All Aboard

To finish off our day at Longleat we took a boat ride, we caught the last run of the day.

It was nice to sit and relax for a while. There were sea lions swimming along side the boat begging for food. It was fun to watch them jump out of the water and ask for treats but it was difficult to catch a good picture of them...

Here is a little family of sea lions. On the far right is the daddy, and then on the left is the momma nursing their baby, he was just born last week!

I also saw my first hippopotamus...

We were lucky enough to see them lift their heads out of the water, although they didn't lift them much higher than pictured above. Especially on hot days hippos keep their heads immersed under water to stay cool. They can hold their breath for 7 minutes. Impressive.

Near the end of our boat ride we caught a glimpse of the oldest animal residing at Longleat...

He has this little house all to himself. The guide pointed out that there was a satellite dish on top of his house and that this gorilla actually has and uses a TV and other furniture. His favorite shows include children programs and most National Geographic and Discovery channel programs.

And that was the end of our day at Longleat. Phew, what a fun and exhausting day!