Order your Calendars for Christmas. Get them now while stocks last.

The Wolverhampton Magazine has featured Simon and his Art in their December issue

David Shepherd, world renowned wildlife artist and concervationist visited the A BRUSH WITH AFRICA stand at the recent WILDLIFE EXPO at Alexandra Palace to look at Simons latest elephant images and to discuss conservation with him.

They can be purchased for £15 each or are on OFFER at TWO for only £20. The Sketches come in a single mount.

A selection of the images are available and can be viewed and purchased through the online gallery shop.

Order your Limited edition "A BRUSH WITH ELEPHANTS" calendars NOW whilst stocks last

This year we published the "A Brush with Elephants" calendar which will have a limited edition run of only 500. To purchase a calendar, log into the gallery shop and press the calendar icon. They make great Christmas gifts.

Shira, Kibo and Mawenzi rise above the clouds at dawn

Kibo and Mawenzi

Looking back from where I've relentlessly trudged, I'm still climbing upwards and onwards and it's not far to go to the summit now. Temperature is a balmy -25 as the sun starts to rise above MAWENZI and bathes in sunshine. The altitude will soon reach 19340ft at UHURU PEAK and it's getting harder to breath in oxygen. Once at the summit there's a short rest and then it's just another 9hr knee crunching descent to camp and nights rest ready for another days descent to Mweke gate and a cold Kilimanjaro beer or three!!

ETYMOLOGY
The exact meaning and origin of the name Kilimanjaro is unknown. It is thought to be a combination of the Swahili word Kilima (meaning "mountain") and the Kichagga word Njaro, loosely translated as "whiteness", giving the name White Mountain. Another variation is "Njaro" in Chagga/Kichagga means "our" and hence Kilimanjaro means our mountain. This is from the Chagga people who live at the base of the mountain. The name Kibo in Kichagga means "spotted" and refers to rocks seen on snowfields. The Swahili word Uhuru translates as "freedom", a name given to commemorate Tanzanian independence from Great Britain in 1961.

GEOLOGY
Mt. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and fourth highest of the Seven Summits. It is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, with Uhuru Peak rising to an altitude of 5,895 m (19,341 ft) AMSL (Above Main Sea Level).

Kilimanjaro is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo 5,895 m (19,341 ft); Mawenzi 5,149 m (16,893 ft); and Shira 3,962 m (13,000 ft). Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo's crater rim.

Kilimanjaro is a giant stratovolcano that began forming a million years ago, when lava spilled from the Rift Valley zone. Two of its three peaks, Mawenzi and Shira, are extinct while Kibo (the highest peak) is dormant and could erupt again. The last major eruption has been dated to 360,000 years ago, while the most recent activity was recorded just 200 years ago.

Although it is dormant, Kilimanjaro has fumaroles that emit gas in the crater on the main summit of Kibo. Scientists concluded in 2003 that molten magma is just 400 m (1,310 ft) below the summit crater. Several collapses and landslides have occurred on Kibo in the past, one creating the area known as the Western Breach.

At the Summit of the worlds highest free standing mountain 19340ft (Yes I know I look like a "garden gnome", but it is very cold up there at 6am.) The lion incidentally is named "DUME" and he travels around Africa with me as a form of security blanket I guess! He has quite a large following now.

Over a 7 day climb using the MACHAME MWEKE route, Simon and the team finally managed to reach the summit of Africas greatest mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro. At 19,340ft, 5849m it is also the worlds highest free standing volcano. At 6.04am on 9th October 2010 Simon reached the summit after a six and a half hour night climb from the base camp of Barafu. The long descent from UHURU peak down to Mweke camp took a further seven hours where the climbing party camped overnight. Early the following morning a further 4 hour descent was finally rewarded with a well earned bottle of cold beer which was quickly followed by a refreshing shower!

If you are interested in climbing Mt Kilimanjaro take a look on the links page at Aardvark Safaris.






Godson the chief guide, Simon, Kate, Noah the assistant guide, Matt and Lucy take a short break at Barafu, the high altitude Base camp after a tiring descent from the summit before descending a further 5500ft to Mweke camp.

The first cup of Tea was an accident.
In 2737 BC the Chinese Emperor, Shen Nung, was sitting beneath a tree while his servant boiled drinking water. A leaf from the tree dropped into the water and Shen Nung decided to try the Brew. The tree was a wild tea tree.