Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve

The morning after Eilat Pride, TJ and I met up with Jacob, Pete and Shawn for a delicious breakfast at what looked like an Israeli version of the Cracker Barrel, minus the country fried steak and cinnamon apples.

After noshing on a delicious breakfast of salads and sandwiches, we loaded into our cars and headed for home...with one tiny pitstop along the way.

Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve is a 3,000-acre breeding and reclamation center administered by the Israel Nature Reserves & National Parks Authority.  Located 30 minutes north of Eilat, the reserve is situated within the Aravah, a section of the Jordan Rift Valley that runs in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea and on to the Gulf of Aqaba.

The Fat Sand Rat, the largest member of the gerbil family, lives on plateaus, in wadies, and on salt flats.  

It is native to the southern Dead Sea, the Negev, the Arava, and the southern coastal plain.  

Endangered and locally extinct animals mentioned in the Bible are nurtured here until they can be released into the wild.  The Asian Wild Ass has already been reintroduced into the wild via  Makhtesh Ramon.  Ostriches, oryx, and addaxes are among the critters on hand for your sightseeing pleasure.

You are able to purchase a CD to play in your car that tells you about the animals as you drive along the nature trail...but it's kinda boring and only useful if the animals in question are within your line of sight.

Your tour is supposed to end with a visit to the Night Life Room (think: bats!) and the predator center, home to spotted leopards, wolves, caracals and snakes...but we took a wrong turn at Albuquerque and actually did that part first.  I assure you it did not detract from our enjoyment in the slightest.

In lieu of a photo of a nocturnal predator (which was impossible to obtain, as all the lights were off...duh), please enjoy this photo of a donkey-type creature with zebra-type leggings.  I took the liberty of selecting the photo without the huge pile of animal poo in the frame.  You're welcome.

Zoos, nature walks, and safari treks are always a hoot.  Especially when you get attacked by a curious ostrich.  Well, I guess that's only a hoot if your windows are up, which ours were.  No war wounds here, no sir.

Hai-Bar is not a very large park (or at least the portion that you are given access to isn't), but visitors are free to drive along the marked roads as quickly or as slowly, and as many times, as they wish, which I feel adds a significant value to your entry fee.

Israel maintains more than 150 national parks/nature reserves.  As of this posting, I think I've only been to a half dozen or so.  I've greatly enjoyed aspects of each one that I've had the opportunity to visit, and would love to be able to say I've visited them all...but given the amount of time we have left before leaving for our next assignment, I think I'd have to visit 16 per week.  So....maybe I'll just shoot for the highlights.

Israel Pride 2014

If you don't count watching parades, I've never been much of a participant in Pride.  No particular reason behind it; I just haven't.  Oh, I take that back.  We did reserve a hotel near Walt Disney World one summer during Gay Days Orlando.  Or maybe it was One Mighty Weekend.  I'm not sure which one it was.  It's the same weekend, either way.  Just depends on which event planner you throw your money at.  But it doesn't really matter.  We had all but decided not to go when we found out that our house was facing a wee bit of a termite problem and had to be fumigated.  We needed a hotel anyway, soooooo....whatevs.

Passing interest changed to active participation this past summer when TJ and I joined friends in celebrating not one, but TWO Pride weekends in Israel.

First up was Eilat Pride May 16th-17th.  Pete and Jacob had invited us to join them and another friend, Shawn, for a weekend of fun in Israel's southernmost city.

We weren't really sure what to expect here, so it was a bit of a trial run.  We opted not to stay at the host hotel, but rather a more economical option a few blocks away.  The location was decent enough and it was apparent immediately upon arrival that not staying at the main hotel was a good idea, as music could be heard blaring from the epicenter for blocks and blocks.  Within the confines of our room...delicious silence.  Pete, Jacob, and Shawn stayed even farther away, so we sadly didn't see them as much as I'd expected.

The room itself was a bit dingy.  It reeked of smoke.  We called the front desk to ask if it would be possible to get a non-smoking room and were told no without apology.  There was a small kitchenette, which was nice...but there was neither an ice bucket nor a place to get complimentary ice.  There was, however a small store in the lobby from which we were able to purchase bagged ice for $5.00.  How...generous.  Circulation was poor, resulting in a clammy, never-dry (much less clean) feeling throughout the weekend.  This was very disappointing as the hotel was within the Isrotel family that brought us the amazing Beresheet Hotel from my birthday.  Just goes to show that quality does not equal consistency.

The big draw for this Pride weekend was supposed to be a Boy George concert.  What we didn't realize until the party started was that Boy George was only pulling DJ duties.  Le sigh.  No worries.  The party was a smashing success and we took many pictures together as we drank and danced the night away, "Karma Chameleon" be damned.

No clue who the guy in the white tank is.  I assume somebody did.

Drag and semi-nudity always makes for a good party.

The next morning we met for breakfast on the beach and then parted ways to....well, recuperate.  That evening TJ we reconvened for some delicious Chinese food before parting ways again.  TJ and I headed to the Wow Show, a music, dance, magic, and acrobatics-filled extravaganza sponsored by the Isrotel family of hotels.  Better than (but in the same vein as) any cruise ship entertainment we have ever seen, this was our hotel's redeeming quality.  No photography allowed, though.  Boo.

The final morning of our weekend getaway will be discussed in my next post, as it is a total thematic shift away from the subject matter at hand.  So, moving on...

Next up was Tel Aviv Pride June 11th-15th.  This came at no invite, but as Jacob, Pete, and Shawn live in Tel Aviv, we did run into them a time or two.  Also in town were our friends Yann and Charles from Paris, and their friend Patrice...though sadly, we somehow managed to not take any photos together...

We marched with US Embassy Tel Aviv and our friends in the annual Pride Parade....

...and attended some amazing parties.  

TJ even got to meet his idol, Israeli sex symbol and party-/self-promoter Eliad Cohen.  Who, being relatively famous, was not interested in becoming best friends or anything.

All in all, two fantastic Pride weekends that, hangovers aside, made me wonder why I'd never bothered to really participate before.

No need to cry over any spilt milk.  One more year in Israel means two more Pride celebrations on the horizon.