What next ????

Open to offers

Off to Florida for a couple of weeks and maybe meet up with Robert and Sergio while I'm there, looking for some company if anyone fancies a couple of weeks away in the sun. Then I'm looking at South America in September if not it will be Australia as the world is my oyster now xx

In a nut shell

What can I say it was an experience I will never forget and never want to do again. I met some great people who I hope in time will become great friends.

Life is too short to wish you had done this and that, grab it now as this is not a rehearsal.

Day 6 of the big climb

That was the best night's sleep we had all had for the whole trip. I woke to a swollen burnt face, could hardly open my eyes. My legs were like lead but felt OK once we had breakfast and was back on the road again. We were now on the "coke cola" route which was boring compared to the Rongai route we had taken up the mountain. It took 6hrs to get back to the gate where Juma was once again waiting for us with some warm water to wash and some lunch. Saw some blue monkeys on the way down and plenty of trekkers heading up the mountain to the summit. This was a busy route as its considered to be easy and the camps are better equipped than the other routes. Signed out of the park and headed for the bus that was going to take us all back to the hotel for a long hot shower and some clean clothes. This took about an hour but to be standing under that clean running water and looking at the dirt that came of my body was funny, I had never been that dirty in all my life and never want to be again.

Day 5 of the big climb

Left camp around 8am and it was very cold so we all wrapped up well. I had a good start to the trek but once we climbed up and out of the camp and could see the next camp (base camp) I knew it was going to be hard. It was like a desert and we had to walk straight across it to get to our final destination. The sun was now beating down on us and we had no shade and no large boulders to rest on. The only interesting thing was an light aircraft that had crashed and just been left there. The group started to spilt and I got left behind with Freddie and Bruce for company. I think it took me 5hrs to get into base camp and it was all too much for me and I broke down and had to go to bed to rest. The rest of the group had lunch and rested up in readiness of our big push at midnight. We had dinner at 5pm that day so we could rest as I think everyone was feeling the affects of the altitude we were at. We tried to sleep but couldn't and rose at 11.30pm for a cuppa and biscuit, it was very cold, Freddie and Bruce checked that we were all prepared for that night.
So we set off at midnight and with in an hour I was in trouble and couldn't cope with the pace of the group. I stayed behind with Freddie who I still don't know how he done it but he got me to Gilman's Point but I had had enough by now and asked him to take me back down but thankfully he wouldn't give up on me. I kept wondering what had happened to the rest of the group, had they all made the summit. After a little rest we moved on the Stella Point which was quite flat compared with the rest. At this point I saw Sally, Robert and Sergio which was very emotional for all of us and it gave me the strength to carry on while they headed back down. Started for the ultimate goal of this whole trip Uhuru Peak, this was all up hill but had amazing views of the glacier. It was freezing up there and the wind was a killer. I met with Silvia and she walked up to the peak with me but we were by now feeling very bad. We both prayed at the peak in between the tears as its very emotional to be there. We managed to find the strengh to carry on and get back to Gilman's where we could slide down the shingle back to camp. Was pleased to see that caroline and Luke had also made it to the top and only had a little way to go.

I fell into camp about 12.45pm to be greeted by Juma with a juice for me and some porters helped me to my tent. I was so exhausted I couldn't even eat and the thought of a 6hr hike to the next camp was too unbearable to think about. I sleep for about an hour when we had to pack up camp and hike to the next camp, I think my body was in stock as I was so numb by the time we got into camp. Juma got dinner ready for us and we all went to bed after we were given a beer by Bruce. What a birthday, I had walked for 19 hours and summited Mount Kilimanjaro.

Day 4 of the big climb

It was cold this morning so we all put on more clothes on until the sun warmed us up. It was a hard climb today with little rest on the flat it was all uphill. Sergio's leg started to give him trouble and my spirits were dropping with every step as to if I would make the summit. By the time we reached camp I was very tired and didn't go on the afternoon walk as I needed to rest. The rest of the group seem to be doing fine, put it down to old age and my pending birthday!!!!!

The camp was around a small lake, which doubled as our water supply and it was at this point that my tummy started playing up. We had a little bit of rain that evening and again it was very cold in the tents. From the afternoon walk the group could see our next camp and said it was along way off in the distance.

Day 3 of the big climb

Another cold start to the day with the normal serving of porridge, eggs and toast. We set off at 09.30 and the route was a lot cooler as we were climbing higher to reach our ultimate goal. This route gave us some great views of Africa as we climbed above the clouds. Arrived at the camp for lunch and then set off for our afternoon walk at 3pm. Freddie gave some of us nick names, I got Mama, Silvia got Muffin and Robert was named Simba. The night was again cold and the tent was on a slope so keep sliding down in the bag all night, still none of us have had a good nights rest since leaving the hotel. We are all starting to look dirty now as we have had no water to wash in for 4 days, thank god for wet wipes.

Day 2 of the big climb

Woke at 06.20 to find ice in tent and we all agreed it was a cold night and we all had had very little sleep. Juma brought us a nice bowl of warm water so we could freshen up. A massive bowl of porridge was served in our dining tent but it was disgusting so I stuck with the eggs, toast and sausages. We started the days hike at 08.30 and it was very hot even then and I burnt my neck and hands. was very tired by the time we got to next camp, think I had a bit of heat exhaustion that day. We rested and then went for a walk for a couple of hours to see if anyone suffered from altitude sickness. We were all fine.

Day 1 of the big climb

All 5 of us in our group were ready to leave by 8.30 but we left hotel at 9.00am (sign of things to come with time keeping) We stopped loads of times for all different things so the ride took 6hrs, we finally arrived at the Rongai Gate at 15.45 to start our first day of hiking. We arrived at the first camp 2hrs later, dinner was ready for us and served by our faithful Juma, who took care of us so well from making us all breakfast, lunch, dinner and fresh bowl of water for washing when available. The walk was mainly in the forest so we had lots of shade but it was still very hot. Got the hang of poles and we all finished the day feeling good. Night was very cold with ice on the inside of the tent but we all woke ready for another hot day of walking.

Arrival in Moshi

Having been in Kenya before I was not shocked by the standards which these local people in Tanzania live but I still find it sad for the children. We hiked a ride into town and walked around for a bit where we were adopted by a local guy trying to sell us stuff from his shop. Brought a couple of tee-shirts and decided to walk back to hotel by the dirt road and railway tracks. Very hot and dusty day.