The most important thing that happened today was that Rachel arrived safely in Melbourne, but unfortunately we weren't there to meet her. However, we got up at 6am to Skype them, and give Rachel her Christmas present by proxy.
A relaxed day. Had a leisurely breakfast in the garden, checked out, and took our taxi to the hotel to board the tour bus, though its arrival was on African time. There are twelve on the tour, though some will come and go over the next three weeks. Of the twelve, eleven are Australian (five from one family), and one from New Zealand.
The day got better. The first stop was at the local shopping centre to stock up on water and snacks, and have coffee and cake! A second stop at another supermarket an hour down the road, then finally on to Lake Nakuru. It's a smallish national park very close to the regional city of Nakuru. We set up camp in the backpackers area, which was infested with baboons who were actually trying to pinch anything that wasn't tied down, and succeeded one one occasion. The cook had to use a slingshot to keep order when we was cooking meals.
After setting up camp, we went for a late afternoon game drive. Saw zebras, impala, baboons, white rhinos, buffalo and innumerable birds - especially pelicans.
Out Of Africa was filmed here, and we drove past the Out Of Africa lookout while stopping at Baboon Lookout for a panoramic view of the park. Headed back to the campsite for tea, and drove off the baboons while we had spaghetti bol for tea. I'm enjoying this tour. It's cooler, we have a bigger, more comfortable bus, we're going at a more relaxed pace, and I have a driver, a guide, a cook and a wife. What more could one want?
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