Wow - almost two weeks has passed since the last time I wrote a post. The time lag was mainly because Ed kept saying he was going to write the next post (I have officially given up on waiting!) but also because I just couldn’t think of anything to say! Our days, like everyone else, have smushed into one. Is it Tuesday, is it Friday or is it July and I have just been asleep and it was all a bad dream? Sadly no, its none of the above. It’s Thursday and it hasn’t been a very strange dream. Coronavirus is real and its causing havoc everywhere.

We have been keeping ourselves busy by making the most of what, we hope, are the beginning of long and heavy rains. April and May are traditionally the rainy season in Kenya and the weather turns colder and rain pours down, making the area green and lush… and very muddy! We have been planting more plants in and around the camp. The first lot we planted were eaten by dik-dik quickly - that was a big learning curve! This time around we have bought aloes and shrubs that can be found in the local area that wildlife aren’t interested in chomping. Hopefully they will survive and look lovely in a years time.

As well as making for great growing conditions, the rains have been slowly filling up the watering hole at the bottom of the camp. Ed has been religiously monitoring its decrease over the last couple of months and getting ever more agitated as it got lower and lower. It reached a point a week ago when a large herd of elephants, mothers and newborns in tow, took advantage of the peaceful area and dropped in for a drink. Instead of being delighted that our camp was becoming a haven for wildlife, Ed looked even more worried. I asked him ‘what on Earth is wrong?’. I assumed this visit from these beautiful creatures would be a joyful one. But Ed replied ‘… they are going to drink the watering hole dry!’. You can’t please some people!

Elephants at the watering hole at the bottom of the camp… drinking all of Ed’s precious water!

Little Romilly turned five months old yesterday and it feels mad that she is getting so big so quickly. She is now sitting up, looking around, smiling and having tantrums too! She is getting to be so grown up. It makes me so happy that we can both spend so much time with her as she grows up. It must be rare for children to have the joy of spending their first few months with both their parents to put them to bed every night.

My Nature Walk is finally finished! I have painted all the stones and set them up around the trail. It’s about 800m long in total and a good route for the kids who will be (hopefully) enjoying it. The walk covers a number of interesting points including wildlife, community, nature, topography, and farming. I hope one day Romilly will be able to lead the walk - but only if her guiding skills get good enough! Below is a picture of one of the elements of the walk - can you guess what footprints are on the rocks? Comment below with your guesses and I will choose a winner to get a The Safari Series t-shirt :)

To really shake things up a bit, Ed went off for an Easter camping session over the long weekend to sleep in his hammock under the stars in Lolldaiga Hill’s nothern border. Really, I think he just needed to get away from everything (i.e. me) and have some time getting very grubby. The spot he picked was beautiful - in a dry riverbed (a “lugga”), between old Yellow Fever trees, and nearby to a traditional beehive which provided some gentle buzzing in the early hours. I didn’t stay for the camping, but instead went home to stay with Romilly in the tent. However, we came back in the morning and joined Ed again in the lugga for an early breakfast cooked on the fire. Romilly loved sitting in the sandy lugga - it was just like a giant sandpit! We then went on a walk to a nearby ‘rock shelter’ (that’s basically a cave to you and I). The rock shelter had been used for thousands of year, most likely, by tribal communities in the area and has stunning rock art in it. The rock art is thought also to be at least a thousand years old, and depicts the tribal markings that are etched into the skin of young boys in the community when they become warrior age. Both Peter, our ranger, and Alfred, our guide, have the markings on their stomach and face. It was also a beautiful walk there and an amazing activity that we always encourage our guests to do.

An example of the beautiful rock art you can see in the caves.

OK onwards for the new day! We got up early today (around 6am) because we were woken up by a huge roaring lion. We knew he couldn’t be far away so the three of us hopped in the car and sped up towards the noise. We found a male, a couple of females and even two cubs - so exciting. No photos though, but will try to find them again this afternoon with my big camera.

Keep well & stay sane, Moon x