Back to the main land... Pangani

My next stop was back on the mainland of Mozambique in a little village called Pangani. Between Metamo and Pangani we passed many pretty islands, all surrounded by the beautifully clear turquoise sea that we had been fortunate enough to be surrounded by for the past few days. But as we neared Pangani things began to change. The sea became murkier and murkier and by the time we arrived at Pangani we had to jump out of the boat into brown water full and rubbish and all sorts of bits of dead fish. Above is one of the islands we passed, and below is a picture of all the other guys getting off our boat in Pangani (yes they did immediately strip down to their underpants to brave the water).

Pangani was described in the Lonely Planet as 'the edge of paradise'. Fair enough it was pretty much on the edge of what to some could easily be considered as paradise, but to actually be called 'the edge of paradise' was perhaps pushing it a little far. We decided that really it should have been called the rear end of paradise. This was the second mistake in one day that we had discovered the Lonely Planet authors had made. The first one was that of the 'coconut crabs'. These apparently lived on one of the islands we sailed past, were impressively huge, climbed up coconut trees, shook them until a coconut fell off and then went down to the ground to eat it. On passing the small island however, we discovered that there wasn't a singly coconut tree there and our captain informed us that there were no such crabs!

Although we missed out on seeing any crabs climbing coconut trees, we were treated to witnessing a small boy very skillfully climb to the top of a tall coconut tree to get a coconut where we were staying.

Pangani wasn't all bad. Where we stayed the beach and water were nicer than where we got off the boat, and there was a market with an almost overwhelming amount of different things for sale. There was also a lot of drying fish!

Not a place we particularly wanted to stay very long in, we found out from the guy at our campsite that the one and only bus out of there each day left at 5am. So after a day relaxing, we couldn't face such an early start after the long journey the day before, we got up in plenty of time in the morning to be greeted by the camp site guy who angrily told us that the bus was there 'now'. We went along at 5.00 anyway as that was the time we could be ready by, seeing as that was the time we were expecting to have to get the bus. No bus was anywhere to be seen and we were informed by all the villagers that the bus always left at 4.30 and that we had missed it. There followed a very heated discussion in Portuguese with the guy at the campsite about why he'd told us to be there at 5am when everyone else was aware that the bus left half an hour earlier. His shouted responses were that he had told us when we'd got up in the morning that the bus was there, and that he was up and ready (although he wasn't planning on getting the bus himself and nor was he needed or planning to come with us to where the bus left from). Almost in complete despair about the prospect of having to stay an extra night in the rear end of paradise, we were saved by a very kind south african couple who were leaving that day in their jeep. Their jeep was full of belongings but they let me sit in the front with them whilst the others sat on the roof and we left Pangani along the only road, which was a little sand track.

Metamo Island

After a lucky escape from being bitten to death by the many mosquitoes that entered my tent when I unknowingly opened the door in my sleep (I think I must have been too hot!), we set off to Metamo Island. We’d arranged for the captain of a dhow to drop us off at Metamo on his way to taking his other passengers to the mainland. We managed to get a good spot on the back of the boat with a nice amount of room, although someone’s feet were still a little too close for my liking. There was the usual procedure which seemingly needs to take place before setting off on any boat trip - waiting around for no apparent reason long after we were due to have set sail, then having some sort of problem with the motor, the sail or the anchor, then eventually setting off for a short distance before turning back to pick up someone else who arrived about three hours late, and then finally setting off for real. It’s always an adventure travelling here, full of the unknown and the unexpected. This could potentially be a little frustrating, especially if you like things to run on time. But for someone like me who’s quite used to running late, once you begin to expect the unknown then it’s a very entertaining and relaxing way of life.

