Day 24 (Mon, 31 Jul) - Tarangire and Mesarani

Got up at a leisurely hour ie 8.30am and had breakfast.

The idea was that we would have a long walk but Reuben felt it was far too hot. So we all piled into the car and drove the short distance to a local village.

The village ran alongside the road and was made up of a number of small bars, shops and unfinished homes.

As we walked along the village we attracted some interest personified by two small boys that attached themselves to us. One was about 2 and the other 4. They quite happily walked behind us for some distance in the blistering heat, before Jo became concerned that they were drifting too far from home. Luckily Reuben persuaded a passer by to walk the boys back to the village.

On the way back from our walk the boys spotted us again. We rewarded them for their company by buying them some sweets. Quite funny how we to load up their pockets as their hands were too small to carry them!

Sarb bought a small picture from Abraham, the chap who ran the shop opposite the camp site. As a surprise for Jo he got it well wrapped!

Had lunch, packed and drove the short distance to Mesarani. Quite surprised how short this journey was considering we had a long journey ahead of us t'row.

The campsite is well equipped; has a good bar, a snake farm and a masai museum!

The snake farm was very interesting; an enthusiastic guide took Reuben and Sarb round the exhibits, whilst Jo went to look at the tortoises. Jo is not keen on snakes!

They also had a small croc farm that had crocs from 4 months old to about 25 years! They also had some rare 'bottle nosed' crocs.

Jo held a small tortoise that was only a month old! It just covered the palm of her hand.

We then went to the masai museum; very informative and interesting. It had many exhibits covering a wide spectrum of masai life.

Had a few beers in the bar where Rueben beat Sarb at darts (twice).

Had our normal feast of a dinner and settled in for the night.

Day 23 (Sun, 30 July) - Tarangire

Woke up to sunlight streaming through the tent.

After breakfast we drove for about a half hour to the park entrance. Whilst we waited for Reuben to sort the tickets out we were kept amused watching the little mice nervously running around the edge of the road.

Drove into the park and Reuben soon learnt that a pride of lions had recently made a kill. We headed off to the site and soon found the lions lying in long grass some 60 yards away. They had clearly fed well as most of them were lying around relaxing as only cats know how to do.

Whilst we watched them we noticed a small jackal moving furtively through the grass towards the lions. Some distance away from them he disappeared and then reappeared, at top speed, with a lump of meat in his jaws. He padded off over the road and a little while later returned to repeat this performance three times.

Drove on through the park spotting some giraffes. The landscape is dominated by the distinctive Baubau ( [1] ) trees. They have huge trunks and the branches that sprout from the crown of the tree resemble limbs. They really do look like the Ents in the The Lord of the Rings!

Had lunch on the top of a small hill that overlooked the river. Watched the zebra and kudo drink as we ate.

After lunch we drove into the East of the park. Came across a river where a large number of zebra and wildebeast were milling about. Reuben spotted a dead impala that was hanging from the branches of a tree nearby; clearly a recent leopard kill.

The weather started to become a little cloudier with the threat of rain as we drove on into the park.

During a light shower we stumbled across a small herd of elephants complete with a tiny infant. They cautiously moved away and into the dense vegetation.

We also saw a rebellious punk zebra.

As we drove out of the park a bird flew out from the side of the road and struck the windscreen with some force. We stopped and reversed back to where the bird lay in the road. Unfortunately its wing was broken. Reuben was mortified by the incident.

Got back to camp where we relaxed before dinner.

For dinner Roger had gone to town and roasted a whole leg of lamb. Very nice it was too!

We turned in before the evening's entertainment started.

Day 22 (Sat, 29 July) - Lake Manyara

After breakfast we headed down to Lake Manyara which we can actually see from our camp site as we are quite high up a hill.

The Lake Manyara Park is a quite heavily forested area surrounding the corrosive waters of Lake Manyara.

Saw many baboons, small monkeys, antelope, giraffes and aggressive elephants, two of which scared us away by charging the car.

Stopped by the hot springs on the edge of the lake and watched the buffalo ( [1] ). We dipped our hands in the water and were surprised as to how hot it was.

