Day 3 Story 2

Before I jump to a different topic, yesterday's story reminded me of another experience.   When Adam and I got older we sold the boat, but our family still loved going to Lake Naivasha for a quiet weekend get away.  Lake Naivasha Country Club was always the place we stayed.  Since mom and dad had been going there for years, the staff and management treated us like family.   

The setting is really one of the most serene in East Africa.  Large lawns irrigated by lake water, gorgeous flower gardens, mesmerizing yellow barked acacia trees, gentle breezes wafting through the air, and an unprecedented sense of tranquility.    No wonder hundreds of species of birds call the Country Club home.   The lush gardens offer a  quiet retreat spot with limited activities:  a swimming pool and bird walks.   At night antelope such as water buck, impala, and grant's gazelle graze the lawns.  What we didn't realize is that many of the lake's hippo population like to do the same thing!  There are signs scattered across the grounds warning guests not to go walking around the property at night.  

On one particular weekend get away, the manager told us the story of a brave guest who decided to go swimming at the crack of the dawn.   It was still dark outside as he approached the pool.  Just moments before diving into the water he realized that someone else or should I say something else was in the pool.  Squinting he realizes that it is something big. Very big.  Poof! Two spouts shoot up chlorinated water as an irate hippo protests the impending intruder into his new found water hole.   

The hotel had to call the Kenya Wildlife Service to come assist in the "extraction of a hippopotamus from the swimming area." Surely, one of the few times this has ever happened.  Apparently, it was an all day ordeal involving sand bags and two by fours followed by a hasty retreat to safety as the occupant of the pool snorted his disgust before traipsing back towards the lake.   

For some reason, the hotel decided to build a fence around the pool after that incident. And my family has never jumped into a swimming pool in Africa since until  we've first  checked out the water.