A few of the unexpected things on this boat trip:

• a very manly looking man wearing a fluffy pink baby’s hat
• turning around to see the captain’s assistant’s bare bum right in my face, as he was bending over to sort something to do with the sail (he was just wearing a tee shirt and his underpants, which were very more full of holes than material)
• stopping quite a way off from the shore to transfer a large fridge and it’s owner from our boat to another one – this took all of the men on board to achieve and looked a very awkward and risky process, especially for the fridge
• there being a very fishy plastic sheet available to cover our bags when the waves started to splash into the boat

Nearing Metamo, we past perfectly white sand islands and the sea became such a beautiful colour and was so clear that you could easily see down to the ocean floor which must have been quite a few metres below. At Metamo we had to jump from the boat into the shallow sea and then walk up onto the most perfect and completely empty beach, with bright white sand surrounded by stunningly turquoise sea, and palm trees lining it’s edge. Immediately we were so very glad we’d managed to come. There aren’t any towns on this part of the island, just a few pretty little villages. There is one very expensive and posh lodge which apparently is quite popular and then one campsite which is where we stayed. With some good bargaining by my friends, we were aloud to stay in the otherwise empty little bungalows next to the beach for the same price as if we’d stayed in our tents. That evening we watched such a beautiful sunset and then saw a sky full of stars. There was no electricity in the village and so no lights to pollute to sky. As we returned to our bungalows with the light of our torches we discovered they weren’t empty after all. It turned out that the porches were a favourite hang out for pretty little hermit crabs.

My main reason to come to Metamo apart from to see another island in the Quirimbas Archipelago was to do some diving. I’d heard it was very beautiful, and as not many people come here the coral was supposed to be almost completely undamaged. It was better than anything I’d imagined! There was so much coral that most of the time you couldn’t see the bottom because of it. I saw some that looked like a cactus, some like mini holly bushes, and so many other different types all amazing shades of pinks, purples and reds. Along with such wonderful coral were thousands and thousands of fish. The area was protected and so not fished and there were endless shoals of multi coloured fish, beautiful little sea slugs (nudibranchs), lobsters, huge puffer fish and all sorts of different coloured and patterned starfish. I was the only person diving (with a dive guide) and although I only paid for two dives I got a mini one for free – we were following the directions of a GPS to find one of the reefs and when it said we were there we jumped in a began to descend. My dive guide had said that if we couldn’t see the reef when we went down then we’d just need to swim along for a bit and it should appear. So we went down and down and swam around but all we could see was nothing, just endless dark, empty water. In the end we decided to come back up as the reef definitely was not anywhere near. Back on the boat we did eventually manage to find it. Not sure what the GPs was up to!

The only dive company on the island was at the posh lodge. My guide was really nice and said that I was welcome to make use of their facilities. Not one to pass up free stuff I quickly enquired as to whether my two friends could make use of them too, and also established what exactly we could make use of. By the end of the day I returned to our camp with free sandwiches and bottled water and news that we could all go and use the lodge’s pool, beach, restaurant and snorkelling gear!

So the next day this is exactly what we did. In the morning we went to the beach and snorkelled above the rocks, and then we returned to lie by the pool in the afternoon. The food in the restaurant was rather expensive so we skipped lunch and instead had the most delicious cocktails I’ve perhaps ever tasted. Then as we began to get really hungry we made use of the outside shower (our camp only has buckets of cold water to wash with), and then headed to back our home.

We took some walks into the villages where most of the time it was strangely quiet. People must have been about but they made no noise. In the day time you’d bump into a few people but in the evenings when it was dark, the only sign that there were people in their homes were the little fires burning which were used to cook dinner on. The exception to this quietness was the children. If any child saw you they immediately began to chant ‘mzungu mzungu mzungu…’ whilst clapping their hands and marching towards you. They’d then run back to wherever they’d come from screaming ‘mzungu’ to get reinforcements from more children and eventually you would be followed by any numbing of excited children all chanting and clapping and marching and getting themselves into quite a frenzy.

A hike to Ilha de Quirimba

Just south of Ibo and a couple of hours hike away at low tide is Quirimba Island. We decided to go here for a day trip, hiking there in the morning when the tide was out and returning by dhow in the evening when the tide had come back in and walking would be impossible. We hired a guide who led us through mangroves which we would most likely have been lost in forever without him. Part of the time we just had to negotiate the mangrove roots in water, but a lot of the time we found ourselves squelching and sliding through shin high mud. This proved to be very amusing and somehow none of us fell down or got eaten by hiding beasts.

