Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 45

Sunday. March 11. 2001 D3 Austin American-Statesman Travel Day trip Schlitterbahn goes Latin with South Padre park Wild kingdom, from the comfort of your car Watch 'em, feed 'em and drive through, please, at Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch trees, pulsating Latin music and spicy Brazilian dishes. South Padre's beach park has been at least four years in the planning stages, with changes in site, plans and scope as well as neighborhood resistance, said Sherrie Brammall. communications director.

Construction on the $13 million park began in September. The 26 acre site is being built on the northern portion of Isla Blanca Park. The Morning Ness Schlitterbahn. the popular German-theme water park in New Braunfels, is going Brazilian in a Texas sort of way Schlitterbahn Beach Water-park, the first Schlitterbahn venture outside New Braunfels, will open early this summer on South Padre Island. The ambience will come from thatehod-roof buildings, hundreds of transplanted palm mm Memorial lour Id-Day World Wai II NUmihui.iI lour by 'Jiwi'fwijw uicluilcs.

Holland. Belgium, Luxembourg. Ci'rmany, Austria, Switzerland 1-ranee JJm aom- featuring the Sunday. Sqitcmhci and Thursday Scptcmba departures $3020 Honk tn Apnl S.nr SlOtl! Includes land and an hum Austin Moloi coach, tnui escoit. hotels.

25 meals, tips and all tuxes 1 oi a tiee biochuie. call Fam at River City Travel 9070 Research Blvd. Austin I'fir every passenqei I 00 is donated to ttie T1alion.il WW II NemoiMl lund Ph: 67-1 777 or 800329-800 1 r'-'n Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch photos Roll up the windows! Going nose-to-nose with friendly, if overzealous, zebras is part of the fun of the drive-through Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, about an hour's drive south of Austin. CARIBBEAN IX I IX Si MX Sailing from Vancouver Sailing from Miami 5649 I'KIMIss 0WH CARNIVAl TRIUMPH (iiiIm-i lilies An TRANS-ATLANTIC BERMUDA By Cory Scott Special to the American-Statesman SAN ANTONIO The last thing I expected as my family, and I arrived at the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch was to be greeted by a young man in khakis cradling a high-powered rifle in his arms. I pulled up beside him, and in a weak attempt at humor, said, "Let me guess.

You're the 'Great White Hunter' part of the show." The man smiled sympathetically and pointed down the road to a small deerlike creature feeding along the outside of the high fence. "That's one of our impala," he said. "She's jumped the fence, and this is the best way to get her back inside where she'll be safe." He held the gun forward, and I could see that it was a high-tech dart gun. The man's walkie-talkie crackled and with a nod he excused himself to track down the wayward antelope. Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch, located an hour south of Austin, is home to 65 species of animals from six continents.

Most of the 500 animals, like the bison, llamas and zebra, roam free over Hill Country enclosures and can be viewed, fed and photographed from your car. Larger and potentially aggressive animals such as two white rhinos named Bertha and Goliath live peacefully behind wire fencing. Long-haired goats and other cuddly creatures are confined to a small petting zoo surrounded by shaded picnic tables. After paying our entry fee and buying two bags of Purina Gazelle Chow, we rumbled across a cattle grate into the first of four large safari pastures. A pair of ostriches two black puffs atop four outrageously bald legs served as a welcoming committee, and while we had been cautioned against feeding the animals by hand, we learned very quickly the importance, too, of keeping the car windows rolled up in the presence of the feathered giants.

Our daughter, whose window was down at the time, had been balancing one of the bags of animal feed in her lap. Suddenly, she found herself host to a long fuzzy neck attached to a benign but nonetheless intrusive head that was all beak punctuated by two black eyes. A shriek and then peals of laughter rang out as the offending head darted back out of the window, the entire sack of feed in its mouth. We drove on, carefully gauging the amount of open window we allotted each animal based on its cuteness factor. The zebras, while Sailing from Miami Sailing from New York 999! NORWIGIAN DRIAM EMPRESS Mi li.ilrs iwl Iws MEDITERANNEAN 'Oav HAWAII Sailing from Barcelona $QQQ SR1QI Sailing from Kahalui IHDIPlNDCNCi bidiiuufli mf kt jfiMiaii WWW ol Ihi Saas i- liviktjt' 1 if If you go: Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch is open daily from 9 a.m.

to 5 p.m. except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Extended hours (9 a.m.-6:30 p.m.) run from Memorial Day until the third weekend in August. Admission is $9.50 per adult, $8 per senior and $6 per child. Bags of feed are available for a nominal charge.

