On Wednesday we left the game reserve for a day trip to the town of Saint Lucia on the Indian Ocean. The main part of the excursion involved a boat ride on an inland waterway, kind of like the tidal marshes you see in Florida, only here in addition to crocodiles rather than alligators, there are a large number of hippos, like hundreds, lumbering about. We’ve learned that they don’t swim, when you see their heads they are standing on the bottom or on a sand bar. They come out of the water to feed on grasses primarily and mostly at night. Strong sun can quickly dry out their skin, which is why they live in the water. But while today was pleasant for a change, it was still on the cool side and we were treated to a hippo show.
The tour boat captain referred to one group of hippos as “The Townies,” because, as she put it, “they come into town at night and eat our lawns and drink from our pools.” Amusing as it sounds, these are large animals that despite their size can move very quickly in short bursts and if provoked can be very dangerous. There are warning signs for tourists in the town to be wary of hippos at night. (The locals don’t need to be warned, they know.) Because of the cooler weather, however, we came across several hanging out onshore and we were treated to a parade of six or seven other hippos that steamed down the waterway and marched on shore. It looked like a line up of planes waiting to land at an airport. We have video of some of it but the wifi connection at the moment is way too slow to contemplate trying to upload it; even the following photos are asking a lot. We wrapped up with a lunch of fresh local fish (very good) and a trip to the beach. As we posted to Facebook, the Jersey Shore is 50 minutes away for us, and we never got there this year, though we made it to the Indian Ocean. The following gives you an idea of just how large these animals are. There were also some cool looking birds.
It's What We Do 
this bird is such a bright yellow – send him to my backyard. I think I see a red one in the hippo photo. was the boat ride a smooth one-this is a nice mix of travel-land, sea and air!! today I'm only travelling on land.
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