Kilimanjaro: where boys become men

It was great to fly into Kilimanjaro, I was smiling to myself looking down at the hundreds of miles of shitty road we were flying over. On arrival in Moshi we went straight to a tour company that was recommended to us by the most ruthless bartering Czech known to man, so it must have been good! We didn't even have to negotiate price as the lovely Czech told us what he paid, too easy. So the day after we were standing at the base of Kilimanjaro ready to go. The tour company was Kessy Bros (I told the boss that i would tell you guys about it, and also give the lonely planet a heads up for next printing. I think that got us a few dollars off. he he!)


So there we were starring up at kili with no less than 10 support crew!! Yes 10 people for 3 hikers. 2 guides, 1 cook, 6 porters and wait for it, 1 waiter. It was just a little ridiculous, and we were doing the 'budget' trek!! The food was also just as ridiculous but very tasty. I am used to eating rice and the like when i go hiking, not on Kili though. We were eating potatoes, watermelon, chicken and any heavy food you can think of. I don't think the porters had a say in what the menu would be. It did take away from the adventure a little to have the tent set up and a coffee waiting for you after you finished the days walk, however it didn't make the climbing any easier.

We hiked up the Machame 'whiskey' route which usually takes 6 days. It is a bit more scenic than the others. The first 2 days walk were uneventful, just an easy walk up hill. We camped at 3000m and then 3700m the first two nights. The third day was our acclimatisation day. We were interested to see how we would handle the thin air.

The plan was to go from 3700 up to 4700 and then down to 3900 to camp. Pole pole (Swahili for slowly slowly) was the call of the day. We were going steadily when it started to snow. It didn't bother us too much however it got pretty heavy so the guide decided to descend back to camp. We made it to only 4500 but it was still good enough. That afternoon at camp was the most bored I have been, we had to stay in our tent all afternoon due to the snow!!

The acclimatisation day help for our ascend to our final camp at 4700. It was a clear day and we were excited about getting closer to the summit. We were all overflowing with confidence, joking with the guides along the way. It was also great to finally get a view instead of only looking at mist and cloud. We made it to camp without incident so we had a quick meal and then got a few hours sleep before the summit walk starting at 2400.

This was the coldest I have ever been. Funnily it was not that cold at midnight but come about 3am the wind picked up and everything froze. I could not feel my feet, hand or nose for a good 6 hours!! This was one of the hardest days of my life. The altitude hit us all hard! I think the guide was pushing us to make it for sunrise (and maybe being too cheeky the day before). The bloody hill just didn't seem to stop! I just kept looking at the guide's shoe and following one step at a time. Even that was tough!

Then the glacier appeared, it was a beautiful sight as I knew we were close to the top! I don't know what Mr Gore was on about this thing was bloody huge!! That was where I got my second wind. It was still cold and dark but the end was insight. It was very emotional when we got to the top, man hugs all round. We only spent a short time up there due to the cold but did manage to snap off a few photos. The guide couldn't have timed it better, we only had to wait for a few minutes to experience a sunrise from the highest peak in Africa!!

We all felt pretty horrible on the decent, all suffering from headaches and nausea. We all wanted to get off the mountain. Usually it is a two day decent but we managed to do it in one, the same day we reached the peak. It was a massive day, my knees didn't enjoy it! We made it down and had some celebratory beers and a good sleep.

This was the best thing we have done in Africa so far, it was a great achievement!! We had a well deserved rest day in Moshi (fighting with stupid computers doing these blogs). Now we go west to try and tag along with someone elses tour for the cater safari to save some cash.

Photo Link http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=27876&l=11c9b&id=722635930