Call (830) 438-7400 or visit the ranch's Web site at www.nbwildliferanchtx.com for more information. Me Your Bet! The ranch is home to 500 animals, including these Barbary sheep. The animals are free to roam over enclosures on the ranch's Hill 231-0221 www.myb.com Country property. Departs It does matter where you stay! Belize 43rt Costa Rica 45Jrt Guatemala 41 -In Honduras-Ul SIWil Ouilii.l.cualiiir 583n Santiago, hilt 786H Mexico City 370 it Puerto Rieo 6I4H ima. Peru 504n Buenos Aires )5Jit Treasure Island $304 New YorkNew York $299 Luxor $299 Golden Nugget $269 Imperial Palace $269 Circus Circus $249 citot" MoiuUTlink.i'nti nwu.t'Vltolrau'i.coi! SOUTHWEST AIRLINES VACATIONS siimi oi kt i imii petting zoo.

My 4-year old daughter, who had been ogling two adult reticulated giraffes across the road, cried out, look!" I turned to see a baby giraffe emerge from behind its parents. The elegant infant ambled toward the tall wire fence while my daughter clambered onto my shoulders. Together we hurried across the road where, for the first and perhaps only time in her life, my child met the dark gaze of the world's tallest creature eye to eye. stunning, seemed a bit overzealous, so they got just a few inches of open space. A bison, despite its imposing bulk and long probing tongue, appealed to my national pride and inspired me to crank the window halfway down.

The addax antelope, an endangered species from the desert regions of North Africa, received a wide open window and an extra large handful of food for good measure. The highlight of the afternoon, though, came after our driving tour, as we enjoyed a cool drink at one of the picnic tables near the Otlur air hotel auiiluMt: Price is per person, based on double occupancy Packages are based on roundtup purchase md do not include a $2 75 federal ectse tax which will be imposed on each (light segment of your itinerary A Might segment is defined as a takeoff and a landing Pnceis) quoted are examples per person based on double occupancy for a two night package departing Sunday through Wednesday and valid 4 8 4 11 unless otherwise noted from Austin Rates may be higher for othei days of the week Surcharges apply weekends holidays special events, and convention periods Packages musi be booked no later than fom business days prior to departure date Rates are subject to change until purchased Seals are limited and may not be available on some flights that operate during peak tiavei times and huiiday periods Airport lanes of up to $18 roundiiip are not included The Mark Travel ffotporation is the tour operator for Southwest Atrtinps Vacations 4TUNTA S155 KANSAS CITY $112 AMSTERDAM $499 BALTIMORE 181 LAS VEGAS 128 ATHENS 585 BOSTON 207 MIAMI 181 BRUSSELS ...478 CHICAGO 155 NEW YORK 207 FRANKFURT ..495 CLEVELAND 181 ORLANDO 155 HONOLULU .401 DETROIT 181 SAN DIEGO 128 LONDON 468 HARTFORD 207 TAMPA 155 PARIS 428 I I ItIK IOKf I H'ROI'I AN 1)1 VI IN A I IONS mi i 1 tun (hwe nmt wna 'uis "rs i fjnu iriitws 41 HESS! JiiMAMMHIlMliilMHflM TRAVEL 11 SIS MANiJiaANG iONOlulu www.myb.com -GGCGC 5J.WSft.OS jj-t WM3tbZE i Division of Elite Travel Tours FOR RT DEPARTURE FROM AUSTIN mV S'W3i AMSTERDAM 398 56? ATHENS 52? 771 llgg DUBLIN 481 V1 2y9 GLASGOW 435 27 814 FRANKFURT 368 LONDON 435 5 A3 MADRID 59ft. AO RT5 rome 488 789 995 ask f0 other international destinations fares are Subject to change without notice 5266 CSiOVtW 5556 52S 3P'jS5El5 SOMEWlAN JtANESBwaG t'iCE TEL AVIV 800-278-4746 CRUISES INC ron DEPARTURE TILL MAR 23R0 Only Norwegian Gives You Hawaii. Plus Maui, Kauai, Oahu and rmz Qnat Sammer Fanning Island. HPS.

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What a way to io. Tic' XoruvJi Way'. Aboard the mai'nitiicnr Mncariii)i Wind. lvk upon dick i-ish etra Spacious NONSTOP FLIGHTS FROM SAN ANTONIO! in Westward Ho Casino-Rear 19995 Includes FREE lunch per person, per day and unlimited beverages ot the Casino Lounge Bar! Round Trip Air 51 CO 95 'olvnesian luaus. Hawaiian sratcrooms, a romantic bistro, a suniptinuis spa.

