We had booked our first night at a hotel called the Keys. We slept in and had a little trip downtown trying to move some pictures from our cameras to a hard drive etc but no luck with that so had to buy more memory cards. I also had to send a kaz visa application through a DHL office which turned out wasn't very easy. Finally made it though and it turned out it got there on time. We took the worst looking taxi in town back to our hotel and moved all our stuff to Springland hotel - where our big adventure should begin.
The rest of the day we spent relaxing by the pool and packing. In the evening we had a meeting with our group (4 Irish and 1 English) and met our guide, Benjamin, and our assistant guide, Athmani. 3 very excited girls, wondering what on earth we had gotten ourselves into...
Sunday 15.8 was a big day. We checked out of the hotel and got into our bus. Looked like it was total chaos with lots of people and bags everywhere. Our bags and ourselves got on the right bus however and off we went. We took off around 9.30, about 1 hour after schedule. We were told we were starting our walk around 3 pm and the drive was supposted to take 2-3 hrs so it didn't really add up. We soon understood why since we made what felt like a hundred stops a long the way.
Packing the buses
-------------------------------
After a bumpy bus ride, we made it to Rongai gate (1950m) where our hiking was going to start. After some more waiting we were ready to go:
Our porters practically ran past us with lots of luggage. They usually carried their own things on their backs and our bags and tents and other things on their heads... We just had a day pack with water, snacks, extra clothes etc. It was an incredible service minded group and they always had a smile on their faces, saying "Jambo, Mambo, Poa" (Swahili greeting) as they walked passed us.
Athmani and a porter
-------------------------------
Every morning they woke us up with our choice of coffee or tea and gave us "hot water for wash". There was always good food, hot lunch and dinner and really good pancakes and their version of oat meal porridge for breakfast. A lot more than we would have expected camping on a mountain! We packed our bags and got ready for breakfast usually around 7.
Hot water for wash
-------------------------------
The first day we walked for about 3 hours through a pine forest before we arrived at Simba Camp (2600m). I was already tired in my thighs and had a sore neck and shoulders. I started thinking I would never make it to the top but I decided to try walking with lighter shoes and without walking poles the second day and see if that could help.
Simba Camp
Third cave
Benjamin had been guiding norwegians before and had some really nice clothes, like this "sykle til jobben"(bike to work) hat and this vest from a norwegian olympic team (he didn´t remember their names though)
Our assistant guide, Athmani, usually led the way
-------------------------------
Already on day 2 most of us started to feel the altitude with headaches and shortness of breath. One guy even had a panic attack for not being able to breathe. We had discussed taking altitude sickness pills and all three of us decided to take them. This resulted in pins and needles in our feet, hands and faces from time to time. Very strange feeling but something to take our minds off the walking and the pains. It also drains the liquid from where it shouldn´t be, like the lungs.
3 girls taking a well deserved break
-------------------------------
The third day was my best one actually. I was really happy that it seemed like I had grown some muscles over the last couple of days and I started the day without a headache - life was good :) It got worse during the day, but not really bad at all. Anne had her pulse watch on and one of these days it showed that she´d burnt 1800 calories just before lunch. Wow, we´re good! I was starting to think that I might make it after all.
The whole group
4th day - getting closer
-------------------------------
Day 4 was a bit different. A steeper and longer walk up to Kibo Camp (4700m). More or less constant headache now and shortness of breath for the smallest things like laying on my side (have to sleep on my back), getting in and out of the tent, putting on shoes and gators (gamasjer), walking to the restrooms etc. We made it to camp in the early afternoon, rested and packed our day packs for the final climb before dinner.
Everyone made it to Kibo camp. Still a long way up and only one night to do it...
-------------------------------
Our guide had a briefing with us and told us he was confident that we would all make it to the top. I guess he had to be. He said "trust yourself", "take it easy" and "walk slowly for long distance". We were all a bit worried at this point I think and started talking about why we were actually doing this at all. No one knew... Went to bed around 18:00. I didn´t sleep well and hardly at all the previous night. It´s normal they say in such high altitudes.
Beautiful view over Mawenzi peak from Kibo camp
-------------------------------
We started our summit climb at 00:15 and had put almost all our warm clothes on. Key word: layers. I had even put my camel back on my stomach to prevent it from freezing. It was cold, but not too bad in the beginning. One of the guys had decided the night before that he wouldn´t join so the seven of us started on the 1200 m climb together with 2 guides and 2 porters. 1st goal was Gilman´s point (5681m).
