2 June 2011 – Arrival in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – East Africa

Like a twinkling night sky the lights of Dar es Salaam welcomed our arrival as we flew low over the city and down into Julius Nyerere Airport. A mere 3 hour flight away from a freezing Johannesburg we were met by a humid heat wave as we disembarked our BA flight. Large praying mantis’s buzzed around our heads, greeting us as we made our way into the airport to pay our visa fee.

The sound of a chicken cluck was the moment I truly felt we had arrived in East Africa.

Brash officials took their time to issue our stamps but soon enough, and after taking off a few layers of clothing, we were met by a Paradise City Hotel Shuttle and transferred through the dark streets of Dar es Salaam to our hotel for a few hours of rest.

I found the Paradise City Hotel to be well located and comfortable. The rooms are spacious and grand each fitted with air con and satellite television as well as an efficient shower, which we were most grateful for. The staff were friendly and accommodating and there is easy access to the city centre, airport and ferry port granted you don’t get caught in rush hour traffic!

3 June 2011 – Internal flight to Kilimanjaro Airport

Later that morning, after a good 5 hour rest, we enjoyed our first taste of East African hospitality at breakfast. Smiling and helpful faces assisted us while serving a good cup of coffee and eggs.

A shuttle returned us to the airport for a local Precision Air flight to Kilimanjaro International Airport and, while waiting, we tasted our first local beer appropriately named Kilimanjaro.

The flight was on time and took off with no delays; a good first start considering this was Africa! Soon we were flying past the peak of the mighty mountain itself! It was the first and only time we saw it, until well into our climb, due to the almost constant cloud cover.

Landing in a sunny Kilimanjaro Airport we were met by Tanzania Experience, who were to take care of us while climbing the mountain and on safari. The transfer to our hotel was not long, about 30 minutes, which gave us enough time to soak in our quiet new surroundings. Compared to the bustling and humid city of Dar es Salaam this seemed milder and calmer although driving in East Africa is vastly different to driving in South Africa, where road rules do not always apply.

Our Hotel, the quaint Keys Hotel, looked perfect for a start and end point to the mighty trek we were about to embark on. Shaded under lush green palms in a garden with a clear blue swimming pool, I immediately took a liking to my tranquil surroundings.

While sitting in the lush green gardens, feeling very much at peace with our new surrounds, we enjoyed tasting more of the flavoursome local beers and waited for a pre tour meeting scheduled for around 5pm.

Not a moment past 5 we were joined by Achim of Tanzania Experience and welcomed wholeheartedly to the little town of Moshi, home to the mighty Kilimanjaro and many a coffee plantation too!

He brought along the gear we had pre ordered to hire for our trek such as waterproof trousers and jacket, walking sticks and hiking boots. We then ran through our trek on a day by day account and were able to ask questions on safety as well as what we should expect in case of altitude sickness. We found this to be a very useful discussion although now thinking back, I should have taken the altitude sickness tablets we had purchased called Diamox. Instead we decided against them for our first climb in case they masked the actual symptoms.

Our little group felt more at ease and after trying on the hiking boots and waterproof gear, we felt better prepared too!

Finally, after 30 hours of travelling and only 5 hours of sleep, we sat down to a wood fired pizza, hindered only by the odd power cut but, enjoyably, part of the experience.

4 June 2011 – 1st day on Kilimanjaro – Hiking to Machame Camp (1490m to 2980m)

Rudely woken by the Da’s (a noisy Ibis found in most African countries) we clambered out of bed and headed for breakfast. It decided to rain this morning setting the tone for day 1 of Kili.

After breakfast, and with much excitement, we re-organised our bags and packed our safari gear separately to be stored at the hotel until our return. Without knowing what to expect on this chilly, overcast and drizzly morning, we set off to the ‘invisible’ mountain which was yet to be seen.

One last stop at a quaint supermarket which stocked more alcohol than anything else, we bought our final energy boosters. Amazed at our choices of chocolates from bags of Mini Mars Bars, Snickers and Smarties, we returned to our vehicle and headed on up into the clouds.

