Pictures of Safari @ Amboseli

Hi everyone, I still have 15 or so pic's to add and it takes a while.

Here is the link for the 30 or so already posted;

Enjoy!

HTTP://picasaweb.google.ca/dave.stlaurent/safaritortiliscampamboseli?feat=directlink

Last Day in Africa

Another great night of rest. We woke up at 6:30am and began to pack. Our coffee arrived at 7:00am and was set out front for us. As I was packing I heard Jasmina yelling out "get away from there - leave it!...Who do you think you are?!" It was a black faced Monkey that was on the table with arm fully extended with hand in the cookie tin! You guessed it, he got all of our cookies. He then came back for the sugar tin, and once more for the box! We tried to chase after it but it was too late. The coffee was still good, black.

We had some breakfast, Jasmina bought some stuff at the curio shop and we headed to the air-strip. Before our plane touched down we managed to get some great pic's of Kilimanjaro as she was clear today.

The return flight was direct to Nairobi, arriving at 10:00am. Our pre-arranged taxi was awaiting us and we arrived at Dan and Trudy's at 11:00am. Dan arrived from work and took us to the village market so we could buy some last minute Nick-knacks. We had lunch there and picked up a few steaks for dinner. Beef is cheap in Nairobi. It is the same price as chicken. 4 x Rib cuts at 3/4 inch thick was approx. $12.00 USD. In Ontario, we pay more for just one!

Time was going by fast now as we were back packing before dinner. Our flight from Nairobi to Amsterdam departs at 10:05pm so we had to leave the house at 7:00pm.

We had a great dinner and a great bottle of wine. Stellenryck ~ South Africa Cabernet Sauvignon 1994. Excellent!

It was already time to go to the airport. Dan arranged for a driver and came along for the ride and to say good bye.

The drive wasn't too long for a Friday afternoon in Nairobi. We checked in, made it to the gate on time. KLM did double book our reserved "comfort zone" seats. After an hour of discussions and arguments, we ended up with emergency isle seats.It was a great 2 weeks. It literally felt like were were there for 1 month.

We boarded the plane and were ready for an 8 hour flight to A-Dam (arrival at 5:30am) with some well needed sleep.

Sun Downer

We had a hearty lunch, hit the pool for about an hour or so then cleaned up to meet Eric in at the bar for a coffee before our afternoon game drive.

The game drive was just as amazing as all others. Lot's of animals and birds. We seen the Lion's again but this time there were only 3 so we were constantly looking behind us! :-)

We ended the afternoon on what seemed to be the tallest hill in the park. Kilimanjaro to one side and Lake Amboseli to the other. The lake hardly existed any more due to the dry climate.

Eric, in full Masai Warrior dress, set up a table, chairs and whipped up a few gin tonic's for us as the sun set to the west. It was a great place to be. As Jasmina put it, how can something so beautiful and peaceful be so dangerous?

We headed back to camp in the dark. We stopped at the same spot where the Lion's were last and yup, you could see the glare in their eye's from the truck's lamps. Amazing.

We invited Eric to join us for dinner (with permission from John) that evening. He was back to civilian dress and we had a good evening with great conversation.

It wasn't long before it was time to go to sleep.

Game Drive ~ Amboseli

Following a good nights sleep, we woke up at around 5:30am. Our wake up call with coffee and cookies arrived at 6:00am on the dot. This camp is much different than at Elsa's. Our bed, washroom and shower was in a tent under a grass thatched roof and finished wood (raised) floor. out front, there were two chairs a table and lounger with two pillows. It was a great set up to have coffee outside with Kilimanjaro in the distance.

We showered and met up with Eric at exactly 6:30am to kick off our morning game drive with a planned bush breakfast.

We left the camp and within 3km's Eric said "there there are!".......Lion's! Resting in plain view within approx. 500 feet from us. It was amazing! Mom and 4 offspring. They were older and just about the same size as mom. Yesterday evening we were told by another group of folks that they had seen young baby's with their mother, today Eric assumed that the Dad was probably looking after the young'ins which is why he was not with the pride. I snapped quite a few pics that look pretty good. I'll Post them later.

