7 years in a tent?!

After 7 years living in tents we are now living in a ‘proper’ house.... takes a bit of getting used to... all that space.... possessions (having unpacked the container...do we really need most of them??)... still it’s great: hot water at last!! Log fires ......and of course views to die for... Oh and no more mongooses, porcupines,genets, hyraxes, elands and elephants in the groceries- what joy! So much hard work and craftsmanship has gone into this house we fully appreciate everyone who made it possible.(One joy we were most  looking forward to was no longer sharing a tent with two dogs.... only when the baboons and hyenas both kept the ‘yellow dog’ barking all night in the kitchen he ended up joining me ON my bed...... clearly a work in progress.)

The anti - poaching patrols get down- time too...

One of those great Lentille moments occurred on ‘Moving Day’ a few weeks back, when the whole community turned out to get us moved .... building, fixing, cleaning non-stop for many days before  cooking the feast and dancing the night away in true Masai style, with a little mauratina on the side.... as ever we are humbled by the ability of our friends and colleagues to celebrate so magnanimously in our good fortunes and we continue to be so proud and thankful  to be part of such a wonderful community. .. and the 'surprise' shuka covers beautifully sewn by all the girls- how wonderful people are! Thank you-all!

Thanks also to all our great  ‘campsite’ friends  over  the years, who have often spent many months working  and playing with us all at Lentille, ...(over 100 of you all at the last count!) for so much laughter and fun in ‘the camp’.... and you will all be pleased to know that your tents are very much still there.. currently totally full of our ‘overflow’ ‘house guests’...! Name of the new house? its meant to be Ol lentille House.. but it may take another 7 years to stop being called ‘campsite’!

Feeding the hyenas... (not with the kiddies)...

We have so many hyenas around the camp... and so many visitors are nervous when they hear the hooping for the first time.. so redolent of the African bush.
With their amazing powerful jaws hyenas get such a bad press..... even the beautiful Stripeys...so it was more than exciting to encounter the Hyena men of Herar..... calling the hyenas into the old city walls... as the muezzin call from the 99 mosques of the Old City at dusk, the hyenas start to call back to the old Hyena men and then glide noiselessly up the street... the children take great glee in passing as close as they can to each hyena....( haven't lost a child yet).. apparently...its a very African  experience watching the hyena eyes fix on an eight year old child...

Yes.. FOUR hyena eyes... and this kiddy is about three feet high...

Feeding the hyenas takes on a surreal quality as we balance sticks of meat in our mouths which they delicately remove.. though its quite a shock when they jump on your back as a sort of grand- finale.... before gliding noiselessly back into the night where they can be heard hooping long after the muezzin are quiet for the night...

They come from all directions...

One of those fantastical African experiences... doubt it has a Health and Safety security clearance and can't say we see Solo or Timo offering this on the Ol Lentille activity list any time soon- But Never say Never. Meanwhile, I hope that these wonderful animals can get a slightly better press at least for being such an iconic part of the African bush. We are all beautiful in our own way....