Headed back to our camp where we packed up and headed to a local market so that Roger could buy some fresh fruit and veg. We also managed to buy some wine and stocked up on cans of Redds!

Whilst in the market we wandered around the many souvenir shops hounded every step of the way by the shop owners. Very annoying.

Drove on to our next campsite which is near the Tarangire Park. The campsite seems quite busy but friendly. Roger is quite pleased as he has met some of his friends who are also cooks on other tours.

Had a fine dinner washed down with the wine we bought.

Watched some quite good entertainers performing some tribal dances, one of which was quite scary on account of the gruesome mask the dancer wore.

Day 21 (Fri, 28 July) - Ngorongoro Crater

We were woken up at 5.30am by the sound of the water pouches being filled with piping hot water.

Bleary eyed we washed and stumbled into the car. The weather was very cool and quite misty.

We drove for about an hour and a half to the Ngorongoro Conservation Park entrance. Whilst Reuben sorted out our tickets we huddled up in the back of the car as it was quite cold and raining and we had both forgotten to bring our fleeces.

Passing through the entrance gates was like passing into another world. The dirt road seemed to carve through a jungle; huge trees on either side were festooned with vines and covered in lichen.

The road soon started to steepen as it wound itself round the side of the extinct volcano.

It became more misty and colder as we travelled up. Finally made it to the rim of the caldera and had our first look at Ngorongoro. Although we were shrouded in mist the floor of the caldera was very clear.

We travelled down the inside of the rim, descending some 600 metres until we were on the floor of the caldera.

As we drove on we almost immediately spotted a pride of lions resting in the grass.

Driving on we spotted hippos, cheetahs, zebra, wildebeast, hyena and a small number of flamingos.

Had lunch by a hippo pool. We were both freezing by this time and welcomed the thought of having some food! As we sat there we saw a kite swoop and with its talons attempt to take a hat an unsuspecting man was wearing. Poor guy looked quite shocked as the large bird flapped away.

It started to warm up after lunch so we felt a little better. During our afternoon drive we saw a black rhino and a very friendly warthog whom Jo christened Boris. Boris, unlike the warthogs we had seen, was not alarmed in the slightest as we drew up alongside him. He continued to munch away at the grass.

Left the park at abut 4pm and headed back to camp.

Had another feast prepared by Roger and turned in soon after.

Day 20 (Thu, 27 July) - Amboseli / Tanzania

Got up early and headed for one of the exit gates of Amboseli, taking our time. Quite cold in the early morning.

Soon left the park and got on the bumpy road towards Namanga, the border town. Reached Namanga about midday where we relaxed for a while in a small cafe whilst Jo bought some small gifts.

With Joshua and Issa we headed over to the Kenyan side of the border and quickly had our passports stamped. We then drove over no mans land until we hit the Tanzania passport office. Bit chaotic here! Probably not helped by a bus load of Spanish tourists pitching up at the exact same time we did.

Sarb was not happy having to pay 50 USD each for the visas as all his research had indicated it would be 30. A sign in the passport office proudly announced that they could change the prices of the visas at any time and by any amount so perhaps 50 USD was not too bad.

We met our new driver, Reuben and the Tanzania tour operator Simon.

We said our goodbyes to Issa and Joshua and settled into our new home, a Toyota Landcruiser. A little different from our previous transport!

Drove on good roads into Arusha. First impressions are of a clean, compact town. We had lunch where Simon cheerfully informed us that it was a good idea to tip our cook and driver 20 USD per day each. So 40 USD per day!! We almost had a fit! We discussed this later and decided that Simon was probably trying it on.

After lunch we said goodbye to Simon and met our cook Roger. We piled into the car and headed off to our camp at Lake Manyara.

Got to camp about 6.30ish. We sat in the comfortable open air dining area whilst the boys got camp ready.

Our tent is ace! It's large enough to stand and move about in and most importantly is kitted out with camp beds. There are also hot water pouches outside the tent. Pure luxury.

We had a fine dinner with Reuben. After dinner some local entertainers performed a little acrobatic, fire eating and music show. Quite entertaining.

