Category: Queen Elizabeth National Park

MY AWESOME EXPERIENCE WITH CONNECTING CLASSROOM!

Sharing this amazing experience is absolutely the most beautiful thing ever. Whatever thoughts and memories I have about this visit matters a lot to the children, teachers and people who established the twinning project.

Bravo! To QEPP, Bravo! To the British Ccouncil for initiating this awesome global education program for both Uganda and UK schools. You should feel proud, special for starting up and fully funding this educational program that has put a huge smile to many people and children a round the world.

First, it was the plane experience!! My first time to board a plane. I was nervous, scared but again glad😀because this has always been on the list of things I ask God to do for me. The difference is traveling in air but almost the same as traveling in a bus. I’ve been to some airports but not as big as Jomo Kenyatta in Nairobi and the biggest Heathrow in London.

Thank God!!🙏We landed safely and being picked by Adam Stanley and his partner Heather Green. Everything was different, the environment, roads, houses, cars, people and weather. What a different world London is!! In 1 and half hours, we were at home, Waterlooville. A warm welcome from the Peach family, these people are amazing!!! Coffee, food, a bath and later to my beautiful room.

Morning Monday 2nd March ready to visit the park! Queen Elizabeth Country Park! My colleague Mr Thembo and I were received by the rangers Ashley and Jan. My first HOT CHOCOLATE and bread was served,very tasty! Later proceeded to the park, I was scared, I thought we were going to see deadly animals like the lions, leopards and snakes as those in QE National park in Uganda, but all in vain. Ashley kept driving us in the park. At some point we couldn’t move outside the car not because we feared the animals in the park like Uganda, but due to too much coldness and mud. We toured different places in the park including the Butser Hill National Nature Reserve. Tourists and their dogs were in as well!. We later went to Petersfield….interesting!!!

Another glamorous day! Hambledon Primary School, a place I knew even before being there! Adorable, brilliant pupils and teachers I imagined! And yes it was an admirable, colourful, charming, and beautiful place than I imagined. I was extremely happy when I was welcomed in the school. Hambledon is heaven!! Imagine going through a day with amazing people, lots of smiles, food, hugs, fascinating compliments, appreciations and even people holding the door to open for you, wow!!!!!! Everything at Hambledon Primary School is unique, the headteacher Paul has a unique friendly personality as well. Friends hold a special place in one’s heart. Thank you Mr Davies for being a friend,mentor and more!! Through the twinning project we met, I’ve learn a lot from you and this whole amazing experience will create a positive impact to me as a head teacher and the entire family of Rihamu Junior School. Lots of thanks to Adrienne, the deputy head teacher at Hambledon Primary School who led the fundraising exercise to rise money for renovating our primary one wooden class.. You don’t know the change you have made to beautify our school and the children who suffered during the rainy season.

For sure, this whole experience is worth sharing. The different places I’ve visited while in the UK are amazing. London city, Buckingham Palace and many more interesting places in London. Bournemouth at the seaside, thanks Paul this place was the best. Chichester University where we shared different experiences on global citizenship, Portsmouth in different shopping arcades and getting to understand how the UK money is used when shopping!! Liss village and Liss Junior, different pubs, the cricket pitch, Winchester and many other places I’ve not mentioned maybe because I can’t remember their spellings😀😀😀. All these places were hilarious!

The twinning project will contribute a lot to Rihamu Junior school in many ways: Through communication and letter exchange, it will improve English speaking at school. Enhancement of global learning , exposure to different learning and teaching contexts, change of perception and attitudes, cultural awareness and exchange through sharing experiences. Increased quality and effectiveness of games like cricket, tag rugby, football, dominoes, darts which Rihamu got to know through the project. Support towards the school projects like the water tank, supporting the orphanage etc. The list is endless.

I don’t have the right words to express my gratitude and thankfulness to the Peach family. They’re my parents,they treated me like their own. I felt at home and more!!!!

Again, special thanks goes to the following people who made my visit and stay in the UK so fabulous. Adam Stanley, Steve Peach, Paul Davies, Jan, Karen Peach,Heather Green, Teresa and the entire family, Jess and the lovely family, Jo Heath , Mary at Chichester university, the brownies, Ashlea, The entire staff and pupils of Hambledon and the education students I met in Chichester.

That’s part one of my UK experience,more still coming. Take care everyone,stay home and stay safe.

