Kilimanjaro At Dawn

I wake up early. It's still twilight outside and the grass is damp with dew. A small group of us follow one of the locals along the rain-forest paths. We arrive at the top of a narrow path. In the distance, is a clear view of Mount Kilimanjaro, in it's snow peaked glory. It's awe inspiring. The clouds lay low at dawn. We admire the view for a few minutes. The sun rises and casts pink and yellow shades across the mountain. The clouds rise up quickly and swallow the mountain, shrouding it in mystery. It was a privilege to see it.

We go back to the campsite. An incredible breakfast awaits. There's a stack of warm pancakes in a metal saucepan. We eat these with very small bananas (known as monkey bananas) and mango jam. Delicious. We drink Kilimanjaro tea from china tea cups. We leave to go on a long hike. We visit a local school. We visit vocational training rooms (for carpentry, masonry and tailoring training). The tailoring room contains old fashioned singer sewing machines - similar to ones I used in school. Wild chameleons are common. In the garden, outside one of the workshops, I hold one. It's funny to watch it change colours when it's placed on top of different people's clothing.

We find an amazing waterfall, whilst on the hike. There's a tiny steep path and a series of stepping stones to gain access to it. Some of the group wait at the top of it. I jump in, with my clothes on. It's so refreshing in the scorching day. I would definitely do it again. We continue hiking until we get to a small village. We have lunch there. Lentil stew, a different kind of banana stew (instead of being smooth, it has large chunks in it), potatoes and bitter mango. We walk dusty roads through the rain-forest to a craft centre, selling local handmade goods. We drive to our next destination, the Usambara Mountains, which are five hours away. These mountains are located between Kilimanjaro and the Indian Ocean.

We stay at Lawn's hotel, one of Africa's oldest hotels, in Lushoto. It's set on a hill, surrounded by mountains and rich scenery. Our guide tells us of how the owner is quite eccentric. He sometimes wanders around with a shotgun. Apparently. I hope this is just a legend. We set up camp in the lawns of Lawn's hotel for the first night here. We have chickpea and mushroom stew and pasta for dinner. The moon is full tonight and it illuminates the gardens. Inside the hotel, the bar area is furnished with enormous wooden chairs. A few lucky people were able to stay indoors tonight. The rest of us retire to our tents.