Sunday, September 28, 2008

Sea cow?…No, it’s a hippo*












September 24th, 2008

We also signed up for a dusk hippo tour. Eyeing up the boat as it came into dock, we decided the roof was the place to be for the best view. We found some seats and readied the camera. Those who know Karel well, actually those who know Karel at all, know that he likes to take an occasional photograph. He’s now the official paparazzi photographer for hippos and the fish eagle, a bird which has now been photographed at every angle. We saw loads of hippos, large and small, yawning, sleeping and walking, but the real highlight of the tour was the quick witted guide Steve, a wiry framed man with deep wrinkles and white hair, who kept us laughing throughout. That night was we were sleeping we heard a sound. Karel asked me ‘Do you know what that was?’ ‘A hippo?’ I responded. As we pulled up the covers, we hoped that hippos don’t climb ladders.

*apologies for the Afrikaans joke but when asking Karel what hippo was in Afrikaans he asked me to guess, based on hearing that a giraffe translates as a camel horse, I guessed it was a water donkey, I was close as it’s actually sea cow.

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