When we turned in we both literally fell asleep the moment we hit the camp beds!

Day 19 (Wed, 26 July) - Amboseli

Got up early to an overcast and cool morning.

Around our tents there was the evidence of some late night marauding. Issa's rubbish bag was strewn all over the place. Apparently, hyenas or wild dogs had been in the camp and helped themselves to whatever they could lay their paws on!

It was a little too early for Jo as she went on our early morning game drive in her pyjamas!

Didn't see very much; even Mount Kilimanjaro was totally shrouded.

Got back to camp and had breakfast and a little sleep until midday.

Both had cold showers and washed some of our very dusty clothes.

Had lunch and then Jo and I went wandering around the campsite. We found a small pub where I had a beer and Jo a coke. When I mean a pub I mean a wooden framed building with a dirt floor and rickety tables and chairs. We loved it.

Got back to our camp where we jumped in the van and headed on out. Went to the Observation Mount that affords a spectacular view of Amboseli. Could see the vast plains all around us and just at the bottom on the Mount the marshlands. Quite lucky from our lofty vantage point to spot a couple of hippos and a secretary bird loping across the plains kicking up puffs of dust.

We travelled on towards a small huddle of vans and looked out across the flat plain to an outcropping of rocks. On these rocks we could just make out a number of small heads; through binoculars they revealed themselves as a family of six cheetahs. The cubs were almost fully grown!

We waited patiently as the other vans took a few photos and raced off to the next photo opportunity. The sun was beginning to set behind the rocky outcrop so it was a brilliant scene seeing the cheetahs' profiles against the strong orange light.

After a while the cheetahs began to stir. They moved across the plain in a little gang towards the marshes. Fantastic to see them pass close by and settle down for a good slurp! It was getting dark by now so we headed back to camp and checked the photos.

Jo had a restless nights sleep on account of worrying about hyenas and my snoring.

Day 18 (Tue, 25 July) - Tsavo West / Amboseli

Sarb got up very early at 5.45am to find two rangers sitting round the camp fire.

A nice friendly pair, although the sight of the weaponry they were carrying was a litle disconcerting.

Once Joshua and Issa were up we discovered what the noises that Jo heard was last night. Apparently, Joshua and Issa had seen a pride of lions moving round the back of the campsite and not long after the rangers turned up. A little while later there was the sound of roaring some 300 yards off from our camp followed by the sounds of lions feasting and fighting over a kill.

Pretty exciting to be so close to a lion kill!

We packed our gear and drove through the park to a different gate from the one we entered and which would allow us to travel onto Amboseli. Quite chilly in the early morning. Saw a number of birds as we drove through ( [1], [2] ) and a herd of buffalo.

We got to the edge of Tsavo at about 9.30am. Here we stopped and had to wait for our armed escorts to arrive. The escorts are necessary as there has been bandit activity in the area we were to travel through; although nothing has happened in at least the last 5 years.

Whilst other tourists in their vans turned up Joshua deliberatly moved his van to the back of the caravan. He explained that if you were in the middle and the lead car took us there was a risk that you would have to drive like a loon to keep up. However if you are at the back you get to have an armed guard in your van and as such can pottle along at pretty much your own pace.

So bang on 10am the gates opened the lead car set off and the rest of vans and us in hot pursuit. It was the first time that we've been in a little party consisting of a cook, a driver and a chap looking like he wanted a part in Lock, Stock.

We travelled on dusty roads through small villages. We stopped at the Shetani Lava flows. Quite amazing to stand on these flows as you can follow the path it must have taken far up into the distant mountains.

Drove onto Amboseli and got into the park at about lunchtime. The landscape is incredibly barren. Very, very dry and dusty. So much so that we saw large twisters of sand moving around the plains. Mount Kilimanjaro utterly dominates the horizon. Your eye is constantly drawn towards it, as if to allow your brain to confirm that it really is that big.

Went for a game drive where we saw elephants wading through marshland. We then raced to a spot where some drivers had seen some lions.