Plus Monte Carlo Resort Casino 38995 39995 Paris Las Vegas U7 Uo witli the nul. hostesses, hula dancing and more. ot paradise Price valid for 4nt Sun 31 8-4 1 10 1 Tlekea now available for th NHRA SummltlUeing.com National April T-U. 2001 the Las Vega Motor Speedway.TkkMJ from 50. Prices valid for 4nt Sun and 3ntThu 45-426 Add $30 for 3m 41901 fftQ Cpectacdlar 7J (yRUISES 244-4998 hill Ckl AT OAKS OK IT III' KOI NO ROCK.

rj.i if in viii I i hi i I in i 1 1 1 in id Make Your Bel Vacations! 3808 Spicewood Sprgs 103 Tramsx Travel Davenport 512-347-3444 Round Rock 512-244-2015 Keruy Lane 512-459-2200 Tattytmvn 512-473-8585 Nonlwest Hills 512-343-2201 wwiv tramextravel com Online Vacation Packages By Lucky 7 Vacations (512) 401-4979 Bastrop Travel Next to 303-10018M-401-4428 Z31-0ZZ1 www.myb.com TOI I I KIT SSS -VMS SIM CI -U'l I AKl'Kl IS1S( ()1 1-V VI I klAI IOK VOl IVU OKI WIS Dillards Travel Highland Mall 454-1562 Barton Creek 329-5294 Open 7 davs American Adventwe Tours OPEN DAYS M-F 7-7-Sat-Sun 10 3 1 888-258 0845 Creative Travel Center. Inc. Austin 512-331-9560 San Marcos 512-392-7600 vvl Pinnacli ol Travel 12636 Reseaich Blvd. 918-1515 THE TRAVEL DESK Open 7 Days email tdjamsaol com (512) 917-0203 River City Travel 183 Research Burnet (512) 467-1777 Star Travel Open 7 days 1-800-335-1144 Travelscope International jjls nil tV LIU i XN 1 T' Oak Hill Travel At the in Oak Hill 288-4120 Austin Travel I Tours. Inc.

Anderson Mill Shopping Ctr Hwy 183 SLake Creek Pkwy 250-5654 AAA Travel 444-4757 South 335-5222 North Majestic Travel. Inc. 1 888 253 8688 Owner Gilda Butler Artencar Mveotun; Tours OPEN 7 DAYS 7-7 Sat Sun 10-3 1 888 258 0845 Honeymoons by Spirit ol the West Travel 7 davs a week (512)218-8742 7 1 8 Congress Ave 512-477 9946 1-800 235 9638 GRAND TRAVEL vacationirqranrjtt.ivelcruise com Round Rock Travel Tours 407 Round Rock Ave (512)255-4011 Accent Travel AMEX Great Hills Mkt 338-0444 Brodie Oaks 441-7800 anneh i accent-travel com International Tours 1901 William Cannon 109 'Austin 441-1000 Open 7 Days 1 888 565 7805 W''! Spectacular Vacations Above Beyond Travel UNIQUE TRAVEL INC. a hotel riling guide lo Hi eiplainao in our brochures which ate available tram your Irani 601 Great Oaks Dr. 3720 far West Blvd 109 701 Brazos agent.

Departures are from Austin Bergstrom International or San Anlcimo International Prices quoted are Round Rock Austin. TX 78731 Suite 170 per person based on double occupancy tor specitic departures are not retroactive and are subiect to change c.i mi HOD 1JJ tnftO iC49t tAA.MlOt 14191 190.11111 II nanilt.ar nit.innl rnniiimmontc 1til Curmiinoc Jllll hoMiv 'soeciar eventsurcharoes rnaylppBMOaaehandiino cnb and rollawav costs are payable dlrect to hotel International tees and taes ot $75 55 and Ml I) tru uo to $11 in seornent tees and PICsare not included and are due wrm nnai paymeni neast reiei iu me ruiwi oi FARE APPLIES TO SELECT 2001 SAILINGS RESTRICTIONS APPLY FARE IS CRUISE ONLY PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY AND INCLUDES POR1 CHARGES i DEPARTURE TMES ARE NOT INCLUDED SHIPS REGISTRY BAHAMAS 2001 NORWEGIAN CRUISE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Pre-Travel Penalty Waiver is not included in the advertised price Charter air service provided by Sun Country Airlines or American Irans An unmue pavnent and cancellation policies apply to holiday departures Prices listed are System Savers which have special booking requirements available through your travel agent mmm.