Hippo Riding

Every now and then one comes across something in the press that makes you think, 'I could have done that...in fact come to think of it... I did'!...Years ago in the Luangwa Valley I was a passenger on the back of an open top game viewing vehicle, Toyota Land cruiser series 70 to be sure, a marvellous vehicle that I never have been able to afford to buy even 5th hand and 20 years old they still seem out of reach of my pocket...so we, a bunch of guides and I were driving back from a rather splendid party at and even more splendid safari camp called Kaingo. We crossed a bumpy plain near the Luangwa Wafwa, one of many very beautiful oxbow lagoons which runs off the Luangwa River. It was a starry night and we were all rather inebriated from an evening of Mosi beer and tequila. A hippo feeding to the side of the road got spooked by our vehicle and ran along the side of the road, keeping up for some time, they can run rather fast... they have been clocked at 50kmph, and can keep it up for several hundred metres. The hippo was very close to the vehicle, as we sped up so did the hippo who was now within touching distance of the cruiser. Two of us looked at each other and decided that it would be a good idea to jump on the hippo's back. We both leapt out of the vehicle and bounced onto the back of the hippo, we of course both bounced off and the hippo veered off and ran full speed towards the lagoon...to say this was one of the more stupid actions of my life would be an underestimate, but we both survived bar lots of slimy hippo sweat on our trousers, which is rather sticky and red in colour known as hipposudoric acid.

I recently saw an article in the press about a South African Farmer who has the same idea, he is wise...he has known it since it was very small...we were drunk and did now know the hippo at all!!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1343455/South-African-farmer-makes-friends-Humphrey-happy-hippo.html