After a very wholesome breakfast, the best yet, we left at 8 am. After an hour we made a brief stop at the small Lake Elementeita. It was absolutely pink with flamingos and quite a fantastic sight. We then rode on the windy truck for another four hours, passing rather boring farmlands, as wide as the Canadian prairie.

Then we went into the Rift Valley until we had lunch at Narok, the main town before Maasai Mara. The final stretch of 60 miles to the park took more than three hours because of the very bad road. It was very desolate with only the occasional cattle herds of the Maasai.

The boredom was relieved shortly before the park by the successive appearance of various animals. There were great herds of zebras, sleek Thomson gazelles and wildebeest (gnus). The wildebeest actually a species of the antelope is a rather ridiculous-looking animal with a horned, block-like head long white beard and a fondness for stampeding and bucking like crazy that has earned it the nickname "the clown of the savannah". With millions of them they form the plankton of the savannah and we saw some mean-looking hyenas closely follow their trail.

We camped just outside the actual park in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. The difference between the park and reserve was that the Maasai was allowed to have their cattle grazing in the reserve but not within the park boundaries. The tented campsite was as nice as in Samburu, also located by a river that was now almost dried out.

Just outside the campsite there was a group of Maasai women hawking their beadwork. They wear absolutely crazy in their fervour to sell us their goods. One would have both arms full of bracelets in no time and the only possibility to evade them was to quickly run into the campsite. While they had a very aggressive sales pitch they were also good-natured and they were more amusing than annoying.

There was also an armed guard but it was not clear if he guarded us against animals or the Maasai. We learned that security was none to hot in Maasai Mara. The public campsites were robbed on a more or less regular basis. The camp also sported a domestic cat, looking rather horrible with lots of ticks and open sores in the fur. I felt sorry for it as it must lead a very tough life.

The Maasai Mara park, contiguous with the Serengeti park in Tanzania is maybe the most famous of all the parks in Kenya. Its main spectacle, dubbed "The Greatest Show On Earth", is the annual migration of more than 2 million animals, moving from the dried out savannah in Serengeti to the richer pastures of Maasai Mara. According to the guidebook they had done so every year for the past two million years. At the last count in 1980, there were 1,400,000 wildebeest, 550,000 gazelle and 200,000 zebra and in their trail, large number of predators like lion, cheetah and hyena. When we were there the migration had just begun and with a little luck we might get a ringside look.

Just before sunset Jim, Cyndy, Alan, Diana and I went on a brief walk around the camp. As we were going to cross the shallow river we had a very spectacular sight. We met a group of Maasai moving an enormous herd of cattle across the river. There must have been hundreds or even thousands of cows and it was extremely photogenic in the setting sun. I swore to myself that I for once did not carry my camera.

I was quite tired after having spent most of the day on the truck. Jim and Cyndy provided me with some Kenya Cane, a rum that was quite drinkable when mixed with orange juice. It was nice to sit and relax around the fire, particularly since it became quite chilly after nightfall.

As usual there was the fantastic sky to admire. It was augmented by large numbers of fireflies that appeared like moving sparkles of embers in the dark night. Very active monkeys also populated the trees and as soon as somebody flicked a torch in their direction there would be a great rustling in the trees.

We amused ourselves by telling stories of varying quality. Alan knew a number of jokes about Jesus, all getting progressively bad. To give you a hint I tell you the only one I can remember: "When Jesus was up on the cross a Roman soldier told him that he would be released if he per formed one last miracle. OK, said Jesus, I will walk on water. But out on the Dead Sea Jesus sank like a stone. As he was sinking, his last words were, "Gosh, I forget about the holes in my foot!". I slept well as always but I awoke in the middle of the night by the barking hyenas who seemed to be quite close.

We had an early rise at 6 am in order to start our game drive as early as possible. During the day most animals would hide in the shade and be difficult to spot. It was very cold in the morning, as Maasai Mara was 7,000 feet above sea level. Joe had said he would try to find rhinos for us at Rhino Ridge.

The Maasai women outside our camp were waiting for us in force and there was a bedlam before we could enter the truck. The park was huge. We drove for several hours over the savannah without seeing anything at all, except for zebras and gazelles, which now did not cause any reaction at all. Toyota vans and land rovers were criss-crossing the plains and far away we saw a congregation of them.

Our roaring truck went there and in the thick undergrowth we could see a pride of lions peering through the grass. The family was very big with over 20 animals. There were some very cute cubs, fooling around like kittens. Again I was amazed that they were not disturbed by the noise from the big truck but I guess they were used to vehicles.

We then continued for what seemed like ages over undulating grasslands in search of the rhinos. I was surprised and a little bit disappointed that the vast fields contained very few animals and obviously the migration had not taken place yet.

