Rule 1: Avoid the 'Kill Zone'. Ben Fogle shares his survival tips for swimming with Nile crocodiles, after diving in with them in Okavango Delta, Botswana
The Okavango Delta is a huge area of flatlands in Botswana that flood every year, creating a network of rivers, brimming with life: elephants, zebras, giraffes, water buffalo. And crocodiles.
Which is why I'm here, to help naturalists Adam Britton and Brad Bestelink research the behaviour of wild Nile crocs. We want to know what they do underwater, which means we're going to have to dive in.
We leave our riverside camp and head out on the boat. Quickly, we spot a croc basking in the sun. They're very shy and slink into the water as soon as they see you. We have to follow them before they position themselves in the kill zone - the area from the surface to two feet beneath it. If a croc sees anything splashing around there it will attack.
Adam and Brad slip in but our cameraman has a misted lens delaying his entry. He's still in the zone when he catches a glimpse of the croc. He moves suddenly and the reptile attacks. Luckily, he jams his camera in its mouth and escapes.
It's my turn next. I dive down. Visibility is good and I can see the croc. The theory is that because no one has ever dived here before it won't see us as a threat or as potential prey. It's what you try to remember as you find yourself three inches from its face doing an experiment that involves waving a ping-pong ball on the end of a stick.
Incredibly, the theory holds. But now, the hardest part. To get out I must swim up to a boat, cling to its underside while I take off my mask and breathing apparatus, then haul myself up. I vow that I will never do it again - knowing that I have to, the very next day.'
This feature was published in Condé Nast Traveller September 2017
