As readers of our last column know already, we are currently floating gently down the Lower Zambezi in canoes. And though it might sound recklessly intrepid, it's really a piece of cake.

A consortium of safari lodges has been established on the Zambian bank of the river. One simply canoes from lodge to lodge. In the dry season, the river is smooth, the current helpful. All necessary equipment is provided by the lodges, which also lay on guides and, if you're feeling lazy, supplementary paddlers, as well as mod cons such as drinks coolers and picnic lunches. But more on the logistics later. First a word about the wild life.

The Lower Zambezi National Park, despite its safari lodges with their gin and tonics and buffet dinners, is truly a wilderness area and, as such, needs to be treated with respect. There are Nile crocodiles at an average density of 100 per km of water frontage. Which is quite a lot. Swimming, trailing one's hand in the water or dipping one's feet from the bank obviously isn't recommended, but the giant reptiles aren't normally a hazard to canoeists and the guides know the telltale signs that indicate their presence.