climes and some time ago. ( April 2013 )
In the South/Eastern section of Zimbabwe, not many miles from South Africa to the South and Mozambique to the East, there is a wonderful Nature Preserve called Gonarezhu.
Two Rivers, the Runde and the Saave join and finally, crossing Mozambique, they empty into the Ocean.
After an adventurous trip through this preserve we reach the Runde river and where it is very shallow we dared go for a swim. Actually it was more like a bath, than a swim.
The reason for seeking a shallow part is quite simple: Crocodiles operate only in deep water and, whenever possible they stay away from the shallows. A little further down the river became much deeper and there were several Hippos playing around, and who knows how many Crocs.
It wasn't until I got home and had a good look at these images that I noted a decided similarity:
Nature had a wonderful way to arrange his receptors:
Ears, Eyes and Nose are pretty much on one level.
This way the Hippo can be almost submerged with his whole body and still
hear, see and smell what goes on around him.
When a Hippo "yawns" it is actually not yawning,
but warning you to "stay away and leave me alone"
A warning well heeded every time.
The shallowness of the Runde river
allowed us to go for a little bath.
Crocs do not work or hunt in shallow water.
They want to pull their victim down into the deep
and devour it with leisure.
It was my turn to "devour" something at my leisure.
A cold bottle of beer !
How could it be cold, you ask, in the middle of a hot day in Gonarezhou ?
Very simple: We had an ice box in our vehicle, operated by battery,
which in turn was charged during the day with a solar panel.
As our guide used to say: "Any fool can be uncomfortable".
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