Skip to main content

Tigers!

Another busy week and tomorrow we head off again - who booked this ridiculously busy summer of activities?!? This time last week we were getting ready to head of to Port Lympne again. We last went 2 years ago for our 10th anniversary and we all enjoyed it so much that we decided we would go again. This time we booked into one of their new lodges, the Tiger Lodge. It's in a different part of the park from where we stayed last time, but still very central and of course (most importantly) came with the obligatory golf buggy. On the way there we stopped off for a BBQ with Helen and Simon and their 3 boys. I work with Helen so it could have been a bit one sided but the major draw for the kids was the fact they have a swimming pool. Given it was a hot sunny day (of course), this was the perfect situation and within moments they were all happily splashing around making the most of it. Quickly a whole bunch more people turned up, including a girl of Izzy's age who is most likely going to go to Pangbourne, and the party got underway. Despite having made me promise we would not stay too long, it was us dragging them away in the end.


We carried onto Kent, only getting stuck in one traffic snarl up, and got to the park as it was beginning to empty out so it was great timing. The first major obstacle to get our heads around was the fact that the Tiger Lodge had no kitchen facilities. I had remembered what we had last time, vaguely read the details and made a sweeping assumption... ooops. Luckily we had already agreed we would eat in the pizza restaurant both evenings so it wasn't such a big deal, and it did have a kettle and a coffee machine so we were happy.


Obviously the whole point of booking the Tiger Lodge was to have an uninterrupted view of the tigers. For the first 24 hours they resolutely refused to come round to our side of their (large and densely wooded) enclosure. However, our patience was rewarded and for the second part of the stay they barely left the area in front of our windows. We got to see them playing, grooming, sleeping (alot) and generally acting pretty much like enormous pussy cats as they dozed in the sunshine. We even managed to get some half passable photos in the end. We also saw all 3 cheetahs as we ate our dinner on the terrace, tapirs, gorillas and so much more - it was a lovely trip once again.


Once we got home, I had to go back to work of course. The start / stop nature of August is taking it's toil. Work is much easier when I am in a routine - only doing 3 days a week gives me far too much time to question why I do this week in week out! Never mind, only 10 years or so to go... I'm sure I can manage that.


This afternoon we dropped the girls off to Simon and Audrey's for a few days so we can head to France again, this time with Simon and Sharron on the (motor)bikes. Of course we anticipated good weather, we have had wall to wall sunshine for what seems like forever after all. But no, the forecast for tomorrow as we head to the tunnel is heavy rain, interspersed with thundery showers. Perfect! At least it solves the question of what to wear for the ride down - wetsuits!



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas...

I was sure I write the blog last week.... but, it seems another 2 weeks have flown by and now we are staring down the barrel of the Christmas holidays and the end of the year! Currently it's all about Doug and what a star he has proved to be so far. He has now been with us for 3 weeks and he is (so far, I keep thinking at some point it will change) a pretty chilled out puppy. As a second dog he has been thrown in at the deep end and has been to Sunday lunch with Alan & Sarah (which he loved), socialised at home with friends and their dogs, met babies (he loved Elsie) and started to go for walks. The walking has been a bit different to our previous approaches with new dogs. In the past we have ventured out carefully, making sure that our new baby only walks a short distance so they can experience all the new sights and sounds. Doug's first walk was after Sunday lunch last week, just him and 8 other dogs for bout 45 mins - he loved it! In our defence we didn't let him wal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Naked gardening!

How wonderful it is to be of an age that when the sun comes out you just strip off and get naked.  Izzy is definitely still 'get naked whoever is around'. Abi is now a little more conservative and does at least check who might be watching, but yesterday there was none of this as they both enjoyed the early May bank holiday sunshine and a spot of 'gardening' (otherwise known as 'mud-pies').  Watching them as they played on the patio, then roaring around the garden chasing each other just reinforced again how lucky we are to have the house and garden we do. So 2 days of playing together, inseparable as ever, followed by today where Izzy was invited to go to Marwell Zoo with Aran, on her own!  Poor Abi was devastated that she hadn't also been invited ("Why didn't they invite me Mummy, it's not fair!"), and even Izzy was a bit put out ("Don't they realise we are sisters Mummy?"). So after many tears and suggestions they get u...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cough, cough

Izzy - can't do a photo without rude finger gestures It's fair to say that the last couple of weeks have been rough. I managed to get the cough Mum had a while back and it has been horrible! Both Dad and Glenn seemed to get a very mild version of it but Mum and I got the full dose and I can safely say that it has been a stark reminder of just how bad a viral infection can be. It also illustrates the whole Covid experience - some get it worse than others. For me it has meant that for over 2 weeks I have had the worst cough which has left me unable to sleep properly. I still can't sleep lying down fully, and have to be propped up on pillows on my back which is not my favoured sleeping position! It has also meant that Glenn has spent the last 10 days in the spare room because I have been coughing so badly he is unable to sleep in the same room. Thank goodness we didn't all have it - we'd have shaken the house to its foundations! It has also meant that I have been exhau...
Post a Comment
Read more