I just got back from Tanzania 2 weeks ago and climbed Kilimanjaro, went on Safari, and relaxed on a beach in Zanzibar. It was the most intense trip I've ever done and there was hardly a minute I wasn't either cold & wet, hot & dusty, or hot & sweaty. But oh was it was glorious - I was literally in tears (of both pain and joy) for parts of the trip and people that know me would say I'm a pretty detached and aloof person in general. The country's landscape and wildlife is absolutely beautiful and only surpassed by the warmth of it's people.
Part 1. Kilimanjaro
I opted for the 6 day Macheme route (4.5 days up and 1.5 days down). Not the shortest or easiest route but definitely much harder than I expected. The hike and terrain itself was not bad but the weather conditions were
horrific. It was October and out of the rainy season but we had basically every day washed out in torrential rains which soaked us to the core. The guides themselves told us they'd never seen such weather for this time of year and they were right. It was a huge challenge to stay dry. Clothes that got wet on day 1 were still wet on day 6. As such I barely took any photos the first two days, mostly because it was a complete wash out:
Sign at the Start listing the distances to each camp (cumulative) that we we pass through
Sunrise at camp on day 2 - morning gave us hope that the bad weather would be behind us but it started raining practically every Afternoon henceforth
The hike itself was pretty non-descript and posed little challenge for experienced hikers. Here's a one of our first glimpses of the peak unfettered by clouds
These are some of the guys got me up to the top. Without their constant support and positive attitude it would have been a dour march indeed. Rasta man on the right had some sick 90's hip-hop tunes kept my spirits up.
Porters were a godsend as well. And god-like in their physical endurance. Here they are at the Barranco Wall, the most "technical" part of the climb
And this is us on the Wall. As per usual, it's not as freaky IRL as the picture makes it out to be since you're concentrating on the step in front of you rather than how high you are.
The higher we got the more desolate the scenery became, but the peak was always imposing and ever-present
My tent at base camp. Green tent is the toilet tent. What a view. This was our last stop before our summit attempt starting at midnight that night. Basically we hiked all day and then had rest from 5pm-11pm when we would then wake up for the night hike to the top. This is what broke so many of us in my group. It started to snow that night and it didn't stop for basically 12 hours.
This picture was taken by one of the guides once daylight broke on our overnight hike. Due to blizzard conditions we had obviously missed our goal of a sunrise summit, but this photo perfectly illustrates the conditions that night/morning. That's me on the right in brown, jacket frozen solid in places. Yes, those are plastic baggies around our gloves to keep out the wet.
The Top. Forget all the pics you've seen of the crater and blue skies across the savannah. All we saw was a complete white-out with fine hail pelting us like a sandblaster to the face. Including me, only 5 out of 12 of the group made it to this sign which as you can read represented the very top of Africa. Most of us actually would have made it, but our head guide made a judgement call and turned the slower half of the group around.
In all it was not an experience I would care to do again although I am glad I did it. After 2 weeks back at home and a month after the climb I'm still recovering physically from minor nerve damage to my toes from the absolute beast of the descent. So much of it was enduring being constantly wet and having to improvise ways to stay dry and warm. Nothing, I learned, is ever 100% waterproof. The guides had to basically carry some of us down due to the snowy trail on the descent. Oh, did I also mention that I got diarrhea on day two? I was well acquainted with the green tent for one long night. Good times, good times.
Next up for another day....Safari!