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Published: November 8th 2007
Uhuru Peak, Kilimanjaro
We made it. It was really, really tough.This update is long overdue, it goes without saying. We are now home safe and sound and settling back into some kind of routine. The last few weeks of our travels spent in Tanzania were possibly the most exciting, challenging and rewarding of the entire trip. Looking back now, from the comfort of familiar surroundings and after reunions with loved ones (and one disgruntled cat), we can barely believe we were there at all.
Our main reason for visiting Tanzania was to climb Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa at 5895 metres. We wanted to join a scheduled trip, preferably with some fellow hikers, run by a good company rather than pick up a guide and porters once we were there, so booked with
Into Africa for their trek on 6th January.
With three weeks to wait over the Christmas period, we flew from Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam and headed straight to Zanzibar, braving the chaos of the ferry terminal for the promise of tropical paradise. It turned out to be a kind of pre-climb health retreat. Most of the island is Muslim, and alcohol free. We lived on rice and seafood and fresh tropical fruits. We swam, walked
Happy New Year!
Self portrait on the beach, back at Paje for New Year's Eve. on the beach and dozed in hammocks rocked gently by tropical breezes. We did find a few of the rasta-run bars and met lovely people Steve and Lisa from Cape Town who encouraged us to stay out late and share a cocktail or two. And chips were available with your grilled octopus at most places, but on the whole it was an idyllic, healthy time.
Stone Town is bustling and chaotic, full of twisting passages and faded splendour. It was interesting for a short visit and a trip to the food market after dark, but fairly exhausting in the humidity. For most of the time we headed out to the beaches on the south-east of the island, Paje and Jambiani, spending a lovely time in the beach huts at Kinazi Upepo and the excellent value, rather luxurious, Casa del Mar for Christmas day. We met some fantastic people - locals and fellow tourists alike - and enjoyed a spot of snorkelling and football on the beach, but that was as energetic as things got. For the height of tourist season, it was a remarkably tranquil place. Ideal for gathering our strength and preparing ourselves for the final challenge.
Paje, Zanzibar
This is classed as one of the busier beaches in Zanzibar... Excitement and trepidation mounted as the date for our Kili trip drew nearer. We flew into Arusha in North-Eastern Tanzania for a couple of days’ acclimatisation after so long at sea level. IntoAfrica turned out to be a truly excellent organisation throughout our Kili experience and for the rest of our time in Tanzania. We can’t praise them highly enough and would recommend the company to anybody considering a trip to Tanzania or Kenya.
Our fellow-trekkers were also a fantastic bunch. Matt, Martin, Dan, Dario and Eleni - what a team. We were all of a similar mindset, i.e. thoroughly daunted but raring to go. Our fitness levels varied, but by the end of the trip, we discovered that fitness didn’t have a lot to do with the ability to complete the climb. Determination and sheer refusal to give up, are what it’s all about.
We started to feel like we were on a proper expedition when we met our crew. Two experienced guides, Julius and Oforo, aided by assistant guides Godfrey and Godbless (that’s the kind of assistance you want!). In addition we had an entourage of 26 porters, cooks and all-round splendid individuals to help us
Fresh coconut action
Check out the tan - I got so brown I stopped going brown! up (and down) the side of the mountain.
We opted for the Machame route. Longer, more arduous, but better for acclimatisation and with higher success rates. Day 1 involved a pretty steep trudge through muddy forest. We were thoroughly stretched and sweaty after a six hour uphill walk and ready for our first night’s camp at 3000m. A filling dinner and a wonderfully sunny evening, with views of the summit snows visible a long way off, made for a good end to an exciting day. The horrors of Kili toilet facilities soon became apparent. Poor, poor Matt. So proud of his new Nalgene flask with built-in lantern. He demonstrated the ingeniousness of it to all of us then trotted off to the nearest hole in the ground using it to light his way. We heard his cries all across camp as the lantern slipped off its hook and bounced into the open pit. Lighbulb still on, it illuminated the whole, horrific toilet from within. Credit to him, Matt rescued his beloved piece of kit despite the vomit inducing conditions. Not sure he used it to drink out of again though.
