This will probably rate right up there with their worst ever experiences together as grandfather and grandson. It certainly wasn’t one of those happy days like you’d see on adverts or in the movies. Although, mind you, I suppose it did start out as an innocent canoe trip, which was probably fun for a while.

Paramedics said yesterday that a grandfather and his seven year old grandson climbed and hid in a tree amongst thick, rescue-hampering bush for about two hours at the weekend.

They had been paddling innocently along in their canoe on a section of the Vaal River in the North West when a bull hippo chased them up a tree.

According to Jeffrey Wicks, a Netcare 911 spokesperson, “The two sought refuge in a tree on the opposite side of the river [from the lodge that they were staying at].”

The pair attempted to scare the hippo away by screaming and clapping at it but “They were unsuccessful. The animal stayed near the tree, surfacing sporadically to nudge their canoe,” explained Wicks.

Luckily, this happened and Wicks relates it well:

Shortly thereafter the owner of the lodge arrived. He entered the water and lured the hippo, named Humphrey, away from the tree with an apple.

Just an apple and it was done. However, we definitely do not recommend trying this one yourself – Humphrey clearly has a penchant for apples but not all Humphrey’s are the same.

[Source: TimesLive]