Crocodiles  cant  speak  English 

This true story unfolded somewhere in Botswana, where the great Okavango river gradually disappears into a hand-shaped marsh filled with life of all sorts and sizes, known as the Okavango Delta.  One of its most renowned inhabitants, along with Elephant, Hippo and Buffalo, is the Nile Crocodile.  Only with supreme respect can this species be portrayed as one of the grand survivalists of nature with its blood line still strongly embedded in the dinosaur era.  And this, whilst on safari in Africa, is why one should always be careful not to misinterpret its language of signs and behaviour.  Unfortunately, the Nile Crocodile does not speak English ! 

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The men of the village quickly jumped at the opportunity of an ever-increasing tourism market.  Through a simple idea, a great dream was realized.  With their watos ( a type of traditional canoe made from a hollowed tree ),  they took tourists from all over the world into the marshes of their home.  An experience that mostly left foreign guests with an awe-inspiring sensation of exploring the riches of Africa in a hushed manner, gently drifting down the many backwaters and channels of the Okavango.   

As most tourists spoke English, it became a basic requirement so as to allow the young guides to communicate with their esteemed guests.  One specific wato owner and operator, Daniel, could however not come to grips with this strange new language and suffered the consequences of it through a reduced amount of tourists wanting to go out with him onto the marshes.  The other guides quickly picked up on this shortfall and started to mock Daniel, using their trained tongues as the weapon of choice.  Daniel did not take this well and soon started to save money so that he could attend English classes.   

The first attack took place in December 2001, when a fisherman was taken by the “invisible lion that lives in the water”.  From that day forth, men started to disappear the one after the other.  The “modus operandi” of the creature, and the outcome, was always the same.  Watos would be hit or thumped from below with any man standing on the traditional canoe loosing his balance and falling into the water.  Once in the river, death was imminent.  The creature was never seen, but it was a known fact that it must have been huge as it could easily muster enough power to propel itself from the depths onto a drifting wato with sufficient kinetic energy to cause imbalance of the passengers and resulting in an easy meal.     

Fear soon took hold of entire villages and fishing dropped to an all-time low.  The man-eating crocodile was a wise old fellow and kept on moving his feeding grounds, never staying longer than a week or so in one specific area.  Wildlife officials soon came to realize this as they tried to hunt the creature to no avail. 

With a huge grin spread over his face, he greeted the clients :  

“Good afternoon.  My name is Daniel and I will be your guide for the day.” 

The other wato operators, wearing coats of jealousy, watched from a distance as their daily fun slowly drifted out into the river with two guests snuggly enjoying the views of the Okavango.  In his native tongue, he simply had to yell out at them :

“You see, those classes paid off !” 

Daniel was standing upright at the rear of the wato when a sudden jolt shook through the wooden boat.  He lost his balance and fell into the water, still within sight of his joking countrymen.  The crocodile rose out of the water like a submarine surfacing, propelled with a huge swishing tail.  Its jaws slammed shut over Daniel’s waist and dragged the poor man down into the depths with the greatest of ease.  The tourists could only look in helpless horror as the events played of on their “dream holiday destination”.   

Daniel was cool-headed when he broke through for the last time.  Crocodiles do this and one can almost bet money on it happening.  Once taken by these watery creatures, it will always bring you up to the surface one last time : So that the victim could say goodbye to the world.     

As this happened, Daniel calmly called out to the tourists which were no more than a meter from him, still sitting on the wato.

“Please hand me my knife.  Please hand me my knife.  It is at the rear of the boat.” 

The tourists stared at Daniel with an apparent blank on their faces.  Again the man called out for his weapon and again he was met with silence.  And as is in nature and life, time ran out.  Daniel was taken down and never came up again, was never seen again.   

Another wato quickly raced out to the spot where Daniel was taken and rescued the shaking tourists.  Back on land, and safety, they were asked why they did not hand the man his knife.  A simple answer explained a simple question. 

“We can not speak English, only German.” ( Translated from German ) 

*** 

So, once again, the beauty that is life is given only once.  Take it by both hands or suffer the consequence of never knowing.  Love every moment and smile, if possible, when it is your time to say goodbye.  

When on safari in Namibia or Botswana, always ask before getting into a sinking boat.