It Began in Africa 2011

March - April 2011
A 36-day adventure by Joel
  • 36footprints
  • 3countries
  • 36days
  • 179photos
  • 0videos
  • 17.3kkilometers
  • 12.7kkilometers
  • Day 1

    Day 0: Departure

    March 5, 2011 in the United Arab Emirates ⋅ 🌬 22 °C

    Boring day at home. All packing and chores were completely done by midday, so we had a long afternoon of time-killing. Watched Archer and had a lazy bum around.

    Arrived at the airport at 6:30pm, no queue at check-in and only minor delay at security. Was "randomly" selected for bomb swabs three times out of three. Security man didn't seem that impressed when I mentioned this in passing!

    Boarded A380 at 9pm and took off right on schedule at 9:45. Took off south over water in the dark so no views unfortunately.

    The A380 is an amazing aircraft. We were sitting right on the wing, and there was barely any engine noise. The aircon was much louder than the engines, and was fucking freezing to boot. There was an iPad sized touchscreen in every seat back, with loads of movies, TV shows, music, info, communications etc. Updated news headlines from the BBC, plus live feeds from cameras on the nose, tail and underbelly of the aircraft. Very interesting, but not that much use for a night flight!

    Played Tetris versus Shandos (1-1 after 2 games), watched Catfish and a doco about the Manchester derby starring Eric Cantona. And a Simpsons episode!

    Had fish for dinner, Shandos had the lamb korma. Food was average quality, not the best but tasty enough. Played a few games on iPhone but fell asleep around 5 hours into the flight (3am Sydney time). Dozed on and off for the next 6 hours, eventually couldn't sleep more at 9am Sydney time. Had omelet for breakfast, watched Entourage and Shandos finished The King's Speech as we killed the last hour before landing into the darkness at Dubai. 4:40am local time, 40 minutes ahead of schedule.
    Read more

  • Day 2

    Day 1: Dar Es Salaam via Dubai

    March 6, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Dubai airport is massive! Emirates have the entirety of Terminal 3 which is a massively elongated rectangle. All races and nationalities are here, it almost feels like a casting call for an overly PC corporation's promo material. Africans in tribal dress, others in suits, kawaii Japanese girls on laptops, Emiratis in their flowing white robes, Indians, Asian businessmen, women in burqas, Germans in socks and sandals, a French girls hockey team and the odd bogan in a Billabong singlet.

    Queues everywhere as well! Waiting for security checks, waiting for the toilet, the coffee machine, any kind of food or drink. Even at 5am on a Sunday it's very crowded. Duty free liquor is very cheap - $20 USD for a 1L bottlel of Smirnoff! Will be stocking up on the way back.

    The free wifi isn't working for either of us which is annoying, no idea what's wrong with it. Had a look at the McDonalds menu but the only non-standard item was the "McArabian Chicken". The picture looked interesting but I didn't feel like eating Maccas or waiting in a 10-minute queue just to find out, so I guess we'll never know! Annoyingly, most of the free services are Terminal 1 and our flight arrived early, so we're just chilling at the departure gate.

    The flight to Dar was fairly uneventful. I played games, fiddled with my phone and watched football clips on the plane's video system. Shandos slept most of the flight. The plane cautiously avoided Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Spectacular scenery of desert canyons around the coast of Oman! Flew over much of Somalia as well, but the last leg was over the ocean. Approach to Dar was over the city, giving us a good idea of what to expect.

    On arrival: chaos! Buying visas beforehand was a great idea - the line was very long and not moving. The arrivals hall was extremely hot - a/c units everywhere but I don't think they were running. Baggage eventually arrived, so first major fear was averted! Found a taxi easily enough, I was a bit nervous but they were wearing Taxi ID badges and were up-front with the fixed prices.

    The drive from the airport took about 20 minutes, traffic isn't thick but the drivers are very reckless. Everyone beeps frequently and doesn't bother with indicators or lanes. It seems to work. For some reason 90% of the vehicles are Toyotas. There's the odd Suzuki, Nissan or VW but almost exclusively Toyota. Even spotted a few riced-up Celicas!

    By the time we arrived at Jambo Inn I'd accepted that the cabbie wasn't goingn to rob us, but felt very intimidated at being obviously tourists, the only white people around and in front of a lot of people just sitting around on the street.

