Safari vehicles are just part of the landscape.
It may surprise you how little attention animals pay to safari vehicles. To them, the vehicle is as much a part of the scenery as a tree. Even the sound of the engine rarely causes concern, apart from the occasional curious cub. The animals have grown up seeing vehicles and understand they pose no threat. The real danger comes from getting too close, particularly to animals with young. Somewhat surprisingly, elephants are usually the most aggressive toward vehicles, while lions are often remarkably indifferent.

You know how you may think you’re a night owl. Turns out that all you were missing were elephants and lions to get up for. I would not consider myself an early riser, but those 5am wake up calls in the Bush had me as motivated as any fitness influencer who chooses to do this without the call of the wild.

As you stumble into the darkness, all you feel is excitement. Well, and a little chill too. Often greeted with coffee and even pastries, not that I have much of an appetite at that time, you may also be lucky enough to be at one of the camps who pops a little hot water bottle on your seat in the jeep to keep you warm until the sun comes up.

The Machame Route, also known as the “whisky route” due to its challenging course (suggesting the need for something stronger than its Coca-Cola counterpart), is a 7–8 day hike from Machame Gate (1,640 metres) to Kilimanjaro’s summit at 5,895 metres - the world’s highest freestanding mountain and Africa’s highest point.

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of arriving at the summit on your seventh day of hiking, eight hours after leaving base camp, surrounded by friends who helped get you there, with the sun rising behind the glaciers.

When observing the lions, elephants and many varied animals on a safari trip, it’s very hard not to have David Attenborough’s voice as your soundtrack. It truly does feel as if you’re in one of the many documentaries he has produced over the decades and it really is that special.