This morning we got under way about 9:00 we only had a moderate drive to the local bush airstrip for a flight to Nairobi and connection onto Kigali. But even a simple drive to the airstrip resulted in some exciting game spotting. To my delight only a few minutes out of camp we came upon a Cheetah lying in the grass recovering from a failed effort to run down a gazelle. Amazingly we drove up to within 2 meters of the animal and it hardly gave us a second look. It seemed much more focused on the herd of gazelles 200 meters away. Continuing on our way to the airport we encountered Jackals, Bat Eared Fox (really cute), Elan (the largest of the gazelle family weighing up to 900 kg), Thompson Gazelle and Grant Gazelle.

The airstrip was somewhat of a surprise. Nothing more that a strip of gravel with one small booth for collecting \ parking fees it was amazingly busy. During our brief wait there we saw at least five planes land and unload one group, load up another and depart. At one point the parking lot had as many as 20 safari vehicle waiting for arriving or with departing clients.

As we sat on the plane we reflected on Kicheche Bush Camp, how luxurious it was, the graciousness of our hosts Darren and Emma, and particularly our surprisingly well informed and articulate guide Patrick.

The afternoon was a bit of a drag. Into Nairobi, through immigration, get picked up by a guide and taken to a local international hotel for lunch (a Brazilian Steak House of all things), then back to Nairobi airport to wait for our 17:30 flight to Kigali.

In Kigali we were picked up by yet another guide and vehicle for the 90 km drive to the Gorilla Mountain View Lodge which is at the base of the group of volcanoes that are the home of the famous mountain Gorillas. The streets of Kigali were alive with people walking, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and buses. It was difficult to tell for sure but it seemed to live up to its growing reputation as a clean and orderly city.

We did not see much on the drive other than a surprisingly (to us) good road, lots of gum (eucalyptus) trees, and still more people walking along the side of the road. And this is Sunday night.

We arrived at the Mountain View Lodge about 22:00 tired and ready for sleep. The altitude (6500ft), and tropical climate were immediately evident with mist beginning to settle and a definite chill in the air. We were pleased to find that our rooms each had an open fire and an electric heater blazing away. We were served tea and toast as a substitute for dinner and then happily fell into bed.