Amidst the Kaokoa National Park, a fleet of offroad vehicles traveled through uneven dirt roads surrounded by towering trees and vegetation..
Theo and the others were divided among the jeeps as the guides explained to them the first stop of the excursion.
"As I was saying, the first place we will stop is a lake called Caryu. There we will be able to observe all kinds of animals in their natural habitat. It's even possible to swim in the lake, but the lake waters are not the best for a swim as it is filled with sludge, mud, and aquatic plants." Lara explained as she skilfully drove the jeep through the dirt road.
"What kind of animals can we see at the lake?" Sam asked with a curious voice.
"As the lake is a hotspot for the surrounding animals to get hydrated, we can see all kinds of animals visiting the lake. From herbivores to carnivores. That's why you guys have to remember all the rules I told you all before." Nanth replied.
Conversations like these were happening in all jeeps as the guides explained what they should expect when they arrived at the lake.
10 minutes later, the jeeps slowed down on their pace, and everyone noticed a huge body of water at the front.
The group of friends was taken by surprise by the size of the lake, and they were even more taken aback when they saw the color of the lake.
It was completely black!
Only now they understood why the guides did not recommend swimming in the lake.
They would have no idea what was inside the water if they attempted to swim in it.
So, everyone shot down the idea of swimming in it.
"Wow! Are you sure this lake isn't poisonous, Lara-san?" Aurora asked as the fleet of jeeps slowly drove through the lake shore.
Until now they were still talking in Yamatese.
"It isn't poisonous at all, it may seem so, but the waters are completely fine even with their strange color." Lara chuckled, "Curiously, the rivers that sustain this lake are crystalline clear, but the lake basin is filled with all kinds of rocks and sedimentations that color the lake black."
"Oh, the rivers that form the waterfalls of this forest all debouch in this lake?" June asked curiously.
ƥandasnovel·ƈom "Yes, they all debouch in this lake. That's why the lake is so enormous. And from this lake, it's formed a unique huge river that debouches at the sea." Lara continued her explanation.
Everyone was amazed by the local nature as they listened to the guides' explanations.
Shortly later, they saw a one-floor building at the lake shore. The lake seemed to have been disguised to blend with the surrounding vegetation, that's why they only noticed when they arrived near it.
"This is the Caryu Outpost. Where the tourists can observe the animals completely safe from harm. The outpost even has access to the lake, so you can take a swim without worrying about animal attacks." Lara explained as the jeeps entered the outpost one by one.
After the jeeps parked one by one and the outposts' gates were closed, Theo and the others were allowed to leave the cars.
The outpost had a platform where they were able to see the lake and the shore without any impediments.
There, the guides started to point at the animals that started to show near the outpost.
Like a good host, Nanth distributed binoculars for them to observe everything more clearly.
And it wasn't a surprise to say that everyone was amazed as they started seeing some of the native animals that lived in that forest.
Theo was even more fascinated, as some of the animals he saw didn't exist in his last life.
For example, there was a giant lizard that was the size of a car, at first Theo thought that he was seeing a real fire-breathing drake, but when the guide explained that it was one of the most docile herbivores, he realized it was only an oversized lizard.
They had to speak in low voices to not scare the animals, but that didn't stop them from discussing the animals they saw with excited but low voices. And of course, they took pictures of every animal they saw.
They stayed there for roughly one hour, and they saw all kinds of animals.
There was one time that Theo even thought that he saw a dragon jumping out of the water. But the guide explained it was only an eel. But Theo still firmly believed it was the legendary dragon as what kind of eel had 10 meters of length?
They were fascinated by everything they were seeing, but the time when they needed to leave was nearing, and the star of the forest hadn't appeared yet.
The Kokoro Islands were also famous because of their unique fauna and flora. And there was one predator animal that was only seen in the Kokoro Islands and a few other islands of the Mohana Continent.
This animal was claimed to be one of the most famous in the world even with their rarity.
One of the group's goals in coming to the national park was to see this animal.
There were only a few minutes left before they left the outpost when they heard Ayia gasping in surprise and wonder.
They became curious to see what made Ayia act like that, so they followed her line of sight and saw one of the most amazing things of their lives.
They gasped in wonder as their eyes shone in excitement!
The Sea Lion had appeared!
Some people may think this animal was the same as the one from Earth, but they would be completely mistaken.
This Sea Lion had 60% of the characteristics of a normal lion from Earth. But there were a few things that made him even more fascinating.
One of them was that the Sea Lion was blue instead of yellow and golden. Another thing was that this animal was much bigger than a normal lion, around two times bigger. This meant that when the Sea Lion was on its four paws, their size was bigger than an adult human male.
But why this enormous blue lion would be called Sea Lion?
That was because this lion could move under the water as easily as it could on the ground!
When the Sea Lion dived into the water, transparent fins would open up on its back like wings, but their purpose was to give the Sea Lion extreme mobility underwater. And to make the Sea Lion even scarier under the water, tiny little fins would open up on its for legs to increase its mobility.
This ability gave this huge blue lion to dive into the sea like it was its home ground.
That is what made him so famous.
And that's why Theo and the others went nuts when they saw this mythical creature!
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