| DAY 1 – We arose at a fairly leisurely 7am. We were then driven to the edge of the national park gate. Here we stretched our legs and ankles, and gave over our bags to the four porters. Our guide was John, a healthy, middle-aged, tall man, with 15 years of experience on the mountain. The first day was a four-hour climb for us. The walk took us along well-maintained paths, through dense rain forest, and past scenic waterfalls. Mandara would be our first base camp. We even had enough time on that day, to climb a little further to a small crater, with a great scenic view into Kenya and Tanzania. |
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DAY 2 – After a quick breakfast and a face-clean with some warm, smokey water, we continued our ascent. After half an hour, the first view of the upper part of Kili came into view. We broke out of the rain forest, and into alpine meadow. Stunning little flowers, insects and birds were dispersed throughout. We even found Scottish thistle, heather, honeysuckles and bluebells. On the way, we met Lee and Dianna, who both work in Oman. They were the only people who were going to go to the summit via the Marangu route, in 5 days too. |
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Day 2 of the climb took us 6 hours. The climate was still warm enough to wear shorts and shirt during the day. The night spent at our next camp, Horombo, was very cold, and we bundled up in two pairs of insulated socks, two pairs of thermal underwear, multiple layers of jerseys and a balaclava.
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