Day 18: Khwai River Hippo Pools Campsite

The hippos wake us up a few times during the night and the alarm turns on at 6:00 am. Shortly before 8:00 am, Viva picks us up for a Mokoro tour. The boats are actually dugout canoes, but nowadays they are often made of fiberglass because they are lighter and more stable.

Gliding along on the shallow water is fun. Wolle also has to practise for a short stretch – it basically works similarly to a Venetian gondola. We see a lot of birds and on the way back we see hippos, buffalo and elephants near our campsite and the ford.

We spend the afternoon just sitting in the shade in over 40 degrees, drinking like camels and watching the elephants as they slowly move downstream, grazing in the water. In the early evening, waterbucks and other antelopes appear at the water, the buffalo wander along the other bank of the river and the hippos start splashing and grunting.