We found the pride, with young cubs, lazing on the edge of a thicket. Nearby three buffalo were watching the pride carefully. Clearly uncomfortable one of the buffalo decided to charge the pride. The lions scarpered.

We stayed for a while watching the interplay between the buffalo and lions. As Joshua reminded us although the buffalo seemed to have the upper hand in the dark it would be the lions that would be doing the chasing.

Headed back to camp where we sat up late chatting.

During the night, Jo heard strange noises around the camp. She woke Sarb up who irritably told her put in her ear plugs and forget about it. Had to be said though that there was some very loud sniffing sounds coming from very close by that was a little worrying. Not to mention the sound of something being dragged.

Day 17 (Mon, 24 July) - Tsavo West

Woke to a corking blue sky.

Joshua came around at 8am to pick us up for breakfast at his lodgings.

We then headed into the market area of Mtoi Andei so that Issa could pick up some more fresh veg and fruit.

The entrance gate to Tsavo West is actually right by Mtoi Andei so it was just a case of swinging off the main road and into the park.

Found our campsite that feels a little exposed. It's basically a wide circular beaten patch of ground with a couple of buildings holding the showers and toilets. Surrounding it are low bushes and quite a few birds. We are also the only ones at this campsite!

It was at this time that Issa discovered that he'd forgot the gas burner ring. So we all traipsed back to the lodgings in Mtoi Andei to pick it up!

Back at the campsite, we left Issa to cook while we went on a game drive. The landscape is a sea of tall grass, dotted by clumps of green trees. In the distance we can see low blue mountains and to our South we catch our first hazy glimpse of the awesome spectacle that is Mount Kilimanjaro.

Drove to a hippo pool formed from a natural spring. The pool itself is surrounded by vast shady trees and dense vegetation. Very cool after the severe heat on the plains. Saw loads of hippos, fish, crocs, a fish eagle and banded mongoose. It really is quite an amazing oasis.

It was far too hot to drive back to camp so we decided to sit in the shade for a few hours. Drove back to the camp at about 4pm; spotted giraffe, buffalo, warthogs and elephants. Joshua said that to see lions in Tsavo West is quite rare because of the tall grass.

On the way back to camp the sun began to set. The colour and feel of the landscape changed dramatically as the light dimmed.

After dinner Jo decided to turn in early. Sarb stayed up with Issa and Joshua and shared their little treat of ugali and kake. Sarb headed off to sleep; earplugs firmly in place.

Jo had a restless sleep. She heard some strange noises in the bush and was quite annoyed that Issa and Joshua were up talking and chatting. What made it worse was that a number of chaps seemed to have joined the party. All very strange!

Day 16 (Mon, 23 July) - Mtoi Andei

Got up early to a warm but overcast day.

Left Tsavo East and headed off to Mtoi Andei. Mtoi Andei is a town about halfway between Mombasa and Nairobi on the main road that links the two cities. It's basically a truck stop; complete with large petrol stations and small hotels.

Joshua suggested that since we had about 4 nights worth of camping ahead of us we might appreciate staying in a hotel for the night. We readily agreed and so checked into a rather large roadside hotel.

Not exactly comfortable but we managed to have strip washes and washed some clothes.

This is also the time that the Goatee first appeared. Sarb's top lib was quite blistered by this stage and his beard was beginning to entertain some of the local wildlife. So he decided the best thing to do would be to shave his beard into a Goatee. Jo was not impressed. However Sarb rather liked the effect.

Lazed around and went for lunch at the place Joshua and Issa were staying at. They were lodging in the market area of the town in a small guest house that allowed people to use their kitchens for a fee.

Issa cooked a fab spag bol and meatball pasta.

Afterwards we talked about Kenyan politics before Joshua walked us back to our hotel. On the way, he disappeared into a shop and came out clutching two cans of Redd's which he gave to us. This is the only alcoholic drink he now consumes and he swears by it. Very nice it is too. Redd's is a cider that is quite refreshing and about 5% alcohol, so not too bad on the buzz scale.

We lazed around for the rest of the afternoon until Joshua picked us up for dinner. Issa made the best meal we've had. Chapatis with a beef stew. Lovely.

