It's a Great Day for Hippo and Stork Viewing! (March 8)



We hired two of these little boats to carry all nine of us out to one end of Lake Awassa where the hippos live.  I'd waited three years for the chance to go see them in the wild.  The boats had an inch or two of water filling the hull, but they moved about on the water just fine.




Million and Addis took advantage of the binoculars we had along to get a close-up and personal view of the sites along the lake.  We saw plenty of fisherman, the famous Haile resort (named after a very famous Ethiopian track star), the hippos and the storks.



There were at least a half dozen or more hippos, but it was difficult to get close-ups of them together, so I opted for these shots.  One mamma was keeping a close eye on her baby.  They also kept a close eye on us, but our boatsman knew the proper distance to keep us from causing them any fear or aggressive moves.

And this little baby decided to give us a beautiful pose.  I think I'll call her Thelma.  Isn't she a cutey?

These birds are huge.  They can be found all around Awassa and often sit in the very tops of trees.  One can't miss them, for they stand out among the leaves.  I'm not a bird watcher, but how can anyone not find these creatures intriguing at the least?

A gaggle of storks?