Ralfie and Jemima

Ralfie and Jemima

Saturday 29 September 2018

Rabbits in the Serengeti




Hello, it's me again, Hippolina! Guess what?! I went on my second trip this year! I was staying with the Babblebrooks and it turned out they had a trip planned with the Periwinkles and Fudge to Africa, believe it or not! That's not even on the same continent as Riverside!!

Fudge got rather ill as we were traveling overseas by ship. I might have felt a little queasy in the tummy too... But the good thing about traveling by ship is that it allowed us to bring the cars along. And on the day documented in these photographs we were using them to go on safari!



This meant we were going to see the savannah - that's the African grassland - and aaall kinds of African wildlife. 

Zebras, giraffes, gazelles and hippos, buffaloes and crocodiles. Eagles and flamingos!

I was sooo excited.



As I have mentioned before, the Periwinkles came with us too, and so did Fudge the bear and Pickles, his little pet dragon. Fudge took along a box of chocolate and caramel sweeties against the recomendation of his mother, Nina.
They melted as soon as we arrived at the National Park. I guess he must have drank them instead of eaten them, believe it or not!



The Babblebrooks are very friendly rabbits. Teresa and Troy, the parents are very hard working Sylvanians, but they always find time to spend with their kids. The two eldest, Thomas and Tamara did not come with us. Tegan, the girl in the pink dress, was a very nice almost-sister and little baby Toby (one of Jemima's best friends) was a darling. 



It's only Tim who got on my nerves. He's the one to my right. He spent most of the time poking me in the tummy and making stupid faces or asking me weird questions out of the blue. During the ride to the park he told me, he had heard there were a lot of hippos in the Serengeti and whether any of my ancestors came from here. 
How am I supposed to know?? I'm an orphan and have spent most of my life inside Birgit's display cabinet!!
 
Luckily, I was soon distracted by the awesome view. Here are some of the pictures taken that day of the animals.













Fudge spent most of the time staring at the large eagle through his binoculars.



The rabbits were driving real slow, so we could have a good look at everything. Mommy zebra was taking care of her baby. Everything was really peaceful.



Until we saw the crocodile clamp a particularly fat pelican between its jaws. 

"Cooool!!!" Tim cried, but I felt sick to my stomach.



The crocodile was squishing the pelican's butt with its sharp teeth and starting to drag him away.



I grabbed the first aid kit from underneath the seat and was about to jump out of the moving car like a lunatic, when Mr Babblebrook started explaining about the circle of life and how one person's pet bird is another person's dinner and I decided then and there that I was going to be a veterinarian when I grew up, yes indeed, but I was not going to steal anybody's Sunday roast.



"Sorry, Mr Pelican," I whispered.



"Godspeed," I murmured as the crocodile dragged Mr Pelican into its lair.



It's hard to stay glum when the Babblebrooks are your almost-family and you're on safari and a funny looking animal with horns is grunting at little Jemima Periwinkle.





"Mommydaddy, da cow is talking to me!" Jemima squealed happily. 

"It's a buffalo, dear," her mother explained, "I bet he is saying hello!"



The giraffes said hello too.



But the zebras preferred to keep to themselves.



Soon a group of animals started to walk home. I guess they only stay at the watering hole during the first part of the day.



A guide had told us it was safe to get out of the car here and even go for a swim - except maybe if you met the big fat crocodile, but fortunately that was well fed now, so that it would leave us alone... *fingers crossed*



The first one out of the car was Fudge. He was practically stuck to his binoculars,



observing the large, majestic eagle wherever it went.



The two dads were the first to climb onto the lookout. They saw another pelican and I bet it was Mrs Pelican. It looked like she was in mourning over the death of her husband. Mr and Mrs Flamingo were standing next to her, consolingly.



Us children were taking off our clothes and putting on sunscreen. (The Periwinkles had come with an entire suitcase full of it.) Because what better place for little rabbits and a hippo to go for a swim than a watering hole with a crocodile in it...! *gulp*

Tegan said her ears were burning, so Mrs Periwinkle sprinkled some water on them from Jemima's watering can. 



Jemima was trying to unscrew a tube of sunscreen so she could cover little Toby in it.
I don't like sunscreen, it makes my skin feel all sticky and it smells weird, but I'm glad the Periwinkles and Babblebrooks take such good care of us and make us wear it anyway. 



The next ones to climb up the treehouse were Mr and Mrs Babblebrook. Mrs B. hogged the binoculars the entire time they were up there. Mr B. is a really nice husband though, and I bet he was glad that his wife was enjoying herself so much.



Everyone was having fun. 



Even Mrs Pelican seemed to be looking a little less sad by the minute. I guess you just can't stay sad for long when you're in the company of rabbits.



Tim built this super detailed sandcastle with five towers and (believe it or not!) he complimented me when I thought up a way to mould five dome-shaped roofs for it using Jemima's shovel. Maybe he isn't such a pain in the neck after all.



By the way, who knew Pickles the dragon could climb trees?



And that Mrs Pelican would take a liking to Fudge and tweak his ear?



Then it was the Periwinkles' turn to look down from the large tree.



They fell in love with the view of the land in the same manner they had fallen in love with the buffalos and zebras and giraffes, and they swore to one another that they would return again some day, their admiring "oohs" and "aahs" floating down to us like a song.



🐾 🐤 🐊 🐃 🐾


DEAR READERS, 


THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND COMMENTS. 

BEST WISHES AND LOVE FROM HIPPOLINA, THE PERIWINKLES AND BABBLEBROOKS, PICKLES AND FUDGE. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL START OF OCTOBER!


