Boat Safari


 
All aboard with Capt. John
     Joan and I take a boat safari on Lake Naivasha with a young Kenyan who went by the name of Capt. John.  He, and all the local fishermen, use these fiberglass-hulled long boats.  They are about 20 feet long, narrow, flat-bottomed, painted blue, and have a single outboard motor. 

 
Pod of hippos, snoozing in the lake
     Out on the water, Capt. John took us to see some wildlife.  There was a pod of about a dozen hippos sitting in the water.  Only their backs and the tops of their heads were visible.  Occasionally one would raise a head and look at us, maybe snort, or flick its ears. 

      Hippos are very dangerous beasts.  They are extremely territorial and protective of their young.  They have enormous jaws and teeth, and can easily bite a person in half.  And they can swim incredibly fast!  Capt. John knew how close he could get to them.  He positioned the boat so that, if a hippo made a move toward us, he could make a quick getaway.


A forest of dead trees
     Much of the lake is a forest of dead trees, caused by the unstable water level.  He maneuvered the boat amongst the trees, pointing out interesting waterfowl and other wildlife.  It seemed as if each dead tree had a resident family of some sort of bird living amongst its branches.


Eagle in a tree
     At one place on the shoreline, there was a forest of tree trunks.  On or beside each tree trunk sat a vulture.  Kinda creepy.  John explained that we were near the fish plant, and the vultures were just being opportunistic.
Shoreline of Crescent Island, in the middle of the lake

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