Before we reached the biggest mangroves we past an area full of small crabs with one big clawed arm. They scuttled away as we passed, apparently not really up for attacking our feet.

When we eventually made it out of the mangroves we found ourselves presented with the hugest stretch of white sand that had been left uncovered by the withdrawing tide. At high tide none of the sand would have been visible but at the time we were crossing it, the sand was visible almost as far as you could see with the ocean so far away in the distance. The difference between high and low tide was immense.

It was hard to know at which point it would have been considered that we had moved from Ibo onto Quirimba. Perhaps when we left the mangroves, or half way across the sand, or perhaps at the edge of the beach on the far side. Who knows?!

Anyway, as we crossed the sand we also had to cross rivers the sea had left,which came up to higher than our waists. This provided another opportunity to practice the African style of carrying things, as we put our bags on our heads to keep them dry.

When we finally reached what was most definitely Quirimba, we made our way down the quiet sandy main street of that section of the island. Here a few people were sitting in the shade of their doorways, some with a little selection of things to buy.

I'm not really a big fan of hats but here at times I've had to use my one and only sun hat. Apart from being at least 5 years old, it was originally a cream colour but after accompanying me on this whole dusty trip is now absolutely filthy. Despite this I got quite a few requests from people we passed to let them take it off my hands. One lady also asked for my top but even if I wasn't in an area where a lot of people were Muslim and everyone dresses very conservatively, I'm pretty certain I wouldn't have agreed to take it off and then walk around topless for the rest of the day. Both the hat and the top remain in my possession.

An afternoon of exploring, swimming and eating was very much enjoyed. We found an old church where the walls were all crumbling and the few tiles that were left on the almost completely collapsed roof looked so precariously balanced that they could fall on an unsuspecting person at any time (we didn't linger in there too long). We found lots of children who either had extremely imaginatively made wire toys or detailed and life like miniature cars they'd made themselves out of the sand. If somehow I'd managed to make anything like that I would have been so proud I'd have wanted to keep it forever. They however played with them smashing them up as they collided them into one another, clearly in the knowledge that they could easily repeat this extremely skilled construction at any time they wanted.

Our journey back to Ibo was somewhat interesting. When we set off the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and so we kept having to change sides in the boat as the sail was also moved from side to side. Each time this happened the boat would tip right up which I did find somewhat terrifying. Not too long after we left the sun set, and we sailed in the darkness under a sky so completely full of stars there seemed almost no space left for just sky. Our captain sailed us in the moonlight across the area of sea where we'd walked in the morning, and then through narrow channels in the mangroves. All of us, including our guide, were expecting to be dropped at Ibo where we could just quickly walk onto dry land. For some reason, whether this be to do with the tide being too low or just the captain wanting to get back to Quirimba, we were dropped in the middle of the mangroves with what we eventually discovered was a full hours walk to the dry land on Ibo. Trying to walk through the mud and water between the mangroves at low tide was one thing, and not all that easy at that, but doing the same at high tide and in the dark was quite another. Unable to see where we were going or spot all the stones and roots in the mud and high water beneath out feet, the journey was a slow and often painful one. We kept ourselves in high spirits though, discussing the anacondas and crocodiles we imagined were waiting for us and did eventually make it to shore with just a few minor injuries and many laughs to accompany them.

No Crapping in the fish's Mouth (and Ibo Island)

After a journey of pick up trucks, tin boats, dhows and the successful avoidance of getting stranded on slightly submerged sand islands, we arrived at Ibo Island. It was low tide so we were dropped far from the shore and had to make our own way across the sand/mud and shallow water - another hot mission with big bags on our backs!


