September 2006: My friend Matt and I backpacked across Zambia-White Water Rafting in the Category Five Rapids of the Zambezi River Beneath the Worlds Longest Waterfalls-Victoria Falls,Zambia | Venture The Planet and crossed the remote Chirundu border into Zimbabwe. The moment we crossed, we realized we were in the middle of nowhere. Our meeting point for the 5-day Zambezi River canoe safari was on the side of a gravel road, surrounded by a few huts, tsetse flies, and vervet monkeys mating in the trees above us.

After waiting for 30 minutes past our meeting time, our guide and his helper, two men from local tribes, appeared to escort us to the river. There, we met a family of white Zimbabwean farmers who would be joining us on the safari. Matt and I had our own canoe, and I was excited to set off, having plenty of canoeing experience. But our guide had a few important safety rules to go over before we could launch.

Most of the rules were standard—wear your life vest, stay close together, and paddle deeply for maximum efficiency. But then there were the ones I didn’t remember hearing during my childhood summers in northern Minnesota, like if a hippo attacks your boat, stay on the boat at all costs—even if it flips over. Keep your legs and arms out of the water.

I asked the guide if hippos really attack boats. He smirked and said, “Maybe.” I knew the Zambezi River was home to one of the highest concentrations of hippos and crocodiles, both infamous for being deadly. Hippos, in particular, are known to be one of Africa’s most dangerous animals, responsible for more deaths than lions. Even my mom had warned me to be careful with the hippos before I left.

Despite the warning, I didn’t think much of it—surely, the chances of a hippo attack were remote. I had no idea how wrong I would end up being.

 

Where is Mana Pools National Park

Mana Pools National Park is located along the Zimbabwean side of the Zambezi River, the fourth-largest river in Africa, which forms the northern border with Zambia. The river flows through some of the wildest terrain on the continent, making the park a haven for an incredible diversity of wildlife, including lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo. The area also boasts one of the highest population densities of elephants, hippos, and Nile crocodiles in the world.

Due to the abundance of these powerful animals, conflicts with humans are not uncommon. Local villagers, as well as tourists in canoes or fishing boats, have often found themselves at the mercy of the river’s most dangerous inhabitants. Hippos, with their immense size and powerful jaws, have been known to attack and, in some cases, kill people. Additionally, if someone is knocked out of their boat by a hippo but manages to escape, they may face a second threat—being attacked by a crocodile lurking nearby.

Location of Mana Pools

For the next four days, Matt and I canoed down the Zambezi River, camping along various islands and the mainland. Aside from the occasional villager fishing in a dugout canoe, the river felt almost entirely isolated, with very little development along its banks. At camp each night, we cooked meals, gathered around a large bonfire, and listened to captivating stories from our African guides and the Zimbabwean white farming family that joined us.

We were advised to stay close to camp to avoid attracting the attention of any hungry lions or leopards. While we didn’t spot any big cats during the trip, we could hear their deep roars echoing in the distance every night as we lay in our tents.

During the day, we often found ourselves paddling within 20 feet of elephants, buffalo, 20-foot Nile crocodiles, and, of course, hippos. While these animals were impressive to encounter, it was the hippos I worried about most. Whenever we spotted a pod of them, we always gave them a wide berth, knowing the dangers they posed.

 

 Zambezi River Sunset 

Matt and I

Elephant on the river

Buffalo

The White Zimbabwean Farmers in Our Canoe Safari

Our Zambezi River canoe safari group consisted of just me (middle), Matt (left), our two Black Zimbabwean guides (not shown), and the white farming family (right) also from Zimbabwe. These days, there aren’t many other tourists in Zimbabwe. When I did encounter any, it was usually just a handful of white Zimbabweans on vacation in one of the country’s most prized fishing regions—the Zambezi River.

I emphasize “white Zimbabweans” because Zimbabwe, formerly known as Rhodesia, was once ruled by the white minority, much like many other countries in southern Africa. A civil war, largely in the 1980s, between the white minority and the black majority led to the power shift. Robert Mugabe, one of the leaders of the black rebel group, ultimately became the country’s president. He was initially praised for his democratic ideals, and with Zimbabwe’s vast mineral and gem wealth, the country seemed poised for prosperity.

But things began to unravel when Mugabe initiated land reform, seizing land from white farmers. While it’s true that a small white minority (only 2% of the population) held 70% of the country’s arable land, these farmers were responsible for the bulk of Zimbabwe’s agricultural exports and local food production. Mugabe sent his military loyalists to forcibly evict farmers who didn’t surrender their land. Many were murdered, others brutally beaten. The impact was catastrophic.

As a result, many white farmers fled the country, taking their wealth and expertise with them. The military cronies who took over the farms were unskilled in farming, leading to mismanagement, crop failures, and widespread abandonment. International investment dried up, inflation skyrocketed to unprecedented levels, famine spread, and the country plunged into chaos.

