Guest are collected from their hotels and transferred to the jetty site. Once everyone is on board, the captain fires up the barely audible engines and starts to cruise around the islands of the upper section of the Zambezi river. As with other cruise operators, the cruise boat stays well away from the Falls themselves, 4 km (2.49 miles) away. Such a large body of water understandably attracts a whole host of wildlife which comes from the often dry interior to quench their thirst. The river is home to great pods of hippo, which are now accustomed to these cruises which can get close to them without any danger. The more sinister-looking crocodiles are regularly seen basking on the banks or gliding through the water. Elephants, giraffe, buffalo, waterbuck, kudu, impala, baboons and monkeys, along with a plethora of exotic birds are regular sightings.