Here was another beautiful island full of old Portuguese buildings falling to ruins with plants and trees claiming back their home, growing in and around the crumbling stone. There were also no end of flowering prickly pear plants, a crumbling graveyard still in current use, seemingly random yet popular and regular clothes auctions by the market (which had a small number of people selling bread/cake things or a few tomatoes on the floor in an open square), and a white star shaped fort. Oh, and there was a botanical garden, but it was more just a open space with a few trees in it than what you might imagine a botanical garden to be like. You could have a look around the fort, which we did, but there wasn't any information about it's history there at all. In almost all of the little rooms inside were people selling craft type things they had made. A lot of the people designed and made really pretty jewelry out of silver which we were told came either from South Africa or India. Walking around the roof of the fort were views out to sea and at the particular moment we were there, there was a view of someone doing exactly what the sign above was instructing them not to do - crapping in the fish's mouth!

A very elderly and knowledgeable man lived near the fort. He couldn't speak English but my traveling companions spoke amazing Portuguese and so we were able to learn that years ago the fort was used as a prison where many people were killed. Their bodies were dumped in a mass grave and this went on until the people of the island began to complain about the smell. Then all the bodies were moved to Metemo Island - an island a little further north - which we also hoped to visit.

Whilst exploring Ibo we found two other very little forts. One was locked but the other we were able to let ourselves into and then extremely carefully look around. The carefulness was necessary as it turned out that people don't only use the fish's mouth when they need to go. Avoidance was successful and I even found a conveniently placed ladder and was able to get up onto the roof. It is so hot here though, that we'd been dashing from one patch of shade to another as we walked around the island, to try and avoid the sun and so my stay on the roof was only very brief.

Another past time whilst on Ibo was checking out the posh lodges there. We had cocktails and smoked shisha in one place which was situated behind the two hugest Mango trees (in the last picture here the two trees on the right hand side are the mango ones and the lodge is behind them, although you can't really see it). Here there were dorms which you might not expect in an upmarket place, but looking through the window we saw that the beds in these dorms were wooden double bunk beds and each bed had it's own table a bedside lamp and looked very cool indeed. Equally cool were the swings the size of beds out in the gardens!

Pemba

My next stop on the Mozambican coast was a place called Pemba. On my journey here I discovered there is a huge difference between the amount of unwanted hassle you get from men, when you're traveling alone and when traveling with friends in this part of Mozambique. So when I arrived at a campsite in Pemba, I was especially pleased to find that a couple of friends I'd made in Malawi were also there and planned to head the same way as me.

The place where we stayed had a swimming pool and even a TV, which is quite a rarity amongst the places I've been staying and so it felt quite luxurious even though I was camping. Although not as beautiful as the other beaches I'd come from, Pemba did have a huge beach and also the most amazing skys. Another addition was that of hermit crabs who were particularly cool to watch as they scuttled across the sand.

We spent time relaxing on the beach where people trying to sell biscuits, chocolates and crisps passed by, along with guys trying to sell beautiful cray fish. One day we were there was 'Teachers Day'. We couldn't quite gather what it was about but it seemed to mean that all the teachers came to the beach to drink and party and so all the children also came to the beach to play. The children are so imaginative with making toys and although I've never seen the type of football people use at home here, there are always children playing with footballs they've made themselves. In the photo above there is a particularly good example (I'm not at all sure how or why the one boy has a sand beard and overgrown mustache). When they weren't playing football, some of the children made a raised step in the sand and would run up to it, jumping of and doing somersaults and back-flips extremely skillfully.

I spent a morning doing some diving where there where really pretty corals and loads of different fish. There was also the most beautifully patterned turtle at the end of the dive, and on our way back we found a small ship wreck to explore.
Whilst we were in Pemba a few other people we'd met previously arrived and we decided to try and head north together. We all wanted to visit the reportedly stunning Quirimbas Archipelago and so thought we could perhaps hire a dhow to take us to the first in the long string of islands. This turned out to be ridiculously expensive though, and so we set off by bus to where we could get a taxi boat further north.

