Birthday in the bush!

We had a storm last night and finally got some much needed rain! When it rains quite a bit we don't go out and look at hyenas because of the possibility of getting stuck in the mud and leaving big tracks behind us. So this morning we got to sleep in (I still woke up at 5:30, sadly) and I am using some of my extra time today to get some personal things done. My tent is getting cleaned, I am doing my first load of laundry and blogging!

Tuesday was my 22^nd birthday and we had a lot of fun! We woke up and went out to look at hyenas. We hung out at a den and got a lot of good bonding time with the cubs. There was a beautiful sunrise and then we headed back to camp for breakfast. After breakfast we played a game of Settlers of Catan and then decided to head up to Serena lodge for drinks and a swim in the pool. We spent all afternoon hanging out at the lodge, enjoying beers by the pool and soaking in the beautiful landscape around us.

This is not my picture but this is the Mara Serena Lodge that is about a half mile away from our camp.
Not too shabby.... 

After getting a little cold in the pool we explored and found a sauna. The power wasn't on but it was still nice, warm and dry. We met up with our friends the balloon pilots and had another drink with them. The balloon pilots are great. Barry is from Northern Ireland and Shelly is from Canada. They are both a lot of fun. I feel very lucky to have such an interesting group of new people to call my friends.

Dave, a grad student, had four friends coming to camp on the night of my birthday. They were all really nice and we just spent the rest of the night hanging around the lab tent enjoy some Tusker. They just left this morning and we will miss them. It is really nice having guests in camp, I can't wait for a few guests of my own. 

I had a really great birthday and am only more and more excited for the year ahead!