The day started very wet with low visibility and a long journey by road to Mount Kilimanjaro which I was so looking forward to seeing but the weather was not on our side. We had a great orientation from one of the team who explained that Kilimanjaro is not only Africa’s tallest peak, but also the world’s tallest free standing mountain. The summit, named Uhuru Point, is 5,895 meters and has ascent descent points, with the west gate where we had parked being the only descent point for all climbers. Kilimanjaro is a triple volcano consisting of three distinct cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira and these are the the names of the ascent levels for climbers. To complete the full climb can take up to 10 days.

The number of climbers has increased year on year, bar 2020 because of Covid and because of these numbers it’s allowing more conservation work to be undertaken.
Lunch today was supplied by our accommodation which consisted of fried mash potato, chips, fruit, biscuits and a hard boiled egg; unusual but edible being vegan I left the egg!.
We travelled from Kilimanjaro to a local wildlife management college to observe how they teach, and their syllabus. We were shown around by a previous student who now teaches at the college. All students must attend all lessons, should they miss one lesson they have to redo the full module and it is mandatory for them to attend military training at the college every two weeks.
After leaving the college it was another long drive to spend time with the Masai Tribe. On arrival we have a fantastic welcome with their infamous high jumps they are known for when singing. The tribe were very welcoming and their chef has attended a local college so he was able to cook food for visitors. The chef did a great job with the food and it was amazing to sit under the African stars eating food and sitting around a camp fire talking to them, something I’ll remember for many years.

Our bed for the night was a mud hut, traditional Maasai and was very unusual but we rolled with it!
We woke to the sun and after breakfast went in a walking safari which was incredible, seeing zebra, gazelle, wilderbeast and giraffe in their natural home was beyond awesome!!.