| Species | Group Size | Group Structure | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hippopotamus | 7 | Bull with Females | 30m |
| Buffalo | 6 | Bulls | 70m |
| Hippopotamus | 1 | Bull | 20m |
For this, 4 hour, walk I was the Lead Guide.
In the morning we were driving towards a dam. When we got near we stopped to leave the vehicle. We began to approach the dam and fortunately we had the wind so we were able to approach behind the wall. I used game paths to approach as this would limit the noise underfoot as we passed through the brush and over a sodic area (an arid area where the soil contains a high concentration of salt). We came to the base of the wall. I walked alone to the top to check that is was clear, there were hippos in the middle of the dam and a small group of Impala on the other side of the water, all were oblivious. As everyone came up the dam wall the Impala startled. We were able to watch the Hippo from the dam wall, we were in a fortunate position where they approached us and stopped at the edge of their comfort zone. After a short while they relaxed to our presence and moved further back into the dam.
We spent some time looking at tracks and sign in the dam. As we finished and left the dam we saw a herd of bull Buffalo. Unfortunately the wind wasn’t in our favour on this approach. To get it, we would have to have walked into a densely vegetated spruit, I wasn’t able to see the whole herd so I chose not to take the route. I decided to take the road because at least this provided us with some cover safely. As we began to run out of cover they became aware of our presence so I thought “why bother hiding?”, lost the cover and continued down the road ignoring the buffalo. This ended up offering us a good sighting before they decided to leave.
Later that morning, we found another dam. The wind was in our favour when we got out of the vehicle. I was able to lead and approach to the dam using the road to limit our sound. We reached the back of the dam wall so we followed it around. Once we reached the end, I went ahead to check if anything was at the dam or behind the wall. There was a Hippo bull resting in the dam. We approached the water’s edge, 5 metres from it, and found a large round tree to aid an escape if needed. After a short while of viewing we exited the sight, out the way we came in… behind the dam wall.