After successfully completing their ascent to the 19,341-foot peak in Tanzania, Nebraska’s five mountain-climbing state senators completed their descent from Mount Kilimanjaro on Thursday.
A close-up glimpse of exotic creatures in a place that is considered a safari destination, home to elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, and buffalo, is one of the sites on their African itinerary.
“Everything is fantastic!” exclaims the narrator. Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln remarked in a text message at the end of the day.
She explained, “We simply went back to the hotel and said our goodbyes to our guides.”
Wishart had texted earlier, while still on the mountain, saying the expedition had been “a fantastic experience.”
She described it as “one of the most gorgeous locations I’ve ever been… people and mountains.”
Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who made room on a trip he had already planned for his four legislative colleagues, texted a photo of the senators gathered together at the summit of Africa’s storied mountain under a brilliant blue sky at the conclusion of a final climb that began at midnight in Tanzania on Tuesday.
They’re wrapped up against the cold.
Brewer is a former colonel in the United States Army who commanded soldiers in Afghanistan.
Because of its nonpartisan and multicultural nature, the trip drew some national attention.
Republican members of Nebraska’s nonpartisan Legislature include Brewer, Ben Hansen of Blair, and Dave Murman of Glenvil. Wishart and Omaha Senator Justin Wayne are also Democrats.
One Native American (Brewer), one Black (Wayne), and one female (Wishart) senator made up the legislative team.
The senators were accompanied by a television crew from Educational Media Enterprises, which will distribute the video to Nebraska Public Media’s statewide network for free, with national distribution through Amazon Prime Video.
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