We continued on. It was a great morning and Kili was somewhat clouded over. Eric took us to the top of a small hill, pulled out the table and 3 chairs. What a great bush breakfast overlooking the Savanna of Amobseli!.

We finished up our morning by visiting a Masai village not too far from camp. The Masai people are cow herders / farmers who wear very colourful beads. They believe that the wild animals belong the wild and the cows were given to them. The Masai are nomadic and move frequently. Their villages are built starting with a surrounding of acacia bushes (very thorny). This keeps out the wildlife and night predators. Inside the village, there are holding pens for the cows made of branches and then their huts/houses. These huts are built by the women (as the men tend to the herds). The huts are made of branches, straw and cow dung for waterproofing and insulation.

This particular village we visited has 4 families comprised of 110 Masai. Yes, each man has an average of 12 wives.

The men are Masai Warriors who protect their cattle and the village. To distinguish the Masai Warrior from other (non Masai), they have scars on their cheeks, their bottom centre two teeth have been removed, their heads are slightly pointed and in some cases, their ear lobes are stretched. It was at this point that Jasmina and I realized that our driver "Eric" was a Masai Warrior too! You'll see in the pics.

We were greeted at the entrance of the village by the Doctor and the village chief. Their English is okay. They welcomed us and said they will show us how they make fire every day as thy have no lighters or matches, how the Doctor heals and they would show us their homes.

Just then, the village women and young men came out chanting and dancing to greet us. It was pretty cool. Jasmina joined in the ritual dance. You might have seen this on National Geographic but what they do is compete on who (men) can jump the highest. There was one Masai woman that held Jasmina's hand as they both jumped up and down. It was amazing. I was allowed to snap pics and did so.

Once the dance was over we clapped and thanked them. We followed the Dr. under an acacia tree where he proceeded to show us what plants and roots were used to treat specific ailments. Then they showed us how to make fire. It's a serious process. You need a piece of soft wood, a hard wood stick and lots for donkey or zebra dung...... It took one boy to hold the soft wood and three other boys, each their turn to rub the stick between their hands. It only took about 1 minute to see smoke..... they added more dung and dry grass and slowly blew into the pile (no pun).....Voila, Fire!

We visited a hut and it was quite the experience. Enter a little opening, turn right (180 degrees), there's a little hallway for lack of a better word, all the while crouching over, turn left (45 degrees) and you are in. In front of you is a mud stone fire pit for cooking, to the left is the area where the children sleep and to the right is where the parents sleep. Beds are straw and a top layer of cow hide (leather). They cook, eat, sleep and procreate (allot) here.

Once the tour was completed, were could not leave without looking at all of what the village women make. It was like a mini-market of jewelry made from beads, zebra hair from the tails, wood and or bone carvings, walking sticks and clubs.....and so much more. The way to shop is this, you shop with the chief and give him your selections. Once done, you sit under that Acacia tree once more as he displays everything in front of you. Then you begin to bargain. He pulls out his pencil...... (a tree twig) and continues to scratch the earth in front of us. We ended up at half of what he proposed but Jasmina and I knew it would help the village. With the money, they buy beads and produce from another village at the base of Kilimanjaro. The Masai do not grow a garden. They survive on beef, milk and beef blood. They will only kill a wild animal if it is threatening their heard. Of late, this village has and is buying or trading for vegetables as last year there was a devastating drought and it has reduced their cattle by 70%.

We said our good bye's as they chanted and danced once again.!

Eric, took us back to the camp so we could have lunch, a swim and freshen up for our afternoon game drive.

Tortilas Camp, Amboseli

Hey everyone.....

Sorry for not updating the Blog but you probably guessed, there was no connectivity with Bell....