Day 2 started early. We were up and
Beach hut at Kinazi Upepo
Graham enjoys the coconut winds in his kikoy off sharpish after the hunt for a cleaner toilet on the other side of camp proved pointless. They’re all shockingly bad by morning. After a rough first night in the tent, I found the second day really tough. The first part of the day involved a steep hike up through the thinning heather onto bleak hillside. We ascended 800 metres or so, but it was a much shorter day and we were done after four and a half hours. Shortly before arriving at camp, we glimpsed the summit again. It seemed nearer, but still looked like a totally separate mountain. Camping on the Shira plateau for the night was a spectacular feeling. We had clear sight of the summit on one side and were able to sit and watch sunset over Mount Meru, Tanzania’s second highest peak on the other. And the toilets weren’t quite so bad here or maybe our standards were dropping.
Day 3 involved a lot of walking. We trudged along the flat, up a bit and down a bit. We had our first proper rain shower and all felt miserable slipping down the scree and getting thoroughly soggy towards the end of the day. It
Terribly far to go
First view of Kilimanjaro up close. felt pretty good when the sun came out though once we made it to camp and realised we were well into the trek. We had only gained 100 or so metres but were working towards good altitude acclimatisation by climbing up then coming down to a lower level to sleep. Dario was probably finding it hardest of all to keep going despite being a fit chap. He was suffering with a cold and a growing feeling that this wasn’t really where he wanted to be. Matt had a bad stomach and slight altitude symptoms. Apart from that we were all doing pretty well considering. Martin and Dan maintained high levels of humour and optimism, tackling the terrain with ease. Graham looked like he was in his element, oblivious to the cold and exhaustion. I managed to put one foot in front of the other, but that’s about it. I can’t say I was enjoying myself. At camp that night, the beauty of the place and the clearness of the night sky and inviting closeness of the stars made it all begin to seem worthwhile.
Day 4 was by far and away my favourite day of the whole hike. We
Intrepid team
L-R Dan, Julius, G, me, Martin, Matt, Eleni and Darrio started off with some stream crossings and a spot of scrambling up the Barranco wall, a steep rocky section, which completely took my mind off the effort and altitude. When we stopped mid morning, we had fantastic close-up views of the glaciers, but were still basking in the heat of the African sun. We sat and munched cashew nuts with our guides and felt as if we were enjoying a thoroughly good hike. We finished the day with a very steep stretch into the Karanga Valley camp. It was a short day for our team because we were adding an extra night at this point, but we saw many poor hikers heading off after only a brief rest at Karanga for a further hike and a brief rest at the final camp. They would then be facing a midnight start for the summit. I’m not sure I would have made it without the extra rest at this stage - definitely worth doing.
The nerves really set in after our last beautiful night under the stars. When we set off for the final camp, we knew we had up to 36 hours to go before we would be resting properly
Uphill most of the way
Day 1 hiking on the Machame route, Kilimanjaro again. The hike to Barafu camp was tiring enough - by now we felt as if we were way above the clouds, but could still see the snowy slopes of the summit rising impossibly high up ahead. We ate lunch then rested in our tents. No proper sleep though. The ground was rocky and hard and sloped precariously. Everyone was crammed into a small space. Cloud and icy mist prevented us from seeing what lay ahead of us. After tea we were briefed on the night’s climb, then told to rest. We were fed the standard millet porridge for the last time at around 11pm then checked our kit and set off in the freezing darkness.
Good kit is essential for this part of the climb. Our guides, who had been happily wearing t-shirts for most of the trek so far, appeared in balaclavas, ski gloves, wind-proof layers and serious fleeces. I had to be loaned a pair of better weatherproof trousers and felt mighty grateful when the windchill started to kick in. We felt unbelievably nervous as we started the sheer hike, knowing it would be sunrise before we would be anywhere near the summit.
