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​Tourists Can Pay £5,000 To Swim Alongside 12ft Long Nile Crocodiles

​Tourists Can Pay £5,000 To Swim Alongside 12ft Long Nile Crocodiles

You'll follow an expedition leader behind a crocodile, waiting until the time is right before you can swim forward to the beast

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

Most people's bucket lists feature stuff like bungee jumping, a road trip in the States or running a marathon. You know, go zorbing, that kind of thing.

But it seems some folk aren't content with launching themselves off of bridges or going for a 20+ mile run, and would instead much rather swim with huge Nile crocodiles - which can kill a person with just one snap of their gigantic jaws.

And people want to do it so much that they're also willing to pay more than £5,000 ($6,890) for the privilege of doing so, according to the Daily Mail.

The unique opportunity is organised by Big Animals, a California-based tour operator specialising in adrenaline-fuelled experiences like swimming with polar bears, hanging out with big cats in Africa or two-week excursions in the Galapagos islands. All sounds pretty exciting, doesn't it?

For the hair-raising crocodile encounter, brave tourists fly from Johannesburg to Maun, Botswana, where they then have a five-hour drive and cruise to a safari camp.

They then get to enjoy five days of 'crocodile diving and adventure' in the Okavango river with the Nile crocodiles can weigh up to half a ton and are 12ft long.

PA

The group apparently follow an expedition leader behind a crocodile, waiting until the time is right before they can swim forward to be alongside it, one by one.

Tony Rowlands, a British holidaymaker and former Royal Navy sailor, is one person who was tempted into the dive - and not only came out with all of his limbs still intact, but also said described the experience as 'wonderful'.

"It was wonderful. You can swim up close to this massive prehistoric animal, knowing he could tear you to shreds in seconds but he doesn't, and it's wonderful," the 62-year-old told the Daily Mail.

PA

"We were quiet, looking all the time for a big croc warming himself on a riverbank. The big old ones are the best - they can be around 50 years old and they are scared of nothing and have no reason to be skittish.

"They're the last of the dinosaurs for a reason. They're survivors and they're clever."

He added: "I thought to myself, 'I should be more worried than I am - this is completely insane'."

PA

The trip is led by Amos Nachoun, who has 30 years of experience diving with Great White Sharks off Long Island in New York, Australia and South Africa, as well as off the Farallon Islands, San Francisco.

He's also an accomplished professional photographer who was even named the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year both in 2007 and 2008.

Amos said: "This is for people who want the ultimate experience but who are also experienced divers."

Experienced divers who also have nerves of steel, we're guessing...

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, Interesting, Animals