We walked really slowly up what I would describe as an extremely steep mountainside covered with loose gravel. Difficult to walk in, in addition to the extreme elevation (I needed to get extra insurance for extreme altitudes). I think my headache started at around 5000 m and got gradually worse. By the time we reached 5500m I had also started to feel some nausea. In addition to this, there were some sections along the way where my fright for heights kicked in I had to shed some tears. This might have been a good thing in a way, because it got me thinking about something else for a while although it was not particularly fun then.
Most of us struggled with something but our lovely guides were just wonderful and saved the day! They took our backpacks and came running to give us water when we had a short break. It got really really cold during the night (around -15 degr) and we couldn´t take long breaks. This unfortunately didn´t leave much time for food so I got really hungry and would probably had benefited from a bit more energy intake.
We reached Gilman´s point at around 6:00 and waited there for a bit to catch the sunrise. It was so nice to feel the little bit of heat from the sun (even though it was probably just a psychological factor at this point). One guy in our group struggled so much with his breathing that he almost didn´t make it but did eventually and after some convincing by the guides kept going further. We continued along the crater rim towards the highest point, Uhuru peak. By this time, I felt so awful that I could hardly move without having to throw up. I therefore walked very very slowly. It took about 2 hours to walk the 1,6 km to the top...
All 7 of us made it! I can´t believe I made it!!! It´s such a huge thing and it still feels a bit unreal. We took our pictures and were rushed back down. The walk down was also very tough. The nausea gave in after a while but the headache didn´t. Now, in the light, we saw what we had actually achieved. Amazing! Had a quick one hour rest at our camp before we again had to pack everything and walk for another 3 hours down to 3700m (Horombo Hut). We finally got some dinner we were too tired to eat and went to bed, extremely exhausted.
Me, on top of the world (or at least at 5895m)
The Sporty Spice girls
One of the four glaciers on the top
Looking down in the crater. Another camp down here for the really hard core people
Along the crater rim where we walked
Horombo Hut
All our wonderful helpers - wouldn´t have made it without you!
-------------------------------
I slept really well that night but unfortunately we still had some walking to do so was up at 6.30 and walked and walked and walked and walked for about 6 hours. My legs were so so sore and my poor thighs have taken a beating. The bus ride back to the hotel was nice, but the shower and the Kilimanjaro beer... Unbelievable!! It took many showers to get clean after walking for a week in dust and wind (probably the most needed shower I´ve ever had). We got our diplomas and were told it was the coldest month of the year. The victory felt extra nice then :)
Very very tasty beer!
The Rongai route we had chosen is one of the least visited routes. It starts off at Rongai gate which is close to the Kenyan border. I read after we got back that someone had said it´s the most "dangerous and barren of all the routes, should anybody do it at all?". I can´t understand that it could be any more dangerous than the other routes though. The Coca Cola route is the most visited and we took this on the way down. I´m glad we chose the Rongai route though - less people and no one coming down. I don´t think I would like to see that struggeling to get up. And I most definately would not like to have seen the person on the stretcher we met on the way down. The sleeping bag covered him up completely. Dead? They were trying to convince us otherwise, but I´m not so sure...
Benjamin and Athmani had said they would take us out clubbing the following weekend. We figured this would be a great end to our stay in Tanzania and a great way to celebrate. Unfortunately, they were told as soon as they got back that they had to guide a new group the next day! I don´t know how they do this all the time, it really is amazing.
After a couple of days of healing by the pool, we decided we couldn´t just relax so we hit the town on our own - really not knowing what to expect. Went to eat at an italian/indian restaurant first and met a couple of british kidz. After that we tested another place for a drink. We met a strange group including a really gangsta looking guy with lots of bling who presented himself as Big Time (LOL!!). We got a ride with them (in Big Time´s pimp mobile) to the goal for the night, La Liga nightclub. We danced to all kinds of strange songs (including Ace of Base!), watched the miss Tanzania show which was held there that night, drank and had fun. What a great and surreal night!
Monday we left Tanzania. We had so much fun and everything was so much more than expected! It´s really been the perfect vacation with personal achievements, beautiful nature, wild animals seen up close, joy, laughter, crying, being scared, proud, new friends and absolutely lovely local people. As we were flying home, we got a pretty rare view of "our" mountain:
Asante sana Tanzania!! I´d love to come back someday :)
