Day started with a sleep in of sorts. We were being picked up at 1000 to go to a cultural village and his morning before heading back to Kigali and then onto Johannesburg. Bags packed and re-packed, then as we walk out of our house there are 2 of the staff waiting to take our bags to the reception area. We eat and chat to a few more of the staff then try to get wifi working. Turns out the internet is shot and they are waiting for the tech guys to come and fix it. We leave for our cultural visit. Back to the village where we turned off for the start of our walk yesterday. We have heard this is a bit commercial so a bit sceptical. We at greets at the gate by ... read more

Today we left our Kigali hotel to head up into the mountains. But first we did a drive around Kigali looking at a few sights and onto the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre for an audio tour. Our driver (Yassin) had given us a few bits of information about the genocide of 1994 but said he would let us find out more from the centre itself. You get a map and audio guide and work through at your own pace. I won’t go into too much detail here, but the displays and commentary were pretty graphic. A little bit of history. Rwanda was made up of 3 tribes/clans, the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa. The Hutu made up around 84%, Tutsi 15% and the Twa 1%. This split was also used to make up the ruling parties, etc. ... read more

A sleep in today. Awake at 0730, finish packing bags and out of the tent by 0830 for a leisurely breakfast. We are meant to be leaving at 1000 for the flight to Nairobi. Get to breakfast and told the flight is delayed and we won’t leave until 1030. No problems, have time to shop a bit and catch up on blogs, etc. Go and pay the bills then we are told the plane is even later so we will leave soon and do a final game drive on the way to the airstrip. Good idea. Pack the bags into the trucks and away we go. Over the same territory as yesterday. We search for the lions we had seen. Get news that the lions are in the area. We search one way, others in different ... read more

Into the park today for a whole day expedition. Our aim is to get to the Mara river (where the wilderbeest cross in the National Geographic shows -and get eaten by the crocs and lions). Day started off ok, but not long after we leave, my patience is tested by the experts again - why o 4wd, no low gear, etc. I hold my tongue and eventually we get to where we are meant to be, safely, if not slipperyly - is that a real word - it is now..... Long day so sit down, belt up, shut up...... The park has lots of animals, we start with the standard Impala, gazelle, zebra and wilderbeest. Then we see lions eating a kill. Turns out the kill is only a Maasai cow, but this female lion is ... read more

Up very early for an early game drive. We are second to breakfast, yes, up earlier than most..... In the truck and away at 0701, not our fault for the “late” start this time. The rough drive starts slowly as there are animals all along the road out this morning. New ones we hadn’t seen closely before. Topi, Heatebeest and Impala (yes to those paying attention we have seen lots of Impala, but not here in Serengeti). The topi are from the antelope family, but have a back like a wilderbeast and have blue jean marks on the side of their flanks. The heartebeest have a 2 tone skin that makes them look like the old EH Holden with the 2 tone paint work. We drive on the rough road for a while, slowly while picking ... read more