The Canoes from Above

A bird's-eye view

Following our last post detailing the seeking and finding of the stolen canoe, I thought it would be interesting to do a photo post showing everyone what the river where Jay does his canoe trips looks like from a bird's eye view. We often have clients who come on the trips with drones, and they are kind enough to share the drone footage with us for marketing and other use. So, we will share some of the photos from above here so you dear readers can get a good sense of what the river system looks like.

These photos show the reeds on the sides of the river, which are cut and collected by local communities and sold along the roadside. They are fast growing and therefore make for a sustainable building material. The reeds are popular to use for roofing, both in lodges and private houses. Along the sides of the reeds, you can see the African water lilies (Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea), one of the most common indigenous lilies in Southern Africa. These provide a great ground for birds to stride along as they hunt for insects and other morsels.

Here are some closer views of the paddlers going down the channels. These channels were originally made by hippos, but those animals have since moved far away as they were all hunted in this area during the Mozambican civil war, which lasted from 1977-1992. Much of the wildlife here was decimated during the war to feed the armies, but now we can see it slowly coming back in this peacetime (although hippos remain elusive here, which is great news as we would have trouble doing the canoe trips alongside them!).

We will conclude this little photo post with some stunning sunset views. Sunset in the river is a beautiful time, when the sky dips pink to red to black, and the birds settle down, their calls traded for the cries of the night frogs and the blinking of the fireflies.

If you ever find yourself in Vilankulo, be sure to join us on one of our evening paddles down the river so you can see these views for yourself. As always, the pictures do not do the reality justice.

If you have any questions about our trips (or anything else we write about), be sure to ask away in the comments!