We left Dan and Trudy's at 5:30am to catch our flight out of Wilson airport at 7:30am with Safari Link. We used the same cabbie that drove us the afternoon prior as he was kind enough to return Jasmina's Blackberry case....

The flight was short with 2 stops on the way. I had the first row seat in a cesna 206 single propeller. It was an adventure. The first touch down was West Savo air strip and we came upon a Cheetah chasing a Tomson Gazelle.... They split ways as we arrived to pick up one passenger. Without delay we were air born again. Dropped off another couple at East Savo and had a 15 hop to our destination.

We were greeted by 'Eric' our driver for the rest of the trip. He was driving a 6 passenger land cruiser with canvas top and no sides. We did a game drive on the way to camp that lasted almost 2 and a half hours. We saw Wilder beast, tones of birds, Pink Flamingo's, Zebra's, Masi Giraffe, and lots of Hippo's.

We arrived at camp at approx. 3:00pm and were greeted by John and Clair our hosts. We were walked to our tent (#5) and decided to just relax and take a nap before dinner. Oh, I forgot to mention the fist view of Mount Kilimenjaro....absolutely amazing! It is 19,340 feet above sea level and has a blanket of snow running down the tip right side. Just beautiful!

We had a good dinner and tucked in early to prep for our morning game drive and bush breakfast.

Safari at Amboselli is Booked

Hi there, just a quick note to say that our trip is booked.

We will leave tomorrow morning at 7:10am and will return on Friday morning at 10:00am.

I have added a link above but I will also put it here:

http://www.chelipeacock.com/php/camps.php?mid=1

~ We're back from the Village Market and we had a fun time shopping. This is a nice place with good eats. I had a philly cheese steak sammy and chips. It was really good. We went to the Masai Worrier Market and picked up a few things made by the locals. Pricing is okay but I hear that on Friday afternoon, there is another market that everything is cheap-cheap!..

We stopped for a beer (again), this time it was a cold Tusker. Nice! only $2.00.

We are now dressed and ready for our afternoon of golf. Dan should be home from work any minute now.

TTYS!

Gorilla Pics

Good Morning.

Here is a pic of the Sabinyo Family and here is the link to our Gorilla Trekking and the Lodge where we stayed. Hope you enjoy!

http://picasaweb.google.com/dave.stlaurent/Rwanda?feat=directlink

Good bye Rwanda...

Breakfast was good once again. It was a relaxed morning. We checked out at 10:00am and went to the Genocide museum. We learned allot about the tribal tensions between the Hutu's and the Tutsi's back in 1994. After the tour we went to have a beer on a terrace in down town Kigali before heading to the airport. Mutzig is the beer of choice for me. It is crisp yet sweet and refreshing.

The wait at the airport was not long. The shopping at duty free was never before seen... Get this, I picked up a 1L bottle of Stolich's for $6.00 USD...also bought some Ugandan Gin. Look it up if you can its really good. Called Waragi.

We are back in Nairobi traffic and will be in shortly. Its 6:41pm and our trip to Amboselli will be delayed by 1 day. We should leave on Wed am and come back on Friday am.

I hear that the Volcanic ash is playing a muk again. On BBC news this morning, A-Dam airport was closed. The good news is that is should clear by Thursday.
Tomorrow Jasmina should hit the (as Dan calls it) the nick nack paddy wack shops and maybe shoot a round of golf at the Windsor. TBA

Good day all and we'll write soon!

Golden Monkeys

Good morning and thank you for all of your comments!

Sunday morning we were up at 5:30am and had a great b-fast at the lodge. Every table in the dining room has a little chimney'a to keep us warm. Keep in mind that we are 9,000 feet above sea level so its cool and damp.

We went for our orientation and drove to the foot of another volcano. This time we had to hike our way through the dense boosh to find the group of monkeys. This particular group has 80 of them. They only live in the tree tops and 80% of their diet is bamboo shoots. The other 20% is blackberries and the only time they will go to the ground.

