Paul blew through all the usual boating safety bullet points in about three sentences. then we moved onto some Zambezi specific info... how to avoid croc and hippo attacks.
crocs. they are there fir sure, but likely we won't see them... and it is a about keeping it that way. no swimming in the river (Paul promised to find us a few well guarded shallow safe spot to cool down). no dangling fingers or ties in the water at all (croc bait)... and no going into the water over our ankles when getting in and out.. and thus should be done as quickly as possible. yikes.
and onto hippos. we will see them. in fact we constantly need to keep an eye out for them on the river horizon, and call them out if we spot them. never assume paul has already seen them. once spotted, we take the kayaks as far around them as possible so as not to worry them. if for some reason we encounter the hippos unexpectedly, back away as fast as possible. if a hippo comes up under the boat and it flips, swim away from the boat as fast as possible because the hippo is likely going to be pissed off at that boat!
so there is stood playing this all out in my mind. kayak is flipped into the water by a pissed off hippo, as I am flailing to get away (and the hippo is annihilating my boat)... I become an afternoon snack for the crocs lurking just under the surface.
no, not nervous at all. ha.