After dinner Jo and I picked up some more Redd's and turned in to a very good nights kip.

Day 15 (Sat, 22 July) - Voi / Tsavo East

Got up and tried to have showers but unfortunately not working.

We set off to have breakfast in the hotel but Joshua was adamant that we should breakfast in the park. So we got our gear ready and headed off to Tsavo East, leaving Voi behind.

In the park we pitched our tents and had a couple of fried egg sandwiches. Whilst this was going on Jo gave a start as she'd spotted very close to our camp, some 30 yards away, a herd of elephants that were munching the trees.

Went for a game drive about late morning. The roads are dusty and brick red. Saw some kudu, elephants and ostrich. Because of the time we actually started our drive it was the hottest part of the day and as such the animals were pretty thin on the ground. Still pretty cool driving around surrounded by the scrubland and low mountains in the distance.

We stopped by a churning river where the volcanic activity of the region was plain to see. The river passed through a gorge created from the volcanic pink and grey striped rock. It looked as though the rock had actually been water once and instantly frozen; their shapes were incredibly fluid.

Got back to camp at about 1.30pm for a bit of a rest and lunch.

Had another game drive after lunch. Saw elephants, giraffe, baboons and various antelope. Got back to camp and watched Issa cook our dinner on an open camp fire. Sarb decided he needed to help and so became responsible for throwing bits of wood onto the fire.

Had dinner sitting round the fire as darkness fell. We all chatted for some time after dinner drinking our coffee and tea! Good fun.

Just as we were about to turn in we heard some strange hooting. Sounded like a car horn but heard from a distance. We soon discovered in the tree above us a number of bush babies peering down on us, with their eyes reflecting the torchlight like lamps.

Went to bed where we heard the bush babies making their strange calls from the trees dotted through the camp. Very relaxing.

Day 14 (Fri, 21 July) - Nairobi

Got up at 7am ready to be picked up at 8.30am by Joshua.

Had breakfast with some German charity workers who advised us not to bother with the Nairobi National Park as it was very expensive for what was on show.

Waited for Joshua. And waited. He eventually pitched up at about 11.30am. Apparently he'd been working the previous night and most of the morning to organise the remainder of the trip as it had not been done.

Anyway, we loaded up and then drove around Nairobi for a bit, during which time we met up with a cook that Joshua had managed to rustle up the night before and Sarb got some more cash. The cook's name is Issa.

After stopping off to get loads of water and other supplies we finally set off for Tsavo through the heavy Nairobi traffic.

Tsavo is on the Nairobi to Mombasa main road so this is a major bonus ie. it is highly likely that the roads will be surfaced.

However as we left it so late to leave Nairobi the Tsavo park would be shut by the time we got there and so Joshua stopped at a place called Voi where he bundled us into quite a comfortable little hotel.

Jo and I had a very nice dinner (we were starving on account of not eating much the night before), watched a bit of tv and fell into a blissful slumber.

Day 13 (Thu, 20 July ) - Nanyuki

Left Nanyuki and headed off to Nairobi passing Mount Kenya en route.

Stopped at a roadside physics laboratory where a kind chap demonstrated the effects of being in the Northern or Southern hemisphere on an emptying bath. Not having a bath he made do with a paper cup but we're sure the effect would be the same.

Drove through lush areas with large coffee and pineapple plantations. Stopped at a small shop where the proprietor had created a really bright front garden full of flowers.

Got to our hotel at 1pm. Our room is massive, clean and dominated by a queen size bed. The bathroom is just as big. Sarb got excited as he thought he'd be able to take a soak in the sunken bath (Jo was just as excited but for different reasons) but unfortunately there was no bath plug and furthermore a sign said please don't use it, because of the water shortages.

We had a light lunch followed by a bottle of wine consumed in the nice gardens of the hotel.

Jo was quite thrilled when we spotted a cat with three of her kittens all cuddled up near the front of the hotel.

Got showered and headed for dinner. Unfortunately, Sarb started to feel a bit poorly again so had a bit of dinner and then headed back to the room. Jo was back not soon after as she was beginning to feel poorly. What a pair!

