Being on the edge of an amazing Wetland system, we had hoped to organise a kayaking trip but that proved impossible - apparently the crocs and hippos had proved too disruptive - so it seemed appropriate to take the recommended boat trip on the lake to get a different perspective of the wildlife and the diversity of habitats.
We have previous in this area of experience - I can think of boat trips on the Malacca river, on the Chao Praya in Thailand, on the Okavanga Delta in Botswana, and on the Zambezi at Livingstone among many others and they all have been underwhelming.
Today's trip was no exception - we did see a number of groups of hippos and we saw three or four bird species - out of 526 - but was it a memorable experience - not really unless you count our sighting of an African Fish Eagle which was the highlight of the morning.
In contrast, our visit to the KZN Nature Crocodile Centre, which initially seemed like a bit of a tourist trap, turned into one of the high points of our time here.
This is a genuine conservation success story, breeding large numbers of Nile and other Crocodiles and providing healthy adult animals to repopulate other areas. While the weekly feeding routine was a little bit cheesy, the ranger who explained the programme and their success over the last 50 or so years was a great advocate for their work. Don't remember too many visits like this which I enjoyed so much.
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