    Checked into the hotel which is nice by Tanzanian standards I guess, went up to our room and the gravity of the situation sunk in. Felt pretty down for a while, but eventually we went and sat on our balcony overlooking the street and started to warm up to the place.

    People that I first thought were wandering aimlessly actually all had a purpose - most people were carrying something or selling something. The people who were just hanging around were usually sitting and laughing/chatting with friends. We saw a few tourists as well who nobody gave any heed to, despite sticking out like sore thumbs. After an hour or so we worked up the courage to head out for a walk, so off into the late afternoon we went!

    Walked down to the waterfront which took about 20 minutes, not much there except a small park and the ferry terminal surrounded by taxi touts. We wandered back to the hotel as it was gathering dark and we didn't want to be out in it. But it was good to get out into the city a bit.

    Dar is an interesting city. Almost all the buildings are semi-decrepit relics from the 1950s, covered in wires and rust. Most of the locals seem to ignore the buildings, doing their business out on the street. It's not squalid, but not all that clean either. Most pedestrians walk on the road as the pavements are pretty destroyed. A moderate amount of construction is happening, we saw one building with the upper floors completely held in place by sticks!

    Ate dinner at the hotel's Indian/BBQ restaurant. Decent food, cheap and tasty. Went to sleep very early, woke up from jetlag at 2am and the call to prayer from the nearby mosque at 5:30. Eventually got up at 6 and did more traffic watching.
    Read more

  • Day 4

    Day 2: Dar es Salaam to Kilimanjaro

    March 8, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Free continental breakfast of bread, jam, egg and sugar banana from the hotel. Hung around for a bit before heading to the airport.

    Yesterday's comments about light traffic can be disregarded, as I'd forgotten it was Sunday! Today (Monday) is very different! Lots more cars, bikes, buses, bicycles, rickshaws, pedestrians etc. A lot more people hanging around, they don't seem unemployed but sometimes it's hard to tell!

    The people here aren't that friendly but they aren't unfriendly either. We've been stared at a few times, but nobody is overtly hostile. Everyone is surprisingly well-dressed, most men over 30 wear ironed business shirts while the younger men wear t-shirts or replica English football shirts. Even saw one guy wearing a Sydney Olympics volunteer shirt! Lots of children in their school uniforms early in the morning. A couple of beggars here and there but employment seems reasonably high. At least in the capital anyway there's a bit of money around, but no doubt it will be different in Moshi. Most people are pretty laid-back lackadaisical, and patient. As long as you're not in a hurry it's fine.

    Currently at the airport for our flight to Kili. Not sad to see the back of Dar but it seems like an OK place. Wouldn't want to spend more than a day or two here though.

    The flight to Kili airport was very uneventful. Plane was only half full with mostly tourists. Bags arrived pretty promptly and our transfer man was there to greet us. All fears were unsubstantiated! The drive to Springlands Hotel took an hour - very confronting with lots of locals living in poverty on the sides of the road.

    Thankfully Springlands was pretty nice, though they gave us a triple room, not a double room. And there's blackouts every few days. Used the net briefly and had a short swim before the briefing at 5pm.

    Our guides are Hasani and Mika. Their English isn't great and we didn't get a great first impression. After the briefing and dinner we finalised our packing and got an early night. Very restless sleep though - some nerves and jetlag woke me up at 2am and not much sleep after that.
    Read more

  • Day 4

    Day 3: Kilimanjaro Begins!

    March 8, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Machame Gate, 1490m ASL
    Up early to collect our hire gear and check out. On the bus by 8:30am before the 1.5 hour drive to Machame Gate.

    Signed the registration book, took a few photos and headed off into the morning. We were paired with a couple our age - Tom (UK) and his girlfriend Sarka (Czech), plus a late 50s Canadian man named John.

    The early stages were steep but smooth, definitely a vehicle track. Mostly rainforest and jungle terrain - very hot and humid, but thankfully no rain! Couldn't see much scenery due to tall trees and haze. Ate our massive packed lunches in a small clearing while marvelling at the porters going past with heavy backpacks and massive sacks on their heads.

