Nearing the end of our 3 week trip we had the chance to sleep out in a tree platform which was so very peaceful and novel.  It was a few kms from the main camp and was set up at in three levels, in and around a huge tree.  The bedroom was at the highest level with the most impressive view out over the surrounding grasslands.  With an open air toilet and shower on the middle level with a open decking area on the nearest to the ground level.

We were dropped there after dinner, armed with our torches, radio and change of clothes, we climbed the wooden stairs up into the branches of the tree.  We could hear the snort of the wildebeest and impala not too far away, who were not happy to have us as neighbours tonight.  Sadly we didn’t time it right as it was not a full moon, but we could imagine the whole area bathed in moonlight, providing the most incredible vistas at night.  We climbed into a very comfortable bed, and was just able to glimpse the branches of the tree silhouetted in the weak light outside our mosquito netted window.  We dozed off to the sounds of Hyena calling in the distance and a Spotted Eagle Owl hooting in a tree a little way off.

The morning was a spectacular view, the sunrise lighting the room in its gentle pinks and oranges.  We took the tea basket we had been given the night before and climbed down to the bottom level to a pair of chairs set out on a deck facing the open area where we could see the herd of wildebeest wandering through the wet landscape.    We enjoyed our filter coffee and muffins in the fresh morning breeze while we safely watched the goings on from our lofty vantage point.  Eventually our grumbling stomachs forced us to radio camp to ask for someone to collect us for breakfast.