Sadly, this was the last day of our Safari, but there was time for one last drive through the Masai Mara reserve, on the way to the main gate. We didn't see any new animals, but it was a chance to see more of those we had already seen. This time it was 
a herd of buffalo that were “up close and personal”. On the drive home, we again saw zebras and wildebeests outside the park, and this time a group of about ten giraffes.
An even earlier start got us on the road for a sunrise safari. The sun came up so fast, we missed the actual moment it came over the far hills. But in the soft early morning light, we saw a large group of elephants, right beside the road. If they had been any closer we would 
have had to share seats!
The evening safari was based around searching for the elusive black rhino. Unfortunately they were too well hidden, but we saw a jackal, ostriches, Sausage trees with their peculiar sausage-like fruit and impalas as well as the various species of gazelles that are so plentiful. Despite the lack of new wildlife, the savannah with it's long grass and wide open crystal-clear vistas is truly beautiful. The variety of beautiful birds is fascinating too.
An early morning safari followed our 7 a.m. breakfast enabling us to see the animals out feeding, including a pride of five lionesses feeding on a buffalo carcase. Later we saw eight elephants reasonably close to the track before coming across the first signs of the coming wildebeest migration. 
Apparently zebras lead the way and we came across a herd of zebra all strung out in a nose-to-tail line sauntering steadfastly across the savanna. All we had to do was pick a spot and park and wait as the line of zebras and a few wildebeests filed silently across the road right behind us – a litteral “zebra crossing”. What an amazing sight.
Returning to camp we passed a family of baboons, our first Masai giraffes and even a lone tortoise ambling along the road. And everywhere there were Thompson's gazelles, Grant's gazelles and Topi.
After a brief rest, we went for a lateafternoon safari with warthogs, wildebeests, bat-eared foxes, ostriches and more, even closer, elephants. There were also many birds whose names we have already forgotten but the stork and the Secretary bird were special treats.
We left the comfort of Murray and Miriam's five bedroom house, and set off on Safari. Using the research done by Alan, we travelled with the Gametrackers company. We would recommend their safaris to anyone. The driver was excellent, with great knowledge, the cook made delicious 
hygienic meals with a very basic camp kitchen. All meals cooked over an open fire.
The biggest market village was full of people in colourful African dress, and along the way we saw fascinating slices of life – people and donkeys carrying loads, mothers with babies on their backs, men and boys minding herds of cows, sheep or goats.
The trip took about six hours to reach the Masai Mara Park gates. Then we were able to do a late afternoon safari on the way to our campsite and it was not long before we saw elephants in the middle distance then came across 3 lions lazing in the late afternoon sun. These magnificent cats were so close we could almost stroke them.
A relatively painless overnight flight took us, along with Janine, to Nairobi, to stay with Murray and Miriam, and meet up with Bradley and Susan who had arrived the day before.
Teams from all over Africa as well as Britain, France, Argentina and even NZ were playing and as today was the final, the more than capacity crowd were extremely enthusiastic, and when Kenya A beat Kenya B, the noise was overpowering!
Many of the spectators were armed with vuvuzelas, the subject of much contention at the Football World Cup games in South Africa. Frankly, these plastic horns make the whole experience quite unpleasant.
After admiring Honfleur in the sunlight, we set out over the Pont de Normandie, which until 2004 was the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world.It certainly is a beautiful piece of engineering. From here we headed to Eretat on the coast, to see a bridge which is totally naturally engineered. 
The headland has been likened to an elephant, and there is a great picnic spot on the cliffs overlooking both the 'elephant' and the very attractive town.
The recipe was rediscovered in the 19th century by Alexander Le Grand, who built a grand palais as his distillery and showcase for his collection of antiquities. The display is beautifully laid out, the antiquities as presented by Alexander, and the making of Benedictine is a fragrant and very visual display of all the herbs and spices and where they originate. After looking at the distillery, the final stop is a tasting of the product.
We then reached Calais in good time and joined the queue for passport control. The queue was not as daunting as Dover, but took twice as long to get to the head of our queue. Consequently we presented our passports a mere five minutes before sailing time. But due to the congestion, the boat sailed 30 minutes late, so we were able to make it in time.
Having visited St Michael's Mount in Cornwall, we have always wanted to visit it's bigger, older counterpart in France. Le Mont St Michel is a two hour drive from Honfleur, and an absolutely stunning silhouette on the sky-line as you approach.
We took the trail through the Abbey, and tried to imagine life in the days of the monks.
Probably commissioned by Otto, Bishop of Bayeux, who was William the Conqueror's brother, the tapestry is a 70 metre long embroidered story of William's invasion of England in 1066. A very efficient system of an audio guide telling the stories and pointing out details in the tapestry, keeps tardy tourists moving along.
“We the descendents of the people conquered by William, liberated his homeland.” After visiting the cathedral where the Tapestry hung for 700 years, the quote provided the continuity link to our last activity for the day, the D-Day Landings. Bayeaux was one of the first towns to be liberated after the American and British troops landed on June 6th 1944, and this major operation helped to end the war.
We were able to visit the Pointe du Hoc high cliffs which the Americans scaled, using ladders loaned by the London Fire Department. Crater holes and remains of gun emplacements are still at the top of the cliffs.
Further east at Longues-sur-Mer, we saw canons still in place within the gun batteries, but most spectacular of all were the huge concrete caissons floated from Britain to form a Mulberry Harbour, named Port Winston. We visited at low tide, and a semi-circle of these are still in place in the bay. The harbour was built in a matter of three days, and half a million vehicles passed over it in the next ten months.
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