Shakilah Huda , Rihamu Junior School.

More from Mr Thembo’s trip to the UK

After two very busy but enjoyable weeks, Mr Stephen Thembo—the headteacher of Kafuro Primary School—has returned to Uganda.

Mr Thembo taught in all four year groups at the Junior School and also in Year 2 at the infant school. He had specific jobs to carry out with Year 3 and Year 6 as this was a condition of British Council funding which allowed for the reciprocal visit. Families will remember that Miss Duncan visited Uganda last summer and  began teaching the topics at Kafuro.

Mr Thembo with Year 4 & Larch

Mr Thembo gave presentations to the children about Queen  Elizabeth  National Park in Uganda. The children were given the opportunity to question him about the similarities and  differences between Queen Elizabeth Country Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park.

Mr Thembo also accompanied children from Larch class to their weekly horse riding session.

Sanitation work with Year 6

Mr Thembo brought the results of the Kafuro water survey which we were able to compare to that of Liss children in Year 6. The last time we carried out a water survey like this was five years ago when Liss pupils (on average) used 17 times more water in a day than their peers in Kafuro. Our survey this time showed that Liss children used three times as much water as Kafuro pupils. However, the criteria that we used were not exactly the same as five years ago, so it is difficult to make too much of a comparison. What was noticeable from the results was that the amount of water used for laundry was a major difference between the two sets of pupils. Kafuro pupils used more water for drinking, which is not surprising given the fact that they come from a warmer climate. They also used more water for handwashing dishes, but this is slightly misleading as many Liss pupils have dishwashers at home.

Liss pupils realized that there are still many ways in which they can save  water, while Ugandan pupils in both Kafuro and Rihamu have taken it upon themselves to carry out weekly clean ups of their local environment and  to promote good sanitation.

Changing Communities work with Year 3

In Year 3, children have been learning about Changing Communities in  Kafuro. In return, Kafuro have been working on the changing community in Liss. During lessons here at Liss Junior School, Ash and Oak class began by creating maps of their own community with elements they would add to      improve it, then used maps and evidence of land use to infer the types of jobs people of Kafuro may have, and debated what the land within Queen Elizabeth National Park should be used for, posing as rangers or farmers. The work produced during these lessons were of a high standard and pupils worked with clear focus and enthusiasm. 

With the help of Mr Thembo during his visit, they completed their work by drawing maps of the community in Kafuro to compared it to their own. Whilst creating these maps in groups, they were asked to imagine what they could add to this to improve the area which they did thoughtfully and carefully. The children now have a clear understanding of their twinned school, an appreciation of their own environment and are eager to learn more as their time at Liss Junior School progresses.

World Book Day

Mr Thembo visited Year 2 and Year 5 on World Book Day. Like many other countries, Uganda has a tradition of oral storytelling and Mr Thembo shared some common folk tales from his country, one of which was the three blind men and the elephant.

 If you would like to read more Ugandan folk tales they can be found at this address:

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/baskerville/king/king.html#I

Wants & Needs work with Year 6

Liss pupils in Rowan & Maple classes compiled the results of their wants and needs cards work. The same exercise also took place at Kafuro.

Liss (10 groups)                                                             

Want or Need Incidence
Medical care 10
Clean water 10
Nutritious food 10
Decent shelter 6
Clean air 6
Protection from abuse and neglect 3
Education 3
Protection from Discrimination 1
Freedom to practise beliefs 1

Kafuro (4 groups)

Want or Need Incidence
Land 2
Clean water 3
Nutritious food 5
Decent shelter 3
Clothing 3
Money 1

Analysing the results

Although there was commonality between the two schools, there were also a number of differences for the children in each country.

In Uganda, particularly where there are rural communities, having land to grow crops on is highly important. When your family’s livelihood is dependent upon harvesting and selling those crops, then everything else pales into insignificance. Likewise, for many parents education isn’t seen as so important as they can earn a living off the land. Children are often pulled out of school at planting and harvest time to help their parents in the fields.

If you live in rural Uganda, you are used to clean air so why would you need it?

A particular difference was the value British children place on medical care, perhaps a result of having the NHS free at the point of entry. For Ugandans, hospitals are few and far between – the nearest to Kafuro is 35 miles away. You have to pay to see a doctor and a hospital stay is even more expensive. For many Ugandans, therefore, medical care is not an option.

Children in both countries recognised the need for food, clean water and basic shelter.