A trip to an Island and a discovery that fish tastes good!

From Ilha de Mozambique we took a day trip on a dhow across to a tiny island called Goa which was once a stop off on the trading route between Goa in India and the African coast. It only took about ten minutes to walk from one end of the island to the other and we climbed to the top of a lighthouse from where you could see the whole island covered in cacti and surrounded by such pretty white sands, turquoise seas.

We then continued on our day trip to a beautiful beach on the mainland, buying colourful fish just caught by the fishermen as we past them in the sea.

I've not eaten fish since before I can remember and I don't intend to eat it again, but I decided that here was a place that I should try it. Although I had to try and put the thought that of what I was eating out of my mind, it did taste really good. I had the tentacle of a squid and a very small mouthful of the three different types of fish. All were cooked just with garlic and lemon for seasoning and the fish were cooked on sticks over a fire, whilst the squid was cooked in a frying pan.

The beach on the mainland had hundreds of little crabs all running in and out of the sea and all facing the same direction. There was a lagoon where we found lion fish and lots of black, yellow and white stripey fish, and then on the way back to Ihla de Mozambique we had views of the walls of the fort which glowed as the sun began to set. It was an extremely relaxing day!

Ilha de Mozambique

Getting to Ilha de Mozambique was a particularly uncomfortable but very worthwhile journey, which involved repeatedly sliding off the tiniest amount of seat I had, onto the floor and peoples feet, where there was no room to move out of the fetal position I found myself in, and no way to get back up onto the seat unless someone pulled me up, and where I was more often than not incredibly close to a number of different men's crotches.

The journey was worthwhile though because Ilha de Mozambique was a particularly good place to visit. It was beautiful, interesting, different, and full of people selling all sorts of edible goodies.
There was a very strange mix of cultures with Portuguese buildings, people and cuisine along with those of what I'd consider to be more traditionally from this part of the world. Faded and tatty pastel coloured buildings met thatched roofed homes. There was a fort and an old island prison, beaches full of fishermen and a regional hospital. This was particularly intriguing as it looked like it was about to fall down and wouldn't even make a safe home let alone a hospital. But when exploring we found a way through the middle where patients waited to be seen by the nurses and it was evident it was indeed still in full use. Right next to the big and once grand building was a contrasting church - new, clean, and in perfect condition.

I spent my mornings here waking up early and wandering around the island trying all the different foods on offer. There were no end of different breads and cakes. Some were savory and either plain or sometimes with vegetables and chili sauce in them. Others were sweet of which the best sort included coconut to a certain extent. The star cakes above were probably the softest cakes I've ever eaten. Not really sure what was in them though.

One morning I found ladies with a pan of what we were told were cooked mangoes, and were in a very red sauce. Still to this day I've no idea what made the sauce red but they tasted amazing, almost like apricots. I thought I would be getting one piece for the money I handed over, but the lady got out a bowl and placed one, then another and another and another until I had 12 - what a bargain! As we ate a big crowd of both adults and children gathered to watch. I also got to try a sort of porridge that is fed to the children there. We think it was only made of maize flour and water but it had coconut and probably some sort of spice in it and was so tasty. For meals I was made up delicious vegetarian feasts. When I asked for rice it was always coconut rice and everything was so so good. I cannot complain at the Mozambican foods!

A Mozambican Train Journey

I successfully made my way across the Malawian border and into Mozambique, a beautiful land where I didn't really know any of the language - Portuguese - but where my name is on billions of milk cartons and in Portuguese means Honey.

With my time to return home drawing closer, and being a long way away from where my plane would leave, I decided to just briefly travel up the northern Mozambican coast. This meant getting across to the other side of the country, which I did by using another train.

I handily met some other travelers who could speak Spanish just before getting a ticket and so after stocking up on delicious pastries and cakes (!!!) from one of the many bakeries, we set off together in our own carriage.

Being with people who had the ability to speak a language at least a little similar to what is spoken by lots of the people living in Mozambique was very usefully as pretty much no one speaks English there, and if they do then it's only a few words.

