We got up and took showers, the shower was quite nice, lots of water, nice and toasty. Brushed our teeth with bottled water (good thing we bought bottles in Amsterdam) and put our bags out for the porters. I noticed an automatic weapon-carrying man in camoflage and hoped he was here to protect us and our luggage. We had very nice mosquito netting on our beds (seen at right).

We walked to the cafe for breakfast. It was the first of many buffets. There was a chef there cooking eggs to order, which were quite good. An assortment of juices and fruits/melons as well as a variety of different breads and such.

After breakfast we headed back up to the lodge and Alex, our Park East Tour Director, gave a quick talk. I changed some money, and failed (twice) to check out. I managed to forget this fact until I found my room key at our next rest-stop at mid-morning. I am nothing but trouble! I stopped in the gift shop and bought a liter of water (which, like all water, came in handy) and a new tooth-brush. I had dried the toothbrush I had brought on my towel, which I had showered with. I figured it wasn't worth the risk of getting sick this early in the trip. I contemplated buying some cookies and/or chocolate bars but decided against it. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

We then had the daunting task of choosing a tour bus and companions for the next 10 days. We ended up on Bus #5 with William as our, soon-to-be long-suffering, driver and Anne and Kate (whose names have not been changed, as there is nothing innocent about them!) my parents, sister and myself.

We were lucky to get the best driver and coolest group on the tour. Others may disagree as to which driver was best, which group had the most fun, which group was the best to ride with, such people are all just wrong. It is sad in a way but I try not to dwell on it.

So we headed on a bus with no shocks into the wilds of Africa...or at least to the Africana Curio Shop, where we found many authentic reproductions of classic modern craftsmanship. And bathrooms! This is where I discovered that I had failed to drop off my room key at the hotel. So I gave it to Alex. Some people are just such trouble-makers aren't they?? At least I am consistent. It was a good thing that we stopped at this Curio shop because there was not another one for almost half a mile! I also took the opportunity to pick up a couple of pictures made from banana skins . . . which I paid too much for. I got a bit better at bargaining as the trip wore on.

Next we headed off to Aberdare Country Club. Yup, it is really a golf course. The greens . . . were, and the rest of the course . . . wasn't. In addition to being a golf course it is also a game reserve. Other than goats, we saw our first animals here. On the way in we saw Maasai Giraffe and Warthogs and an Impala on the way out.

We ate lunch at Aberdare, guess what? It was a buffet! They had a fruit punch, water or soda for lunch, and after some pressure from the wait-staff I ordered a fruit punch which I didn't really want and only drank a couple of sips of. I later found out that I had to pay 280 Shillings ($4) and that not only did the guy accost me for the money after I had finished lunch, left, taken pictures for 15-20 minutes and returned to the parking lot, but my parents had already paid for the thing. They had failed to mention that it was not part of the meal. If you are interested in personal recommendations based on experience, I would not recommend the place. I picked up another (16) postcards and stamps at the gift shop.

Next we headed to The Ark. It is a 4 story lodge with a water hole on one corner and observation decks, both indoor and outdoor, that face towards the water hole and the two adjacent sides of the building. No mosquito netting here, or even screens on the windows. I assume that it was too cold for mosquitos as it did get a bit chilly at night. We saw Cape Buffalo and Red Duiker on the way into The Ark.

Upon entering we were told not to leave the building or walkway as there are many wild animals in the vicinity. They also told us that there was a buzzer in each room (that you could turn off) and that they would ring it twice if they saw an Elephant or Black Rhino and three times if they saw a Leopard.

We checked out our room (A10 on the top level) and determined our best mode of egress in case the buzzer buzzed. We then spent the afternoon watching animals at the water hole, including various birds, warthogs, cape buffalo, suni, Dik-Dik a couple of Bushbuck and Gerenuk. While we were out there I heard the buzzer three times and we spotted a leopard at the edge of the clearing a couple of hundred yards away. But it glided into the underbrush before I could get a picture. We thought we saw it again briefly but again I was unable to get a picture.

While we were having dinner I spotted a Large-Spotted Genet and after dinner we saw a Spotted Hyena who ended up lying down for a nap. We stayed up for awhile waiting for other interesting animals but nothing extraordinary appeared, just some bats.

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