I enjoyed getting a feel for the village around me. Lush, green and happy with mostly bricked homes which is very different in comparison to Maputo or the Ethiopian Countryside. People seem genuinely happy to get on with their own thing whether it is rolling out canvas to make banana beer, roasting mielies, repairing bicycles, sitting peacefully in contemplation or tending to goats and cattle. Everyone’s busy and it’s lovely to see such pride in each and every one for carrying out their simple routine and daily tasks. I often wish we could adopt this peaceful and simple way of life into our own country.

Within 30 minutes we were 1490m high standing at . It continued to rain so, while waiting for our guides to check us in and the crew to ‘saddle’ up, we pulled on our waterproof gear and tried to find space for the 3 litres of water we had each very kindly been given.

By 11am everyone was ready, our warm lunch packs waiting for the first break, and off we all went into the heavy rain forest. Each porter with us carried not only supplies and equipment for the next 6 days but also our rucksacks, in waterproof covers on their heads!

After about 10 minutes we heard the call and rattle of monkeys in the trees which was to be the only form of wildlife, other than birds and the odd field mouse, that we saw as we continued our ascent.

From the start I could feel the altitude and later realised it was because my day pack was too heavy coupled with the fact that I was already higher than I had ever physically been in the great outdoors. About 3 hours into our walk we stopped for lunch and it was after this that I began to feel really awful. My clothes were uncomfortable and day pack way too heavy which was worrying because I certainly did not want to feel this way throughout the trek! Our head guide, Gideon, smiled his calming smile, took my day pack and told me that it would be ok, we were not too far from the camp now and I could do it. Everyone else seemed fine, thankfully, and I was most relieved to have the extra weight off my shoulders. We trundled on through the beautiful dense rain forest to our camp for the first night.

We must have reached the Machame Camp, 2980m high, at around 16h00. It was still misty, fairly chilly and there was no sign of this mountain we were supposed to be climbing. Before I collapsed for a few moments in my readily prepared tent, we were welcomed with a bowl of warm water to wash our hands and face in. I lay down for a few moments, feeling dizzy, until the others called me over for a cup of tea and some popcorn. I had to smile, it is an East African tradition to enjoy popcorn with tea or coffee as I had in Ethiopia. I reluctantly got out of the tent and dashed for the MES tent where everyone sat around a table laden with an array of warm drinks! Tea, coffee, Milo and only the best hot chocolate… I felt so much better after that and a few hands of popcorn, much to my relief.

We changed into warmer, more comfy evening clothes and returned to the MES tent where dinner was served. Not ever imagining what kinds of meals could be created in such unusual conditions, we were utterly flabbergasted and totally unprepared for the culinary delight that was to be our dinner and the first of many to come! Starting with a warm Cucumber Soup, which I have never tasted before, we were treated to beef kebabs for main course served with hot vegetables and potatoes and then a dessert of avocado sliced in half and served as a cup with fruit salad filling! We were blown away and went to bed with full tummies and heavy eyes.

5 June 2011 – 2nd day on Kilimanjaro – Hiking to Shira Camp (2980m to 3900m)

I must admit, the earplugs did come in handy during the night no matter how tired I was! The crew and fellow campers were a merry bunch and their excited chatter and laughter lingered on into the night. With tent walls being thinner than paper a pair of ear plugs was just what we needed to enjoy a peaceful sleep.

Kili-Tip # 1: Pack Earplugs

The most rewarding thing about stepping outside the tent that cold and icy morning was the very first glimpse of Kilimanjaro!

What a sight to behold, the snowy peak jutting out as a stark and looming outline against the gentle blue morning sky. I finally felt the presence of this great mountain, it was most humbling.

We all wondered what breakfast would consist of after the 3 course meal we’d had for dinner… Well, first a steaming pot of porridge was placed on the table amongst the welcoming selection of warm drinks. With a cuppa steaming Tanzanian coffee, I tucked into the energy giving porridge and we were all offered eggs and bacon to go with it! I had to say no to that but the boys heartily accepted and enjoyed a rather large breakfast for the journey ahead.

Walking around the camp, brushing my teeth and getting ready to go I already felt so much better. I made sure to pack very lightly and asked our kind guides to carry my excess water. 3 litres of water is provided every day to each hiker so there is never a shortage of clean drinking water. And, it is very important to drink lots of it!

With the peak in sight I followed the leaders setting off over a frosted bridge and into a very new and strange terrain completely different from the rain forest of yesterday.

