We say goodbye to Bwindi and look forward to a long day of travel. An hour and a half drive to Kigali where we fly to Entebbe. There we are escorted through the airport to our connecting bush flight to Lamai airstrip. Being assisted was great. We are whisked through the airport and would have definitely found it hard to negotiate on our own. The only delay was clearing passport control and shortly thereafter we are on our way for the 45 minute flight to Lamai. There we are met by the camp staff and driven to Ubuntu. It is now 14.30 and we have not eaten since 07.00 and are pretty hungry. The camp should really have brought us some form of lunch, which has always been the case on previous trips to Asilia Camps. En route we encounter lots of game but in particular two lions mating and a large herd of elephants sauntering over the plains.

When we arrive in camp at 16.00 late lunch is waiting for us. It is very good indeed and we watch the elephants that we saw earlier grazing on the hillside as well as warthogs and zebra.

Black clouds gather in the distance and the wind gets up. This is shortly followed by a torrential downpour that lasts well into the evening. Dinner is therefore under canvas on a communal table. Conversation is easy.

Next day the storm has passed and we breakfast at 06.00 and leave at 06.30 for our first drive. We make our way to the river seeing so much on the way…

There are lots of wildebeest accumulating but not enough numbers to entice any crossings today.

There is so much life on the plains this morning. Every second brings something new to watch.

In the afternoon we head towards the Kenyan border and spend a wonderful hour with the elephants. Magical!

A secretary bird stalks through the tall grass looking for insects and small reptiles and an assortment of grazers are dotted across the landscape including topi, hartebeest and eland.

On our way back we comment that the area we are in is perfect for leopards. Hey Presto! A leopard appears…

…as does a rather lovely sunset. Pre-dinner drinks are served and enjoyed by the bush fire.

Next day features lots of lions plus cubs in rather long grass, which makes photography challenging but nevertheless cute and delightful to watch.

One lioness is rather more obliging and poses on a termite mound.

We visit and take photos at the Tanzania/Kenya border, which is no more than a line of small white marker obelisks.

We drive at leisurely pace just happy to see whatever presents itself. Vultures feast on a carcass and a family of banded mongoose provide some amusing entertainment.

We watch an unexpected wildebeest crossing. It is disturbing to see the number of vehicles on the far bank. They are parked ridiculously close to the river and packed in like sardines, making an exit for the wildebeest from the Mara crossing nigh on impossible. The authorities need to regulate the number of vehicles. This is the most crowded I have ever seen a crossing and I can only be grateful that I am on the opposite bank with only a handful of vehicles and not the hundred or so that I can see across the river.

We leave the river and make our way back to camp. Then for me is the ‘piece de resistance’ – two leopards. A male up in a tree and a female down below. They are in mating mode, although we do not see that interaction.

The cloud builds again and the heavens open. It absolutely pours down whilst we are having our afternoon siesta and proceeds to pelt on the evening game drive. It is absolutely ghastly. We wear ponchos but the rain gets in everywhere. Down the sleeves and onto my seat. It is windy too. We go to find the lioness and cubs. Wisely, they are hunkered down and are not moving. Nothing is happening apart from us getting wet, cold and miserable. A hot shower back at camp is most welcome.

Next morning we have a walking safari which is wonderful. A bush walk always makes your senses come alive and you notice the little things and are constantly alert to anything that might want to kill you. Our route takes us along the banks of the Mara River. We watch hippos bathing and marabou storks feasting on wildebeest carcasses.

We leave the river and walk uphill until we come to an area where a bush breakfast has been setup.

Afterwards we drive along beside the river, park up and drink coffee whilst watching the hippos.

This morning we have chosen a quiet section of river away from the migration madness. It is so much more pleasant and tranquil.

The afternoon drive sees more rain but not as bad as yesterday. We watch elephants feeding in the gully…

… and then find the big lion pride. The three cubs are playing with their older brother. Every so often he gets to rough and is scolded by his mother. He saunters off and sulks with his back to the pride. Just like a chastised naughty child. Today the lions are out in the open so it is much easier to see them. However photography is still a challenge as a light rain is falling and the light is poor. We spend our entire evening drive watching them. Quite exceptional, special and magical.

Next day we head to the airstrip. Rob is going back to the UK and has a long 24 hours ahead of him with 5 flights. We wave him off and then have a short wait for our flight. Luckily we have a much easier journey with just a single 1 hour flight to Rubondo Island on Lake Victoria.