Our hike kicked off in a little village where we began walking through the farmers fields. A little boy came up to us and was carrying a bucket of mud on his head. He had to be at least 7 years old. He was standing the shaking, the bucket was so heavy and all I could make out was "do you have a pen??"... I did, and Dan gave him some money too. He dropped the bucket and ran home yelling to his family! It was so cute!

Once we got to the stone wall, the hike got really interesting! We are sure glad we had our waterproof hiking boots as the mud was a serious glaze and had the consistency of chocolate pudding. At some point, Dan was sure his boots stayed behind him! We had walking sticks, 2 guides and a ranger with (again) an AK-47.

After an hour or so we found the monkeys. They were very subdued as they are not big fans of rain. We spent close to 45 minutes with them and got some great pics. We made our way back to the Land Cruiser and Charles covered in mud! We had some water and went down to the river to rinse off (with all the locals watching). I gave a little girl my empty water bottle and so took off showing it to everyone! It was like she won the lottery.

We went back to the lodge to shower and get ready for our drive back to Kigali. On our way, we stopped in the village where they make the Banana wine and beer (I got a buzz from half a glass). There at the store I bought some mountain tea, chili oil and a bag of cake which we call muffins....Rwandans are not big on sweets so the cake was bland.

It was lunch time and you know me, I have a nose for BBQ! Yup, I found a small stand that was selling Sheep Shiskabobs, Samboosa (samosa) and fried/grilled whole potatoes! What a snack! Jas snapped a few pics, it was great. I forgot to mention or maybe I already did, that there was a pic of Tony Blair on the wall with the locals. Seemingly this is his favorite place to stop when travels to the Musanze region.

We continued on our way with ears popping as we descended. We stopped for a photo-opp overlooking a valley and yup, 3 children popped out of the wood-work asking for Pens. We didn't have any but I had 2 carbeners and I showed them how to use them. But they were distracted by my tattoo that they wanted to touch....funny!

We made it to the Serena Kigali early enough for a nap and shower just before dinner. We took a cab to a restaurant called Heaven. Literally it was. It overlooked the city lights and was built (100%) Rwandans. Even the tables, chairs and place mats. We bought t-shits to support the locals. Food was amazing too. Again, more great pics.

Its now Monday morning 8:00am local (2:00am for you) and enjoying a coffee by the pool. This morning we are going to the Rwnada Genocide Museum then to the airport for our return to Nairobi. Jas and I have made arrangements for another trip. We will fly out tomorrow morning to the Amboselli region for two nights. This is another Safari but at the base of Mount Killimanjero. Hopefully the mountain will be clear to see!

We'll keep you posted!

Bye for now....

Back from the bush!!

On saturday morning we were up at 4:30am to get ready for the trip to the base of a volcano for our Gorilla trekking orientation. There, we met our guide Francois and his side kick. We were a group of 8 and were chosen to trek for Guhonda the largest Silverback in the world and his family "Sabyinyo". Guhonda means to beat (on chest or ground). The family consists of 10 Gorillas. Guhonda has 4 wives, 4 children and the next Silverback "boss" in training. His name is Gukunda. Gorillas have a life expectancy of 45 years and Guhonda is now 38...(We were both born in the same year).

We arrived at the rock wall of the National Conservency Park and were briefed on what to do and not to do when in the Gorillas presence. We must whisper, not point, not look Guhonda in the eye.....and no flashes on cameras. It was pretty clear.

Francois gave us some lessons on Gorilla talk and what certain grunts would mean. He also shared some eucalyptus leaves with us. They are the main diet of a Gorilla including bamboo leaves and shoots. I tasted it and was good. Francois also said that the locals used the leaves to rub under their pits to use as deodorant and will dry the wood to make charcoal for cooking.

Once we climbed over the wall it was only a matter of minutes that we met up with 2 trackers and one Ranger with an AK-47. 15 minutes later we were upon the Sabyinyo family. They were having breakfast. It was the most amazing feeling and site I've ever experienced! Big Ben (Son of Guhonda) was curious enough to grab at Jasmina's leg and try to take Dan's shoe off. Francois let out a few grunts to say "okay that's enough"....and Big Ben went elsewhere to graze.

