An encounter with the largest hippo population in the world

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St Lucia is a small town on the northeastern coast of South Africa, about 190 km South of the Mozambique border and 300 km east of the Swaziland border. The town is known for its amazing wildlife diversity with around 1200 Nile crocodiles and almost 800 Hippopotami.

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My husband and i were lucky enough to spend a few days here cycling next to the estuary, eating amazing Portuguese food, and taking a boat trip in Hippoville.

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The quickest way to get here would be to take a flight to Durban and driving the rest of the 250 km. The surroundings are breathtaking, so I promise you will not be bored on the way there. Accommodation is affordable, especially for backpackers, and there is a wide variety of restaurants. We stayed in a 3-star backpackers for about ZAR250 pp/pn. You will also immediately know that you are in St Lucia as there are road signs warning you to look out for hippos at night. We were told that they enjoy midnight swims in the pools of their human neighbours.

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On the day of the boat trip we walked down to the tourism office in the main road, and booked two tickets at ZAR240/pp for a two-hour cruise with the most hilarious and knowledgeable guide ever. You start the cruise at the jetty of the very first South African heritage site, and work your way down through the estuary - a wonderfully colourful environment.

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One is almost overwhelmed by the large amount of hippos covering this small area. On the day of our visit, the hippos were sunbathing, cuddling, and being the coolest show-offs. I felt like a kid again, immediately reminiscing about family vacations to the Kruger National Park and seeing wild animals for the first time. Observing these majestic animals is so mezmerising that you forget for a second that they are one of the most dangerous animals on the planet, a fact that seems untrue for that moment in time.

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Finally, for those with an interest in ornithology, or if you identify with being a 'birder', there are around 526 species of birds in the estuary, and when one visits by means of the boat trip, the guides are very helpful in identifying the species of birds should you be unsure.

"A man is born an artist, as a hippopotamus is born a hippopotamus; and you cannot make yourself more one than you can make yourself a giraffe" - John Ruskin