It’s a
bit of a blur from here. I remember pain all through my body and freezing cold, nowhere near enough oxygen to fill overstretched lungs, blurred vision, nausea, tears and general misery. Graham and I managed not to puke, but others did. There were unusual amounts of snow on the slopes, which, we found out later, actually made our ascent easier. I can’t imagine it being any harder. I fell face forward into the snow several times and started sliding down the mountainside. Without Godfrey and Graham to pick me up and persuade me to keep going, I would have gladly lain down in the snow and stayed there. Eleni and Dario turned back for camp after a couple of hours deciding it just wasn’t worth the pain. I honestly don’t know how I kept going, but I did. As the sun started to appear over the horizon, after seven hours of uphill madness, we stood at Stellar point. This magical place marks the end of the steep ascent and all of us cried our eyes out as we stood on level ground for the first time that day.
A further 40 minutes of trudging through the snow and we
Camping on the slopes
Don't mention the toilet facilities made it to Uhuru peak, 5985 metres, blue skies and blinding white glaciers all around. Weeping and triumphant Graham and I held on to each other and he asked me to marry him. I said yes. If we could achieve this together, I reckon we are going to be able to handle pretty much anything that life throws our way.
We posed for our photos, quickly slapped on more sunscreen then started the descent. While the snows had made things easier on the way up, they made the descent agonising. It took hours and hours of slipping and falling and picking ourselves up and carrying on before we made it back to camp. I was a good hour later than the boys, not being brave enough to slide down on my behind! Oforo stayed with me and reassured me that sliding down or using anything other than caution and restrained was a foolhardy way to treat the mountain. I felt so grateful to this wise, quiet mountain guide and enjoyed the peacefulness of our slow descent together. A couple of the porters came to the edge of the snows to watch out for us in case I had collapsed
Kili porters
Don't know how they do it. or needed extra help over the rocky ground before getting to camp. That’s the level of attention and dedication we got with Into Africa. The whole crew was so professional and caring.
We rested, I think I cried a bit more, tried to massage life back into numb feet, refuelled and packed up camp by mid afternoon. We still had a good three hours’ walk down the mountain to our last night’s camp. It was so painful going downhill on exhausted feet and knees. It felt as if the torture would never end, but the exhilaration of our dawn summit gave us renewed vigour. That night was definitely the best night’s sleep ever in a tent.
The following morning, we packed up our things for the final time and bid farewell to our porters. It had taken ages to sort out all the tips the night before, but thanks to Martin’s forward thinking (he brought a pack of envelopes - now that’s organised!), we were able to put some notes in separate envelopes for each member of the crew and hand the tips over to everyone by name. We got a good send-off from the guys and there
Mt Meru view
Camping between two peaks was much singing and dancing before the final hike back down to the gate.
Although we were all desperate for hot showers and decent toilets and a change of clothes, we were sad to say goodbye to the mountain and our team of protectors and guides. Everybody tells you not to underestimate Kilimanjaro, and they’re right. People die. We saw a man from a different group suffering heart trouble near the summit and if it hadn’t been for Julius, our guide, donating his emergency oxygen tank, I dread to think what might have happened. But if you’ve got good guides and you are prepared to follow their advice, if you take care to acclimatise and have no illness or injury, it’s all about conquering your own common sense. If you want to get to the top enough - you will.
And if I can do it, really, seriously, anybody can.
If somebody had offered us a flight back to the UK after we got down from the mountain, I think we would have taken it. But we would have missed out on two of the best weeks of our whole trip. We had very limited budget to
Support crew
Our amazing guides, porters and cooks from Into Africa fund any big adventures in our last few days so offered to help with Asante Africa, the charitable foundation run by Into Africa. Emmy Moshi, director and all round amazing woman, let us combine a shorter safari trip on the north-eastern circuit with Martin and Dan then invited us to stay on at her safari camp for an extra week in exchange for our help with some of the projects underway in the nearby town caled Mto wa Mbu, which translates as Mosquito River. Sounded encouraging!
We were so exhausted from the climb that we barely had enough energy to enjoy our safari through Tarangire national park (lots of elephants), the Ngorongoro crater (lots of everything!) and Lake Manyara (very rude baboons). Martin, Dan and I had terrible burns from the sun on Kilimanjaro. Despite slapping on the sunscreen at the summit, I must have missed patches on my face and lips and by the second day after our descent, my lower lip and chin was one huge blister. I had to use a sterile needle to pierce my skin because I couldn’t take the pain. Fortunately that did the trick and it all healed up nicely.
