An elephant and kilimanjaro

I decided to start my blog with an image of the largest of land mammals. A huge bull elephant, strolling across the open savanah in Amboseli, with the majestic Kilimanjaro mountain as a backdrop. If you look closely towards the top left hand corner you will see the snow capped peak.

Even though Kilimanjaro is the largest mountain in Tanzania you are not always lucky enough to see the snow capped peaks. The first time I saw it in all its glory was during breakfast while staying at a lodge in Amboseli. We had arrived at the lodge the day before, taking an afternoon game drive before having dinner in the large open dining area with wonderful views of the surrounding area. The next morning we sat down to breakfast at 8.15am, I was enjoying my food when I glanced out and was stunned. 'Jesus, where did that come from!'
Right in front of my eyes was the largest mountain I had ever seen with brilliant white snow laying along the top, and it simply hadn't been there the day before or even when we had walked into the dining room, I would have noticed. It was truly magnificent and within 15 minutes it was gone again, covered by cloud, as if it had never existed.

I was told by the locals that the best time to see Kilimanjaro is for a short time in the morning and again in the evening, the rest of the time it is hidden from view. I was really glad that I got up early for breakfast that particular morning.