Just after we had packed up to leave Lali Hills we drove no more than 200m and came across this group of 20 elephants all desperate to get into a mud hole big enough for about 8 elephants, so there was a fair amount of jostling for possession, but ultimately a queuing system developed - and it wasn't always the biggest that went first!

There are a lot of elephants in this game reserve, which means that there is plenty of wood lying around and its bone dry - so starting a fire is simple - and building it up to keep away things that go bump in the night and/or might spoil your evening is an acknowledged source of fun for boys of all ages.

It's baking hot around the middle of the day, so Tim and I retreated after our 1100 brunch (we were out game viewing from 0630) to the camp beds that we hauled up into this tree house. We came across the tree house yesterday whilst looking for a camp site and thought - why bother putting up a tent? Its a brilliant place. There are three lashed/nailed together bush ladders made out of mopani branches that take you up to the viewing/ sleeping platform, with an in...

Lots of dry wood around - mainly from trees damaged by elephants - so cooking on an open fire is easy. You are starving by the time you get back from an early morning game drive, so we had the full monty for brunch; sausages, bacon, beans, fried eggs, toast and coffee - and then crashed out for an hour or two during the heat of the day in our tree house.