Blogs from Arusha, North, Tanzania, Africa
Jo Jo and Lawrence made it to join us after Kilimanjaro summit.
Published: February 22nd 2012Africa » Tanzania » North » Arusha
February 22nd 2012
Made it just in time for dinner after climb. Great stories of their adventure climbing.... read more
February 22nd 2012
Relaxing at the plantation today. Kilimanjaros by the pool. No power in the rooms today. Sunny with thunderstorms in the area. One light shower for a few minutes.... read more
January 11th 2012
Day 7 Ok, so one would think that with the pervious day we deserved, even earned, a leisurely walk out to the gate and a VERY much needed shower. Not so apparently. We learned late the previous evening that the hike out today was "around" 18k?! What?! Bleep, bleep!! Every time we had a briefing, Joseph would say our walk before lunch, to our destination or anywhere for that matter would take 3-5 hours. Today was no different and started out at 7 with the goal of reaching the gate at 12:30-1pm. We were still high enough when we started to be above the clouds, our last sunrise on the mountain and it was a beauty. As we descended, the vegetation became more lush and green, it made a nice change from the rocks and inescapable ... read more
January 10th 2012
Sorry, this is a long one! Day 4 Day 4 was a built in acclimatization day, we started at 14200ft and did a three hour acclimatization hike and gained another 1000ft. Along the way it became increasing difficult for Jody as she was have stomach issues. We rested for the rest of the day in preparation for the next couple of days. Day 5/6 It is hard to separate these two days as there really was to be no break between them. We got off to an early start to begin the march to Kibo base camp. We walked 8k and gained 1600ft. This turned out to be a grueling hike across an expansive saddle. The morning sun was relentless as it started to wear down our reserves. Jody was really suffering at this point, then ... read more
January 7th 2012
Sorry no pictures. Wifi is a hit and miss in Africa! Day 2 We woke this morning to the majestic Mawenzi peak in the background. WOW! The view was breathtaking. We were also able to catch the odd glimpse of Kibo which is the final destination. It looked pretty manageable from this distance. We were told that this would be a long and hard day and no truer words spoken. We would walk 15k and gain 1000ft in altitude. The morning was the hardest however as we did the lions share of the climbing before lunch with the sun beating down upon us relentlessly. It is worth noting that the intensity of the sun seemed too increase with every foot of elevation gained. Most of our group wilts in the heat and by the time we ... read more
January 4th 2012
And we are off!! We left Rivertrees and headed out onward to the Marangu Gate to get permits from the park ranger. The land-rover that we had some issues with the day before overheated and we had to abandon it (as well as the 7 passengers it was carrying). Summits Africa was quick to replace it however and we were quickly off again, new cruiser and driver. The new driver was quite a character, racing over the dirt bumpy roads Like a one ton hot shot on the sierra high grade (Garett's description). This seemed to please him as much as it displeased his mother:) After 4 hours or so of driving and registering we were finally at the Rongai Gate (north side of the mountain close to Kenya). Here we met up with our 4 ... read more
December 16th 2011
Entering Arusha’s central bus station it is chaotic and stressful experience. Two white heads sticking out in the local transportation from Babati. We noticed that taxi drivers, bus ticket sellers, safari guides were running after our bus when they got a sight of us and before we got off the bus we heard all kind of services we could get in this town and whole Tanzania. Everyone was like bees around a honey pot and we are quite used that in the hectic touristic areas (in this case Arusha) Africans see a white person like a dollar sign. Actually our poor Swahili skills helped to get rid of all kind of sellers since they are not used that a “mzungu” (white-faced) speaks their language. In general all tourists are sitting in a safe safari car and ... read more
November 23rd 2011
In fact coffee plants and the freshly picked beans don't actually smell but if they did I could literally wake up and smell the coffee from a nearby farm, as it is I have to make a cuppa (fresh of course not instant!) to do so. (More on coffee to come in a future blog entry as I have managed to arrange a tour for my parents around the Burka Coffee Estate, thanks to the kindness of the part owner/manager friends). I feel, after the aftershock (in this part of the world geophysical metaphors are obviously also acceptable) of chidbirth, emigration and previous years of believing I could not have children and stress and burnout in the UK ratrace, I am indeed waking up to smell the coffee, despite not drinking nearly as much as I ... read more
October 6th 2011
The Somali 'land' pirates have come ashore and inland to Ngaramtoni village, Arusha. Well, just one to be exact (I'm not actually sure if she constitutes a pirate as she does not say 'aarhh' and did not have a parrot or an eyepatch). She landed last month. Lovely lady, came a-knocking at our gate with what I beleived to be her elderly mother asking all about our house, the rent we paid etc. as she planned to build on her plot next to the house we rent and then rent it out as our landlord (very important man in this story) had done. Well, only a few weeks later we find ourselves hostage in our own home unable to escape (at least not by motorised vehicle) as it turns out her plot actually extends across the ... read more
October 4th 2011
Hujambo Well, where to start, coming to live here along with motherhood are two of the biggest things I have ever done in my life and both seemed to just happened to me; I therefore conclude that both were just meant to be. So I have woken up from the whirlwind of both and find myself a mother of a gorgeous 7 month old and living in the foothills of Mt Meru in a village called Ngaramtoni close to Arusha in Northern Tanzania. I miss friends, family and the UK terribly and thank God for skype and the internet but people here could not have been friendlier. My week is much like that of any mother across the globe I imagine- I operate to a 3 hour rule- if Ben has not been fed, changed or ... read more
