Tanzania, Africa . Safari . Mount Kili Trek . Zanzibar Island [June 27 - July 15, 2014]

---

I met up with my girlfriend in Tanzania. She left her husband behind, but met up with him again in Europe after our 19 day trip together. I flew from Jakarta-Bangkok-Nairobi-Kilimanjaro. It was only a little hopper flight from Nairobi to Kilimanjaro, but it was the catalyst for the series of events to follow. As I was walking on the tarmac to the plane with everyone else, I noticed airport personnel manually frontloading the plane. They still had a huge crate of suitcases to load and I spotted mine at the very bottom of the crate they were working on. I wasn’t confident my suitcase was going to make it let alone seeing how many bags still needed to make the flight. Once on board I realized just how narrow the plane was. The overhead compartments were a fraction to what they typically are and the seats were certainly closer together than normal. After our hour flight and making it through immigration just fine, we waited for our baggage. This took a while since they had to drive out onto the tarmac manually unloading each suitcase into a trolley which was then towed to the conveyor belt where we were all standing. In the end my suitcase had not arrived as well as half of the passengers on this flight. After filling out the necessary paperwork I met my driver and we drove to the hotel. The next day my friend and I were off on our safari for a 4 day adventure. Luckily I had packed my bags strategically. I was prepared for this to happen…for whatever reason I had a gut feeling this kind of thing might happen to me….my carryon luggage had my hiking boots, and some clothes both suitable for the hike and the safari. I was still missing majority of my equipment but surely after 4 days my luggage was to return – or so we thought….



06/29/2014 Arusha – Serengeti National Park

We had our breakfast at the hotel before getting picked up at 7am. We stored what we didn’t want to take on the safari at the hotel we were staying at. We flew from Arusha to the Serengeti on a twelve passenger plan to the Serengeti Air Strip in the middle of the National park. Our driver was waiting for us when we arrived with our own private vehicle. We spent all day driving throughout the park. We saw a TON of animals and a huge range of species as well. We caught the tail end of the migration and at one point we were surrounded 360 degrees by thousands upon thousands of zebras . It was unreal! All day we felt like we were living in a National Geographic magazine. That night we had dinner and spent the night at Kilima Valley Tented Camp. By “tented camp” these tents were equipped with full size beds, electricity, flushing toilets, showers etc. certainly a step up from your everyday camping experience!



06/30/2014 Serengeti National Park – Ngorongoro Highlands

After breakfast and a farewell sendoff by the staff at the Kilima Valley Tented Camp we made our way to the Ngorongoro Highlands. We stopped for a picnic lunch looking over the Serengeti before paying a visit to a Maasai Village. We were welcomed by one of the chief’s sons and escorted to a group of men and women who sang and danced a welcoming song for us. We walked around the village a little and participated in another traditional dance with them. We learned about the Maasai life-style while sitting in one of their mud huts sitting on the beds as the chief’s son explained to us what it means to be a member of the Maasai Tribe.



Some interesting facts about the Maasai:

Only 2 meals a day with a diet of meat, milk, and blood
Only women and children sleep inside the mud huts – the men sleep outsideThey wear the color red to scare off the lionsThey are nomadic – will return to the homes they built the following seasonYoung children tend to the livestockThe Maasai are the largest tribe in Tanzania – they can also be found in Kenya. Tanzania is comprised over 120 different tribes.



We continued on our way to the Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge where we spent the night. It was beautiful! All the rooms overlooked the vast crater below.



07/1/2014 Ngorongoro Crater – Lake Manyara

After breakfast we made the decent down into the Crater. There are two theories how the crater got its name:
Long ago the Maasai fought another tribe…..they won and named it.A cow bell maker lived in the crater and the sounds from the bells gave the crater its name ng-oro-ng-oro


The morning was chilly and a little overcast as it often is there. A light wind was down in the crater which discouraged any possible rhino sightings as they don’t like wind blowing up their noses. We did however see a flock of bright pink flamingos and four male lions which were the first for us. That night we spent it at Manyara Hotel which was on the ridge overlooking Lake Manyara again, with another breathtaking view of the valley below. We relaxed in the sun for the rest of the afternoon.



07/02/2014 Manyara Hotel – Tarangire National Park – Arusha

After breakfast we enjoyed our drive through Tarangire National Park. It was here where we saw the most elephants. Mid afternoon we made our way back to Arusha. Back at the hotel we discovered my luggage still hadn’t arrived. At this point I thought it was going to be lost forever.

Over the four day trip we saw almost everything – except for a mere cat and a rhino.



Trekking Up Kilimanjaro: The Roof of Africa

The next day we were leaving for our Kilimanjaro trekking trip so I had to communicate quickly with the tour company what gear I needed to rent from them since my gear was lost somewhere between Nairobi and Tanzania. They told me to check the front desk the next morning to see if it had arrived then. No luck. It still wasn’t there so off we went with our group and drove to the starting gate. At the gate we ate lunch as the porters were weighing each bag ensuring it didn’t exceed the 25kg government regulation. As we were getting to know the others in our group over lunch, my bag was hand delivered to me!!!! It was a huge relief. My friend and I quickly unpacked and repacked my gear – sorting through what I was going to rent from the company and what I now had. I paid for my suitcase and everything in it that I didn’t need for the climb to be brought back to the hotel. I thought this would be hassle free and the end to the luggage saga, but it continues…..

Ruth and I came up with three descriptive words per day to summarize what happened each step of the way.



Day 1

Relief: My luggage came at the trail head as we were finishing up our lunches. I was relieved to have my gear and we were both eager to get started.