Day 2 is known to be a steep and possibly difficult short trek but I was loving it. We were going at a good pace and the scenery around me caught my eye from every angle! Lazy moss filled trees lined our path and hundreds of colourful flowers (a lot like Fynbos), shrubs and trees made for some wonderful photo opportunities. The light was perfect too and every now and then we would see Kili waving at us from a fair distance not getting much closer I might add.

The morning soon warmed up, as we reached a point above the clouds, becoming quite hot as it drew closer to midday. We unzipped our longs turning them into shorts and lapped up the warmth bearing our limbs to the sunshine. An 11am snack stop on a high peak was shared with the crows who we later learnt were resilient beasts not caring much for altitude at all, only the odd scrap us ‘tourists’ left behind. We left them squabbling over a few crumbs and it was not much longer, around 1pm, when we reached Shira Camp at 3720 metres above the sea!

Our little camp was already set up with a fresh bowl of warm water to wash the sweat from our brows. Quite unexpectedly we were cooked a lunch consisting of carrot & coriander soup followed by a pasta dish. As before, we were so impressed with the food and the fact that the meals were always different and creative, we felt like royalty!

We were given an hour to rest and come to terms with exactly where on earth we all were. We literally were standing on the edge of the earth high above the clouds. I struggled to comprehend the monstrosity of it and Kili’s Peak was looking ever so slightly closer and more intimidating by the minute!

After an hour there was a chance to walk to a point of 3900 metres in order to aid us with acclimatising. 3 of our group of 4 decided to go ahead. Sadly one member was not feeling well at all and thought it best to rest for the next big day ahead. The walk was only about an hour in total taking us to a little hut where mountain cleaners dwelled and a weather station was erected by scientists who study signs of climate change. I did feel a slight difference ascending up to 3900 metres but it was bearable and nothing like day 1 which I took to be a good sign. Evening started to settle upon us and the fresh air made us run (well, walk slightly more quickly) for warmer clothes. So strange to be in a place where all of a sudden you are out of breath if you make a quick move. I would sometimes just forget and

go leaping forward, excited to be on top of the world, and would feel exhausted for doing so! Altitude is something you can not anticipate unless you have been to such heights.

Another hearty 3 course meal was served, soup, chicken, rice and vegetables followed by fruit for dessert. Again I say it, we were all so impressed to have such a variety of ‘home made’ meals, cooked to perfection, follow us up the mountain!

6 June 2011 – 3rd day on Kilimanjaro – Hiking to Barranco Camp (3720m to 4600m to 3970m)

Not much sleep last night… Trying not to let the feeling of altitude affect me but it is there. I was out of breath just turning around in my sleeping bag and my heart beat as if I had just finished an aerobic exercise! Thankfully it did not make me feel ill or incapable of continuing and getting out of the tent this morning was another truly rewarding experience. The tent was frosted, little icicles hanging off it and the sunrise gently touched thick, rolling clouds below us with a light pink glow that I will never forget. We both stood in awe of our surroundings once again feeling on top of the world, literally!

A filling hot breakfast and team talk prepared us for a very long day ahead. We were to hike up to the Lava Tower, a structure sitting 4600 metres high and then we would descend back down into the Barranco Camp at 3970m.

We set off into a new world completely, differing from the rain forest and the lazy moss filled shrub land. It was a rocky terrain sparsely dotted with bush and shrub, quite desolate at 4000m up! Sadly, the 4th member in our group was not able to continue and

was aided down to the rescue hut where he was collected and driven back to our hotel. The altitude symptoms had gone from bad to worse and developed into the unavoidable sickness which cannot be ignored. Our guides were quick to react and after discussing it with us first, we all agreed and said a sad goodbye.

The three remaining plundered on discovering a very harsh and barren terrain dotted with clumps of hardened lava, clues to how this expansive and vastly diverse mountain was created.

Soon we reached the Lava Tower at 4600m above sea level feeling a tad out of breath.

We all stopped for a lunch break to catch our breath and marvelled at the crows circling above us waiting their turn for leftovers. It literally was just us and them up here, not another living creature!

