Bwana John here... We had a 4.30am start this morning as Laurel, Nick, Judy and I had a balloon ride over the Mara savannah. We were picked up from our hotel and saw some jackals and a hippopotamus on the way to our balloon launch site. On the briefing from the pilot we discovered that take off and landing would be in the astronaut position with the balloon basket on its side - oh s***! Take off was at dawn and a bit bumpy. We glided on the wind up to a 1000 fe...

Bwana Kevin here… We embarked on a long and dusty trip to the Mara after witnessing a "cheeky" show by a wayward family if monkeys. We toiled long and hot to Mara which is famous for the large herds of elephants and buffalo that meander the plains and also for the fat pods of hippo that wallow in it's mud rivers. Offering an abundance of herbivores, the Mara makes an ideal hunting ground for Kenya's big cats and hosts her larger population of lions. Boy, we sa...

Mama Elaine here… Wow wow wow, what a start to the day, just when we thought yesterday could not be surpassed - it was!! I was alone at breakfast when I sighted a leopard who are not frequent visitor to this area, I was SOOO excited, by the time the others appeared bleary eyed from their slumber he had gone back into the bush. Fortune was on our side, as on leaving The Ark there he was the most beautiful sight a female leopard not more the 3 metres from us. Sh...

Bwana Laurel here... At 8.30am, Joshua, our driver and guide picked us up and drove through Nairobi to the Aberdare Country Club and The Ark Hotel (& yes we did enter 'two by two!). It's sooo beautiful up here and lush! The country club has a 9 hole golf course - which, after seeing numerous wart hogs on it, Kevin called a "nine hog" golf course!! Classic!! We were all discussing how we would love to buy the place as it has such a relaxed and wonderful feel....

Hujambo (hullo) from Nic... Picked up by Joshua, what a great driver with a great sense of humour and very knowledgeable. This leisurely day started at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for Orphaned Elephants where we were to meet our sponsored elephants, Surgut and Sities, however a little problem, they have recently been graduated and relocated to Tsavo East NP. The elephants we saw were absolutely beautiful. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for Orphaned El...