Leisure Time

For the Ugandan headteachers, not all of their time was spent in school. They visited Queen Elizabeth   Country Park, Winchester, the University of Chichester, Bournemouth and London. Mr Thembo also had a cream tea at the top of the Spinnaker Tower on his final day in the UK.

Next Steps

Mr Stanley will now be submitting a final report to the British Council. Once this has been approved, we will be free to make another bid for funding reciprocal visits between Liss and Kafuro which would hopefully take place in the spring and summer of 2021. We want to continue to grow and strengthen our partnership for many years to come.

Uganda Day 12: 2019

This morning I woke up to see off Steve, Karen, Jan and Ashlea as they set off super early. I managed to go back to bed and have a super relaxing morning. We ambled to breakfast late and tried the hostel which was nice. Andy and Paul were brave and tried the Rolex (omlette in chipati) which I think they liked! It was a relaxing day today as we spent it at the lodge, swimming and (for me mainly) reading, so there is not much else to report!

Uganda Day 11: 2019

Unlike the CM sports gang, Paul and I had a later than normal start. We headed to the Conservation Cup tournament which kicked off just as we got there – perfect timing! Whilst supporting Kafuro during their football and rugby games from the sidelines, I had time to chat to Ashley who leaves tomorrow! I can’t wait to catch up with her when we are both back in the UK. I also chatted to some children on the side of the pitches who had lots of intriguing questions about England. 


A few games completed, it was time for lunch. Children were served first and then the adults ate in a classroom which felt like being back at school during wet play! 


I was also able to meet lots of people whilst I was there. I met Stephen’s wife who was very kind, and Stephen Biru who is Director of Education and Conservation. 


The finals took place in the afternoon and it went very quickly. Kafuro didn’t win either of the tournaments but they showed fantastic sportsmanship and team work. I’m sure they will come back stronger next year! The winning teams were awarded the prizes and all teams were given a football from the kit used for training. Once all teams had been celebrated, it was time to say some sad farewells. It was hard to get away from the school as no one wanted to leave. As we were driving away, we passed Stephen who had very kindly been to buy me a present – a lovely wall hanging in the shape of Uganda! A wonderful reminder of my fantastic time in Africa. 


Driving home we passed some small shops selling souvenirs. I purchased an elephant carving, a keyring with the uganda flag and a small drum to show the children at school for music lessons. 


At Tembo in the evening, we had our usual meals, followed by more farewells. This time we had to say bye to Steve, Karen, Jan and Ashley. I’m sure I will be making visits to QECP when I am home for a catch up!  


When we went to the Lodge in the evening, a huge storm came over, which we’ve had a few of whilst being here. The lightning here is brighter than England, it completely lights up the sky for longer than usual. Strangely there is no thunder to accompany it and it is still unusually warm during the storms. Joffrey explained that this storm was a farewell to Steve and his group, just as the rain on our first day had been a greeting. If this is the case, England must be saying hello and goodbye to lots of people all the time!  

Uganda 2019 Day 11: The Conservation Cup

Every night of this trip the whole group has sat together and chatted. As part of this conversation we have all nominated our top three moments of the day. Today, I will find it impossible to nominate just three. There were so many amazing moments that made this the perfect day in Uganda.

The Conversation Cup is a competition between all 10 schools in the QE Parks Project on the playing fields at Kyambura School. Ten children from each school participate in Tag Rugby and Football and also deliver a presentation with a conservation message.

Of course I was cheering for Rihamu. The children had only received their tag rugby kit a week ago, but have been training hard since. Many of the schools have been playing for years and Rihamu improved every game. I was delighted that by their final game, the children put up a stiff challenge and managed a 1-1 draw.

At break I handed the children some biscuits I’d purchased at a shop in Kampala on day 1. One little girl reached into the jar and pulled out a ginger nut. “Don’t eat yours yet!” called another child. “I’m not going to eat it,” she replied. “I’m only looking; it’s from the expensive super market.”

Rihamu’s football team are very skilful and performed brilliantly. I was on the side-lines cheering every kick. I must admit that the ecstatic cheer that I let out when their first goal was scored rang very loudly around the playing field. Rihamu went on to win that game and the next! The team qualified easily from their group and progressed as far as the semi-finals. The semi-final was a very tense affair with New Life School. Two very evenly matched teams. At the full-time whistle the scores were still 0-0 and extra time beckoned. Memories of Italia 90 and Euro 96 resurfaced as Rihamu let in the first goal in with literally the last kick of extra-time. This was the first time the children have taken part in a competition and to progress so far is a stunning achievement.