But eventually excitement rose as we glimpsed two rhinos serenely grazing about 500 yards from the truck at the slope of a hill. Joe went down in order for us to have a closer look. He stopped when he was within about 200 yards. The rhinos are said to be very bad-tempered and will attack anything that moves. But they have very bad eyesight and these two looked friendly enough, peacefully munching the grass. I read that they eat an amazing 400 pounds of grass every day and they could weigh up to two tons so they are hardly any cuddly toys!

The fact that these magnificent animals are on the verge of extinction is of course very depressing. In 1950 there had been 3500 black rhinos in the Serengeti Maasai Mara ecosystem, in 1970 the number was down to 500 and now there were only a paltry 20 left. I learned that their horns could be worth up to £ 2000, an irresistible fortune in Africa.

The remaining rhinos were now under constant surveillance by armed rangers but, as they breed only once in five years, their future was very uncertain. The best solution would be if the peoples of Asia would use something else as medicine. It's a myth by the way that the main use of the horns is as aphrodisiac.

When Joe was going to return up the hill the truck got stuck in the mud despite the four-wheel drive. Every effort to move only had the result of getting the heavy truck bogged down deeper and deeper. We had to walk some distance to a clump of trees and collect branches to put underneath but every attempt failed miserably and the hours passed.

The two rhinos were grazing in a circle around us and one person had to keep them under observation in case they would attack. It was very hot in the blazing sun and when the seventh attempt failed at 4 p.m. we all started to despair. All except Joe who had been working like a maniac all day. He did not want us to go and get any help, probably because of the fact that he had illegally left the established track.

We would make one last ditch attempt. Volunteers were digging frantically under the truck while the rest of us almost deforested the small grove. It was quite thrilling when we were all set for the attempt. A failure now and we would have to walk for several hours and in darkness, a not very inviting prospect with all the wild animals prowling around us. But Joe got his well-deserved applause as there now was traction under all wheels and the truck could finally leave the deep mud-hole.

We did not arrive back at camp until long after dark, very hungry, as we never had any lunch. The dinner was good as always consisting this time of soup, cole slaw salad, chili con carne and the standard fruit salad. I finished the rest of the Kenya Cane with Jim and Cyndy and then went to bed.

I was lulled to sleep as usual by the eerie backings by hyenas. In the middle of the night I woke up by crashing sounds emanating from near the trees. I did not dare to go out and have a look but in the morning I saw the telltale droppings of elephants.

In the morning we went on another game drive in the opposite direction of Rhino Ridge. There was a long drive without any glimpse of animals, only endless savannah with the occasional thorn tree. We headed towards the Mara river and in the lush vegetation we spotted yet another family of lions but they took off in the undergrowth when the truck came to close.

Close by we were greeted by a very large flock of baboons, there were dozens of them. They were thrown a couple of oranges and it was interesting to see how they carefully peeled them and even threw away the pips.

We followed the banks of the river and saw many crocodiles hurrying into the water when the truck roared by. A bit further up we got to the Hippo Pool where half a dozen hippos were snorting like steam engines.

We got off the truck to have a better look. I had to be very exact with the camera as they spent several minutes under the water and then emerged to breathe for only ten seconds.

There was one baby hippo which was very cute as it frolicked in the river. The hippos spend the whole day bobbing up and down in the water and they go ashore only in the evening to eat the grass which is their main staple. They are also impressive animals, weighing up to 3 tons and measuring 15 feet.

On our return to the campsite we came across enormous masses of wildebeest, buffalo, zebras and various species of antelopes like hartebeest, topi, impala, Thomson's gazelle, oryx, eland and the tiny dikdik. While it was not the actual migration it was still impressive to see the brown mass move across the horizon. They were trailed by a large group of hyenas and jackals and probably lions and cheetahs as well although we could not see any.

I took (of course) several photos. One that I hope will win many photo competitions was of these great herds of animals in the foreground, grazing on the hill gently sloping down to the Mara river. In the middle of the picture was the river itself, surrounded by lush green foliage and on the other side, up the hill, I could see six or seven giraffes moving stately across the savannah.

There was also an interesting variety of bird life. Not being an ornithologist, and nobody else was either, I do not know the names of the beautiful birds. I did recognize the ostrich though and they were quite numerous.

In the afternoon we would walk to a nearby Maasai village but I thought it was too hot and suspected that the £5 we would have to pay would be a big ripoff. It was. The visit had been very contrived with the Maasai only wanting to hawk their beadwork. The authenticity had also been marred by the appearance of a big truck full with Cokes. The lasting impression had been the abject dirtiness of their village.

As I had gathered by the smell from the Maasai women outside the camp, the use of soap was taboo. I also learned that their main drink (apart from Coke!) was not water but a very disgusting mixture of cow's milk, blood and urine! I would rather stick to the "Kenya Cane" ...