💛

14 comments:

  1. Ach, war das schön:
    - endlich wieder von Dir zu hören/lesen
    - den fantastischen Post genießen zu dürfen
    - die tollen Bilder zu studieren (was man doch alles Schönes mit Playmobil machen kann)
    - die lieben Riversider ein klein wenig zu beneiden, weil die echt in der Welt rumkommen... aber es sei ihnen natürlich von Herzen gegönnt
    - sich freuen, dass Fudge, Pickles und Hippolina ebenfalls in der Welt rumkommen und es so gut getroffen haben (obwohl es hier bereits Anfragen gab, warum wir denn nicht mal bis Klein-Kleckersdorf kommen... phhhhh… zum Glück hat meinereiner ja zwei Ohren, eines für rein und eines für raus... äh... wo war ich...)
    - erleichtert sein, dass ein BiWuBärchen sich immer zu helfen weiß (Jawoll, Fudge… wenn die Schoki schmilzt, dann muss man sie eben trinken)

    Vielen Dank für diese tolle Safari... nur für Mr. Pelikan tut es uns ein wenig leid. Allerdings war uns von Anfang an klar, dass sich keiner aus der Reisegruppe Sorgen wegen des Krokodils oder ähnlicher Raubtiere machen musste. Leute, Ihr habt doch einen echten Drachen dabei... das hätte aber Kroko richtig gut durch gegrillt gegeben! ;O)

    Liebe Grüße
    Birgit und die nur minimal neidischen BiWuBärchen

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    1. Liebe Birgit und BiWuBärchen,

      Ein kleiner grüner Kerl mit Drachenpfoten und Drachenschwanz ist gerade ziemlich stolz aufgrund Deiner Bemerkung bezüglich seiner Grillkünste. :)

      Auch die anderen Riversider freuen sich sehr darüber, dass Euch der Post gefallen hat und sie müssen selber immer wieder von neuem die Fotos anschauen, weil sie kaum glauben können, was sie Tolles erlebt haben.

      Und Hippolina findet es inzwischen gar nicht mehr sooo schlimm ein Waisenhippo zu sein, nachdem es ihr ermöglicht so nette Fast-Familien auszuprobieren und und dabei auch noch auf Reisen zu gehen.

      LG, Nina

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  2. Hi Nina!
    I really enjoyed the Periwinkle´s and the Babblebrook´s trip to Africa. I had so much fun looking at all the pictures! Well, I did felt sorry for Mrs.Pelican but that´s the circle of life as Mr. Babbllebrook explained to the kids.

    As I commented before in some of your older posts, I love the way you mix Sylvanians with other toy brands to come up with a great story. This is a perfect example. Lovely post and pictures!

    Have a wonderful week!

    Big hugs!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your comment.

      I love combining Sylvanian Families characters and items with Playmobil sets, as it allows my Sylvanians to experience a wide range of things.

      I purchased this set a long time ago (several years?) and when it was so hot and dry this summer and I realized the garden looked like the African savannah, it was finally time for the rabbits to go on this trip which they had so highly anticipated.

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  3. Dear Nina!
    As I earlier have told you, you really have a good imagination in creating lovely stories. You offered us good photos and an interesting trip to Africa. Thanks for that.
    Siiri and Iivari were worried about the dangerous crocodile. But they loved the other animals.

    Kind regards,
    Sirkka

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    1. Thank you very much, Sirkka!

      Greetings to Siiri and Iivari from the Periwinkles. =:O)

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  4. A Safari trip to Africa is exactly what I'd love to do myself, especially after seeing how much the Babblebrooks and the Periwinkles enjoyed it. Thank you Hippolina for the lovely photos and story. I'm glad Tim turned out at last as a nice fellow voyager.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Hello Drora,

      Tim was an okay test-brother while we were on safari. Actually, better than okay - but don't tell him that! I still think he's a pain in the neck most of the time...

      -Hippolina

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  5. Hi Nina!
    Hippolina is so sweet! I really want to gather her in for a big hug. Africa is very far away, how exciting it must have been to visit there. Poor Fudge, I hope that he and Hippolina felt less seasick on the way back than they did to get there. At least he had his box of chocolates and caramel sweeties to cheer him up! I had to gasp when Hippolina grabbed the first aid kit and was going to get out of the car, that seemed like quite a dangerous crocodile and she might have gotten hurt! Poor Mr. Pelican, I do feel quite sorry for him. I have to agree with Hippolina, sunscreen is uncomfortable to wear! Was it very hot in Africa? The sandcastle looks very nice and I am very impressed by Pickles climbing a tree, I didn't know that he was such a talented tree climber!
    I hope that you have a wonderful day,
    Emily

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    1. Hello Emily, thank you for your lovely comment!

      Yes, it was very hot in Africa and the children were happiest when they could go for a swim or eat ice cream.
      Hippolina is beaming and asking whether you would like to come over and play with her after finishing your tests. She would also like to know if you could bring along a sleeping bag and do you like iced tea?

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  6. I really enjoyed your story. Africa looks so exciting I would love to see all the amazing animals. Poor Mr Pelican I would also hate to see that :( I am glad they all had a great time.
    Hugs Maria

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    1. Thank you for your comment, Maria! We had a wonderful time in Africa and I wish we could have stayed longer.

      -Hippolina

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  7. Poor Mr and Mrs Pelican and what a fantastic experience for the Sylvanians. It looks widely exciting and I'm glad every body had fun.

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    1. It was awesome and I am glad I got the chance to go!

      -Hippolina

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