Guhonda, yes he is huge and an amazing creature. He seemed to be very relaxed and calm. The weather was rainy and hazy. Gorillas in the mist! It was special and I have lots of pics and video. We spent 1 hour with the 8 we could see. There is even a baby called Sacola who's main interest is to suckle mom.

This was a great day and it was time to leave. We drove up to the Mountain Gorillas Lodge by 1:00pm. The staff there is amazing and views are spectacular. We could see 4 of the 6 volcanoes. Unbelievable. We checked in, they took our boots to be cleaned and we had a late lunch. We used the afternoon to relax and get ready for a show (dancing) put on by a local orphanage. They were really good and I have video of this also!

Dinner was good and we ended up at Dan and Trudy's lodge for a few night caps before bed.

A fire was started in our fireplace and there were 2 hot water bottles under the sheets!

It was a great day and next, I'll write about the Golden monkeys!

Beautiful Rwanda.....

Wow, the Country is really beautiful! Its rolling mountains go on forever.

We had breakfast at the Serena and Jasmina scored some Nutella and Peanut butter and was all smiles!

Charles picked us up at 9:00am and we did a quick tour of Kigali. We stopped at the former Belgian military base then stopped to buy a case of water for the next few days of trekking. It wasn't long before we were climbing altitude, winding our way of the mountains. We had a 3 hour drive ahead of us with a final altitude of just over 9,000 feet above sea level. For those of you that are not familiar with altitude, Toronto is exactly 257 feet above sea level. What I find also weird is that I once jumped out of a plane at 3,000 feet....hun!
Jas and I are dealing with it fine and have no need to take the pills.

There are many villages on the way and the mountain sides are all manicured by the farmers. From a distance, it looks like large steps dug out of the mountain. They grow beans, peas, bananas, pineapple, sweet potatoes, carrots, corn, coffee and more. Something I need to mention is that there is no farm equipment. It is all done by hand. The Rwandans are in great physical shape as they walk everywhere (on the road side)! Vehicles are not affordable to them. They work their plot of land, harvest their take for the day and walk it to the next village to sell or trade it. The journey can be very long as their is no flat land. All up and down hills and mountains. It is so interesting and amazing how the majority carry/transport their goods that they are bringing or taking back home. The method of carry all depends on what tribe they are from. Some, place baskets, buckets or potato style sac's on their head.....I even saw some with a back pack, an umbrella and even their purse on their head! They must have strong necks... The other tribe will have a cloth strap across the top of their head tied to the goods they are supporting with their backs... Many carry water jugs and again, I seen a woman carrying a table and 4 chairs in this fashion! Amazing...

We stopped in one village where they make wine from bananas. We bought 2 bottles and will try it tomorrow. In the store was a picture of Tony Blair with the staff. It turns our that this same village is where they make that chili oil extract!

I had the front seat with Charles who, in conversation said he was the President's body guard for 10 years. He also was the chosen driver to Prince Philip and Queen Elisabeth when they were in Uganda to celebrate the anniversary of a national park named in the Queen's honor...

We drove past our hotel of tonight and drove to Gisenya, now known as Rubavu. This is where we were to stay tomorrow night ( Lake Kivu). Now the plan is to stay at the foot of the mountain where the Gorillas are. We had lunch at the Stipp Hotel over looking the Lake. Just beautiful. We could see Goma, the capitol of the DRC. (Democratic Republic of Congo) which border is only 1.5km away.

Charles gave us a tour of Gisenya including a stop at a hot volcanic spring and a scenic view of the Nyiragoga Volcano....Active! We stopped for a drink in the back courtyard of a 3 room hotel to even watch Chelsea advance to the world cup!

We made it back to our hotel, the Hotel Gorillas at 7:00pm and crossed the street for a drink and some dinner.

