Tanzania pt. 1/5: Kilimanjaro

Of all the tourist rackets in Africa, and specifically in Tanzania, Mount Kilimanjaro is the pinnacle. At 5,895m it is Africa's tallest mountain and the world's highest 'free-standing' mountain, also being distinctive for its snow-capped peak which is visible from some famous game parks many miles away. It also has the most idiots running around (some have even died) and is one of the government's fattest tourist cash-cows. This is why I'd avoided it for so long, despite visiting nearby Taita hills in Kenya a couple of times and seeing it in the distance. But the thing is, it's Kilimanjaro! The stuff of legends: on a visit to Tanzania, it would be a tragedy not to do it and a missed experience we would surely regret! 

Colobus at the permit office

I have already visited 2 of Africa's 3 great peaks (that is, Mt. Kenya and Mt. Stanley in Uganda), because they held much greater allure to me. For example, at Mt. Stanley, for about $1,300 US, I did an 8-day expedition where I learned roped glacier travel and basic ice climbing, slept in decent huts, and had the summit day all to ourselves. At Mount Kenya, for 4 days, we paid basic park fees plus $20/day for guiding so it was not that much, and with far fewer people and more birds. Kilimanjaro is next-level. After insisting on the most basic services during the negotiation, our group of 3 still needed to hire 13 people because there are no huts and everything needs to be carried by the porters Park fees alone start at $80 per day. We ended up paying $2,300 US (non-residents) for an 8-day trek (the quote was $2,280 - I'll get into that later!). That's less than most people pay, but we could have done less if we had not chosen the premium route called the Northern Circuit. This route is the longest, taking us all the way around the mountain (almost 360). For 5 out of 8 days we barely saw any people, which is a much more enjoyable experience than one of the popular (and cheaper) routes such as Machame. All routes had a chance of encountering the Lammergeier, the top target bird.

How does one climb Kilimanjaro? 
1. The first thing you need to do to climb Kilimanjaro is to have a good job and save money. Make small sacrifices for a long period of time because that cash is going to blow away very fast.

2. Next, you need to find a trustworthy and not ludicrously expensive tour operator to take you up and down in one piece. An acceptable price depends on the route - I've heard of people paying $1,200 for the shortest, busiest route or up to $4,000 for one of those fancy companies where you get treated like royalty and you take the premium route which takes more days. We chose Kibinga Tanzania Tours which is run by Mseli Kibinga and was recommended by a friend of mine Dan Greenacre from uni.

3. Make a gear list. The more gear you bring yourself, the better because renting is a significant extra cost. Ramata and I had everything required, but I had to buy a few things for Emmy. He reimbursed me for most of them but I insisted that the backpack be a gift. (Gear list at the bottom if you're interested)*.There were a few pieces of gear that Emmy didn't have and that ended up costing him a pretty penny, especially having to pay extra for renting a tent, a winter coat and hiking poles. Whilst in the rental shop I recognized a familiar face, the business partner of a colleague of mine. I was charged with delivering him a special tent pad from Canada, which I happened to have on my person at the time. I recognized his face from facebook and gave him the package, much to his surprise!

4. Get yourself in shape. You don't need to train that much to be honest (Ramata didn't) but it definitely makes it more enjoyable if you're not suffering the whole time. Actually even elderly and overweight people climb Kili regularly.

Mountain Buzzard

We stayed a night at the company-owned guesthouse of Mseli Kibinga, our tour operator. We took a long time to organize and charge our gadgets, because Steve and I had been preparing a complicated gear acquisition scheme involving three different people (my dad, me and Nicole) delivering different pieces of gear for different people from Ebay, Amazon, Pelee Wings and Henry's camera! It was a highly coordinated effort over several months to get all that gear and we eventually sorted out who owes who what and squared up although Emmy ended up running out of dollars and had to pay some in Ugandan shillings, which I am still stuck with because no bank in Tanzania would take them!

After all that housekeeping out of the way we had a much needed shower and dreamt of the slopes of Kilimanjaro...

Guide Walter leading the way

In the morning we got off to a slow start, waiting for all the porters and guides to do some shopping duties and not even starting the hike until some time in the afternoon. We must have hiked 2 or 3 hours. That seemed like a waste of a day's worth of park fees to me; we figured they could have done all that stuff before picking us up. This was our first observation of a common theme in Tanzania which is lack of efficiency. Any time you do any kind of tour of some sort, expect he first day to be a write-off activity-wise. Of note however, we saw a pair of Oriole Finches with young, my first Tanzanian lifer.

