Our day in the Serengeti was my favourite of the safari. The plains are endless, the wildlife varied and the sunsets beautiful. My highlight of the day was spotting a cheetah under a tree in the distance and waiting patiently to see if it moved, only to discover there was actually a group of three cheetahs which walked towards us and passed directly behind our vehicle. We saw them again later in the day and got some close up photos before they went off hunting together. We also spotted a leopard in the tree (no pun intended) plus a male and female lion on ‘honeymoon’ (apparently they mate every 15 mins, but believe me, blink and you’ll miss it!).

Whilst having lunch, we got closer to one particular creature than we would have liked. Rama (our guide), Dave and I were sat around the table in the caged enclosure designated for meals at the campsite, happily drinking coffee when Dave spotted what he thought was a lizard on Rama’s shoulder. He pointed it out, just as Rama noticed the reptile himself. Our guide did a double take before leaping from his chair and knocking it to the ground. It became immediately clear that the ‘lizard’ was actually a snake, and from the way Rama shouted ‘get back’ repeatedly and wildly, we guessed it wasn’t a harmless one. The guides identified it as a green mamba, and if bitten, you’d probably die within a few hours. From the photos, we think it might have been a tree snake, but the same fate applies. It was quite fascinating to watch all the guides leap in to action, shouting in Swahili and no-one knowing quite what to do. One grabbed the closest thing to hand - a cup of hot coffee, and this was succeeded by a thermos of hot water. Scolded, the snake was unable to move, and one of the braver guides collected it using a stick, before removing it to be disposed of. Funnily enough, some people were screaming ‘kill it!’ whilst others argued ‘don’t kill it’. After being half a metre from me at lunch, I wasn’t unhappy to see it gone, I can tell you.

Later in the afternoon we drove to a quiet spot and watched an amazing sunset over the Serengeti, a big ball of fire sinking quickly into the horizon. That night, I had trouble sleeping in our tent after the snake incident, but the only visitors we had were hyenas who emptied the bins and fought amongst themselves.

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