We left the lodge at 6:15 this morning for a game drive. I was only hoping for a nice sunrise and a good view of Mt Kilimanjaro, and I got both. 

Hippo. He’s out later than usual because the sky is cloudy and it’s good for their delicate skins. When they’re grazing – and the eat 35 kgs a day – they go singly.

In the water, they gather together in a dominant male and their harem. 

They tend to kill people because they regard them as predators. Villagers in the area are at risk every time they go to get water.

Blacksmith bird. He was going crook at us. They are ground nesting birds.

Hyena. They tend to live around 12 years of age in the wild.

Young are born fully developed. Gestation period is 3 months.They are matriarchal, like elephants.

This one is a nursing female, who is headed back to the tree line to feed her cubs.

She has something that looks like a penis but is in fact her clitoris. Lucky girl! That’s a clitoris anyone could find!

When hyenas greet each other, they lick each other’s genitals.

The collective noun for hyenas is a cackle.

I’m with Martin, my favourite guide, this morning. He has lots of good fun facts.

Mt Kilimanjaro is the tallest free standing mountain in the world.

Look at how clear she is! I’m a very lucky woman.

Martin said that we were lucky to see both peaks. People come here for 2 nights like we have and she’s usually wreathed in clouds.

Common Kestral. This is a small bird of prey. This is one for all of you twitchers out there.

It was still very boggy. Martin had to drive carefully every now and then to avoid getting bogged.

The people who stayed behind to sleep in have missed out. It’s going to be a cloudy day and Kilimanjaro will be hidden.

Grants gazelle. We were all set to take photos when a jeep drove past and set them off. Julie shared this shot with me. Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time!

A rumble of jeeps.
I just made that up.

Then OMG.

Elephants. Many, many elephants. This is what this place is famous for.

Martin saw which way the herd was going, so he drove to where they’d cross the road. We parked where we’d be able to get a good view. As we watched, the first thing we noticed were the babies.

Then more and more elephants joined the group. For a couple of minutes they stopped, while the smallest baby had a quick snack, then on they came.

As you can see, the herd split and they were crossing at both ends of the jeep. You can see the baby cross in the middle of this clip.


It was like a silent grey stream. It was magical.

I’m sorry, but elephant babies are irresistible.

This one must’ve had an argument with the missus, because it headed on up the road by itself.

A massive bull elephant was the last to cross.

And off they went, while we headed back for a late breakfast. We go out again at 4…

If I was a twitcher, I would’ve loved this last drive.
Sadly, though I like birds as much as the next person, I like mammals more. Still, it was interesting. I’ll only show some of the birds we saw.

White faced whistling ducks, Greater egret and Goliath Heron. The Goliath heron on the left is 1.5 metres tall.

10 years ago all of this was flat bear land. The difference is possibly caused by tectonic plates shifting. Rain and water from Kilimanjaro top it up.

White-faced Whistling Ducks.

Greater Painted Snipe. 

Very rare bird. It’s only the second time Martin has seen it. He was excited! You know it’s a special occasion when the guide takes out his camera.

Flamingos. A flamboyance of flamingos. These seem pinker than the ones we saw in the crater.

I don’t know how they can contort themselves like this, but they seem comfortable.

Water thick-knee bird with chicks.

I’m only including this one because of the silly name it has.

We were driving around looking at birds, and to be honest, I was getting a bit bored. I let my eyes drift over the water and then I saw something. A hippo! Now we’re talking!

They were too far away to photograph well, as you can see, but we could hear the sounds they made as they were breathing and snorting to each other.

The Blacksmith bird with eggs. She was right beside the jeep and she wasn’t happy we were there.

Hippo, baby and Egyptian Geese.  I know that it could be almost anything, but trust me— it’s a hippo.

Female impala with a small bird on her back, getting rid of fleas and ticks.

We drove around for a while as the sun began to set.

But Kenya gave us one last gift…

As we arrived back at the lodge, Mt Kilimanjaro showed her face one last time, as if to say goodbye.

Tomorrow is a travel day back to Nairobi, where half the group fly home to Australia and the rest of us fly to ZANZIBAR.

Dad Joke of the Day: