![]() ![]() While at times it felt like we were walking forever, Emmanuel reminded us that “little by little a bird builds it’s nest.” Our guides, Paul and Ezequiel, told us stories of their experiences on the mountain. The trek can take up to eight hours a day, so a close relationship with the guides is formed. The guides lead the tourists through each of these climate zones to arrive at a new camp every day, setting the pace for acclimatisation. This area is bitterly cold and with half the available oxygen at sea level, it is dominated by huge glaciers and large boulders. The landscape is dominated by rugged rock formations and panoramic views. Intense rays of sun beat down during the day and at night it’s below freezing. As the trek continues, the next zone is the Highland Alpine Desert. The forest seems to stop rather abruptly as you enter the Heath and Moorland zone, and suddenly you’re graced with magnificent views of the mountain. Their low, resonant croaking sound with a rolling “r” can be heard for over a mile. Dense and damp, this forest is home to many plants and animals, including black and white colobus monkeys swinging from branch to branch in the trees. As you approach the park gates to begin the climb, you’ll see grazing livestock and small farming operations. This extraordinary trek takes climbers through five climate zones. While the tourists take it “pole pole”, or “slowly slowly” up the mountain carrying approximately 7-10kg and led by the guides, the porters go as fast as they possibly can, carrying as much as 20kg. There are approximately three porters per tourist and two-three guides per group. Coming from nearby towns, Moshi and Arusha, the porters who work on Mt Kilimanjaro carry the majority of the bags, tents, and cooking equipment for the tourists who show up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to climb the mountain. We also met the rest of the incredible team from Monkey Adventures. A man who would make our bellies hurt from laughing for the entire trip. The following day, we met our Pumbaa, Ian from Liverpool. ![]() ![]() Having checked our gear and filled us in on the plan for the following day, Emmanuel told us an important fact for the trip “more Pumbaa, more smiles”. However, he has summitted Kilimanjaro over 200 times and completed an ultra-marathon on the mountain. Upon first impressions, he is a short, skinny man. We were warmly welcomed by our chief guide, Emmanuel, the day before we set out on the trek. On the 16th of September 2022, I touched down in Tanzania with my two sisters, ready to embark on the exciting adventure that is Mt Kilimanjaro. For those who work on Mt Kilimanjaro, this is the motto they live by. This is a translation from Swahili, the language spoken in Tanzania, Africa. If you’ve ever watched the movie ‘The Lion King’, then you’ll know that the phrase “Hakuna Matata” means “no worries”. ![]()
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