Hi all,

Well lots happened since my last post.

Yesterday morning we got up to one of the big camps to help with a transfer of two big lions to a truck (they were being collected for transport to a new reserve owned by the person who hand reared them). They were literally a hand away from me with only a very dodgy piece if iorn fencing between us. The woman who hand reared them just walked straight into the camp and started playing with the. Just stunning and wonderful to get so close to them.

We then went shopping, so now have sorts (horahhh!!!). The three of us managed to lose each other in the mall though and had arranged to go round the suprermarket together to stock up but when we couldn't see each other at the agreed time Sarah and I thought we better go ahead and get the shopping and Pete could catch us up. Unfortunately Pete had thought exactly the same thing so when we eventuall hooked back up we had doubles of nearly everything! What numpties!

When we got back to the camp I fed the meerkats and was then on the giraffe station for most of the ret of the day. The park is open to the public for game drives, seeing round some of the smaller enclosuures and some limited interaction with the lion cubs. It's really busy on a weekend so there wasn't tonnes of time to spend explaining things to us yesterday but we've done more today.

We we out last night to a place called Montecasino. I have to say I wasn't that keen to begin with (not much of a gambler) but went along anyroad. I have to say it's one of the maddest places I've ever seen. It's like this huge mock-italian village (it's indoors so has a fake sky, pigeons, cobbled streets and everything!) that has everything in it - every kind of place to eat you could imagine, shops, hotels and the casino. Hoestly, the place was huge!!! And the casino, whilst also huge and at the centre of it, was not intrusive. There was every kind of gambling you could think of -roulette tables, blackjack, poker and rows and rows and rows and rows of slot machines (i'm not exagerating - there we're literally thousands!). We had a lovely evening there - ended up having fish and chips and a rather large margarita (which as you know is nearly my favourite meal!). We were really boring - didn't place a bet and were back by 10 because we were all knackered.

Life a bit busier in the park today. Got our roster when we reported for work and have to say, the one person who fed back to i-to-i to say that working on the trot for 10 was a bit hard must have a really cushy number back home because the work's really not onerous and lots of fun.

Again, because it's the weekend the park was really busy doing the big camps tomorrow or later in the week.

We've got 6 cubs at 3months and 6 at 2mths (althoug two of those stay in the nursery just now cause they're a bit poorly). Every morning we 'run' the cubs down from the nursery to their big pen in the middle of the park and at night we run them back up so they get a cosy sleep indoors. There's usualy a few people to line the route to make sure they don't go astray. This morning though there was only me and one other person to see them down. The whole thing turned into an absolute shambles - one of the bigger ones thought he'd go for a wee wonder tound the car park and, as I was trying to cut him off and steer him back to the path the others thought they' like to have a wee look around too! Ended up having 10 cubs running about indiffernent directions - thought they'd say hello to the cheetah and tiger enclosures (!) and then the 8mth lions. Then they saw the open fence leading on to the plains that the drives go through and where the giraffes, zebra, impalam, blesblok etc all liven and that's when it got a bit hairy! Very funny though!!! When we did evebtually get them in their pen they ended up having people in with them virtually all day (the park was just heaving today) and were really tired by the end of it. So, getting them back to the nursery at night wasn't so much of a problem (especially since they were goetting some meat tonight).

I fed and mucked out the meerkats and fed the lion cubs their breaky this morning (which is just amazing!). Spent most of the day at the giraffe station and on cubworld gate though - when the park's as busy as today it's all hands on deck. Hopefully doing a game drive tomorrow though and might see the black leopard later in the week.

Quiet night tonigh as we were all knackered. We're currently having a really mad thunderstorm which is sooooooo loud and quite spectacular to watch (and keeps cutting off the electricity so that the only light in the camp is this bberry!). I'm not usually scared of lightening and thunderstorms but this is mad. Cubs must be frightened.

Anyway, that's enough for now - will post again soon.

Love,
Jox

• meerkats
• Lions