Laikipia - day 1

We felt very sad to leave Amboseli this morning. For three days we have been in the care of our guide, and saying goodbye to him today felt like saying goodbye to an old friend. So we were up early, had a quick breakfast and then our guide took us to the airport. On the way to the airport we could not believe our luck when we came across a cheetah and her two one year old cubs - they were chasing each other around a bush and playing like kittens. What a perfect way to say goodbye to Amboseli with a sighting like that! We also saw another hyena den with a rather fat mama and some pups. I have added an extra of those cheetah cubs chasing each other.

The airstrip in in the national park, and it is like catching a bus - you see the plane arrive, people get off and you step on. We flew back to Nairobi in a 10 seater plane and the journey only takes 30 minutes. We then transferred to a 16 seater plane to fly Nanyuki, where we were greeted by our new guide who will look after us for the next 3 days. We are in a bush camp consisting of only 6 tents, and tonight there are only 8 of us in the camp and tomorrow the other family leave so it will just be 4 of us in this camp - we certainly feel spoilt getting all the attention from the staff! We drove through the conservancy from the airport to the camp, stopping at the post marking the equator where we took the obligatory photo of standing with our legs apart, one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern hemisphere. The camp is on the equator but is at 2000m above sea level so in the mornings it is rather cold here. Driving to the camp we saw a black rhino and a calf. Black rhinos, although being more numerous than white rhinos, are harder to see as they are more elusive and can be very aggressive - which is why it is the the white rhinos that are poached - they are easier to find and not aggressive. Our guide told us that they have game rangers patrolling the conservancy and checking on the rhinos every day - if one is not found, after 3 days they send helicopters up to locate the missing rhino. Poaching is a constant threat although it is much reduced here - they lost about 4 rhinos to poachers in the past 2 years which is a much reduced number from what it used to be. Only last month poachers attempted to kill a rhino, but the game rangers discovered their tracks and found them - they were heavily armed, and consequently one was killed in the scuffle that ensued and the other two have been imprisoned for 20 years. The rhino was not killed. They also use dogs to track the poachers. They have security rangers riding around on small motorbikes checking on the animals throughout the day.

We had the most delicious lunch outside under a large fever tree, and as we finished it started raining and we had to dash inside for our coffees. It did not last long and by the time we set off on the 4pm game drive it was bright again. We came across an incredible sight - a lion had just made a kill and was eating under a tree near the road. We parked and watched him eating his meal, and all the while the jackals were circling and getting impatient for him to finish so they could eat the leftovers. The one jackal was cheeky and kept biting the lion on his tail - a brave jackal! Our guide predicted that after he finished eating he would come and drink from the rain puddle next to the car - and he did. We must have watched him for about 45 minutes and it was such a memorable sighting. We then saw hyena, many impala, gazelles, buffalo, and as the sun was setting we parked up on a ridge to watch the sunset while we enjoyed sundowner drinks. While we stood outside the vehicle enjoying the spectacular sunset the animals were all silhouetted against the horizon, and there was a lion roaring not far from us - what a way to enjoy sunset!

The wifi is very weak here, and only available from near the office. I was worried I would not be able to post this today but if you reading this then it has worked. Tomorrow....GCSE results! Hope the wifi works in the morning so that we are able to receive the email.