"Wanted to meet crocodiles and hippos." Belarusian organized a solo raft trip down the Limpopo River
SUP enthusiast Oleg Ashmankevich conquered the Amazon last year. Then the guy deliberately sought encounters with piranhas and caimans. This year, the Minsk resident dreamed of swimming with hippos and crocodiles in the African Limpopo River, which many know from Chukovsky's "Aibolit". Onliner tells if he managed to achieve his goal.
Oleg chose the Limpopo River in the southern part of the continent, specifically in Mozambique, as his main destination.
Oleg traveled there from Moscow with a layover in Qatar. While most tourists travel such a long distance to see the country, for Oleg it was more of a bonus. He flew into the capital, Maputo, and immediately began preparing for the raft trip, observing the Mozambicans in parallel.
"A drunk driver took me from the airport"
The former Portuguese colony of Mozambique is officially among the five poorest countries in Africa.
You can't call it safe either — tourists are not recommended to walk alone at night, display electronics, or carry large sums of money. Not exactly a dream country for a tourist, but Oleg was already prepared to always be on alert.
— It took me about two days to prepare. I needed to buy essential items that I lacked, such as gas, a machete, and other knives. I walked around the city, went to the ocean…
— What were your overall impressions of the capital?
— Very many poor people. The city has trash, dirt, high crime. Since I am white and, in their understanding, probably wealthy, many people approached me to sell something, bothering me at every step.
Another peculiarity: there's a guard with a rifle or shotgun in every shop, meaning they have no problems with weapons there.
A taxi driver in an intoxicated state drove me from the airport — that, of course, also surprised me. For them, it's apparently normal. No one obeys the rules, traffic is chaotic. On the way back to the airport, the driver was also drinking beer.
Many things are resolved with bribes. While I was getting to the river, local police stopped us about three times and asked for money. The amounts were small — about 10 dollars, no one wrote any reports.
"You're floating down the river and you realize you could be eaten"
Oleg traveled 230 kilometers by car from the capital to the starting point of the raft trip. Along the way, locals scared him by saying that there would be nowhere to land on the stretch from which he intended to raft, meaning an overnight stay was questionable: solid mud, swamps, and mangrove forests. The Belarusian listened and shortened the route, something he later regretted.
— I think I would have managed, because the banks there are perfectly normal for an overnight stay.
As a result, Oleg rafted down the Limpopo for only two days. There wasn't much wildlife there — the guy never saw hippos or crocodiles on the river.
— As I was floating, my eyes were aching — I was just staring at the banks, waiting for that encounter. There was no fear — there was adrenaline, when you're floating down the river and you know: if you fall in, you could be eaten.
I was later explained that I had arrived during the rainy season, and at this time, crocodiles are not particularly active, simply hiding in the water. To meet them, one would probably need to spend at least a week there.
The river itself seemed dreadful to me: the water was dirty, there was little vegetation on the banks, and many dead animals were floating in the water: cows, goats.
He had to spend the night on the bank right on his SUP, because Oleg couldn't find suitable trees for a hammock. A net saved him from mosquitoes, and rice, pasta, and canned fish from hunger.
"Found myself in the ocean with a broken paddle"
Two days later, Oleg paddled his SUP out to the Indian Ocean — and continued his route. It wasn't without adventure.
— There was a strong wind and a wave that was pushing me to the shore. I leaned on the paddle — it broke. As a result, I'm left on a loaded SUP in the middle of the ocean without a paddle. What to do? By some miracle, I got to shore — about 15 meters away, there was a wooden paddle from some boat; it had also been washed ashore. Thanks to this, I was able to continue my journey.
That evening, Oleg spent the night on the ocean shore — on soft sand, surrounded by palm trees and curious monkeys.
— At one point, I even felt like Robinson Crusoe, who had been shipwrecked, because there was no one nearby — just me with my SUP and paddle.
Further along the way, there was another challenging situation when the traveler had to walk 30 kilometers along the beach with his SUP on his shoulder.
— I was very tired, I couldn't paddle anymore. But there was no one nearby, and I was running out of food. But then, out of nowhere, a convoy of SUVs appeared, offered me help, and drove me to the city.
The encounter with crocodiles did happen after all
After returning to the city, the guy started asking locals where he could still find crocodiles and hippos in Mozambique.
He had to go to a national park to a lake where rafting is prohibited and settle for filming videos.
Summarizing the trip, Oleg admits: he expected more. Due to the shortened route, he couldn't get his nerves sufficiently thrilled. Nevertheless, the experience turned out to be interesting, the Belarusian rates it a 7 out of 10.
The entire trip cost the guy $2500, with most of the sum, as expected, going to flights. The Mozambican visa also cost a lot — Oleg got it through an agency and paid about 1000 rubles.
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