I was excited to wake early at Lahia Tented Lodge, and decided to go for a swim before breakfast. It was idyllic. A large stork accompanied me to the swimming pool which overlooks the countryside. The water was silky cool and little birds skimmed over it for a quick dip. It really was a wonderful experience.
Breakfast was lovely and then we chose the ingredients for our packed lunches. We set off in the landcruisers, this time we decided to have girl / boy landrovers and I enjoyed a day in the delightful company of Kerry, Cat and Chanel. Among many other birds and animals we saw a Volder decken? Hornbill eating a snake! Also water buffalo, impala, lots of zebras, a spotted hyena, and a pride of lions - two male and three female, running along. So many wild animals right beside us! Fantastic. Perhaps the most exciting moment was coming across two male lions right beside the track, sheltering from the hot sun in the shade of a tree. They were not at all bothered by our presence and sat yawning quite happily.
We had to queue for petrol at a filling station at the edge of the national park on the way north, it’s the only filling station in the area and Charles told us that it was very expensive. After a long drive (we left the Park and then went in by another entrance further north) we arrived at our final and most remote camp, Nyikani Migration Camp. This camp is a temporary one which is moved twice a year.
The bedrooms are again little huts, each with an en-suite toilet and a bucket shower.
The bucket showers are amazing. They are filled up on request by members of staff and then you pull on a rope and 20 litres of lukewarm water descend upon you through a shower head. It’s so refreshing! We all had showers because we were quite dusty and hot, then met up for drinks and dinner in the main building, followed by more drinks and chat. At one point I needed to visit the toilet just beside the main building. They use a novel way of indicating that the toilet is occupied. There is a warrior’s spear in standing upright in a little hole to the right of the door, and when you go in you move it to another little hole in the middle of the doorway! Back at our tent James used safety pins borrowed from Jamie to hang our mosquito net from the seam in the ceiling. We had been advised to bring a mosquito net for this camp but in fact the tent already has fine mesh windows and inner nets which cover all of the walls and windows. But we decided to use our mosquito net anyway.
Breakfast was lovely and then we chose the ingredients for our packed lunches. We set off in the landcruisers, this time we decided to have girl / boy landrovers and I enjoyed a day in the delightful company of Kerry, Cat and Chanel. Among many other birds and animals we saw a Volder decken? Hornbill eating a snake! Also water buffalo, impala, lots of zebras, a spotted hyena, and a pride of lions - two male and three female, running along. So many wild animals right beside us! Fantastic. Perhaps the most exciting moment was coming across two male lions right beside the track, sheltering from the hot sun in the shade of a tree. They were not at all bothered by our presence and sat yawning quite happily.
We had to queue for petrol at a filling station at the edge of the national park on the way north, it’s the only filling station in the area and Charles told us that it was very expensive. After a long drive (we left the Park and then went in by another entrance further north) we arrived at our final and most remote camp, Nyikani Migration Camp. This camp is a temporary one which is moved twice a year.
The bedrooms are again little huts, each with an en-suite toilet and a bucket shower.
The bucket showers are amazing. They are filled up on request by members of staff and then you pull on a rope and 20 litres of lukewarm water descend upon you through a shower head. It’s so refreshing! We all had showers because we were quite dusty and hot, then met up for drinks and dinner in the main building, followed by more drinks and chat. At one point I needed to visit the toilet just beside the main building. They use a novel way of indicating that the toilet is occupied. There is a warrior’s spear in standing upright in a little hole to the right of the door, and when you go in you move it to another little hole in the middle of the doorway! Back at our tent James used safety pins borrowed from Jamie to hang our mosquito net from the seam in the ceiling. We had been advised to bring a mosquito net for this camp but in fact the tent already has fine mesh windows and inner nets which cover all of the walls and windows. But we decided to use our mosquito net anyway.
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