We had one final game drive in the late afternoon. We again saw big herds of wildebeest, zebras, antelopes, hyenas and jackals but I was now getting a bit blase. The only major animal I had not seen was the cheetah, being very difficult to spot in the high grass. But we were lucky as we accidentally saw two cheetahs sitting on an anthill quite close to the road. They were not scared off by the truck and we could admire the lithe cats for quite some time.

I had read that they were very easily domesticated, being raced against greyhounds in England. I would not mind having one at home if I could afford their food bill I guess they would want something better than Whiskas! After a while they trotted off, casually, belying the fact that they are the world's fastest mammal with speeds up to 60 m.p.h.

We then went to the Masaai Mara Lodge for a beer. Like every other lodge I had visited this one was beautifully conceived. They had a terraced bar down by the Mara river with beautiful views. Across the river we could see a guy hanging up a piece of meat in a tree, bait for the leopards who came every evening for the benefit of the lodge's guests. There were swimming pools and all sorts of luxury and it was not cheap to stay, about £120 a night with full board.

Back at the campsite I had a rather quiet evening the Kenya Cane was finished and being tired I went to bed early at 8.30 p.m. Usually I had the tent to myself but to my rather surprise Diana wanted to share. There was a big hole in her tent and the night before she had the unwelcome visit of a big spider.

The following day was Friday and we would return to Nairobi. We were awakened already at 4.30 a.m. and left the camp at 5.30 a.m. It was extremely cold in the morning even with the sleeping bag. We could in any case enjoy a spectacular sunrise over the savannah. Shortly after the sun had come up there was another great view when two air balloons were launched from the Masaai Mara lodge. They were slowly drifting across the savannah in our direction at a height of maybe 100 feet. I am sure it was a great experience being up there but was the one-hour ride worth £250, even if it included a champagne breakfast?

A few miles outside the Maasai Mara park we got one last glimpse of the ever continual wildlife spectacle. We saw a cheetah hunting a panic-stricken herd of wildebeest. The speed of the cheetah was incredible. We did not see how the drama ended. They were quite far away and it was impossible to see anything in the big cloud of dust generated by the fleeing gnus.

It was a very gruelling journey to Nairobi. The road was in a horrible condition and it took almost two hours to ascend the Rift Valley. It was also very cold most of the way. Eventually we arrived in Nairobi at 3.30 p.m. After having duly tipped Joe and said goodbye to the others except Jim and Cyndy, who would also stay at the Hotel Terminal, I went to the hotel for a rest.

I was quite pleased with the safari although I had missed out on the millions of flamingos and the migration from Serengeti. I still had seen an awful lot of animals and all major species and it had been quite amazing but there had also been long gruelling hours on the truck.

In the evening I went with Jim and Cyndy to the famous Carnivore restaurant at the outskirts of Nairobi. Its fame is derived from the fact that they serve all sorts of meat including wild game. The restaurant was very big and very popular, there were hundreds of guests. The waiter served in quick succession the different meats on spears. We were served sausage, pork, beef, spare ribs, chicken and finally gazelle and zebra.

We could eat as much as we liked of everything so it may come as no surprise to you that we were completely stuffed much too soon. I did not fancy the gazelle and zebra that much by the way. I thought the taste was a bit too "wild" if you see what I mean. The bill for this extravaganza landed at only £7 which was very reasonable.

We then went to the bar to watch the World Cup and I had to order some extra beers again in order to console myself for Sweden's loss against Scotland. We then all got extremely tired and returned to our hotel with a taxi.

I took farewell of Jim & Cyndy who had been a very congenial couple and during the two weeks we had become very good friends. They would leave the following day for Egypt and then Morocco.

I would travel down to Moshi, the gateway to Kilimanjaro, on Sunday and the next day, Saturday, was spent walking around Nairobi. It was quite hot and I spent four hours by the pool at the Hotel Intercontinental. I was left alone by the street hustlers and I quite enjoyed the downtown area which was as modern as any European city.

I also walked around the poorer parts in the River Road area and I could see that income was very unevenly distributed. I had dinner at a Chinese restaurant and went to bed early.

Next morning I was up early in order to get to Moshi in Tanzania not too late. Disaster almost struck as I halfway to the bus station found out that I had forgotten my money belt at the hotel! In it I had all money as well as airline ticket, credit cards and not to mention my passport. I cursed my senility and hurried back to the hotel prepared for the worst.

I was very lucky to have an honest room servant. He had discovered the money belt under my pillow but had not stolen anything although it represented maybe more money than he would earn in decades (the average income in Kenya was about £100 and I was carrying well over £2000, most in travellers' cheques). I praised his honesty and gave him a big tip and then went off to the bus station.

You can read about my Kilimanjaro climb if you click here. Otherwise the Kenyan Travelogue will continue with the Indian Ocean.