Blogs from Mount Kilimanjaro, North, Tanzania, Africa

After much cajoling I finally succeeded in persuading Tarryn that a climb up Kilimanjaro would be a once-in-a-lifetime (ok, well not too much persuading needed there), inspiring and magical thing to do to cap off our trip to Africa. I have to say I almost had second thoughts too when I started getting price quotes from various UK-based and local trekking companies. This was not going to be cheap, no back-to-basics carry everything yourself style hike like I'd done with Lukas in Peru. But in many ways I was glad, since not all memories were fond lugging a 20kg pack over the Andes. The clincher for Tarryn was getting her (our) own private toilet which I begrudingly agreed upon. Many days later perched on said toilet in Barafu camp with the wind gently flapping the tent ... read more

TANZANIA 22 SEPTEMBER 2012 TM 13 OKTOBER 2012 beklimming KILIMANJARO safari LAKE MANYARA – SERENGETI – NGORONGORO KRATER ZANZIBAR Zaterdag 22 september 2012. De wekker loopt om 5.30 uur af. Om 10.05 uur stijgen we vanaf schiphol op met KLM 569 en na een zeer rustige vlucht landen we 7 uur en 55 minuten later op Kilimanjaro Airport. Via de trap zetten we voet op Tanzaniaanse bodem. Het is 19.00 uur, donker en 28 graden. We worden opgehaald en de auto staat tussen de palmbomen geparkeerd. Ons hotel, San Salinero, staat in Moshi ongeveer 45 minuten rijden. Het is bijna 1 rechte weg die helemaal doorgaat naar Kenia. Het is een leuk hotel met allemaal rondav... read more

I went to Mt. Kilimanjaro to have some sort of holy and spiritual experience. I planned to come back all enlightened and probably going by a new name or something. I did learn a lot, but nothing I expected. The following is my first travel blog. Pole, pole (pronounced pole-ay, pole-ay) "Pole, pole" is Swahili for "slowly, slowly". While technically referring to the speed we climb the mountain, it's also an extremely accurate metaphor for how the Tanzanian people live. The best example of this happened within my first few hours in Africa. If you can imagine: I am a young girl, traveling alone, in a foreign, third world country of which I do not speak the language and have almost no knowledge. I'm continually asked where my mother and father are. I haven't slept in ... read more

Flight to Kilimanjaro on time. Nice weather and good view of the mountain today.... read more

I was asked to put something together for my high school newsletter on my Kilimanjaro experience ...which was a really good motivator for me to sit down and document the overall trip (and doubles as a blog entry! :) While the Safari, Ol Doinyo Lengai and Zanzibar were wonderful & added to my entire Tanzanian experience, those are all things that could be replicated. I feel like I could go back & probably get a pretty close experience. With Kilimanjaro, I don't believe that I could - it was without a doubt the most special part of the trip. Here's what I ended up with, kind of lengthy... One of the guys in our group that summited Kilimanjaro is a high school teacher and every summer he takes a group of school kids on a week-long ... read more

Day 6 - Horombo Huts to Marangu Gate 3721m - 1905m Walking distance: 20.8 km / 12.92 miles Walking time: 5 hours Descent: 1816 m On the final day we woke to brilliant bright sunshine with the cloud layer hugging the landscape below us. The previous days challenge seemed a distant memory and we were now looking forward to getting off the mountain to have our first shower in 6 days. After our last breakfast we all gathered for the porter tipping ceremony. It is obligatory to tip the team of porters, cooks, waiters and guides who make it possible to reach the summit; without them we certainly wouldn't have made it and the low wages they are earning do not reflect the hard and dangerous work they do, and always with a friendly "Jambo!" (Hi!). ... read more