Both drank a bit of water and turned in and had a quite restful sleep.

Day 12 (Wed, 19 July ) - Nanyuki

After the previous nights dinner we felt that we owed it to the chef to give him/her another chance on the basis that no one can be that bad a cook. So we ordered English breakfasts. Bad mistake! The chef is clearly of a different calibre.

Bit of a rest day today so went off to the Internet cafe and updated the blog and responded to mails etc.

With deep misgivings we headed back to the hotel for lunch. As expected the tomato soup we ordered was insipid.

Met up with Joshua who drove us up to Mount Safari, a posh hotel that overlooks Mount Kenya. We got to the gates and were informed that just to enter the hotel grounds we would have to pay 600 shillings each (including the driver). Sarb's view on this was fairly simple ie. 'No way, hosay' so we drove on back to Nanyuki.

We walked around Nanyuki for abit and Sarb managed to buy a second hand book by trading in a book that Jo had already read. (Also saw the Kenya franchise of our favourite cafe in London). Got back to the hotel where we both lazed around reading and listening to the Ipod.

Both of us couldn't face another episode for what amounted to grevious bodily harm and so skipped dinner and went straight to bed.

Day 11 (Tue, 18 July ) - Samburu

Got up early at about 6am. Feels like someone switches on the lights and turns on the birdsong the morning is so sudden!

Had brekky and packed up our gear, ready to leave later in the day.

Went for a drive over the river and immediately spotted a small number of vans in the distance. Joshua raced over and, quite expertly, managed to position the van right in the middle of them all. It was then we spotted the cheetah, some 15 yards away. It had a dead baby impala in its jaws. It slowly carried, dragged its kill right behind our van and onwards into the bush where we could just make it out. Fantastic sight!

Got back to camp where Joshua cleaned his van . We headed for our favourite spot by the river bank. Watched a very large croc basking on the opposite river bank.

Had lunch and then headed towards Nanyuki.

Got to Nanyuki feeling slightly battered after the bad roads and settled into our hotel. We had a snooze until 7.30pm and then headed down for dinner. Worst food we've had. Jo had spag bol and Sarb had some indeterminate animal's meat. Gross! Luckily, we washed down what little we ate with a bottle of wine. Both felt quite merry after that.

Day 10 (Mon, 17 July ) - Samburu

Got up very early and watched the numerous baboons and monkeys annoy the cooks. Also saw a few birds.

Left for a game drive at 8am and it was already sweltering.

Samburu is quite a green, because of the nearby river, but dry landscape. Saw elephants [ (1), (2) ], giraffes, many zebra and the long necked antelope. Also saw a small number of juvenile crocs.

Highlight of the morning was seeing a herd of giraffes having a drink at the river.

Got back to camp and stayed in the tent for about an hour. Absolutely roasting. Luckily Joshua suggested sitting by the river bank instead. Only about 30 metres away from camp we sat on fine sand on the river bank enjoying the cool breeze.

Watched a family of Vervey monkeys play and drink from the river just a few yards away. Quite entertaining.

Went for a game drive at about 4pm where we didn't see a great deal ( [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] ] . Well to be honest this means we didn't see any big cats!

Had a nice dinner back at camp and turned in early.

Day 9 (Sun, 16 July ) - Nakuru

Quite a special day today. Our first anniversary!

At breakfast we exchanged anniversary cards much to each other's surprise!

Sarb took a quick look at the loud church next door to see if he was spiritually missing something. Basically it was a large corrugated iron sided building with a stage built at the far end. On this stage a preacher was giving his latest number some welly. In front of him swayed (because of the volume probably) perhaps 6 or 7 people. Seemed an awful lot of noise for such a small number of people, but each to his own.

Drove to Nakuru to pick up the sleeping bag that should have been with us from the start. After an anxious wait, Joshua managed to find it in the post office. Result!

Then drove North towards Samburu. The landscape is incredibly lush with green rolling hills and valleys. Jo is feeling especially at home. Stopped on the top of a large hill that straddled the equator and had a look at the marvelous scenery we had just driven through.

