Kilimanjaro

Kilimanjaro Climb

Click to see images from our charity climb up the worlds highest freestanding mountain

Text Box: Day 1 - We woke in the Ilboro Safari Lodge, Arusha in Tanzania, having flown into Kilimanjaro International Airport from Heathrow the previous day. It was warm and sunny and I felt good after a surprisingly comfortable nights sleep. My lower back pain was a little easier this morning. This had been a constant concern to me with Kilimanjaro in mind. Walking was not normally a problem, but I knew this trek was going to be hard going - a test for the strongest of backs. What was also concerning me this morning was that I seemed to have started a cold, with a troublesome cough. We loaded up our big ruc-sacks (for the porters) and day sacks onto the 4x4 and set out for a 4 hour journey to the park gates to register. It was a little dusty but not too hot or uncomfortable. We saw some black and white colubus monkeys in a forest section close to the gates and many people working in fields, farming potatoes, carrots, maize etc. It amazed me how many people we passed, walking along the road or on the land, especially in seemingly remote areas. Inside the Park Gate (to the National Park of Kilimanjaro) there was a rangers station, a few houses offering accommodation and 3 enormous signs giving us helpful information like, if you have a cold do not proceed further! The area was swarming with people - walkers, guides, rangers, porters and those waiting and hoping for a chance to become a porter. Bags all had to be weighed as there are strict rules about how much porters are allowed to carry. We registered, then drove for another 40 minutes down an ever-narrowing track with deep ruts and lots of mud (a test, even for a 4x4 Toyota Landcruiser) to reach a spot where a large group of porters were waiting for us. Our team consisted of our guide, Joseph, our assistant guide, Dickson, chef, Emile (nicknamed Odinga as he looked like the Prime Minister of Kenya) and 17 porters. While they were loading up we had lunch and watched with amusement while another 3 4x4s tried to get further up the trail through some very deep mud. We were then asked to put on our day packs and start walking pole pole (very slowly) - a term we were to hear frequently over the next few days. The rain forest was dense with unusual flora and long strands of lichen, often hanging from the trees. We immediately started to climb. There seemed to be two other groups climbing that afternoon, but we saw little of them until arriving at our overnight camp near to Big Tree (9200ft/2800m). Everyone seemed to be in good spirits at this point, although it took us a while to get used to the toilet tent, especially as it kept falling down! It had been warm and shady through the forest today. Now at 6.30pm the sun was going down and things were starting to feel chilly.

Map of Kilimanjaro National Park and the surrounding area in Northern Tanzania showing our route to the summit. Kilimanjaro has 3 craters - Shira, Kibo and Mawenzi. The highest point - Uhuru - is on Kibo and is at 19340 feet.

Notes - apart from us (Brian and Carrie), there were 2 others in our group. Ian, a friend who lives in a neighbouring village in the Peak District and has undergone similar chemotherapy and stem cell transplants in the past, and his partner, Becky. Inspired by the Red Nose celebrities who climbed to the top in 2009 for Comic Relief, we chose the same tour operator - Gane and Marshall and spoke directly with Jeremy Gane who is very experienced at climbing Kilimanjaro and could not have been more helpful. We also chose a similar route to the summit. Although not part of these diary notes, the package included a 4 day safari in 3 game reserves and 3 days R&R on Zanzibar island.