The journey was very beautiful passing huge granite rocks and lots of little villages with thatched roofed houses, and also having the now more familiar opportunity to buy all sorts of food from pots on people's heads out of the train windows at each stop.

Safari

After a couple of days recovering from our climb we set out to safari things up with our not so brilliant guide Richard, a couple from Denmark and two Polish guys. We first went to a place called Lake Manyara which wasn't overly exciting as the lake was quite dry and there weren't a huge amount of animals. We did however brake down just after seeing some elephants so that was a bit of excitement. We camped really high up with beautiful views down across the lake and the sun was rising as we opened our tent in the morning so it was a good start to the day.

We then headed on into the Serengeti. At first it seemed like we'd not see much at all. For as far as you could see the flat and empty looking Serengeti stretched on and on. However, things did change. We came across three lions relaxing in the shade of a tree and some rocks. Then a bit further on we found a group of 17 lions including some cubs who were all lying around a kill, either eating it, or waiting their turn. We parked right next to them to watch as they munched. Being able to look into their eyes was very surreal. It felt kind of like they weren't really wild but we were assured that had we stepped out of our jeep, we wouldn't have ever stepped back in again. A little further on, just before sun set, we spotted a leopard sleeping far away in a tree. Then Richard was told something over his radio and he informed us we would be about to see a cheetah. Sure enough we saw him running through the long grass. He jumped up to rest briefly on a rock and then carried on his way. It wasn't a bad days animal spotting at all!



The next day Naomi and I had to get up at ridiculous o clock as we'd arranged to go in a hot air balloon over the Serengeti. We got to the balloon sight and watched as the balloons (there were three of them) were inflated with huge fans. The baskets were on their sides so along with the other 14 people sharing our balloon we climbed inside in lying/sitting down position. Then hot air was blasted into the balloon and we started to fly. We couldn't see take off though, as from our lying down positions we couldn't see over the basket. Once in the air and the right way up we could stand up and saw the ground getting further and further away and the sun rising in the distance.


Below us the balloon jeeps followed so they could pick us up when we landed. We saw some lions stopping by a river to drink, absolutely loads of hippos in the water, buffalos, a hyena and giraffes. At first we went really high but then came down lower. We had to stop before we reached some hills as there was nowhere to land the other side of them. If we went higher the wind would take us faster but if we went lower we'd go more to the left so our pilot had to get a good balance to go where we wanted to go and to be able to see what we wanted to see.



Our landing was very smooth and the basket stayed upright, but despite this one lady fell back in when she tried to get out and I turned to see her arms and legs sticking up in the air - she was stuck! When we'd all got out we were promptly presented with glasses of champagne. Although it was only 8am we happily took them and by the time we'd been taken to where we were being served breakfast, we were already a little tipsy. I suppose that's the only way to be though after such an event. We had a full English breakfast at poshly layed tables in the middle of the Serengeti, and of course it was served with more champagne so we took our malaria tablets in style.

There were three sided toilets with one side completely open so you could pee or whatever whilst watching what was happening over the plains. When breakfast was done we were taken back to our safari group but not before we'd got a bottle of champagne each firmly in our hands, after all, we had paid for them. The rest of the morning was very funny. We all drank when we saw an animal. We were highly amused by humping hyenas and elephants with five 'legs'. We past hundreds of startled giraffes and zebras all running past us away from something although we never found out what. A massive herd of Zebra were standing in a water hole drinking. Every few minutes one would be scared by something and would turn and run out of the water followed by all the others except one, who not realising would keep drinking. Suddenly he'd look up, see the others had gone and then quickly chase after them. A few minutes later they'd all return and the same thing would happen again, including the one Zebra who would always be slow to realise what was going on. We saw another leopard in a tree, closer this time, and then stopped for lunch. The rest of the afternoon Naomi and I spend napping, being woken by the others when they saw anything of interest.

