Kilimanjaro

What made us decide to do something like this for a honeymoon is one that I would like to lay blame on and thanks to two good bottles of South African wine. It sounded like a good idea at the time but as it was so radical to what we thought we might do for a honeymoon the idea stuck.

To say that this story has romance in it would be a lie. The truth is that when one embarks on climbing a mountain that is over 19300 feet high, without 5 star luxuries on your honeymoon, kind of blows the romance out the water. This coupled with the onset of rain, hail, headaches; gas (not the type BP is drilling for) sets the scene for an interesting 5 days on Mt Kilimanjaro.

THE MACHAME ROUTE

There are several ways up the mountain. As this was not going to be easy we decided to do the more difficult but scenic Machame Route. Again I would like to give thanks to the varied South African wines we had been sampling at the time for helping us come to this decision.

The trip to get to Moshi, the town from where we would embark on our journey is a story on its own. We arrived tired, hung over and hungry. To say this was the start I envisioned would be a lie.

Bright and early the next morning we met up with our guide at the hotel, with many other climbers all eager to get going. It was amasing seeing the different nationalities and age groups coming together for one purpose. There was much anticipation in the air as we loaded our bags in the back of a taxi and went on a taxi drive from hell. There are no road signs to speak of or speed limits except for the “pedal to metal” and all living creature great or small please move out of the way of the flying taxi. This trip enhanced with the irregular thudding sound when hitting pot holes or should that be remnants of a road, I’m not sure as my attention was distracted by the praying antics of the five Norwegian couples who to had decided to embark on this journey during an evening of to much wine as well. 

Arriving at the gate, everybody signs a register and you say goodbye to a proper, flushing toilet for five days. After unpacking, one is made ready with ones back pack and sent off with your guide on the first part of the journey. During this time porters are literally running ahead with your food and equipment. This in its self creates a false sense of what is to come; you start to think “how difficult can this be?” By lunch time you start to find out.

The first part of the hike seems fairly easy through a beautiful rainforest. After lunch it is a different story when it gets very steep. The guides constantly remind you to go Pole-Pole (very slowly) as it helps your body to acclimatise. The 10 km felt more like 100km as it gets steeper and one climbs further into what is known as the cloud forest. The scenery changes again into long grass. We finally reached the Machame huts late in the afternoon. Don’t be fooled by the name, it’s not huts you sleep in ,it’s tents, pitched on an incline, very close to your very own long drop. The smell was enough to put you off your food for good. That night we had chicken under a blanket of stars that shone like a city from the heavens.

Day 2 - MACHAME HUTS TO NEW SHIRA CAMP

We woke up to a clear day. By now most people knew we were on our honeymoon and we got teased about having our own tent. Invigorated we tucked into our energy bars and chewed our vitamin tablets to tackle the much steeper 7km climb.

About eight hours later you have climbed to 3800m, passing 4000m briefly. The trees are getting smaller and the terrain becomes more barren. The mountain has its own weather and by midmorning the temperatures had started to drop to single figures. You could see the mist rising from the plains below. Although one could see Mt Muru in the distance from the Shira camp, it was only at 18h30 that evening, that we could see the top slopes of Kibo the highest of the three summits. That night was the first of many uncomfortable nights. Try going to the toilet in pitch blackness when it’s raining cats and dogs. Our guides dug a narrow ditch around our tent to try and keep the water out. That evening the temperature dropped and the upper regions of the mountain was covered in a blanket of snow. No romance again that night.

Day 3 - NEW SHIRA CAMP TO BARRANCO HUTS

A day to be known a Diamox day. This is the day that one starts on the Diamox, an altitude sickness preventative tablet. Basically it helps to create more red cells (oxygen carrying cells) in the body. It also has its side effects. You routinely having to run off for a call of nature, it’s what we called a “Diamox Moment”. It was ok for the guys on the trip, but for the women it’s a little bit trickier.

Day three was a 10km walk, only gaining 150m in altitude. This was to help with acclimatisation. We climbed up to 4530m where we had lunch (the best beans and spaghetti in the world).By now you are also tired of the energy bars and snacks that you packed in your daypack. The weather turned really cold with temperatures dropping to 0.It started to rain and later it hailed. The rainy season on Kili started two weeks early! It took all afternoon to descend to the Barranco Valley. The area is just breathtaking. You also get the first glimpse of what’s to come, and that takes your breath away for different reasons.

