We went up at five in the morning, way before the sun, and were driven to Lake Tengrela. It almost hurt, getting out of bed. For what reason? Why, to wake up the hippos of course.
The boat we went out in was a canoe-like, flat-bottomed and leaking wooden boat. A local fisherman sat in the back with a paddle. The flat bottom made it crucial that we all kept our balance, but it also meant that the boat barely left any trace on the water. The lake remained still as a mirror.
The full moon was going down.
And in the other direction, the sun was going up.
The lake, clear and quiet and covered in water lilies.
(Which probably meant that the lake was pretty badly affected by eutrophication. But still – lovely.)
And then we came upon a family of six hippos, floating with eyes and nostrils barely above the water surface. There is a certain kind of magic, with wildlife as big as that. We sat in the boat, the world slowly waking up around us, watching the hippos watching us and it would be silly of me to try to explain.
The white birds flying, perfectly reflected in the water. The sun rising in pink and purple. Fishermen quietly gathering their nets. And the hippos, occasionally snorting just above the surface, and then smoothly disappearing under the water again.
Suffice to say: It was beautiful.
Katja Malmborg 