Our camp for the night was by a crater called Ngorongoro. An elephant lived next to the camp and so caused great excitement when he came up to drink at the water tank. Then as we sat eating dinner, two zebras strolled through the tents. Fortunately no big cats decided to visit the camp site that night.

The following day we drove down into Ngorongoro Crater where we saw what must have been hundreds of zebras and wilderbeast hanging out together by the road. They stood talking to each other or themselves, the wilderbeast nodding their heads and the zebras just looking on. We saw two lions with kills although missed the chase. The zebras and wilderbeast stood staring at one of the lions with it's kill. Richard said it was because they wanted to get past to go to the water but they could easily have gone the long way around and avoided the lion completely. I felt quite sad for them.

We then came across a pair of lions right by the road. Our jeep had an open roof and as I stood looking out the male lion walked past right beneath me. As he past I felt my heart rate go crazily fast, realising that if he turned and reached up he could easily swipe me. It was a very welcome knock into reality that the animals really were wild.

We again had a jeep disaster as Richard backed into another jeep, breaking two of it's windows. There was quite a heated discussion and in the end Richard said he would have to pay. They just put plastic sheeting over the broken windows of the other jeep and that was that.

Our safari group then split with all the others returning to Arusha and Naomi and I heading onwards to Olmoti Crater. We camped with our new safari buddies who were from Italy, next to a village belonging to a Massi Tribe. We went for a walk before tea and met a lovely lady called Mary. She couldn't speak English and we couldn't speak Swahili but we all got along very well. She just talked and then laughed and talked some more.

The next day two of the Massi men guided us up the edge of the crater and then down into it. We reached a little waterfall and then walked through long grass up to our hips trying not to fall over the very uneven ground or slip in hidden cow pats. Cows were being herded across the bottom of the crater in great long lines. They all had bells and so it made a lovely sound. On the way back down we past a group of Massi ladies taking their donkeys up the slope of the crater, laughing at us as we passed. Once back at the camp we ate and then headed back to Arusha.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Climbing Kilimanjaro was so much fun! We went along the Machame route, taking eight days so we'd hopefully have time to acclimatise a little to the altitude. It worked and until the summit day we both felt fine.

Our first day was spent trekking up through the rainforest. I wasn't overly impressed at it being all up hill but Naomi pointed out that we were climbing a mountain so we persevered despite rather a lot of breathlessness. There were lots of really beautiful flowers along the way and through the mist the forest was really pretty. Our first camp was at 3000m and our amazing team of porters had already arrived and set up our tent by the time we got there.



Day two, after not a great nights sleep and both Naomi and I shouting in the night during nasty dreams, we set off leaving the rainforest and climbing above a thick blanket of clouds. We got our first views of Kili's summit and very much enjoyed some lovely hot sunshine. Everywhere were little white and yellow flowers that looked and felt like they were dried but were very much alive. Absolutely covered in dust we arrived at our next camp and hid in our tent from the wind, although thanks to the altitude (I blame it on that) it was pretty windy in there too.




From the third day onwards, the days were lovely and warm but the nights and mornings were absolutely freezing. Each morning we were bought a little bowl of hot water to wash in. It would have been so good to be able to climb right into it but being only about a foot wide that wasn't really an option.

Being late as always, we were the last trekkers to leave the campsite. Most people seemed to be doing fewer days than us and so we had the bit of the mountain we were walking on all to ourselves as everyone else had gone a different way. We trekked across an alpine desert, still with some of the dry flowers but manly just rocks and dust. It was a short days walk and so we got to relax at our camp for most of the afternoon. We were camped in a beautiful little valley with the mountain rising up on three sides and a drop down on the fourth.



I think day four was my favourite day. At first we walked up and up through the alpine desert with amazing views of Mount Meru's summit coming through the clouds below. We then crossed through a tower of rocks with Kili's summit to our left and continued on downhill over little half frozen streams and rivers. The clouds below were so thick that they looked like rolling white hills. Further down the scenery completely changed and we found ourselves walking in between beautiful flowers and alpine tree things. Our camp was right on the edge of a sheer drop, with Kili's summit kind of in the direction we'd just come from.