We got to the Mti Mkubwa camp and it was an absolute city of people. Here we witnessed the extravagance of the typical Kilimanjaro climbing package: a tent specifically for peeing in, tables and chairs, a large tent specifically for eating in. I had made it very clear when planning with Mseli that we did not want any of that nonsense on our trek - we are not royalty and didnt expect to be treated like it. Not to mention the extra tipping of porters they would expect for such cargo!

Lots of teams were performing little songs for their client's entertainment (we wondered when our songs would come). It was only the first day; would have to earn them first.

The camp was surprisingly quiet at night and we slept like babies. In the morning, we started hiking (if you are a birder, you really need to emphasize the importance of starting early to the guide!). We were almost the first group to hit the trail and pretty soon Emmy picked up the song of an Abyssinian Ground-Thrush! We tracked it down for jaw-dropping views but as I raised my bazooka nothing happened, the battery was still in my sleeping bag from the night before! That's a trick for helping the battery last longer during long treks with cold nights but it can backfire. I had to run down the trail and grab it from the porter, then run back. Luckily the bird was still there and I got it.

Abyssinian Ground-thrush

Shira I camp (last of the crowds)

At the next camp (Shira I), there were also a lot of people.  We enjoyed nice views of the mountain as well as its residents - Streaky Seedeaters, White-naped Ravens, Alpine Chats and Dusky Turtle-Doves, rummaging around for scraps. I would advise people to skip this camp entirely and head straight for the next one because we basically hiked for 3 hours that day, so it could easily be combined with the next day for a total of 7 days instead of 8. You'd save a couple hundred dollars by doing that although Ramata maintains that 8 was still the perfect amount of days (the more gradual the ascent, the more prepared your body is for summit day).

Four-striped Mouse

Dusky Turtle-dove

ID please?

Streaky Seedeater

White-naped Raven

After this camp, we branched away from the main circuit and reveled at the vast wilderness on the northern side - there were only two or three other parties at each camp. Compared with hundreds of people at the other camps, this was worth the extra money we paid. The ecosystem is described as 'alpine desert' and you won't see as much animal and plant life as in the Rwenzori mountains or Mount Kenya. However, Kilimanjaro has a claim to fame in the wildlife department that those other ranges don't have - the legendary Lammergeier (or Bearded Vulture as ebird calls it). Each day I constantly scanned the skies for a pair that is said to wander the mountain's slopes.

Alpine vegetation (groundsel)

Alpine vegetation

Alpine vegetation

Over the course of these days we became friends with some of the porters. There was Rashid who was very enthusiastic and the most jacked due I've ever seen, able to do one-armed pushups with backpack on. Izidori was our waiter of sorts, charged with bringing us our continual supply of hot water, meals and tea in addition to his regular porting duties. Our chef Abdoula cooked up some impressive meals considering he had no fridge, only a small stove and we were in the middle of nowhere yet the ingredients were surprisingly fresh (I guess that last minute shopping trip was for a reason). We vibed well with the crew, in particular Rashid who was extremely fond of bongo flava Tanzanian music like Harmonize, Diamond Platinumz and Navy Kenzo, about to sing all the lyrics to most songs. We jammed ourselves into a trance reminiscent of that trip to Nandi back in 2012.

Shenanigans with fun-loving porter Rashid and Charles in the back

All in all we had a strong team but Ramata had never been to high altitude before so there was a tiny possibility that her body might react in a weird way, so we had an extra assistant guide along just in case, if one of us didn't make it, the others could continue to the summit before meeting up after. She also took diamox pre-emptively just in case (actually all 3 of us did!). Another thing we did a couple of times was go on little hikes in the afternoon to train our bodies for the summit day (I use the word 'little' liberally!). Some of the best photos of scenery were from the 'acclimatization hikes.'

I think this is 'Third Cave' camp. Its the one before School Hut. Not many tents!

