These lyrics from a 1960s hit song by folk artist Donovan bounced around inside my head as I scanned the horizon for the highest peak in Africa, anticipating somewhat nervously its sudden appearance at any minute.A sighting of Mount Kilimanjaro standing 5 895m above sea level was a planned high point of my holiday in Tanzania. After an overnight stay at the Dar es Salaam Holiday Inn following our delightful Zanzibar excursion, my wife and I were on the road to Arusha about 700km north soon after sunrise.
Our vehicle started with the first click of the ignition despite the three-day layoff, and being a Sunday the route out of Dar was thankfully relatively free of heavy traffic. Most climbing expeditions start from Moshi, which offers a variety of good accommodation and restaurants.
I slowed to a crawl, waiting anxiously for the wondrous physical feature to appear. On we drove
through Moshi, focusing north all the time, looking for the highest mountain in Africa.The hotel is situated amid coffee plantations on the shores of Lake Duluti in Arusha. Designed along the lines of a colonial coffee farm which was originally on the site, it offers a range of cottage-styled rooms set in clusters amid extensive landscaped gardens.
The main block features a reception area built out of stone with adjoining lounge,
restaurant, shop, library and business centre.The directions to the mountain from the manager. It was simple – drive back towards Moshi and turn left just before the entrance to Kilimanjaro International Airport, a few kilometres along a dirt road and then, bingo, the mountain should reveal itself.Bright and early the next day we were on our way to find THE MOUNTAIN.
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