Charles will meet us for breakfast at 6:00am tomorrow. We should be trekking until 1:00 or 2:00 pm then its lunch at (?). Anyway, I remember that its near the top of a non-active Volcano.

Alright, its almost 10:30 local time and need some sleep. TTYS!

Rwanda

There is a one hour time change in Rwanda. So we left Nairobi at 6:00pm and landed in Kigali at 6:10pm. Just before landing the flight attendant came on and announced that Rwanda is a plastic free Country and that any plastic bags had to be left on the plane to be discarded! The UN has recognized Rwanda as one of the cleanest Countries in Africa! Good on them.

We were greeted by Charles, our driver and guide for the 4 days we are here. Charles is the official driver for the British High Consulate (who is away on business in Uganda).

We loaded up the Land Cruiser and headed for a place to exchange some money into Francs (local currency). In Rwanda the steering wheel is on the Left and they drive on the right. It was dark when we arrived but what I can see so far, the city is very clean and doesn't seem to be as chaotic as Nairobi. The roads are much better too. I was amazed by how many motorcycles there are with riders wearing green helmets. Dan said they are "taxi-moto"... You want to go somewhere, you just hop on the back and they will take you there.

The city is nestled in a mountain side and I can't wait to see it in daylight. We arrived at the Serena hotel and let me tell you, this place is amazing! I felt under dressed in jeans and a golf shirt! The rooms a beautifully appointed and the bathrooms are all marble with a large tub and glass shower. For $250 USD a night, it is worth it.

We quickly cleaned up and met down at the bar / terrace. We had a few beers and decided to stay putt and ordered dinner. I had a traditional goat stew with plantain (not potatoes). It was really good. They offered as a condiment a hot sauce but was not saucy, it was hot pepper oil extract. Ya, I need to buy some of this to take home! Its hot! It got on my fingers and even this morning it made putting in my contacts an eye watering challenge!

It is presently 6:30 am and I am back at the terrace for a coffee. It is Rwandan grown and much stronger than Kenyan. It is really good. For some reason they look at you like you are crazy if you don't add warm milk and sugar!...funny.

Jas is still sleeping so I will go and wake her up to get ready for breakies and our departure for the Volcano's National Park at 9:00am. By the sound of it, our itinerary has changed completely aside from trekking for Gorillas and Golden Monkeys. I'll keep you posted soon!

Brian, Hope you enjoyed the Elephant pictures....and Chantal, say hi to Mom for me! :-)

Pictures

Good morning to all!

We have packed and are ready to head to the airport for the flight to Kigali, Rwanda. Tonight we will be staying and the Kigali Serina and plans have changed slightly. On the eve of our departure we will be staying at the Hotel that the move "Hotel Rwanda" was filmed. There is allot of history with this Hotel so I am anxious to learn more about it.

I have added a link to some of the pic's of the Safari. Hope you enjoy!

All is well and I'll write soon.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dave.stlaurent/Safari?feat=directlink

Steak Dinner

We arrived at Dan and Trudy's at around 7:15pm. Dan had dinner on the go and we shared some stories about our trip to the Meru.

I hit the sack at roughly 11:00pm and slept like a log. It is roughly 8:00am and I am reviewing the pics while the grounds keeper does just that. Again, the coffee is great.

Here is a pic of Elsa's Kopje. Elsa was the resident Lion and Kopje is Swahili for Mountain.

Our departure from Elsa's

It was sad sad morning but we managed to have a good breakfast and say our good-bye's.

Before leaving the park we decided to ask a Ranger to help us find the Rhino's. He did and we found one! A white Rhino...fantastic! We also got to see a Wart Hog, a Secretary Bird and a Leopard Turtle!

The drive to Trout Tree was good and bumpy but we made it. The restaurant was amazing and the grilled trout for 2 was even better!

I write to you at 7:08pm local and we are in Nairobi traffic (fun).

Tomorrow we have a the morning to prep for Rwanda so I'll hop on a PC and upload some pics!

Tks for the comments, its fun to hear from you!

BFN

Lion spotted!

Yup, far in the distance he was watching over two Giraffe! He was at least 1000 meters away but with full zoom....and full digital zoom, I can make him out.... It was too bad we couldn't get to see him/them up close.

We came in for a shower before dinner and our unwanted guest was back....down the mountain though you could still hear him loud and clear! Three or four times at least. We still had Ranger escorts.

Dinner was great and we made good conversation with a couple moving to Brazil.

Its now 11:45pm and we just finished packing. As I write this, far in the distance a Lion roars.....and Its time for bed and a good night sleep for the drive back to Nairobi. Just before leaving the park we will try to see some Rhino then its lunch at the Trout Tree.

Good night and good day to you all!

Game Drive

This mornings game drive was just as good. We seen the same wildlife as yesterday plus 2 Cheetah, Wart Hogs and I video taped a bunch of Baboons fighting...no one was hurt. Still no Lions.
We're back for a shower some lunch and a possible nap by the pool!

This afternoon our plan is to find the Black Rhino's and go to the river for more of the Hippo's and hopefully a pride of Lions!?!?

Jas and I feel special as no one else in the camp hear the Leopard.

Bye for now...

Leopard at Elsa Kopje

What a night. I have never been so intimidated in my entire life. We were told that a Leopard had been around camp and tonight, she was back. It was just 2 hours ago that I was awakened buy the most bone chilling sound I have ever experienced....to describe the sound, it was a continuous rolling huff... Like a 2 cigar hack - imagine this sound as deep as possible....RRRR-HUFF! RRRR-HUFF! .... Now imagine it 20 time in a row in only a matter of what seemed to be 10 seconds... I had the Walkie Talkie in one hand, my knife in the other with a flash light. I waited and waited and waited. The finally one loud HUFF and Jasmina woke up. "WHAT WAS THAT!?!". I stopped her in her tracks with a quick 'shut-up'.... The Leopard was still within range and I radioed for help. 2 rangers were with us in a flash! They checked the parameter and the Leopard had moved on. One ranger told me not to be frightened (ya-right) and that I could just wave around my flashlight in the dark if present and she would leave. He also said he would stick around until morning. The sun is slowly rising and it has been the longest 2 hours of my life. Jasmina is okay, but frazzled as I am/was. Trust me, its not like having a raccoon sniffing around your tent!

We have to respect the fact that we are on her mountain and in her territory...... I do now, believe me.

We have one more night here. Hopefully less interesting :-)

TTYL

Jambo!

{Swahili for Hello!}

Lunch and the swim in the infinity pool was great!

We set out at 4:00pm a scheduled. The game drive was good but we missed the Lions once again. We were told that the most recent rain has made all the vegetation grow (obviously) and that is why the sleeping lions are hard to spot. Hopefully tomorrow!

We stopped at a river and watched two Hippo's bath...the are so graceful. We seen a Jackle, and many Dick-Dicks....miniature Antelopes. They are the size of a cat. They were all over the place. They only come out in the late afternoon.

John stopped the truck in a vast open area where Lions typically hang out. We experienced our first Sun Downer! AKA, Drinks in the bush. Jas had Gin and Tonic and I had a good Tusker Beer! There were some munchies and John was telling us stories about the Masai Mara.

We are back in our cottage now to take a shower and go for dinner. Tonight we will go through all of the pics and select a few to post. I should be good to add to the blog tomorrow afternoon following our morning game drive.

Have a good evening (afternoon for you) and we'll catch up tomorrow!

Morning Game Drive...

Wow, we slept well...considering all of the sounds in the night. We were both awake at 2:00 for a half hour. We awoke with a knock at the door... our morning wake up call at 6:00am. Gabriel had fresh coffee and cookies for us. After our coffee on look out balcony, we got dressed and met John @ 7:00am for our first game drive.