View of thunderbox from School Hut with Mawenzi Peak in the background

We climbed up to this huge cliff overlooking the School Hut camp

Finally the pre-summit night had arrived and we all went to sleep at 7:30 pm because we needed to wake up at 11:30 (no joke) so we could climb at exactly midnight. Anticipating one of the coldest nights of my life (altitude 4,755m) we decided to bundle up in one tent together (me, Emmy and Ramata) to preserve heat. I think I slept ok but the others barely slept due to the anticipation. We started the 7 hour and 20 minute slow walk to the top with our head torches lighting the way.

Waking up at 11:30 pm, ready to hit it

It was constant climbing at a very slow but steady pace. A couple of times I tried a short burst of speed but had to take a good 15 seconds to catch my breath each time! I pumped some jams from my speaker to help the morale and Rashid and a couple others joined in song to some popular Tanzanian songs. Surrounded by blackness we only looked at our feet and the next person in front of us as we slowly marched up and up and up...

It was going well until we got to the crater edge when Ramata's extremities began to freeze, so I had to rub her hands on my belly whilst guide Walter rubbed her feet in his hands. I also stuck her gloves in my pants to warm them up and we did a little guide assessment by asking her some questions to make sure she wasn't getting altitude sickness. She still had it together luckily but was just really tired because the atmospheric pressure was getting low and if this is your first time experiencing breathing and climbing steps over 5,000 meters, it can be quite exhausting! Personally I had found enough time to train for this during my 3 months after being in the hospital for leishmaniasis, which got me back in shape enough that I found the hike easy or at least standard (the way down was a different story!).

View into the crater. We did not have to worry - the last eruption was 360,000 years ago

Too easy

The summit in our sights

At last we had the summit in our sights and all I wanted to do was run. What an amazing feeling to reach the rooftop of Africa with my Kipepeo at my side and one of my best friends Emmy Gongo at the other. Reaching this goal is truly a metaphor for life that will leave you inspired if you ever do it some day. After the photo session Ramata really wanted to just get down so they pried me away but not before I kept my word-that I would do 50 push ups at the top (Rashid joined in - with a backpack on!).

Oh darn, we forgot the flags!

"Can we go down now?"

One sorry fellow (a school teacher from South Africa on a field trip) had to be helped down by two guides (he had a bad case of altitude sickness or as they guides call it 'jelly leggy'. He could not move his legs, they dangled like jelly as he was sallied down the mountain (which is the only cure for altitude sickness!).

We passed by the cliff where countless careless hikers have left their brown nuggets frozen in time with poop-stained toilet paper. We wondered why the park couldn't hire a ranger to patrol this area and give out fines for this disgraceful behavior? And why are the guides not making sure their clients go #2 before starting their summit ascent? The Tanzanian authorities have not yet brought the park to international standards.

Being one of the first groups to summit meant we passed a steady stream of late risers (or just slow people). Many high fives and word of encouragement were exchanged. One lady was quite elderly, we were pretty impressed by that. Heading down a very long slope of loose scree was tough on the knees so we stopped at the next camp for a well-deserved rest at about 10 o'clock. We converted from winter to summer clothing by removing layers and then sipped ginger tea, scanning the skies for the elusive Lammergeier. This was the last day we would be in its habitat.

After a 30 minute rest we powered on toward Barafu camp which looked so tiny in the distance. As we got closure the porter Rashid spotted a Lammergeier in the distance! We ran toward it and got nice views in the bins. It looked like it was just soaring directly above Barafu camp so we went there and watched it for a solid half-hour. Just as we were about to leave, it reappeared even closer than before and landed on a rock near some tents! The group had to pry me away even though the Lammer was still around. Later when I looked at the photos I realized there had been 2 Lammers because one had ratty tailfeathers while the other one was in perfect condition. Having seen all 3 Kili targets left me feeling immensely satisfied (Oriole Finch, Abyssinian Ground-thrush and Lammergeier). We continued to Mweka camp with increasingly sore knees and were absolutely knackered by the time we reached camp. We arrived 15 and 1/2 hours from when we started our hike. After that seemingly endless knee-crushing descent I finally admitted that it had been a proper hike!