As we continued to drive North we were slowly descending as Nakuru is quite high up. The environment changed appreciably as we went. Slowly it became hotter, drier and dustier and the dominating colour of the landscape was a tired brown.

Had lunch at Nanyuki (nr Mount Kenya).

Traveled onwards to Thomson Falls. Quite picturesque! Incidentally, we bought ourselves some 'new' wedding rings as we left our proper ones at home.

Continued on to Samburu through the driest and dustiest terrain on bad roads. Passed through Isiolo; a dirty, poor, desperate looking town where the inhabitants looked pretty washed out and unhappy.

Made it to Samburu at about 6.30pm. Both felt very tired. Saw some elephants as we drove through to our camp.

Campsite is basic but we really couldn't care. Had dinner and looked at the night sky which was awesome.

Day 8 (Sat, 15 July) - Nakuru

Nice hot sunny morning as we headed out to the Lake Nakuru game reserve.

Quite a large park dominated by the lake and surrounded by quite high escarpments.

Saw about a million flamingo's, a white rhino in the distance, the usual assortment of antelopes and buffalo. However, the highlight was spotting a LEOPARD.

Sarb spotted the leopard as we drove past and he is very smug about it! It was laying in the grass about 25 metres away and when we stopped in the van it looked very cautious. It then got up and keeping a firm eye on us walked behind the van, across the road and vanished into the bush! Amazing sight.

Drove to the top of an escarpment and drank in the amazing view of the park. Had lunch there and then Joshua drove us into Nakuru town centre to get extra provisions.

Got back to hotel and relaxed.

Sarb missed dinner as not feeling too well. Late at night not feeling well turned into really not feeling well. Jo got the driver up and we all trooped off to the hospital. Turned out Sarb had dysentry (a posh word for a common disorder) and was given a bag full of pills for 1500 shillings.

By the time we got back to the hotel we were all knackered and slept the remaining few hours of the night.

Day 7 (Fri, 14 July) - Naivasha

Sarb got up quite early and went exploring down by the lake. Jo stayed in bed as she had a bad nights sleep - it was freezing and Sarb had the one and only sleeping bag!

We de-camped and headed off to Elsamere, home of the late Joy and George Adamson (Born Free, Elsa the lionness).

Sited on the edge of the lake in its own beautifully kept grounds the house has been left untouched since the owners' deaths. Even their silverware and furniture has been left undisturbed.

We pottered around the house for a bit, watched a video on the formation of the Born Free Foundation and then walked around the gardens. The views of the lake beyond the house were stunning; made even more so with the huge trees in the garden being used as a climbing frame by the Colobus monkeys.

We then travelled onwards towards Nakuru. Roads were relatively good.
Stopped at a roadside cafe and had Nyama Choma (grilled lamb). Quite adventurous really since Sarb was still not 100%.

Got to our basic hotel in Nakuru around 3.30pm

Relaxed, had dinner and went to bed early. Unfortunately, we did not know that Christian Kenyans like to spend Friday night with their own form of worship. The church next door kept us awake until 4.30 am with very loud but enthusiastic singing.

Day 6 (Thurs, 13 July) - Masai Mara

Packed up gear and headed off to Naivasha. Jonas, the cook, came with us for some of the journey as he had to head back to Nairobi as his kids were unwell. Passed through the small Masai township as we left.

We travelled along the same bumpy roads which was fun! It was a blistering hot morning. Joshua told us the roads in the afternoon would be a lot better but he spoke too soon - they were very dusty and bumpy. At some times we couldn't see more than 10ft in front of the van!

Got to the Fish Eagle campsite and put up our tent. The campsite was very well equiped and beautifully located on the edge of the lake.

We saw some large pre-historic looking birds - they were about 4ft tall and had a wingspan of 8ft - pretty scary but we think they are harmless. Found out that they are called Maribou.

Had dinner and a couple of glasses of wine!! We then went down by the lake in search of Hippos. We didn't spot any hippos but did see a shooting star.

Day 5 (Wed, 12 July) - Masai Mara

A bit of a quiet day today.

