Jodi, Max, Jim, Ginny, Ellen and David joined us from Colarado Springs, in the USA. Friends of theirs had been on safari with us a few years ago, and we were delighted they remembered us! Our safari started in a luxury private mobile camp in Lake Nakuru National Park for three nights, then we flew to Mutamaiyu Mugie on the Laikipia Plateau for a couple of nights of more conventional luxury, and finished in another luxury private mobile camp in the Masai Mara for 4 nights.

Joining us as second guide was the renowned artist Peter Blackwell, and Caroline also dropped in to spend a couple of nights in the bush.

The first stop on this safari was Lake Nakuru National Park, where we put up a luxury mobile tented camp for our three nights.

As always when camping in Nakuru Park, while the game drives are always excellent, with the most unbelievable animal and birdlife...

..it is amazing what you can see from the comfort of the dining tent!

The variety of the birdlife always astonishes first time visitors (here the greater blue eared starling), as does the hospitality of the camp crews who look after us.

From Lake Nakuru we moved on by private aircraft to Mutamaiyu Mugie, a private home on a 50,000 acre private wildlife sanctuary. On our first evening we were incredibly fortunate to find these lions resting high on a dam wall.

This was the first time anyone had seen these lion cubs out in the open, and they seemed as curious of us as we were of them.	Max and Jodie, relaxing at Mutamaiyu House

While game drives are the best way to get close to the wildlife, it is always rewarding to get closer to the wilderness, either walking or riding through this piece of unspoiled Africa and ending with a bush breakfast, cooked up by our hosts Luke and Jackie, and their son Toby.

Laikipia, where Mutamaiyu Mugie is situated, is one of Africas last unspoiled wildernesses. Here the Samburu culture and traditions remain intact, and it is possible to catch a glimpse of their traditional ways.

Ginny's hair is fascinating to the Samburu ladies, while Max hangs out with the warriors.

A visit to Mugie School, one of the most uplifting experiences on any safari.	From Mutamaiyu Mugie we flew down to the Masai Mara for a final 4 days.

Seeing elephants is always a thrill, but in the Masai Mara, if approached correctly, they will calmly envelop your vehicle - an almost spiritual experience.

Babies are hard to match for entertainment. Here a baby elephant practices being intimidating, and a lion cub plays on a river bank at dawn.

Guiding on the trip with Tim was Peter Blackwell, naturalist, artist and photographer. Here with Jim and David.	Max looking for wildlife.

Cheetah sightings were plentiful in the Mara this season - their visibility increased by the short grass on the open plains.

Crocodiles have also enjoyed the last few months - usually a lean time for them. But with the low rainfall there has been plenty of game coming to the river to drink, and many of the wildebeest that should have migrated south are still around.

Sundown and "Sundowners" on the Mara plains.

Tim, Peter and Max examining one of the "little five", a leopard tortoise.	Lionesses enjoying the first warming rays of the day.