. (Hippopotami?) A fairly large group, already back in the water after a night of feeding on the sparse grasses of late winter in a drought. Just as we got to the river, the hippos had a crocodile scare and all burst up out of the water at the same time…too fast for a pic, but I took plenty as they settled back down. These animals are the most dangerous in Africa…and kill more people every year than Lions and Rinos and Cape Buffalo combined…largely because it only takes one bite when you get between a Hippo and the water, and that is evidently not all that hard to do. The guides at Tremisana are cautious and respectful and do not approach the river if the Hippos are still out of the water. Once in the water, you are safe, if you maintain a reasonable distance, and offer no threat. Though they might appear to be swimming, the hippos are actually kneeling on the bottom in shallow water, and can, as we saw when we got there, burst up pretty quickly. We saw other game and lots of birds on our bush walk, and learned a lot about the environment of the South African bush, but the highlight is certainly the Hippos of the Olifant River.

Sony RX10iii at 591mm equivalent field of view. 1/250th @ f4 @ ISO 125. Processed and cropped for effect in Lightroom.