Sarb felt quite poorly so stayed in bed. Jo decided to stay around camp as well just to make sure he was ok.

Jo spent most of the day reading her book and fending off the Vervet monkeys. Whereas Sarb made frequent trips to the loo and just sweated buckets!

Sarb felt a little better in the late afternoon. So we spent the last couple of hours of daylight sitting together on a blanket under a tree outside our tent. Very peaceful listening to the birds and watching the monkeys play.

Day 4 (Tue, 11 July) - Masai Mara

Got up at 8am and went for a game drive.

Masai Mara lived up to our expectations. Vast rolling grasslands punctuated by iconic trees. Beautiful!

As it is the start of the migration we saw loads of zebra, wildebeast, impala and a lone elephant. Also some spectacularly coloured birds.

It was absolutely brilliant hearing the little cubs 'squeak' as they played.

We came across a small group of female lions sheltering in a copse and were astounded to see that they had a number of cubs with them!!

Got back to camp about 12pm and had a little sleep until our next drive at 3pm. It was great to see the light change over the Masai Mara as the sun started to set.

Saw some lions, including cubs of all ages, (although no adult males) lounging around some shrubland. They suddenly became perturbed, becoming agitated before diving deeper into the shrubs. The reason became clear. A very large herd of cattle were being driven by the Masai not some 50 metres away and the sound of the cow bells had driven them off.

Our driver warned the Masai that lions were very near and in true Masai style they just smiled. To say they are a bit hard would be an understatement!

Got back to camp for a great dinner and sleep.

Note: there are no fences around the Masai Mara. Our camp is about 400 metres from one of the entrance gates and if animals wanted to they could wander into camp. The reality is that they don't although it is reassuring to have Masai people guarding us at night!

Day 3 (Mon, 10 July) - Nairobi

Joshua picked us up from the hotel and we headed off to the Masai Mara.

We took the Great North Road, through heavy mist, right to the edge of the Rift Valley.

The weather started to get hotter as we descended into and across the Valley.

We then hit the main 'road' to take us to the Masai Mara. To say that this was a bad road would be an understatement. Some potholes should really have their own geographical name!

Very dusty and hot. Travelled on this road for 3 to 4 hours.

Jo is well happy though. She's seen more donkeys than you can shake a stick at!

Got to the campsite in the Masai Mara at about 5.30pm. Tents and toilets basic. Too tired and battered to care.

Sarb had a restless nights sleep because the tour company had forgotten to bring his sleeping bag.

Day 2 (Sun, 9 July) - Nairobi

Spent day pottering around our hotel.

Went to a local market to pick up some water and get on the Internet.

Jo got propositioned by a drunk Sikh geezer on the way back with a rather witty chat up line ie. 'Oi, baby'.

Watched the tennis final, and then had a sleep before the World Cup final.

Day 1 (Sat, 8 July) - Nairobi

Got the flight a-ok from Heathrow.

Pretty cool flight, although Jo and I were seperated across the aisle seats. Luckily Jo made some quick friends with a Gujerati mother and daughter, from Golders Green, flying to Kenya for a wedding. Luckily for me my in flight screen was working whilst Jo's was busted which was just as well!

Waiting for the bags was a bit of a chore. It took about 45 minutes and we had to endure the inevitable mad scrum!

Our driver, Joshua, was waiting for us when we got outside which was a real relief as we were both pretty tired and not looking forward to tussling with local cab drivers.

Joshua our guide seems a really nice guy which is good as we'll be with him for the best part of the next 32 days!!!

Our hotel is pretty interesting. A couple checking in before us had no luggage, say no more. When we checked in and were shown to our room the receptionist obviously thought we were there for a very short stay. Luckily she realised the error of her ways and moved us to a 'deluxe' room ie. we would be using it for more than 20 minutes!

Anyway, we had a sandwich whilst watching Germany spank the (diving) Portugese. Good stuff. Jo has already made a little friend, whom she has named Smoky. Quite a cute grey cat!

Went to bed absolutely cream crackered. Tomorrow we will begin repacking our gear and just relaxing (ie watching the world cup) before we head off into the wilderness. Can't wait.