A 4 Island Moon April 11, 2013

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9825 S Padre Island Dr Corpus Christi, TX • 361-657-0531 • info@bertsfeed.com • www.bertsfeed.com

Restaurant

& Wine Bar

-SUNDAY -BUBBLY BUBBLY ALL HALF PRICE!Including: Mimosas, Champagne Cocktails and House Specialty Champagne Martinis

-SUNDAY BRUNCH-11:00 - 3:00 PM

-MONDAY-ALL WINES 1/2 PRICEby the glass or by the bottle

-THURSDAY-MARTINI MADNESS!$6 executive martinis

361-749-22123500 Island Moorings Parkway at The Island Moorings Yacht

Club & Marina in Port Aransaswww.labaratariarestaurantwinebar.com

HOURS Monday, Thursday, Friday

4 pm - 10 pmSaturday Noon - 10 pm

Closed Tuesday & Wednesday

Wine FlightsEvery Day$6

Sunday 11 am - 10 pm

My Very Scary African Safari EncounterA ride in a “canoe” with a lake full of hippopotami

By Mary Craft

I recently went on an eight day safari to Kenya with my brother Steve and son Alex. We had a personal guide so although we had an itinerary we were able to stray from it. One of the days we made a detour was when our knowledgeable and ever smiling guide suggested a boat tour on Lake Naivasha in the Great Rift Valley.

The drive there was a steady climb up and we had many opportunities to stop and take in the breathtaking views, as well as pictures with “you are at the equator” signs.

What lake?

The boat tour is popular as a birding destination but even more so for viewing its large population

of hippos. I expected a landing site with a good size boat full of tourists with binoculars but I was way off. We turned off a village road down a narrow tall hedge lined bumpy dirt road that at the end opened up to a forested area and no lake in sight. There were a few local men standing amongst several vehicles and what looked like a canoe on foliage in the background. I said “OK, this is scary. We are going to be on a lake for an hour to see hippos and this is the boat?!” The boat was so small I thought the men were going to carry it over to wherever the lake was so I was confused when I saw my brother ahead of me stepping onto the boat. I yelled “Where’s the water”? His response was “Right here”!

The murky water was thickly covered with lily pads. There was nothing official about this operation on a public lake and we saw no other boats until we got further out into the lake.

The three of us sat in a row on the boat with the driver manning the outboard engine at the rear. It is a very large lake surrounded by forest with giraffes, zebras, antelope, buffalos and monkeys. The giraffes were originally brought here in 1985 to film “Out of Africa” and remained to breed here. The “Born Free” couple lived on the shore of this lake and it was where the wife was killed and later her husband by poachers.

Close encounter of the hippo kind

It was a relaxing serene trip and we even saw an African Fish Eagle with a wing span of six

feet swoop down for a fish. We saw a group of hippos off in the distance with just their eyes showing above the water. Then we came to another group of five hippos basking in the sun onshore and we were getting closer and closer. The driver had stepped on the fuel line and cut off the engine and we were drifting toward

these very territorial animals. I said distraughtly “Don’t wake them up please”. The boat hit an embankment near them and two went into the water where they can stay up to six minutes. Now even more distraughtly I say “Back up! Let’s go, they are the number one killer of man”! Alex grabbed the long pole and pushed us away from shore while the driver used the

engine cover to paddle. (Seriously, no oar?!) He was able to start the engine while the hippos were still underwater and we rode off with hearts pounding.

Old nightmares become new ones

If I knew then what I know now I would have never gone on board. At the time, to keep me calm, Steve told me they need to walk on the bottom which I bought. They are actually fast and excellent swimmers due to their webbed feet. Their jaws open wide enough to hold a 4 year old child. Some of the people killed had their heads bitten off by those large strong jaws. Even other animals are fearful of them. If a rhino is challenged by a hippo it will back off. What is really crazy about all this is it made me remember how as a child growing up in Chicago I had nightmares about hippos. Now I know why.

The first to head into the lake

Our clumsy captain... What’s lurking beneath the lily pads?

Look of relief after our escape Mary Craft with her son Alex at the Equator

Our guide taught us much about the region and the animals.

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The Great Rift Valley

End of an Era:

Susan Powell Retires from the Back PorchSusan Powell threw a heck of a retirement

party for herself last Thursday at her bar the Back Porch. Her partner Glenn Martin and his son Matt have now taken over operations. We’ll miss you Susan! Enjoy!