Mto
Early start on day 3
Graham refused to take off his thermals wa Mbu turned out to be a large village at the foot of the Rift Valley, on the shores of Lake Manyara. The tasty food and comfy accommodation at the Into Africa camp by Lake Manyara helped to revive us and we had a great laugh in the last few days with Martin and Dan. Not least when our landrover got stuck along with a dozen other 4x4s in the mud of Ngorongoro. It took us hours to dig them all out and Dan got caught short during the delay. He had to risk life and limb by squatting in the long grass, with only Martin to watch for lions. Brave boys.
After we had had some safari fun and our friends moved on, we were introduced to Asinate, a retired teacher and highly respected member of the community. She is the woman on the ground for Asante Africa, and knows the schools, the people and the children in need of charitable support. We were deployed as her aides for the remainder of our time in the country. Graham was dispatched to work with some local carpenters commissioned to produce furniture for the local nursery school. I went with
Asinate to interview some of the secondary level pupils who were desperately in need of sponsorship to cover their school fees. We also helped her oversee some building projects and try to encourage a bit more activity out of the local brickies.
We were pretty much stranded out on the edge of the settlement at our camp. Even with mobile phones to help coordinate our activities with Asinate, we were back to basics. Graham managed to hire two bicycles from the town - albeit at Mzungu prices (tourist rates) - and we caused a stir cycling up and down the dirt roads with bits of furniture for the school strapped to the back. Even on the good road that runs through the town connecting Arusha to the safari circuit, we had to avoid goats and chickens. We knew we were figures of amusement doing something slightly off the tourist trail, but the people we met treated us with such good humour and friendliness despite clearly thinking we were nuts.
The town has a cultural tourism programme, based at the Red Banana Café, designed to encourage tourists, who are whizzing through on the way to the next safari spot,
Summit views
Still a long way to go to the top of Kilimanjaro to stop and meet some of the town’s inhabitants. We had the tour from Raja who then, as it was just the two of us and we were staying around for a bit, took us to a local bar and introduced us to some of his fellow guides. We spent a good afternoon knocking back the safari beer and trying to understand each other’s jokes and learning interesting things like the Masai are terrified of fish.
Asinate asked Graham if he would make a donation box for the Asante Africa funded nursery school. It’s a stop on the cultural tour with Into Africa and a few notes dropped in a donation box by willing tourists can add up to provide a lot of porridge and supplies for the children. In true Graham-style, he managed to persuade the local carpenters to help him build a splendid wooden donation box, whilst having virtually no common language other than football. He bonded with the guys and exceeded all expectations, producing a sturdy, secure box complete with lock and key. We hope the box is faring well and doing its job nicely.
Graham also managed to transition from true tourist status -
being harangued by the boys hawking necklaces and trinkets, to one of the guys, having full blown discussions with the locals about the Premier League. Graham had a crowd of lads around him at one point going through the merits of players one by one and deciding who was best at what. It was nice to step out of the tourist shoes briefly and find common ground.
The nursery children were simply lovely - extremely well behaved by UK standards, but insatiably curious and affectionate. One day we sat at the back of the class helping to shout out English words during the lesson (English is on the curriculum right from the start). The children paid attention to the teacher for as long as they could but one by one started to turn to look at us. Then a few shuffled closer and before we knew it I had a little girl climbing onto my knee, another one stroking my hair and another one poking my arm to see if my white skin hurt me I think. Graham’s hairy legs were also a source of much speculation and hilarity.
My final task at the nursery was to photograph
all the orphans for AsanteAfrica to try and help fund raising to support their uniform and porridge requirements. Please visit the
Asante website, they are doing such good work helping to improve local schools and sponsoring and protecting Masai girls, often usually married before they reach their teens, through secondary school and beyond. Their projects are specifically run by local people for their own communities and are really making a difference to children’s lives in Tanzania and Kenya.
Thank you to everyone in Mto wa Mbu who made us feel so welcome.
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Steve
non-member comment
Hi Guys
Hi guys Glad to see the site is finally updated. The kili trip sounds amazing and congrats on the wedding, max respect for the summit proposal. Think that might be a bit balsy for me. Hope you are both well. S