equipment onto the trucks.
Miss Yorktown was particularly concerned about a gigantic yellow crate that had to be loaded on to a trailer of its own. She guided the workers loading the crate.
‘Left a bit, right a bit, you there… steady! Down, lower… lower… left, lower, lower… STOP!’
Miss Yorktown heaved a sigh of relief as the huge crate came to rest on the trailer.
‘Make sure you take good care of this and don’t bump and rattle it too much!’ she instructed the driver.
At last, the magnificent convoy got underway.
As they passed through the port exit gates, out onto the Kenyan highway, an enormous blast emitted from the African Star.
BRRRRRRRGGHHHHNN!
Standing tall and proud, Captain Fernandez waved farewell to his new friends.
The convoy made good progress at first, driving inland from the Kenyan coast. As they crossed into Tanzania the terrain became mountainous and progress much more arduous.
The day wore on and the road twisted and turned in the mountainous foothills, getting steeper and dustier. The team sweated uncomfortably in the humid heat as the skilled drivers skirted the edges of the mountainsides. Mr and Mrs Pilcher had packed fresh fruits and cool drinks to share and the convoy stopped for only a short while, to rest, before pushing on once again.
On and on, the convoy wound its way through the foothills. The passengers were bumped and jostled by the tough mountainous road, as they painstakingly made their way. Mount Kilimanjaro itself towered above them majestically, it’s snow covered summit reaching to the sky. Emily was lost in wonderment as she observed the magnificent landscape all around.
As darkness fell, the convoy pulled into a small village, easing to rest with a gentle squealing of brakes. The drivers cut the engines and the weary travellers clambered out of the land rovers, stretching their legs.
Miss Yorktown joined Emily and her parents. They breathed in deeply the cool air, smelling richly of the earthy red soil. The peaceful sound of the African night made a welcome change from the growling of engines that had assaulted their ears for most of the day.
‘Welcome to my village,’ said Dr Aruna. ‘We will rest here for the night. Please make yourselves welcome.’
A young girl, about the same age as Emily, rushed over and hugged Dr Aruna.
‘Ahh, Zanta, my precious one, please come and meet my new friends.’
Dr Aruna introduced his niece to the group. Emily and Zanta hit it off at once and were soon lost to the group as Zanta showed Emily around the village.
The villagers were extremely hospitable and welcomed the newcomers with open arms. In the village centre, an open fire roared and delicious roasted meats were barbecued and served with peppers and flat breads to the ravished group.
Emily and Zanta sat under an enormous yellow moon, eating the scrumptious late feast and talking about their similarities and differences. Emily was fascinated by daily life in the village and some of the incredible things that Zanta had seen out in the African bush. To their surprise, the girls found out that they had many things in common, despite living so far apart and in such different environments. Both loved animals and wanted to be vets when they grew up, and both hated rude boys, homework and football!
They vowed to be best friends.
Miss Yorktown, Mr and Mrs Pilcher and the rest of the team enjoyed the kind hospitality and sat late into the night drinking and talking with Dr Aruna and the friendly villagers.
As the night grew late, the fire crackled and spat red fireflies into the African night. Out in the bush, deep growls and the haunting calls of animals of the night echoed all around.
Emily lay awake, thinking.
They had arrived. Africa! … Deepest, darkest, dangerous Africa!
- Base Camp -
The following morning started busily with lots of jobs to do. The group were only halfway to the base camp location and had to prepare for yet another day of travel.
Miss Yorktown appeared bright and early, wearing a khaki blouse and knee-length shorts. She rushed about organising the group.
Emily was thrilled that Dr Aruna had arranged for Zanta to join them on their project. The two girls helped to feed the animals and prepare them for the second leg of the journey. Zanta took care of the two Cheetah cubs, Tonti and Toto, giving them milk from a baby’s bottle, while Emily had her hands full, trying to feed the elephant orphans, with an enormous milk bottle that she could hardly carry herself!
The convoy set off once again, the group waving farewell to the hospitable villagers.