Waiting: Waiting for Ruth’s rented gear to arrive, picking up another group member, stopping at the airline office inquiring if my luggage was delivered yet, waited a lot as the porters weighed and packed each bag, waited patiently in the jeep as the driver navigated his way through thick mud up the very steep mountain side.

Begin: Excited to start the trek and reached our first camp.



Day 2

Steepest: The path was the steepest on this day until summit day. The “worse” was over.

Reassurance: Nelson said we’re looking good. He told us the Lemosho route has a 95%!s(MISSING)ummit success average.

Awe: Our first sighting of Mount Kilimanjaro.



Day 3

Wind: The wind forces did not ever let up. Sleeping in the tents at night was rough as it felt like you were in an earthquake. I felt a little motion sickness because of it at one point. During the night the dinning tent, bathroom tent and the tent where all the porters slept - collapsed! New tents were hiked in to camp on day four, but this was the most wind Nelson has ever seen in his career.

Soup: Every day we were greeted with a delicious warm welcoming soup as a first course with a side of either pancakes or toast. This was the tastiest part of all our meals.

Ouch: Ruth’s heal blisters caused lots of pain but thankfully there was only one per foot . I provided moral support.



Day 4

Rocks: We ate lunch under the famous lava tower and navigated our way through big boulders throughout the day.

Dust: At the start of each day we begin relatively clean, however it doesn’t take long for our noses to be filled with dust, as well as boots, skin etc. etc.

Half Way: Day four of eight and as a whole, we feel good. We have suffered from a few minor altitude symptoms but nothing a little medication can’t cure!



Day 5

Wall: Today we tackled the famous Barranco Wall. It was easily our favorite part of the whole trek so far as it presented a neat experience of crossing streams, waterfalls, climbing over many large rocks along a thin shelf before dropping straight down.

Stars: Tonight like other nights previous, we have seen incredible stars, the Milky Way, and the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro glowing in the moonlight. Tonight we also saw the lights of Arusha gleaming at the base of the mountain.

Acclimatization: As we prepare for the summit our guides led us on a short and extra climb after our hot lunch at base camp so our bodies can adjust to the high elevation.



Day 6

Apocalypse : Fog and cloud rolled over the hundreds of thousands of rock that unfolded before us – it resembled a war torn landscape or a sc-fi movie with special effects.

Preparation: We spent countless hours reconfiguration our outfits for summit day making sure it was going to be warm enough. It turned out Ruth’s 5 layers of pants and 4 tops became too much. A strip down was needed early on in the night. Further frustrating matters were the oversized rain pants which needed to be pulled up every few minutes.

Guides: Nelson. Exoudi. Richard.

Nelson was the head guide preferring a fast pace. We spent most of our time with him. He commented a few times how strong we were and seemed to like us. Exoudi was always smiling and willing to lend a hand whenever it was needed. Richard often led us on the acclimation hike in preparation for summit day.



Day 7

Sunrise: we began our hike at 12:30am with a trail of headlamps up the mountain. The moon was almost full and the clear skies were littered with stars. Once we reached Stella point it was still black out. As we got closer to the final sign, the glowing orange sun rose over the horizon – just in time for out 6:45 summit time.

Cold . Layers . Hot . Cold: Despite overheating on the steep, steep incline at the beginning of our climb due to our meticulous preparation we were incredible grateful for all of the layers we had with us. At Stella Point we stopped behind a large rock which blocked the cool wind so that we could put on more warm clothes before making the final climb. According to one report it was -23 degrees Celsius at the top. There was just enough time to snap some photos with the sign and the surrounding landscapes because our fingers and feet were already frozen.

Success: After a long, cold difficult night of trekking up Africa’s tallest peak, reaching the summit was exhilarating but it was not without its difficulties. Nelson had the group divided into three. Susan and Riim each had their own guides and left earlier than the rest of us. Shortly after starting the climb, the four of us realized that Nelson appeared to be intent on setting a record pace! We had no choice but to keep up as we passed group upon group. The promised breaks every 1.5 hours did not happen. In the end the quick pace kept us warm because the conditions were frigid – evident by rock hard granola bars as well as water bottles and camelbacks freezing over.



Day 8

Goodbyes: After breakfast at our last campsite the guides, porters and cooking staff sang us a good-bye song. This was the first of many good-byes of the day as we also said good-bye to our guides, Susan when we dropped her off at her resort and after a celebratory dinner and drinks with the others at SG resort. After spending 8 days together and getting along so well it was harder than we expected to go our separate ways.

Clean: Despite the disappointment of no hot water, it still felt good to clean our hair and wipe away the dirt and grit from our bodies.

Finish: The last day’s terrain was mostly downhill and out of the group, Ruth and I seemed to enjoy the decent the most. The others found it difficult but we passed through a multitude of landscapes and ended up in the lush jungle once again. Nelson let us go on ahead and we arrived at the bustling exit gate where we waited for everyone else to finish. Before driving back to the hotel we were served a buffet lunch.



Once we arrived at the SG resort we went to pick up our bags only to discover my suitcase was not there – the one that was brought to me at the trailhead and the one I paid for to be delivered to the resort for me! After talking with someone from the tour company they located my luggage at their office as it was dropped off there instead. The next morning we flew to Zanzibar Island and stopped for about an hour so on our way to the resort at Stone Town to walk around a little. Staying at an all inclusive resort was a perfect way to end the vacation – we relaxed, soaked up some rays and headed our own separate ways three days later.

---