That left the conservation presentation. Rihamu performed a poem written by the Headteacher Shakilah, last weekend. The children had it memorised by lunchtime on Monday and spent the week perfecting their performance. I blogged earlier in the week that I thought they stood a great chance, but this performance brought things to the next level. They took to the stage in costume, having used a nearby tree to manufacture ‘branch’ headdresses. The performance was loud, slick and synchronised and brought huge cheers at the end. For me the result was never in doubt and as expected Rihamu were crowed Conservation Champions, winning a valuable prize of a boat safari in the Queen Elizabeth National Park!

Shakilah and her team are amazing. They achieve so much with so little, making a daily difference to children with extremely meagre resources. In Uganda it doesn’t matter what clothes you wear or what car you drive. Everyone is together and they look out for each other, nobody is judging. It is inspiring.

Huge congratulations to CM Sports for organising an excellent tournament. The sight of the post-presentation celebrations, hundreds of children dancing on the field, brought home to me the difference that a simple sports tournament had made. Then it was time for emotional goodbyes.

I return to the UK with pen-pal letters for the children and staff of Hambledon. Also with a snazzy hat and a plaque for my office. But more than that, I return to England having fallen in love with Rihamu School and the many friends I have made there.

As I went for tea at Tembo there was time for yet another Ugandan surprise. We have to drive everywhere in the park in the evening and night. This is because of the risk from wild animals. As I walked into the garden of Hippo House to board the bus I froze. Literally no more than 10 metres in-front of me, walking through our garden was a herd of elephants! I stood agog as 30 Elephants walked through past us, occasionally stopping to rip some leaves from the trees to eat. Perhaps I got too confident, but to get a better shot on my mobile phone I stepped towards a giant elephant. He decided to remind me who was in charge! Letting out a loud trumpet, he turned and started to run towards our group. Obviously I panicked and hid safely behind the bus. An exhilarating finish to a heart-pounding day.

Uganda Day 8: 2019

This morning we had to get up and go as CM Sports had quite a journey ahead of them after they dropped me off at Kafuro with Steve. When I arrived back at Kafuro I was warmly greeted and took the last few class photos of nursery, P1 and P2. 


Once I had finished the admin side of things, it was time for me to teach. I was welcomed into P6 and completed a lesson on wants and needs in which the children drew around one person to create a child, thought of 20 things they would need to be happy and healthy and then whittle it down to just 5. It was a tricky process but the children were phenomenal at their ideas and vocabulary. One group was very fast at deciding and chose to have money over water with the justification that they could buy water with money which was discussed at length. 

After teaching my lesson, which went far too quickly, I was invited into the head teacher’s office for tea and bread which was a much needed snack. Refuelled, Steve and I played dominoes and darts with Stephen and Yowasi to practise the rules so that they can teach them and so that I could practise before hopefully teaching the children tomorrow. 


Steve and I had some time to look out onto the landscape around the school before CM Sports arrived for lunch which was rice, cabbage and onions, and sliced potaoes (Joffrey certainly enjoyed his lunch). 


Temperatures were rising as we moved onto New Life Junior school and Kichwamba Primary School for football practice (which I was hoping to sit in the shade and watch.) We were greeted by the school in one of the classrooms and the choir singing a song to us as visitors. They pulled Andy up to dance first and then the rest of us one by one which was really fun. 


Although I was planning on relaxing and watching the sports training, the children had other ideas. I was surrounded by intrigued children who wanted to ask questions about me being a teacher which was really nice to discuss and share our similarities. I also became a mirror to a little girl in pink shoes. We compared shoe sizes and every movement she made, I imitated which kept a lot of children entertained, especially as she was so sassy. Later, CM sports were presenting their gifts so I sat among the children pretending to hide which they thought was funny. We spoke about the lessons they had for the rest of the day and I was nosey and had a look through one of their maths books which was eye opening. Whilst there was a darts demonstration, I saw a child bouncing a ball on her own. I invited her to start playing catch which turned into piggy in the middle surrounded by lots of other children. They were engrossed and very competitive! 