The fifth day was the only day that involved a bit of proper climbing, so that was a lot of fun although very hard work when the air's short of oxygen! Once we'd climbed up a huge rock wall we then followed frozen rivers and waterfalls down into a valley before having to hike right back up the other side to our next camp.


On day sixth we walked along really dry ground with lots of rocks and very few plants, to our final camp before we'd try for the summit. In the morning all the clouds had cleared and so we could see right down to the bottom of the maintain for the first time since day one. We camped on a rocky slope with drops to either side and the summit ahead of us.

We spent the afternoon and evening trying to sleep without much success and then set out just after midnight to go to the top. Being late again we were some of the last people to leave the camp and for a long way in front of us rising up the steep mountain side was a snake of people's glowing head torches. Stanley, our ever patient and wonderful guide, seemed to be on a bit of a mission and so we ended up overtaking every single group in front of us. We both were feeling absolutely exhausted and not at all healthy inside. We just had to stare at Stanley's boots and keep going, hoping we were near. The sky, as on all the nights on Kili, was so beautiful being almost completely full up with stars. We reached Stella Point where we'd been told it got a bit easier and then had to keep going coming to lots of peaks that we hoped were the top but we'd get to them and then find they weren't and we'd have to carry on to the next one until finally we reached the real top!!! We got there just before 6am and before the sun had risen. I'm not sure that I have ever felt so cold. Both of us being so very freezing, nauseous and tired had a couple of photos taken of us at the top in the dark, Stanley took my camera and took some pictures of our surroundings - glaciers, the crater and one of Kili's lower peaks - as it was more than I could manage and then we headed straight back down without waiting for the sun to rise. Bit of a shame but we just could not wait!

It soon got light and we had to try and keep up with Stanley as he raced down the slope of scree we'd just climbed up. We both agreed that had we tried to get to the summit in the light, seeing where we had to go, that we probably would have given up and turned back.

We decided to hide from Stanley on the way down, diving behind a massive rock. We lay there for ages, laughing and exhausted but Stanley never came back. When we came out from behind the rock we found him sat on a rock a little ahead of us, staring at where we were and looking unimpressed. Poor Stanley. He so very tolerantly put up with a lot from us. Each time we'd play a trick on him he'd look at us in disbelief, sometimes a bit annoyed and sometimes just puzzled, but by the end of the week, even if it did take him a day or so, he'd laugh at our tricks. He even tried playing tricks we'd played on him on us, though he wasn't successful :)

Back at the camp we had a couple of hours rest and then had to head on downwards to our last camp. I felt like I had the worst hangover in the world, but by the time we reached our camp I just felt tired rather than like I would be sick at any minute.

The final day we headed on downwards through the rainforest to the bottom of the mountain and a much needed shower.

Arrival in Tanzania

Well, I've been here for just over a month and I'm thinking about leaving soon so thought it best I try and write something on here!

Arriving in Tanzania we flew into Kilimanjaro airport and got our first view of the mountain from the air which was very exciting indeed. We were picked up at the airport and driven to Arusha past lots of little villages and lots of not so little maize and sunflower plantations. Our accommodation, which was included with our Kili climb, was lovely. We stayed in a thatched bungalow, had a three course meal free every day and also were able to relax by the pool on what may have been the only hot day in Arusha in June. The lodge had a friendly dog called Skippy and a Crested Crane bird called Henry who was very keen on Naomi, but had a sad story - he's the sort of bird that only has one mate for the whole of his life. When he'd first come to stay at the lodge he'd come with his wife, but unfortunately she'd died and now he spends his days wandering alone, looking for her and staring at his own reflection in the windows. I think for some reason he thought that Naomi was his wife and I caught him dancing for her. It didn't work out though after he decided to use our drying washing as a toilet.

Anyway, we spent a couple of days in Arusha which is quite a nice little town with beautiful views of Mount Meru, and then we set off to climb the mountain...