At the camp everything was wet, sleeping bag, clothes etc. The only dry goods were my summit gear that was in plastic bags. I had decided, in my great wisdom, that putting things in plastic bags were a waste of time. Wet sleeping bags don’t dry in wet conditions, and when it stopped raining, the mist rolled in. That evening we had cucumber soup and chicken for dinner. Again. Sleeping was a bit trickier. I dressed in my summit gear and had to balance on a dry mat. Freezing temperatures, a wet tent and flatulence from the tents around us, set the mood for another romantic honeymoon evening.

0 points for romance and 10 points for having a genuine excuse for a headache as altitude finally kicked in. By the way, flatulence is a good sign of acclimatisation.

Day -4 BARRANCO HUTS TO BARAFU HUTS

The day was clear and beautiful. I was a damp squid. The start of the day was the hardest   part. A vertical climb up the Great Barranco Wall. This is the part of the climb that the guide books said are for experienced climbers. You need to use both your hands and feet to manoeuvre up the Wall.

The porters were absolutely amazing. They climbed the Wall with ease, stuff piled on their heads and backs. Two hours later we stopped to enjoy the view, but are now hard pushed by the guides to get to Barafu Huts where we can rest up for that night’s summit attempt.

We travelled down the Karanga Valley. The area is sparse and ragged. It is a steep climb up the valley slope where our lunch tent was pitched. It was …you guessed it, chicken, again.

After lunch, it is a steep walk which flattens out to a very barren slate landscape. One could be forgiven for believing you are on an alien planet. The last bit of the journey is a painful and never ending climb to your tent. The wind was howling and our tent was secured with rocks.

At this stage we were exhausted and very apprehensive of what would happen that night. The biggest fear was altitude sickness as we both suffered from fatigue and mild headaches. You start to wonder if you are going to get to the top. Sleeping was almost impossible and by 23h00 we were ready to start the accent.

BARAFU HUTS TO STELLA POINT AND UHURU PEAK

For the summit attempt you had to make sure that your water bottles were insulated, otherwise the water would freeze. A head torch is also a necessity. This is by far the most punishing of exercises I have ever done. We set out about 23h15 that night and an hour later you could see those who were just leaving the camp as a snail trail of lights below. It is here that I must say that you should not look up .It is not stars you see, but people who left an hour before you. The longer you walk, the higher the pitch of the “stars” become. It is enough to break your spirits right there and then. From here on you start climbing the slate and gravel slopes.

It was here that the weather turned and within half an hour it was a full blown blizzard. My gloves got wet and ice formed inside my glove. It was a hectic climb of zig zagging up, people crossing your path or running past you. There was nothing to see except your own feet. Later we realised that that in itself, was a blessing. Nobody in their right mind would want to climb to the summit in daylight. Exhausted you start to realise that some guides are now taking people down the mountain due to altitude sickness. You are not allowed to rests long for fear that you will fall asleep and the guides might not be able to wake you up. The snow that now covered the slopes brought on another challenge as it became increasingly slippery. You take one step and slide two steps back. It takes every ounce of willpower not to just give in and turn around. It was difficult to breath, every muscle in your body was hurting and both of us thought about giving up. We agreed beforehand that if one turned around the other will go back down with them. That kept us going, as neither of us wanted to be the first to give up. With the help and encouragement of our guides, we reached Stella Point (5795m) at just after 6am.We had an amazing view of the crater rim and the sun rising.

Behind us others were still trying to get up the slopes and ahead of us was another 50 min walk to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa.

The last bit of this journey is absolutely awe inspiring. Breathtaking views of the rim of the crater to your right, glaciers in the middle of Africa just ahead and the feeling of walking on top of the clouds.

No words can describe what thoughts go through your mind when you finally arrive at the top. Having your photo taken is a very personal moment and something a thousand words cannot describe.

We could only spend about half an hour at the top with guides eager to get you back down the mountain for fear of altitude sickness.

That is when it hits you. We have to go down!

What took us four and a half days to climb, took one day to climb down. Physically we pushed ourselves further than we thought possible. I lost 8 kg in that week alone. Great for a crash diet.

 We are both in agreement that it was definitely worth every painful moment. It’s not the best way to “relax” after your wedding, but the experience is life changing and one that we would do again without hesitation. We would certainly recommend it as one of those “must do” life challenges.