Despite this, the family above chose to stay in Zimbabwe, continuing their farming operations against all odds. They shared stories of having to pay off army generals with bribes and hire patrols to prevent landless blacks from squatting on their property. Once someone settles on your land in Zimbabwe, removing them is nearly impossible, especially in the current political climate. Even with the constant bribery, death threats, and the looming risk of losing their farm—a farm that had been in their family for generations—it became part of their daily life.

Despite all of this, the family remained pro-land reform, advocates for fair land redistribution to black Zimbabweans, and held no resentment toward anyone in the country.

Our guides, both Black Zimbabweans, engaged in candid nightly discussions about life in Zimbabwe. The son of the farming family, pictured on the right, was an interesting character. His hobby was hunting wild boar on his land at night—barefoot and armed only with a big knife, occasionally encountering lions or leopards along the way. His way of life reminded me of a chapter ripped from the lives of 1800s pioneers in Montana or Wyoming. There was a frontier mentality to this family that I couldn’t help but admire.

Group photo

Our brave guides

Camping Along the River

Each day, we canoed to a new, wild spot to camp. There was no barrier between us and the animals. At night, we could hear lions and leopards calling from nearby, and we were instructed not to wander far from camp for safety reasons. Buffalo and elephants would often approach our camp, but as long as we respected the elephants’ boundaries, they would leave us alone.

We never swam in the main river, only in small, shallow streams. Our guide shared a chilling story about a past guest who had swum in the river and was attacked by a crocodile. The guide leapt into the water and wrestled the crocodile’s jaws off the guest’s head. Fortunately, the guest survived, though badly injured, and had to be airlifted to a hospital.

Matt facing down an elephant

Campsite

Matt and I wrestling in a stream

Waterbuck grazing by our tents

Reasons Why Swimming in the Zambezi is a Bad Idea

The Zambezi River is both wild and incredible, but it demands respect—failure to do so can be deadly. Beyond its strong, dangerous currents, the river is home to a host of terrifying creatures lurking in its dark, murky depths. These include the prehistoric-looking tiger fish, with its razor-sharp jagged teeth, bull sharks that swim upriver from the ocean, and Nile crocodiles, which kill approximately 4,000 people each year in Africa in the most gruesome fashion.

However, the most dangerous animal in the water is the hippo. Unlike other predators, it doesn’t hunt humans, but it is fiercely territorial. Hippos attack boats, sinking them, then crush the occupants with their powerful jaws or knock them unconscious so they drown in the water. On this trip, I learned firsthand just how dangerous hippos can be.

Tiger fish

Hippo on river bank

Nile Crocodile

Hippo Attack

On our last day of canoeing, just before reaching our final campsite, Matt and I had grown accustomed to paddling around hippo pods to give them a wide berth. We entered a calm, gentle stretch of river and were paddling toward an island where we planned to stop for lunch. The group was ahead of us, and Matt and I were taking our time.

Suddenly, Matt quietly muttered under his breath, “I think I saw a hippo ahead in the water.” We both scanned the river ahead but saw nothing, so we dismissed it. Moments later, a massive force slammed into the canoe behind me, like we were rear-ended by a vehicle. The look of fear on Matt’s face confirmed what I had realized in that instant—a hippo was attacking our canoe.

The hippo’s immense strength pushed our canoe, submerging it under the water. Water rushed in, flooding the canoe up to our waists and destroying my camera in seconds, but none of that mattered. I still couldn’t see the hippo. I knew it was behind me, and my fear was that at any second, its massive jaws would tear me in half. My instinct was to jump out of the canoe and swim away from the hippo, but I knew that would be the worst thing to do, given that the hippo was in the water, and so were many crocodiles.

Was I scared? Absolutely. I was terrified. Our guides, seeing what was happening, paddled frantically toward us, shouting, “Stay in the canoe! Do not leave!” I remembered their warning from earlier in the trip—keep your hands and feet in the canoe if attacked by a hippo.

It seemed the hippo had momentarily left us, but our canoe was nearly submerged and sinking. I feared the hippo might return, and judging by the look in our guides’ eyes, they feared the same. When they reached us, we leapt into their canoe, and they paddled us to the island, where dry ground—far from the hippos—was a relief I’ll never forget.

We never saw the hippo again. It was likely a lone bull that was in deep water, only surfacing to chase us out of its territory. Luckily for us, it decided not to kill us. After our heart rates returned to normal, and it seemed the danger had passed, the guides retrieved our canoe, emptied out the flooded water, and we returned to the river, paddling toward our final campsite for the night in the wild wilderness of Mana Pools National Park. 

Pod of Hippos

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