Feeling a renewed energy we started to descend and the views of Kili just got better and better. We had seen Her from all angles and at present we were looking along the Barranco Wall and up to Uhuru Peak. The soft clouds would waft over every now and then but the sun shone down harshly upon us and I burnt rather badly, I must admit. Funny how you just don’t think or even realise how intensely hot it is up on Kilimanjaro so if you are planning your trek and have not thought about the sun, please don’t forget a large bottle of at least a 50 factor sun cream and a cap!

Kili-Tip # 2: 50 factor sun cream and a hat

On descending, the terrain took on the most amazing changes, shrubs started to reappear and we soon entered the famous Moorlands. To add to the mystique, a fine mist settled on us and our surrounds, cooling the harsh sunrays and making it more comfortable to trek through although we were exhausted and some of us had very sore feet. To make up for this we caught our first glimpse of the endemic and ancient giant . These are the most bazaar succulents found only in the Moorlands section along Kilimanjaro and on similar mountainous regions in East Africa.

It felt as though we had stepped into the land before time with ancient, giant trees and the mist gently dusting the air around us.

After a long 7 hour day of trekking through every terrain imaginable we arrived at Barranco Camp. It was already dark so we could not see where we were but all we wanted to do was collapse and sleep. Warm water awaited our arrival and a very filling 3 course meal, enough to feed a small army. Try as we may, we never managed to eat it all but we ate to our hearts content. And here I thought I would be toning a little muscle… Certainly not at the speeds we were walking and with the amount of food we were eating!

7 June 2011 – 4th day on Kilimanjaro – Hiking to Barafu Camp (3970m to 4640m)

It seems to get more difficult to sleep now especially when trying to make a pillow out of a rugged backpack. Remember, it is difficult to move around a lot, the tent is a small genuine mountain tent and it’s hard to breathe so spending energy on making a backpack comfortable to sleep on is near impossible.

Kili-Tip number 3: Take something comfortable to sleep on because sleep is precious!

Waking up to clear skies that morning helped to revitalise the soul a little and knowing that today was the final day before summit, added an extra bounce to my step.

The views of Kili’s Peaks were magnificent, crystal clear glaciers and snow capped in all their glory.

We all seemed to have renewed energy, even with the lack of solid sleep, and started the ascent out of Barranco Camp. Continuing in the Moorlands, the route started out to be incredibly scenic allowing for more photo opportunities. Our guides explained to us before we left that we had another long journey ahead of us and that our water supplies would run out. The porters would gather 25 litre drums of water, at a fresh mountain stream en-route, to carry up to camp. We were quite shocked to hear that they had to carry such heavy containers but this is a day in the life of a Kilimanjaro Porter and we took our hats off to them.

Lunch was served at Karanga Hut, 3930m above the sea, where we were treated to freshly made samoosas of all things! After lunch we made our way down a steep path to a ravine with a beautiful fresh stream, the porters collected water and we filled our own bottles. We were in absolute awe to witness the porters carry 25 litre containers filled with water on their heads back up and out of the ravine! They then proceeded to ascend many a steep path and long flat, harsh terrain for about 3 hours to Barafu Camp still getting there before us.

It was the very final stretch that got me, partly because it was completely barren moonscape, sand and slate with no shade, just the harsh sun beating down on us with no end in sight and also because I needed to find a “ladies” but of course there were no toilets and at the same time, there were no boulders or bushes! This led me to rush up what I thought was the final steep stretch to a toilet only to find the toilet had fallen in on itself and there was still a good 30 more minutes of walking at a snail’s pace! 30 minutes might not sound like a lot but thinking back to it, I can’t believe how tough, or should I say challenging, it actually was.

Imagine taking a step, breathing deeply in and deeply out again before taking another step and breathing deeply in and out again very slowly? Also, each breath is not very fulfilling as if you could have breathed in more but you simply can’t… I will never forget that and this is where your mind starts to play tricks on you… You can’t let it get the better of you at this point, toilet or no toilet!

Much to my immense relief we finally arrived at Barafu Camp which was very busy! Loads more people were camped around us this evening obviously having completed various other routes which ultimately end up in Barafu, 4640 metres above sea level.

Collapsing into my tent at around 17h30 I had to take an aspirin and catch my breath for a while before doing anything else. We could feel the sudden drop in temperature and it was difficult to get back out of the tent to have dinner especially as we were not feeling very hungry. We were briefed on what to expect for summit morning and told that we would be woken at 23h30 for tea and biscuits before departing at around midnight in order to try and reach Uhuru Peak by sunrise, 6 hours later.

