Day 3 in Kenya ranks as my highlight so far on the wildlife front. We had a full day safari to the Lake Nakuru Game Reserve. We got picked up at 5.45am and had two landcruisers which had big comfortable seats and the roof popped up about 60 cms so that you could stand in the back and look out the roof. This had the advantage of being able to take photos but also see into the distance due to the added height. We had a great day and got to see:

· Hippos (all in the water and none yawning despite us all yawning trying to get them to copy - long shot we knew but doesn't hurt to try)

· Giraffes (amazing! Not as tall as you think they should be, but then again maybe the trees were just really tall… They eat the thorns on the Acacia tress and were told that their tongues are like sandpaper so they can not get hurt by the thorns. Didn't look like the tastiest meal to me)

· Flamingo's (this park is famous for their pink flamingo's. They were gorgeous but at times a bit far away from the road for us to get a really good look)

· Yellow billed cranes

· Impala's (like a deer)

· White Rhino's

· Black Rhino's (we saw 3 which is amazing as they are very shy and usually hide in the grass, these guys are part of the Big 5)

· Water Buffalo's

· Zebra

· Another bigger Impala like animal

· Monkey's

· Baboon's

· Pelican's

· Lots of birds as this is a known bird park (too many to name and to be honest I have forgotten alot of the names - must take a notepad next time)

· Lions (we saw 3 females laying on the side of the road and parked about 5m from them!! They were huge and just sat and let us take photos, talk, point and just generally spend time. I had my window open and just sat watching and realised that if they got up and decided that I looked tasty I was basically dead. We hoped that we looked more like a can of sardines yet to be opened and not a tasty dinner ready to eat. We then went on to see another Lion which was another female and she decided when we arrived that she would try to have some Zebra for dinner. We followed her stalking and it was all very exciting. Unfortunately for her she was stalking quite near the road and had 3 cars following her and it was not long before the Zebra in the distance on the hill all froze and our guide said - no kill today, they know that she is here. She also sensed that her game was up and headed for the nearest tree and stretched out in the shade. When she was stalking she went within about 20 metres of a Water Buffalo, our guide informed us that they have terrible eye sight however you could tell that he knew that she was there. It was amazing to see the king of the jungle in their natural habitat going about their daily business.

We had hoped that we would see a Leopard, but alas I think we used all of our luck on the equally elusive Black Rhino's. With there only being 5 Leopards in the park and as they lead a solitude life mainly in the trees we knew it was like finding half a needle in a very large haystack. But we couldn't deny that seeing 3 of the big 5 on our first game drive was pretty amazing. Downloaded my photos on my return and am happy with my first wildlife shots, the investment in the 70-300mm lens was soooo worth it. The truck is full of Canon DSLRs so we are lucky in that we can all swap lenses and so Zac shot with my 18-135mm but even though it was a vast improvement on his 18-55mm he was still frustrated by not being about to zoom close enough. We all swap photos all the time so I am sure that by the time I get home I will have in excess of 10000 shots to choose from!

Now that we have done a game drive it is really feeling like we are in Africa. The Kenyan's are also as shade blacker than the Ethiopian's who were a shade blacker than the Sudanese. I have a moment most days on the truck where I have to literally pinch myself and remind myself that I am in Africa and having these amazing experiences. It is far too easy to forget how lucky I am to be here.