This adventure, my challenge I set way back in 2010...this enormous challenge to climb to the summit of Mount.Kilimanjaro....it was finally here, I was so excited on the build up that I didn't sleep for three days before we actually flew! I actually would shake with excitement and anticipation and smile! on man I would break out into the biggest face splitting smile every time my mind thought Kilimanjaro.....I was after so many frustrating years actually going to be getting on that plane to Tanzania and my mountain challenge was on! And now looking back - I still struggle to believe what I've actually accomplished. I have stood on the "Roof of Africa".....amazing and unbelievable.
Friday January 30th - 13.55pm and we were on the plane to Doha airport in Qatar....the first leg of our journey. Suzie had driven Bec's and I to Manchester where we met Ali. And from that moment we girls started with the ribbing,laughing and joking.....this carried on for the whole trip. We landed at Doha 11.50pm local time and then had over seven hours to kill before our connecting flight to Kilimanjaro. The airport is out of this world, the shops were designer, but we found a great cafe with wonderfully comfy seating and a gorgeous hummus to boot! We got on our second plane and with great excitement set off for Moshi and the challenge of a lifetime! We didn't know until the flight had been under way for a fair old time ( it was an eight hour flight ) that we would be stopping at Dar Es Salaam first to drop off passengers. We were to stay on the plane for the hour it would take to get them and their luggage off. Then we were back in the air and onto our destination JRO international airport.
The airport from the outside actually looked like someone's bungalow! - it had what looked like well kept gardens!
Boy we nearly passed out when we got off the plane and walked to the airport building. It was around minus 2/3C when we had left the UK and here we was landing Saturday January 31st at 15.25pm to temps of 34C.....mental I tell you!
We were through the airport in good time and was met on the other side by Mussa our wonderful host from Wild Secret Safaris. And we were loaded and on our way to the Keys Hotel in Moshi for our overnight stay before the climb. We got booked in and taken to our rooms - which were little round huts, loved them...simple but great! We then went to a meeting to meet our head guide, chat about our next eight days on the mountain and to have our kit checked out.
The meeting went well and our kit passed muster as it were. Chacha, Mussa and Alphonce left us to get some food etc and said they'd see us at 7.00am to load up and set off.
We grabbed some food and called it a night....we had two rooms between us and said we would rota through so we all got a night on our own unless it was a triple.
07.00am arrives and we happily had breakfast, sorted out with reception for them to store our suitcases until our return and loaded our gear into the van. All we needed now was a photo before we set off and we were ready to hit the mountain!!
Ali and Bec's were full of beans and raring to get this climb going on lol.....we had to travel to Londorossi Gate which was about two hours drive away to register and get all the kit weighed. It was really exciting and Dom an Italian who they'd asked could join our climb was ready to crack on too.
A dreaded selfie and we were in the van and finally on the move - watch out Mount.Kilimanjaro we are coming to get you!!!!
Sunflowers - or more accurately....sunflower crops! I'd never thought of sunflower crops but as soon as I saw the fields of them it clicked and made sense. I was mesmerized by them to be honest, these beautiful and magnificent flowers standing so tall and proud facing the sun! I never actually got a picture.....something I regret but it was fascinating to see them. I like so many of you will have only thought of maybe a couple together growing not hundreds in one place. I couldn't stop looking at them every time we passed a crop, I found it so simple and so very beautiful.
On the way to Londorossi gate we had a puncture hardly surprising if you saw the potholes and deep ruts in the dirt roads. Our climb crew of porters, chef etc passed us in their van while they boys were changing the tyre. When we were back on the road we came upon our crew who had broken down big time in the middle of the road. After Mussa and co chatted with them we were off on route to the gate. They explained they needed to organise the crew and gear to be picked up and brought to the gate for weighing and would do so when we arrived there.
We went and sat in the shaded area with a packed lunch while the guys organised for another company to go get our crew.Firstly they were going to drop their own crew off at the gate to have everything weighed, while that was happening they would go collect our crew and bring them to the gate for the same weighing in process. They would take their own crew to the start point in the Lemosho glades and come back to collect our crew and take them to the start point.......well organised so far away from the town, it was just going to take some time to do that's all.
We were just chilling and chatting among ourselves and with Mussa, Chacha and Alphonce....the time passed quickly and then we were ready to be on our way. Chacha asked if we had our headtorches in our daypacks because we had a 3-4 hour climb ahead of us and it was after 15.00pm now. We checked and in most cases got out of our big packs ( we hadn't expected to need them today ) and we were off for an approx drive of 45 mins through a forest to the Lemosho glades and the true start of our epic climb of Mount.Kilimanjaro....we were completely buzzing, I again was shaking with excitement....it was here, and for all those doubters, I was here and I was about to embark on an experience most will never have in their lifetime. I was here and fit enough to be climbing, I had no matter what proved the doubters wrong! Should never underestimate me and my determination that's for sure.
We were out of the van, smiling at our crew who we would gt to know over the next few days and then we were off on the first days climb through the forest. We were climbing up to Mti Mkubwa camp and would be staying there overnight. Overall the climb wasn't too bad, we managed to do some chatting and laughing on route. There were a few steep climbs that had me completely breathless and I did think on one of them, oh boy this looks like it's gonna be really tough especially with the scarring on my lung!
Chacha had said before we even left Moshi the rules of Kilimanjaro are simple. In Swahili it's a saying Pole pole Kilimanjaro which translates into slowly slowly Kilimanjaro.....it is so true, you aren't going to succeed on the mountain any other way. He went in front to dictate the pace which was a lot steadier than we had been attempting at this height, it wasn't the altitude that was causing most of the problems but the heat. It was in the low 30's C and it was having an affect on us, especially me on this our first climb. Pole pole definitely worked. We made it to camp just as it was getting dark, so no torches needed. Chacha was happy with us, we'd done the first days climb in two hours instead of the 3/4 hours.
We were definitely happy bunnies and very happily signed in with the officials at the camp.Our names are forever in the records of climbers of Mount.Kilimanjaro - something I'm very proud to say!
We went to the tents of which there was a single and a two man. Ali got the single this night and Bec's & I shared. We put out our sleeping bags, made sure the tent was zipped up ( don't want any unwanted visitors from the forest!! ) and went to the mess tent for our first camp meal. We started with soup - cucumber soup made by our cook Job....it was bloody delicious! Enjoyed our meal, had a cup of Yorkshire tea ( of course I took some teabags with me!! ) and got Dom the Italian coffee drinker on them and Chacha our head guide..... one cup and I'd converted them to the nectar that is Yorkshire tea. My job was done for the day ha!!
An amazing first day walking in the forest and of course all the excitement of the puncture and breakdown before that. We happily chatted about our first day, the adventure and what was still to come. We knew day two was going to be around eight hours of climbing, so a big day ahead. We all called it a night around 20.00pm. We were getting a knock ( if that's possible on a tent ) at 06.30am....so it was time to try sleep with the sounds of the forest and everything that was buzzing in my head. I still hadn't stopped smiling at this time....well apart from my first visit to the toilet....an open at one end wooden structure with a hole in the ground. It wasn't the squatting that bothered me I've done that before in India....it was the rank smell, these things outside....leave a lot to be desired, but it was what it was!
Until next time
Tracy
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