Don’t Stick Your Fingers in the Water!!

While we were in Gorongosa, we had the opportunity to take a canoe trip down the Pungue River.  We jumped at the chance.  Early one afternoon my husband and I plus two women from our group were driven to the river.  Bob and I crawled into our canoe and Teresa and Paula crawled into the other one.  One guide sat in the back of each canoe.  We were all wearing life jackets and valuables were secured in wet bags.  I was ready with my camera which was protected under a poncho.  Teresa and I, who were in the front, got a paddle although we didn’t really have to do much because our guides were perfectly capable of paddling alone.  I did use my paddle because I had a little experience canoeing.

Bob reached down to check the temperature of the water.  “Don’t stick your fingers in the water!” said our guide.  We soon learned why.  We hadn’t gone far before our guide pointed out a large crocodile lying on top of the bank.  Just as we were passing, the crocodile suddenly lifted his head, turned and began heading down the bank toward the water.  He was looking directly at us!  Where was he going?!?  He hit the water and turned to his right, away from us.  Phew!

A minute later our guide declared that there was a crocodile right under us.  I was too far forward to see it but Bob saw it.  He said he could have reached out and touched it.  Soon we were distracted by large birds flying directly over us.  I managed to snap a few photos.  They are called African skimmers.  Their pointed wings and bright red bills were striking.  They were gone so quickly.

Our guide showed us breaks in the foliage and huge flattened areas leading to the water.  This is where elephants leave the park and cross the river to the village on the other side to raid their crops.  As we floated further down the river we observed an odd structure to our right.  Our guide explained that it was a fish trap.

We began noticing many small, colorful birds.  They filled some of the trees.  These bee eaters live in holes in the river bank.  They were so lively and beautiful to watch.

There were so many different types of trees and bushes along the river but the strangest one was probably the sausage tree.  Their huge fruits are a favorite with not only humans, but baboons, bush pigs, elephants, hippos, bats, and more.

As we neared the end of our canoe trip, we passed another crocodile.  This one was much smaller and was resting his head on a little island.

When our guides prepared to land our two canoes they realized that they couldn’t go in where they usually went in because the water was higher with all the rain we had been getting.  Suddenly, I needed to paddle and fast.  We were turning against the current and got caught on a stump sticking out of the water.  I pushed with my paddle with all my might to move away from this obstacle.  The canoe was wobbling and I was afraid that we might turn over.  I was worried about my new camera—I didn’t even think about the crocodiles. . . until later.  Finally, we were safely on dry land and we climbed out of our canoes.  The sun was setting so there was a lovely table waiting for us – sundowner time.  As we downed our gin and tonic, we watched our guides drag the canoes across the sand.  Carol and Gabby, who had come to pick us up and had prepared the table for us, finally took the canoes from the guys and dragged them up to the vehicles.  We joked about the women doing the hard part.  It took strength to get those canoes up that embankment.

The sun had set and we drove back through an increasingly dark jungle.  It looked like we were going through a tunnel.  The entire time our guides were watching for animals.  We were able to glimpse a spotted eagle owl and a mongoose.  We heard elephants crashing through the trees—and a couple people actually saw them.  Under the cover of darkness they were heading to the Pungue River.  And we knew where they would go from there.