Then it was back to Mweya before a packed day at Kafuro again tomorrow. Joffrey let me drive home from the school which was lovely on the tarmac but not so pleasant for everyone else once we started to go onto the track, although highly amusing for Steve and I while sat in the front plus my driving made Nick’s top 3 moments of the day!

Uganda Day 7: 2019

After a quicker than normal visit to Tembo this morning for breakfast, myself, Steve, Ashlea and the CM sports coaches set off to Kafuro Primary School for my first visit. When we arrived, we were greeted by Stephen Thembo, the headteacher, and Yowasi. We chatted in Stephen’s office to introduce ourselves and were then invited to an assembly to introduce ourselves to the children. Once we had said ‘hello’, the CM Sports coaches were given the team to train ready for the Conservation Cup, and Megan took some children to dance whilst I was given a tour of the school with Ashley. We saw the classes which were quite large, with tables with benches, chalkboards at the front and in some rooms, lights so that the older children can revise in the morning and evening when it is dark. It reminded me of Mrs Myers’ assembly in which she showed a  photo of the boy doing his homework on the street using the streetlights, as these children don’t have access to electricity, and therefore light, at home to work. 


I was shown the results of the children at Liss Junior School’s fundraising, the latrines, which had been emptied and new plastic funnels put in place and concrete flooring. The children and teachers at Kafuro are very grateful to all the effort the children have put in over the year with their fundraising. 


Once CM Sports had left to go to their next school, Steve and I took the walk children used to take to collect drinking water from the lake, and that some still take to get water for washing. Since the new tap was installed at Kafuro, the community is now able to use the water for drinking and only go to the lake to collect water for cleaning. It was quite a walk down to the lake and when we arrived I was surprised at how beautiful it looked from a distance but up close it made me realise how valuable the tap at the school is. Yowasi wanted us to do the challenge and rock climbing up to the main road but I was wearing flip flops so I had to take the road less travelled. 


Back up in Kafuro village, I met some local people, most of whom were parents of children from the school. Some of the men use their motorbikes to take people into the nearby town, a replacement for taxis, and I was offered a lift but again, my attire wasn’t particularly suitable so I had to decline (don’t panic Mum!) 


Returning to school, we ate lunch in Stephen’s office – tilapia, Irish potatoes, and cabbage and tomato salad which was a bit like a stir fry. It was all delicious! 


In the afternoon I had a chance to talk through the planning with Posiano, who teaches maths and social sciences at the school. It is similar to secondary schools at Kafuro in that teachers don’t teach a class but a subject and move between the classrooms, apart from nursery and P1 who have the same teacher all day. With the planning all explained to Posiano, it was time to give out the letters from Liss which they all rushed off to read in class as soon as the class photos had been taken. 


CM Sports and Joffrey returned and it was time to get back to Mweya. We headed to Tembo for dinner and then the lodge. Joffrey was in a good mood so he let me drive home. Then I don’t think everyone else was in a good mood after the bumpy ride home. 


I felt very welcomed at the school today and thoroughly enjoyed my time. I can’t wait to get started with teaching tomorrow! 

Uganda Day 6: 2019

Heading to Tembo for breakfast at the later time of 6.30 today (a luxury after finally sleeping through the night!), we filled up before heading to the Rwenzori Mountains for our mountain trek. 


Joffrey had told us it was cold up the mountains so we needed to cover up, but when we got there it was cool compared to other places we had been. Thankfully, most of us hadn’t listened and didn’t wear long trousers, a good thing too as climbing was tiring and sweaty work. During our 4.1 mile walk which took 2 hours to get to the summit and back, we saw some beautiful sights, such as enormous boulders in clear, cold rivers, picturesque mountains and hundreds of butterflies which were as common as flies or bees are at home. Nick didn’t get very far before a winged creature decided to make his ear it’s new home and was determined not to come out, so he returned to the bottom to try to retrieve it. On our way back down from the peak, there were about 20 orange and black butterflies slightly smaller than ours at home, a few landed on my hands but didn’t fly off straight away and others fluttered around me. I could even walk off and they stayed on my hand which was quite magical. It was much quicker on the way down, collecting Nick on the way after he had made it up with Barbara, the ranger, and we headed back to Mweya for our Kazinga Channel cruise. When we got back, one of the highlights of the day for Luke and I was Nick falling out of the car, as he took off the whole seal for the door whilst stepping over some water.


