Lake Tanganyika is renowned for its clarity which can reach up to 20 meters. The Mahale National Park includes 100 square kilometers of marine reserve which stretches the length of the Park. Before the Park was created the local villagers that lived along the lake persecuted the hippo population so that when Greystoke Mahale was built there were no Hippos in the area.
Slowly the population is recovering and there are now 11 Hippopotamus living 20 minutes boat journey South of the lodge. I like to think of them as the cleanest Hippos in Africa. Chris Liedenberg used his underwater camera attached to a makeshift pole to take some amazing photos of the Mahale Hippos.
