Elsa's Elephant

A lovely shot of an elephant throwing up dust. All elephants like to cover themselves with mud or dust, or both, which then acts as a sunscreen.

Many thanks to Elsa McKee who took this shot just after she arrived with her family this morning.

Chef Hamza

The head chef at Tortilis is the very cheerful Hamza. Very cheerful might be an understatement !

Hamza has worked for the company for 11 years and his knowledge,enthusiasm, hard work and dedication to his job is very plain to see. He has a terrific team working for him in the kitchen and he loves to talk food and he loves people to take an interest in what is happening. His smile is electrifying and if for whatever reason you are feeling a little down then Hamza is your man. We have yet to see him stop smiling except for when he is laughing.

Chef Hamza and his wife have two grown up daughters and they are from the Diani coastal region of Kenya.

Welcome !

Well we had to start somewhere and it could have been one of a hundred stories or a hundred people or one of hundreds of images. But why not start with one of Africa's most ubiquitous and unassuming residents ? Certainly not one of Africa's big five but nevertheless interesting all the same.
The Black-backed Jackal (Canis mesomelas) is a common resident in Amboseli and can be spotted frequently whilst on a game drive here at Tortilis. Interestingly the specie is present in two distinct areas separated by about 900kms. The southern group resides in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana and the eastern group is here in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia.

This particular chap was photographed yesterday morning and as you see he had not been long awake !