We managed to all get on the same cruise boat for the channel cruise and within a few minutes, we spotted elephants close to shore. I was so excited. Then the boat moved closer and we were within about 7 meters of them! There were 3 elephants to start but by the end we saw about 10 elephants! We also saw lots of hippos in big groups and plenty of buffalo and birds. We also drifted past a fisherman village as we moved towards Lake Edward which had hippos nearby. It was a very smooth journey and was amazing to see such a variety of different animals and so many of them. 


Once we had docked, we went to tembo for dinner. As football was on, Meg and I had a dinner date outside having a great chat. They had run out of chicken so we both had something with beef, for a change. We went to the lodge afterward for more games and a few drinks before my first day at Kafuro tomorrow which I am really excited about. 

Uganda Day 4: 2019

After a rather restless night last night, with a huge storm, I woke up feeling much better than yesterday. We headed to Tembo for breakfast where most of us had French toast to set us up for the day. Setting off at 10, we drove to Rihamu, spotting an elephant on the way out of the park. 


An hour later, we were nearing Rihamu and Joffrey asked some locals to show us the way to the school. We arrived to a carnival style greeting with children lining the entrance, singing and dancing and wanting to shake hands with all of us. Nick and Megan got emotional as it was really overwhelming to see children so happy and excited to see just us. As soon as we were in, we were whisked away to look in all of the classrooms where the children warmly greeted us with enthusiasm and some had decorated their rooms with paper flowers especially for us. The rooms themselves had a chalk board at the front, wooden tables with benches attached which could seat 3 children, and a few posters on the wall to support the children’s learning. One class I entered, Primary 5 (P5), told me in their introduction that they ‘go to school to struggle for a better future’ which really pulled on the heartstrings. Another class, P7, told me ‘teachers are our parents at school, they care for us’ which I would hope children in England would have in common. I was given the tour of the school by a teacher called Roseta who taught the children my name as we moved around and was very welcoming. Her younger sister, Bridgette also worked at the school and was just as lovely. 


Once everyone had seen the rooms and caused chaos by dancing, singing songs and getting the children hyped up (like Luke), the upper school walked to the pitch which was used for sports, not quite the fields the CM sports group were used to as it was dusty, extremely hot and not very even which was noticeable by the footballs rolling away! They started off with a game involving everyone (which was about 60 children) in which they stood in a circle and had to take turns in their pair running around to get back to their pair like a giant duck duck goose. There were a few rounds and I played with Bridgette which was interesting when we were both wearing dresses and flip flops and had to run around a huge circle and jump on each other’s backs! Whilst the boys organised the teams, Roseta asked the children to teach me the elephant song which they found hilarious when I tried but it would be a lovely song to teach back at Liss. Later when the school were organised into 2 groups posing rugby or football, I had the chance to talk to Roseta and Bridgette with Ashley, who works at Queen Elizabeth Country park and is also staying with us at Hippo House. We talked about our similarities and differences such as they’ve never seen snow but Bridgette has been to university. After a while, Roseta and Bridgette joined in on the football and Roseta was a great goalkeeper, organising her team before her throw ins.


 When it was too hot and the games had finished, we headed back to school for lunch. Shakilah had organised a special lunch for us which included Irish potatoes, rice with vegetables, goat stew and cooked green bananas which tasted a bit like potato. We were discussing the children at Liss cooking Ugandan food in DT with Mr Stanley and they noted that they didn’t cook posho so Shakila kindly got us some to try as the children have it with beans for lunch at school. Once we had refueled, we visited the nursery where children stay at the school. It was quite hard hitting as we were told the children share beds as there isn’t enough space. 


The final thing we learnt was to balance a bottle on our head as we have seen lots of people carrying things on their head in our time here. After lots of determination, I managed to do it – and then with dancing! It had got to about 3 o’clock and it was time to leave. We had lots of photos with the teachers and said some emotional goodbyes then headed back to Mweya.

On the way back through torrential rain, we spotted an elephant herd on the side of the road. The giant elephant was with some of his family including a baby one. Once across the road, they used their trunks to throw dust over themselves to dry them off. 


We carried on down the road and went back to Hippo House for an hour to rest up before the daily pilgrimage to Tembo for dinner. I tried chicken and vegetables with chipati which was a bit like a stir fry. I didn’t think I would be hungry after our feast at Rihamu but I managed to eat a lot. Then it was straight to bed to get an early night before a delightful 5.30am wake up call for the game drive tomorrow. Â