The 1985 song lyrics by Gayla Peeve, “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas, Only a hippopotamus will do…” came to mind as my husband Humberto and I looked over the tour offerings for Richards Bay, a major port in the heart of the Zululand region of Kwa-Zulu-Natal in South Africa during our 2026 Regent Seven Seas Mariner world cruise. When we saw the description for the St. Lucia Wetlands Nature Reserve tour saying the two-hour boat tour frequently encounters crocodiles and hippos, we did not hesitate and signed up.
We were not necessarily keen on crocs as we had already seen them on the Jumping Crocodile excursion on Darwin’s Adelaide River earlier in the voyage while in Australia, but we now definitely wanted a hippopotamus for our world cruise as on previous visits to Africa we had only brief, distant, glimpses of ears and eyes as the hippos that we encountered had been mostly submerged in the middle of rivers or lakes, far away from our safari vehicles.
We were full of anticipation as we boarded our excursion on Advantage Hippo Boat Tour, a two-deck vessel with open top and sheltered lower deck with open sides, toilets and bar. Soon we took off on the St. Lucia Estuary (iSimangaliso Wetland Park), a UNESCO World Heritage Site about an hour and a half from the cruise pier in Richards Bay, and we kept our eyes peeled and cameras ready. We quickly spotted the eyes and ears of a mostly submerged hippo, as well as a Nile crocodile, well camouflaged and basking on a sunny shore. Throughout the excursion we had bits of information about the area’s birds – there are 530 species in the park and we spotted heron, a type of wading bird and anhinga, also known, we were told, as the “snake bird” due to its long neck. We were also told about the Nile crocodiles, which, in addition to the St. Lucia wetlands, can also be seen in other parts of South Africa as the Kruger National Park and the Oliphants River, and average 12 feet in length, with some reaching 18 feet.
Continuing along on the brackish waters, which are a mixture of sea and fresh waters, we spotted a pod of hippos a short distance ahead – our boat headed that way and the excitement on board the tour boat was like that of kids at a gift-laden tree on a Christmas morning. People jockeyed for positions, pointed phones and cameras with big lenses, and chatted happily. There were more than a half dozen hippos in the pod (a group of hippos in the water is called a pod, we learned, whereas on land they are called a bloat).
The pod did not mind our presence and frolicked. Our boat got so close to them that we could hear them vocalizing, with some emitting a sort of honking, growling sound, others yawning, impressively exposing their powerful jaws and teeth, and some with not just their heads but also parts of their torsos above the waters.
Later on in the journey we came upon another pod of hippos, this one with several members including a mother and an adorable baby, who stuck close together. Our boat’s crew told us that the gestation period of a hippo is eight months – for pygmy hippos it is six to seven months. We also learned that hippo mothers feed their babies primarily through nursing and that this happens under water, with the mother rolling onto her side.
Other interesting facts we learned about hippos included that adults generally weigh between 2,800 and 7,000 pounds – they are the third largest land mammals, after elephants and some species of rhinos. They keep growing throughout their lives, with exceptionally large males reaching 10,000 pounds. They spend typically 16 hours a day in the water and have skin that is very sensitive to the sun, which explains why we had only seen their ears and eyes on several previous safaris.
In addition to learning about the hippos and other wildlife in the region we learned about some of the Zulu traditions from our tour guide Tabs. These traditions emphasize ancestral respect, belief in a creator god, Nkulunkulu, vibrant community life and dances, and craftsmanship including beadwork and basketry. “Zulu men can have four wives,” Tabs told us. “But that also means four mothers-in-law.”
For a wife, Tabs told us, men give 11 cows to the wife’s family as the wife’s lobola, like the concept of a dowry. This is not seen as buying a wife but as the groom demonstrating his commitment and respect to the bride and her family.
As our excursion concluded and we headed back to Richards Bay, we were delighted with a lovely sunset on the St. Lucia estuary – in the morning we had enjoyed a gorgeous sunrise on the approach to Richards Bay and the evening before a beautiful moon rise over the Indian Ocean – more memorable sights, along with our encounters of wildlife, that Africa generously gifts to travelers.
Some superlatives of our time in Richards Bay:
· Most awesome: the up-close sightings of hippos and the excitement of seeing them yawn and hearing them growl.
· Most beautiful: the sunset on the St. Lucia estuary and the sunrise and moonrise over the Indian Ocean.
· Most culturally enriching: learning about Zulu customs and traditions.
· Most anticipated: our arrival in Cape Town as our world cruise progresses.
Follow along with Georgina and Humberto:
Preparing for a World Cruise | The Adventure Begins | Amazing Americas | Crossing the Pacific | Hawaiian Islands | French Polynesia | Venturing to New Zealand | Australia | Bali | Vietnam | Singapore | Seychelles
By Cruise Specialists client, Georgina Cruz
Georgina Cruz is a freelance travel writer specializing in cruises. Her work has appeared in national magazines and regional publications as well as on travel websites. She has been on more than 200 voyages including seven circumnavigations, all booked through Cruise Specialists.
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