Feeling rather anxious, I must say, we ate as much as we could and headed to bed to put on every layer we possibly could! With our sleeping bag inners, sleeping bags, long johns, vests, fleece tops, trousers and snow pants on, we still felt the cold that night so it was even more difficult to sleep and at 23h30 the call went out to get up and get ready. As planned, we had hot tea and biscuits feeling an excited tingle as it warmed us up, we headed off with our headlights on.

8 June 2011 – 5th day on Kilimanjaro – SUMMIT to Moshi in one day! (5730m to 813m)

A trail of lights snaked its way around and crept upwards to the point where, if I looked up at them, I was not able to distinguish the headlights from the stars in the abyss of the night sky above.

Our guides led us at a snail pace and even at this pace I struggled. Other groups passed us quickly and with ease making us wonder if we were just terribly unfit or if they were just better adapted to altitude… In the end, we were the slowest group and the sun started to rise, ever so slowly, far below us. At this point we were 5500 metres above the sea and this was a huge achievement! Seeing the sun rise below us, over the clouds, literally blew us away. It was an extremely emotional experience, considering that our journey so far had led us to this point on earth, the highest point in Africa, well almost, 395m shy of Uhuru Peak. But we were on the roof of our beloved continent looking down at the horizon encircled by a red shimmering rim and glowing magnificently as the sun slowly rose above it.

The 3rd member in our group had gone on ahead as he felt he could keep a slightly faster pace and I felt OK to continue, at least to Stella Point, which is known as the 2nd highest peak on the mountain. So off I went with my guide for the last, intensely challenging, push walking at almost 90 degree angles in a cloud of ash to reach Stella Summit at 5730m. This last stretch was tough especially because it seemed as if everyone else was descending already and I was heading into a thick cloud cover which prevented me from seeing anything but I did it! It was the hardest thing I ever did and THE most rewarding thing too. Due to the fact that I was all on my own, seemingly the very last person at the top and that I was unable to see Uhuru Peak or theCrater because of the thick cloud, I decided not to push further but to get back down to my partner who was unable to continue past the 5500m point. The journey down was equally as challenging slipping and sliding our way through most of the ash with our hiking sticks almost as if skiing in the Alps!

FINALLY back at Barafu Camp a decision was made for our group to continue on and back down to Moshi. So for our final stretch and added excitement we did the entire mountain in one day ;-)

It was incredible, actually, to think that we covered all the different layers of Kilimanjaro on that day… From the barren moonscape to the fairytale Moorlands and lazy moss filled shrub lands into the thick rainforests one last time. This time we entered a different section of rain forest which I found to be even more beautiful, more lush and dense. We saw many flowers including another endemic species called the Impatiens kilimanjari which is extremely delicate and unique looking with a tiny curved trunk, fondly referred to as an elephant flower.

We walked for roughly 16 hours on the summit day, top to bottom, and were most relieved to climb into our welcome van and drive back to civilisation, warm showers and a bed with a pillow. The minute we got into that van, however, we vowed each and every one of us, would attempt the mighty Kili again! Possibly next time with the altitude tablets, sun cream and a pillow!

9 June 2011 – Moshi – Receiving our certificates

Feeling like a brand new person at breakfast we told our stories of success and hardships all in one. After breakfast we were treated to a ceremony performed by our entire crew, porters, waiter, chef and guides. They sang us the Kilimanjaro Song and then we were awarded a certificate for our achievement of reaching Stella Point.

After the song and dance our group handed an envelope to the head guide with what we had agreed was a suitable tip for our amazing, hard working, friendly and caring crew. We especially loved our waiter and chef who we got to know quite well and of course our attentive guides, for without them we would have been lost.

We look forward to our return old Kilimanjaro, until then keep shining and giving each and every brave adventurer, to conquer your highest point, a feeling of immense gratitude and honour for their hard earned achievement and time spent with you!

A HUGE Thank You to Nomad Tours for giving me the opportunity to embark on the adventure of a lifetime and to our local operator,Tanzania Experience, for your professionalism throughout my experiences, your guidance and care.

The day we returned to Moshi it was a beautiful clear day
This shot is taken of Kili right outside The Keys Hotel