Sampling Crocodile River

Susan: I was a little apprehensive about us sampling the Crocodile river. With a name like that who would want to be near it. Luckily, it's just that- a name. Just like the Vaal river, the two sites we chose were as different as day and night. The first one was at a camping site where the land slopes very gently towards the water. We've had to wade through brush and mud to get to some of the other sites. It was a scenic spot with hills forming a backdrop to the river and there was a family of ducks swimming close by. The next site was a nightmare, it was also at a picnic site at the Hartbeespoort Dam. We spotted a few people having a picnic. Unfortunately a pungent smell hung in the air. There were lots of beer and soft drink cans and bottles along the shore line and Jr. collected some of the them. He actually filled a garbage bag and still there were more. The water was greenish with weeds flourishing. A few birds and ducks swam in the water and its amazing how they are alive amid the murk. Finding fish or any other aquatic life was difficult.