Finally, as the sun was setting, we rounded a bend and saw ahead some tents and a vehicle. It was very close to a river, judging from the line of trees a few hundred yards away, and there were trees and brush all around the camp. As opposed to the miles of nearly flat, rolling plains we had driven through, there was a sizeable rocky hill just behind the tents. We had reached our "very rustic" mobile camp. This requires some description.

Yes, it was set up in the middle of nowhere with no amenities like running water or electricity. We were really camping, in real tents, out in the middle of the African wilds with lions, baboons, hippos, jackals and who knows what else all around us. We were ready to really "rough it" for the next three nights. I remember thinking that I might just not bother with shaving, visualizing doing so on the riverbank with cold, dirty water. We just didn't know what "very rustic" meant.

We were pleasantly surprised to meet the camp "staff." Shades of Africa (the tour company) had sent out the day before a truck with a trailer and three men to set up our rustic camp. They had driven one and a half days from Arusha to get there ahead of us and get organized. We were introduced to Ali, our cook; Charlie, our food server; and Peter, the driver of the truck. All three men shared all the work, I've just listed what seemed to be the principal activity of each. Counting Mrosso, there were 4 staff members present whose jobs were to tend to the 4 of us!

Before our arrival they had set up two private tents for us tourists, tents for the staff, a food-preparation "kitchen" area and shelter, a food-serving tent (the dining room), and one small food storage tent to keep all of the fresh fruits and vegetables from the baboons and other animals. Between and behind our private tents they had also erected a small enclosure around a camp toilet (a hole in the ground with a "toilet stool" over it) and another small canvas enclosure around our shower! This shower consisted of a real shower head, connected by a hose to a canvas bag. The bag could be raised and lowered using a rope and pulley arrangement. When we wanted a shower, the staff would fill the bag with water heated at the kitchen fire, raise the bag above the level of the shower head, and we could turn the flow on and off with a pull-chain attached to a valve. Under foot they had placed a wooden pallet, forming a "floor" that the shower water could drain through and be absorbed into the ground without causing us to stand in mud while we bathed. We each took a warm shower as darkness descended, and feeling clean and refreshed decided that roughing it like this wasn't so bad. But we hadn't seen anything yet!

Upon arrival we were offered a cold beer. They had brought a small refrigerator, and a generator! We quickly decided that "very rustic" was not so bad. The lady at Journeys International in Michigan who had booked all the details of our trip was Michelle Gervais. We decided to name the place "Camp Michelle." Just when we were thinking that Camp Michelle might be a lot of fun (the first beer was taking effect!), we were told that dinner was ready and headed for the "dining room" tent. Actually, this was more of a screened area than a tent, to keep the bugs away while we ate.

We knew that we were actually going to be joined by Michelle and her husband Jim in Uganda, as we were all scheduled to visit the mountain gorillas together. Linda told us that Michelle had been a bit concerned about arranging for us to stay in this "very rustic" mobile camp, as she had never booked another client in one before. Clearly she would be anxious to hear our impressions of it. We decided to say to her that we had discussed our experience with "Camp Michelle" and agreed to tell her that she shouldn't EVER book any of her clients at a mobile camp like this one again. Pause. Then say, "Unless you book US with them!!"

After lingering over dessert, we left the "dining room" and looked at the sky. Remember, we were miles from the nearest electric lights. The sky was fantastic! The Milky Way was brilliant, and stars without number could be seen in the clear air. A perfect end to a perfect day.

Our tents each had a kerosene lantern on a small wooden table in front of it. This was to keep the wild animals from getting too close during the night. Mrosso advised us first, to keep no food of any kind in our tents. This included candy or other snacks -- anything that a baboon or other animal might be able to smell and come after. We put all such items in the Land Cruiser. Next, that if we had to leave our tents during the night for nature's call, we should unzip the entrance and shine our flashlights around a bit before venturing out. This should also deter any predators.

We could hear the hippos in the river grunting and snorting loudly. Linda related that during one of her earlier trips she had been advised to be particularly careful if one or more hippos were to wander through a camp. The danger came if they were startled or frightened. They would instinctively head directly for the river and safety, and if a tent happened to be in their way it wouldn't even slow them down! We said good night and retired to our tent, almost hoping that something interesting would wander through the camp that night. If it did, we were blissfully unaware of it. Our beds were basically cots with a steel frame, but they each had a 4-inch thick foam mattress on them so they felt like regular, normal beds. Also in our tents were a table between the cots at the head of the beds, a cloth cover on it, and on the cover: mirrors, flashlights, tissues in a wooden box, and water glasses. Also in the tents were two small tables to put suitcases on and woven grass floor mats. The beds were made up with sheets, pillowcases, a blanket, and a red-plaid bedspread. Really rustic! Sleep came very quickly.