Lammergeier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The trail viewed from Barafu camp (the route we skipped). There was a long chain of people like ants

The descent

It then came time to work out how much we were going to tip the various team members. This was a pretty complicated discussion based on the amounts for different jobs and expectations outlined in my travel guide, what we could afford and how much each of us was willing to chip in. If you ever do one of these things just be prepared to budget a large amount of money for this because the crew is quite large and they don't get paid that much. They sang us a song and I gave a short speech before handing each team member and envelope with his money in it. (we had to improvise by taping a ribbon of paper around the cash).  It seemed like they weren't overly impressed with our contribution perhaps compared to other wealthy clients they've had but it was really hard to tell and Ramata found the whole thing pretty weird. Having done this sort of stuff before I guess I was used to the weirdness. Then after the handing of tips which was all quite ceremonial they sang us another song to celebrate the end of the expedition. A piece of advice: unless you are financially prepared then best to avoid Kilimanjaro.



We reached the parking lot where I recognized our safari guide John for the upcoming safari and gave him a habari yako. Next we needed to figure out transportation for my dad - it turned out the easiest way was for the whole bus to stop at the airport, pick him up there before continuing back to Arusha to drop off the porters.

Back at the guest house we met Nicole and Chris and started getting organized for our big safari the next day. Laundry had to be washed first. Charles (the owner's brother) tried to help us out with that but unfortunately the power was out in the whole neighborhood so we had to hand wash everything which took a while. Charles was super helpful throughout as were all the staff of Kibinga Tanzania tours. That being said, there was an incident of unprofessionalism that I have to mention because it is notably bad. (read it at the bottom if you want). **

All-in-all we were super happy with our experience and the way we did it. By taking the Northern Circuit we avoided 95% of the crowds and got a nearly 360 perspective of Kilimanjaro. If you are thinking of doing it yourself, I'd be really happy to correspond (send me an email). I'd probably tell you that you don't need to be fit but what you need is money. Although Rwenzori and Mt. Kenya are more adventurous, Kili was really fun because I shared the experience with Ramata and Emmy. Being one of the last places to reliably see Lammergeier in East Africa is also a claim to fame that makes Kili worth a visit.

Appendix

*Gear list:

- North Face 3-person tent
- Forclaz 700 sleeping mat
- MEC Thor -30 sleeping bag (-12 would have been suitable) and liner to keep it clean
- Serratus 80L backpack
- Leatherman Sidekick - (didn't bring it but wished I had)
- Steripen Ultra (not needed but used it to treat cold stream water from time to time)
- lighter
- 1L Nalgene bottle
- Gordini ski gloves
- Scarpa full leather boots
- Polartek T3 shirt and pants
- Hiking poles of some sort
- Mec 'tall size' rain pants
- Mec Mochilero Pants
- quick dry T's from Mountain Warehouse (2)
- Smartwool socks (2 pairs)
- Mountain warehouse fleece
- Mec GoreTex jacket (tall size)

- First Aid kit (custom) with Diamox and other stuff

- 2 packs of cards
- Canon 7d mkII with 17-40mm and 300mm lens
- Zeiss SF 10x42 binoculars
- phone with Birds of East Africa App (much lighter than carrying the book!)
- Bradt guide to Tanzania (has useful tips on how to tip, etc.)
- MEC sunglasses (critical!)
- Buff
- spf 40 sunscreen in a small travel bottle
- cash for tipping (better if you can prepare the amounts in advance - in envelopes which we didn't)

**At the start of the tour when Ramata paid in cash (before I arrived), the guide asked for $2,300 and so Ramata paid it. However, I quickly noticed that our agreed rate for the tour and receipt stated $2,280 each for me and her. Emmy also had to pay more than the original quote but we let that slide and eventually agreed to the increase (somehow Ramata being a non-resident made Emmy's rate more expensive? - I didn't really understand the logic). Anyway we agreed to Emmy's rate before the tour and the receipt was accurate but certainly never discussed the extra $20 that Ramata and I were charged. I brought it up with the guide and he said they could sort it out when we got back. Unfortunately, despite talking about it on the phone with Mseli the owner (who was in Austria at the time) and discussing it with Charles at length, they never paid me back the $40. Mseli even agreed to pay me back but he never did. We had many conversations and he even asked for my bank details so he could transfer me the money but he did not stick to his word. To me that is really unprofessional and despite having a great experience on the hike itself (well-organized and well-led) I unfortunately can't recommend this company for that experience with being over charged and then lied to.

Sadly, unless you are paying the big bucks at premium lodges which are insanely expensive, customer service can seem like a foreign concept in Tanzania. Fortunately with our next tour outfit we had a much more professional experience with no surprises.