The hours passed as the train of vehicles steadily made its way deeper and deeper into the African interior. Later, the terrain became less hilly and more scrub-like; the sun burned hot overhead as the convoy raced across the African landscape. Eventually, late in the afternoon, tired and worn the group arrived at a remote spot which was to serve as base camp for the release programme.
Dr Aruna and his crew went to work unloading the trucks and land rovers. In no time at all the team had set up a mini village with a kitchen, sleeping quarters, toilet and washing facilities as well as a huge communal marquee.
Mr and Mrs Pilcher were in charge of communications and set up the short wave radio - a huge device with a 15ft extending antenna. After much fiddling around, they tried to make contact with the African Star back in Mombasa.
‘This is Pilcher’s Base Camp, do you read? Over,’ said Mrs Pilcher.
… An insistent hiss sounded from the radio. ‘Go on mum, try again’ urged Mr Pilcher.
‘This is Pilcher’s Base Camp, do you read? Over,’ repeated Mrs Pilcher, starting to get the hang of it. A whistling noise dipped in pitch before rising again as static crackled on the line … then sounding very far away, a familiar voice answered. ‘This is the African Star reading you loud and clear… how are you my friends? Good to hear from you again!’
‘And you too captain!’ answered Mr and Mrs Pilcher. ‘We are in position and ready to begin the release programme. Pilcher’s Base Camp is GO!’
That evening the group celebrated their arrival at a nearby traveller’s tavern, full of tourists on Safari.
‘I hope those tourists are not going to get in the way of the animal release,’ said Miss Yorktown, sternly … swigging a huge tankard of frothy beer.
‘Oh, no,’ answered Dr Aruna, sipping a small sherry delicately. ‘We shall travel deep into the savannah, well away from the popular Safari tours. We will probably be the only people for miles around.’
As another round of drinks was served, Emily and Zanta decided to go outside for a short walk.
What they saw made their blood run cold.
Driving past the tavern, at great speed, were three pickup trucks. Their enormous off-road tyres threw up huge clouds of red dust, as their powerful engines shattered the silence of the peaceful evening. Mounted above the cab of each of the vehicles were powerful spotlights. In the back were cages, racks and chains.
Only one thought came to Emily. Poachers!
‘They are bad men, Emily’ said Zanta. ‘We must tell the others at once.’
- The Great Savannah -
‘Keep your eyes closed Emily Pilcher!’ said Zanta giggling. The two girls had awoken early and had decided to climb a small rise surrounding the camp. They lay face down on the crest, waiting. ‘No peeking,’ said Zanta. As the dawn sun finally burst over the horizon, Zanta whispered to Emily, ‘Now you must look!’
Emily opened her eyes…
The great plains of the Serengeti stretched as far as the eye could see. From horizon to horizon, thousands of wildebeest, zebra and giraffes dotted the landscape. There was a waterhole, not too far away, with elephants drinking thirstily from its cool waters. Far away the mountains of Kilimanjaro could clearly be seen and in the distance, bush land and forest.
‘This is why I love my home,’ said Zanta smiling. Emily nodded in agreement.
The warmth of the sun’s rays bathed over the girls a
s they watched the dawn sun, rising higher and higher over the great savannah, colouring the landscape a rich, golden yellow.
Emily and Zanta had to drag themselves away from the beautiful view as they were called for breakfast.
‘Sizzling sausages, fried eggs and bacon, that’s what we need for a busy day like today!’ said Mr Pilcher, serving up breakfast for the camp. Mrs Pilcher offered tea all around as the group sat down to eat.
Sitting outside in the warm morning sun, Miss Yorktown, Mr and Mrs Pilcher, Emily and Zanta and Dr Aruna and his team contemplated the day ahead. Today was release day. Months of preparations and weeks of travel had all led to this. Miss Yorktown was unusually quiet; the sighting of the poachers had enraged the head zookeeper and she kept a constant watch on the horizon, looking out for the outlaws. When they had all finished eating, Dr Aruna stood up to explain the schedule for the day’s events.
‘Good morning everyone!’ he began. ‘Today is the day that we have all been waiting for. Today we are going to return these precious animals back to their natural habitat, out there in the savannah. Later this morning, a light aircraft is flying in to take Miss Yorktown and myself for a reconnaissance flight over the release