Awake and up all night

Good lad, Michael! 

A giant tortoise  something I'd love to see in the shell!

Ahem not a Guide as after our brownie pack got disbanded, (remember?) I was one of the few selected to join another local branch but it was nothing like ours had been. Only went a couple of times and that was the end of that.

Cheers

Same here. I was a brownie but I only wanted the uniform so I could wear it at school on Saint Days. Once I'd done that I jacked it in, to my shame  

Will look up Dik Diks soon...

I loved those tortoise and other minibuses raced over to see what we were looking at but I think they were disappointed!

There were so many amazing things... I have to mention the water hole at Voi.

We queued up at reception and were being handed keys... T4 ...C7 ... T5 ... C8

as I reached to accept our key, a hand swiped it instead. Ha! I had already worked out C was for cabin and T for tent ... so thanks I now had a cabin instead 

I got into it, desperate for the loo and shot in there but my partner was shouting and shouting and demanding I come out...

Oh boy... he had stepped outside... onto a cliff edge... the early evening  sunlight was pink ... the open land below stretched away in all directions... various small holes had been sunk ... and the elephants were leisurely drinking .... it was spectacular!

Post this 

Mama Mia! I'm guessing this was pre mobile with video function? Shucks. 

But the elephants   one of Earth's most magnificent creatures ️

You are hilarious

I won't go on about safari well except to mention the balloon ride and champagne breakfast in the bush. The balloon ride meant we above the mass migrating wilder beast that you will have seen on telly. 

That seething mass that looks like haphazard confusion is anything but. Their line of travel directly mirrors the meandering parallel tree line so they keep the same distance from it and they actually all take turns at being on the outside of the throng and most at risk.

Cheers

Yep had to be actual cameras and click click!

Once I was home I was shocked to realize that just about any tv prog on wildlife was filmed in Kenya and that is actually a tiny country. I know some bits of Africa aren't conducive due to war etc but not good if animals aren't more widely spread.

One of the parks we visited, Amboseli,  was dried river bed which even at that time needed to be closed to visitors for 10 years to recover. Difficult when safari tourism is an area's main income.

Cheers 

I've loved your safari adventures and it must have been the thrill of a lifetime! Great stuff and a memory to treasure. 

We used to watch stuff like that but it made us cry. I know about red in tooth and claw but seeing it in the flesh got too upsetting for us pair of softies. I can watch any operation on humans and not turn a hair, but when it's animals, afraid not. 

I hope other gang members will enjoy your safari by proxy. I've enjoyed it immensely and will relate to OH tomorrow. Yayxxx

Doh meant to say yep elephants are fab. Saw some very new babies. Had one large one chased out of camp as it was getting overly excitable at the snakes which come to dine on the frogs and toads who don't croak but are amazingly musical and sound like a marimba.

Poaching that claims the matriarchs endanger whole herds as they have to learn how to have guards on alert etc and a bit like black cab drivers get 'the knowledge' ... in their case not the best route to X but where the water holes etc are. 

Cheers

Sounds amazing, Shimmers. If you've got any and they're to hand, maybe the odd pic? If not I'll use my imagination. 

With doing TLC early it's knocked my inner clock for six. Feels more like 2am than the witching hour xxx