Day 6, Duma Tau - My favorite animal on the trip? The hippopotamus! Duma Tau was all about hippos. The tents at camp were built on raised platforms directly adjacent to a waterhole. After dark, the hippos would come out of the water, where they keep cool during the day, to eat the grass.

Our first night here, a hippo was ten feet from our tent!

This hippopotamus was a bit more adventurous than his counterparts, walking up to get a better look at us. As he neared, I snapped his picture (right). Unfortunately, the flash from my camera scared him right back to the safety of the pod.

Mouse over the picture at the right to see him as he quickly turns to run from my camera's flash.

What does one do to stay cool when the water level is down? If you're this lone hippo, you roll! We happened to be stopped for tea in a hide when this hippo rolled over the first time. We grabbed our cameras and waited 25 minutes for him to do it again. Got it!

Hippos open their mouths wide in a yawning threat display as a sign of dominance. Their loud wheeze-honking is one of the loudest of all African animal noises.

More humans are killed by hippos each year than any other animal in Africa. The water is their safe place. You never want to come between hippos and their waterhole. On land, they are fast (up to 18 mph) in an emergency situation and can turn on a dime.