Danger on the Zambezi River

By Cristina Kessler Photos by Cristina Kessler

Zambezi means “Great River” in the language of the Tonga people, one of Zambia’s major tribes. It was nearly sunset. My shoulders ached. We were paddling down the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe, Africa, with our river guide, Leanne Agiotis. Suddenly, a herd of about 25 hippos appeared in front of us, just where the river narrowed. It looked like a tight squeeze for hippos and humans. “Stay together, and stay very quiet,” said Leanne. Paddling quickly, she moved her canoe between our boats and the hippos. It was an eerie feeling as we sent our paddles as At dusk, hippos leave the river to begin a night silently as possible into the water. No of grazing. one spoke. All the while, Leanne stayed between us and the huge animals that harrumphed and snorted as they watched our passing. From time to time, she tapped her canoe with the paddle to warn the hippos that we were still close by. Just as we passed the group and thought we could relax, another herd popped to the surface. “You’re doing great,” Leanne said after looking at our worried faces. “We’re almost to the campsite.” It was clear that paddling past hippos is something Leanne is used to. In fact, she does it every day. When Leanne goes to work, she carries a paddle, binoculars, and a rifle. Her days begin with the very first light and often end with lions roaring in the night. It was not unusual to see a sunbathing crocodile on the banks. There are many parts to Leanne’s work. She cooks, identifies birds and other animals, and most important of all, safely guides people down the river past hippos, elephants, crocodiles, or any other wild animals gathered on the banks. On our last day, as we returned to our campsite, we came around a bend in the river. Just as Leanne headed to shore, a 15-foot crocodile slithered off the beach, snapping its large jaws once, then sinking right below her canoe. With total calm, she beached her canoe and said, “Stay here while I go ashore and see if there are any other crocs.” Grabbing her rifle, she climbed slowly up the bank. We all sat watching as she walked the length of Close encounters with elephants were an everyday experience. the small spit—the point of land projecting into the water. Then she stooped down to look closely at something. She waved and called, “Well, no more crocs, but come look at this lion spoor.” She pointed out tracks and dung. “They were here not too long ago. Let’s hope they don’t come back.” As we all crawled under our mosquito nets that night, Leanne said, “If the lions come back, scream as loud as you can, and I’ll shoot in the air. That will scare them away.” Then, with a relaxed smile, she said, “Good night.” It really surprised me, but I slept well on that spit of land that had been occupied by a crocodile and visited by lions. I guess that shows what total confidence I had in Leanne Agiotis, who was at that time A young zebra stopped eating to watch us paddle past. Zimbabwe’s only licensed female river guide. River of Life The Zambezi flows from Central Africa all the way to the Indian Ocean—a journey of about 2,200 miles. Along the way, it touches six countries: Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. The river provides life-giving water to humans and animals alike. Hippos, lions, crocodiles, baboons, elephants, zebras, and hyenas are only a few of the animals that can be seen along this great river.