First Day:
We planned this journey for quite some time. Having never been to the African continent we approached it with some trepidation. Nairobi was our first stop after flying from the US. We stayed one night and headed out the next day to Kilimanjaro. The mountain is on the northern boarder of Tanzania (pronounced Tan-zania by the locals) and the southern border of Kenya. Seeing Kilimanjaro for the first time is awe inspiring. This lone peak, rising out of the African savanna, seemed even higher than its official height of 16,893 feet. We did not expect to see snow on this African peak, not only because it is August but, it is Africa.
The Tawi Lodge was our base camp for the first few nights of our African journey. The general area where we were staying was a wide open grassy plain that stretched as far as the eye could see. The lodge buildings were hidden in the middle of a thicket comprised of indigenous trees. We arrived at the base camp late that first day. Many strange, unidentified sounds serenaded us from the nearby brush.
Next Morning:
We were greeted by the sight of Kilimanjaro as soon as we emerged from our hut the next morning. The term “hut” does not adequately describe our abode because each of the 12 “huts” had four poster beds and Victorian baths.
After a leisurely breakfast, we set out with our guide to explore the area around the northern base of Kilimanjaro. The area has many herds of animals, including water buffalo, elephants and zebras. At times, the herds stretched in every direction as far as we could see. We spent the better part of each day, into the early evenings, watching the herds as they traversed the Tawi Conservancy and the Amboseli National Park. The elephant herds are probably the largest in all Kenya.
The Maasai:
Local Maasai are employed to assist with the operation of the Lodge and, in particular, for leading individual treks into the surrounding bush. The Maasai assisting us was a delightful young man by the name of Lorasha. He was able to get us very close to zebras, giraffes and monkeys. He also imparted local tips on using what nature provides. We learned how to properly use a toothbrush tree and a sandpaper tree.
The high point on all of our vacations is the opportunity to sit and talk casually with the “Locals”. They enjoy learning about us almost as much as we enjoy learning about them and their families.
