We didn’t have to start very early this morning as our guide and driver picked us up at the hotel to take us to Wilson Airport, the second airport in Nairobi.
We drove into the airport compound and found the shack belonging to Air Kenya. A group of 6 or 7 passengers waited around for the staff to let us out to the aircraft. Some even stood by the gate to make sure they could climb on board first. Maggi and I sat in the back. Our original departure time of 10 o’clock had changed. Now we left at 9 am. Luckily we had arrived at 8:45.
The single engine propeller driven plane trundled down the runway and eventually left the ground. The plane swayed from side to side as we climbed into the clouds. I felt nervous as the plane tossed around but I never reached the scared stage. The flight lasted 1 hour.
We landed on an earth airstrip and the aircraft bounced along the ground. Mohamed waited for us with his Land Rover. He handled the paper work necessary to enter Meru National Park.
We set off from the airfield and immediately started our wild life adventure. Mohamed spotted the animals much faster than either Maggi or I. On our first morning we saw Baboons, Elephants, Giraffes, and loads of birds.
When we arrived at the lodge, the Elsa Kopte we had a nice meal and then headed to our room. We spent a few hours in the room and then off we went again for more wild life exploring. Towards the end we stopped in the middle of nowhere for a drink and a chat with our guide Mohamed.
We then returned to the encampment where we had 15 minutes to get changed for dinner. Again the food was excellent. We were then escorted back to the chalet by one of the guides and almost straight to bed so that we could get up again at 5:45.
We didn’t know it at the time but the food at the Elsa Kopje far exceeded anything else we ate for the rest of the trip. The service was exceptional, indeed everything about the place was great.