Lewa

We're staying with Jophie and Al at their home, a tented camp on the Lewa wildlife conservancy. As you turn off the main track you are greeted by a pirate flag, flying high over the corrugated metal walls of the kitchen. Beyond this are three large canvas safari tents, from left to right the guest tent, the mess tent, and their sleeping tent. On the far right of the line of tents is the rickety bathroom, with it's thatched sides and corrugated roof.

There is no fence around the camp, and all around lies the bush, teaming with wildlife. We have been acclimatising gradually to life in the camp, learning to use our torches at night to scan the bush for eyes before crossing from one tent to another. Once darkness falls it feels like a long walk from the bathroom tent to the guest tent, and we usually make the journey together, scurrying through the darkness, hoping we don't tread on a snake.

Yesterday Al drove us out into the bush, following the animal trails through the grass. He was just saying that the lions would be resting at that time of day, sleeping under the cover of a bush or tree, when Lila spotted a lioness asleep under the bush we'd just passed. The noise of a Land Cruiser filled with five young children disturbed her, and she got up with some annoyance to look for a more peaceful spot for her afternoon doze. She walked within a few feet of us, much to Ossian's delight. He made little lion roars all the way back to camp, and Lila was renamed Lila the Lion Spotter.

That night our walk back to our tent was more nerve wracking than usual, as we could hear the sound of lions marking their territories close by the camp even before we'd finished brushing our teeth. The noise is more like a deep, rhythmical grunting than a roar, and by the time we got to our tent we were running, throwing ourselves inside and zipping up behind us. Al had assured us that a lion cannot distinguish between a tent and a rock, and will not try and get in, but Lila was not so sure, and insisted Adharanand sleep with her. The noise of the lions vibrated in the air around us as we lay in bed, like listening to thunder cracking right overhead, terrifying and awesome at the same time.