It was still early and cool out. We saw the likes of more Giraffe, emu, water buffalo, zebras and Galezzes. We stopped in an open plain at 9:15 for breakfast (a-la Safari)... Amazing! Fried egg sammy's on Fuccia rosemary bread..sausages, fresh fruit, yogurt and coffee.

After B-fast we headed for the Rhino area...but as big as they are they eluded us... Maybe this aft.

We found a lone Elephant that wasn't too sure about a white land cruiser... I was standing in the back with the top half of me poking through the hatch and Jas has in the back seat... Mr. Elephant decided to fake charge us! Jas freaks out...I keep snapping pic's!... Nothing happened and the result was amazing photo's.

Were back at the lodge now (1:30) for lunch and a swim. We planned the next game drive for 4:00.

TTYS....

Elsa Kopje

Well we didn't get much sleep... I think I got 1 hour in. We spent the evening at Dan and Trudy's in their yard by the fire with Jack and Coke for me and red wine for Jas....

John, our driver and guide for the Safari was there to pick us up at 6:30 am but we finally hit the road at 8:00. The drive to the Meru was good. The scenery was just amazing. There are so many villages with little shops on the way up. We stopped at the Equator and literally stood on both hemispheres at once! There was a man there showing us how that on one side of the street water was funneling down the spout turning clock wise.....then we crossed the street and all of a sudden, the water started spiraling down counter clockwise. Cool!

It is 2:10pm and we have made it to Elsa's. It took 6 and a half hours including our stops. Elsa's is approx 18 KM into the park and is the only Safari camp in the park that is 500 sq miles! We have already encountered an Elephant, Giraffe, Impala, Zebra and Water buffalo. Not bad sightings since this wasn't even a game drive.

We were brought to our room and it is that and much more than we ever expected! If you clicked on the site link, we got the same room that the site features. Its amazing!

We just finished a quick bite to eat and are sitting on mid-eastern style lounge cushions enjoying a cup of Kenyan coffee. Just in front of us, approx 25 feet away, 3 monkeys are playing by the pool!! I snapped a few good pics that I'll post later on this evening. We're off to put our bathing suits on to cool down as its probably 30 or 32 degrees and I have to say that there is a nice breeze to balance the heat off.

BFN

We're in Nairobi...

We made it safe and we are a little tired. Jas got at least 5hrs sleep so yes, she's in a good mood! :-)

We were greeted by our host Dan and his/our driver, Sidi. Yup, the steering wheel is on the right! I have to say though that the smell in the air is of wet wood/charcoal....not like Cuba that smells like wet Cedar.

Okay, time to go. Tomorrow morning we are leaving at 6:30 am for our Safari....Hopefully I can connect within the next 3 day.

BFN....

Touch Down!

All is well. Made it safe and sound. Not much ZZZZ! We're saving them up for the last leg of the voyage. Its 8:49 (am) local, 2:49 (am) EST and have had a coffee, sitting in the Casino and had a smoke...yes even though we are in Amsterdam, I mean tobacco! Its hilarious though as the smoking area is a chamber.... Max capacity is 4 and I feel like a caged freak show artist behind a glass display and it's taking every ounce of my energy not to start dancing and stripping for the crowed in the casino! So what, the fix is on... it is what it is and I'm not alone.
~Picked up a Netherlands hoodie and some Holland cheese.
One hour to gate time and Jas is still in good spirits, with 9 hours to go! Time will tell.... Next update / from NBO... Ciao!

We are on our way!

Its a bit after 4:00pm on Friday at YYZ. The luggage attendant was really nice. While chatting her up...we managed to sneak past my 'one' bag and Jasmina's 'THREE' over weight, over sized luggage without a hitch or extra charge! Woo-hoo!
Flight status is on time for wheels up at 5:55 pm. If you want to follow the flight path, Google Flight Tracker (KL0692).

Time to go through security so we'll update you from A-Dam.

A quick shout-out to my buddy Glenn....it's his Birthday today! Happy 3#th....sorry, I meant to type a 9.

BFN.