And another thing...

I promised in my last post to let you know why I was in such a hurry to leave Kijabe on 29th January. Well, that's because I was on my way to Nairobi to stay with my parents before flying out to Kampala on Saturday. That afternoon I met my friend David Pitches who drove me down to Mburo Game Reserve about 200km south of the city. We stayed at Mihingo Lodge (http://www.mihingolodge.com/ for those who are interested), a hotel on a hilltop overlooking a lake on one side and a watering hole on the other. Each room had it's own terrace with a view of the watering hole. Coffee was brought in the mornings to wake up as you watched the animals come for a drink. We watched game from a nearby hide, went for walks in the moonlight overlooking the lake, and a horseback safari. Then on the final day we were together, David asked me if I would marry him - and I said yes. :-)

This is the hotel restaurant and bar on the top of the hill.

There were only 10 rooms, each one tucked away among the trees on the hillside. The entire hotel was run on solar power and water collected from rain water. Trails were made from local rock slabs and at night they were lighted by lanterns. Birds, monkeys, rock hyrax and bush babies could be seen daily, and they had a great variety of vividly coloured butterflies living in the shrubbery.

Each room had an individual terrace overlooking the watering hole - a lovely place to watch animals as you drank coffee in the mornings or had afternoon tea.

Here are some of the impala that we could see from my terrace.

We went for a horseback safari and were able to get very close to the game - I guess the smell of 'horse' overpowers the smell of 'human' and reassures the animals. (This particular photo was taken by our guide - who clearly lacked some understanding of photo composition - in addition he was riding a rather excitable Ethiopian pony who kept prancing about during our photo session.)

This pool is just underneath the restaurant at the top of the hill (and the water comes from rainwater as well). They have built a ledge at the end overhanging the hill, so you can stand with your elbows on the edge of the pool and watch the animals when you wanted a rest from swimming. Just below the pool they have another terrace - and it was there that David proposed.