    Eventually the rainforest gave way to regular forest as we ascended, and we reached Machame Camp at 4pm. Had a bucket wash and some tea & popcorn before socialising with the others. Dinner was massive - soup, fried potato, fried fish, vegetable stew and boiled cabbage. At sunset, the haze suddenly blew away and we had a spectacular view of Uhuru Peak, 3km above us.

    Once the sun was gone the temperature dropped sharply so we retreated to the warmth of our tent. Feeling tired from the day's exertions and not daring to brave the frigid temps outside, we went to bed around 9pm.
    Read more

  • Day 5

    Day 4: Mountain Day 2

    March 9, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Machame Hut, 2980m ASL
    Awoke to a sunny day with the snow-capped peaks of Kili looming above us. It had been a pretty retless night thanks to jetlag, coldness and rocky ground under our tent. The book had said today was fairly short but with a lot of climbing; though Hasani our guide warned that it would be tough, rocky and steep. He was right!

    The day's hike was up a long ridgeline above Machame camp, ending about 9km away at Shira Hut. As Hasani had promised, it was very tough and slow going. Lots of climbing. The forest was gradually thinning out into an alpine scrubland, and the lack of tall trees meant fantastic views of the valleys either side of our ridgeline, and across to Mount Meru (the second-tallest mountain in Africa, after Kilimanjaro).

    The constant rocky inclines took a toll on my knee, and before long the inner tendon in my right knee was aching every time I went up a step. Eventually the ridge joined a high plateau and we reached Shira Camp at about 1:30pm. Had a hot lunch of pasta and stew before relaxing in our tent for a few hours. In the late afternoon we did a short acclimatisation hike to the Shira weather station with Sarka and Tom.

    The usual afternoon mist on the peak was lifting so we got a bunch of good photos and headed back.

    Shira Camp was very dusty and everyone had a pretty good case of "festival nose". The temperature was noticeably colder here due to the higher elevation, and the wind was quite chilly. As much as we wanted to socialise with the others, it was simply too cold and windy, so we ate our 3-course dinner and went to bed around 8pm. Just after dusk the mist and clouds lifted, giving us more spectacular views of the peak. Took a few pretty cool time lapse photos, even saw a satellite and a shooting star! Didn't capture either though, sadly.
    Read more

  • Day 6

    Day 5: Mountain Day 3

    March 10, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Shira Camp, 3840m ASL
    Awoke to another frosty but clear morning. More restless sleep - partly due to oxygen deprivation and more hard ground. Today's hike was highlighted as the 2nd-toughest behind the summit climb; 15km in total and an ascent of the Lava Tower - 4630m ASL.

    My knee was feeling OK after some Ice Gel and stretches, though I had a dull headache from the altitude. After a hot breakfast we set off into the sunshine. From Shira Camp the trail lead up a long, long hill - not steep or rocky, just long and trudging.

    Trudging is really the only way to describe the hike - guides and porters constantly tell you "po-le po-le" which is Swahili for "slowly". Even on flat surfaces you're just inching along. It has apoint though, as the slower you go the less likely you are to suffer altitude sickness.

    After several long hours of trudging through the rocky alpine wastes, we scaled a ridge and were treated to the soul crushing sight of the Lava Tower, still a couple of kilometres away and several hundred metres above us. An hour or so later we arrived, and it was one of the most awful places I've ever been. It was extremely cold, very windy, stunk like stale piss and had hungry aggressive ravens hanging around.

    By now I was really feeling the altitude - mild nausea and light-headedness, plus the dull headache I'd had since day 1. We stopped at the Tower to eat our packed lunch, but all we had was a stale peanut butter sandwich, a leg of chicken (yuck - how it survived 3 days up the mountain I don't know!), and a squashed banana.

    Despite the nausea I managed to stomach a few morsels, but we left fairly hastily due to the piss smell and the very light snow shower that started.

    Thankfully the afternoon's walk was easier - mostly downhill from the Tower, up and down a few ridge lines before a long steep rocky descent into the Barranco Valley where our night's camp was.
    Read more

  • Day 7

    Day 6: Mountain Day 4

    March 11, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Barranco Camp, 3960m ASL
    Today was going to be a short day's hike, as we'd chosen the 7-day option rather than 6. This mean days 4 and 5 would be easy-ish half day hikes, rather than an 8 hour marathon before tackling the summit.

    But the first order of business was the Barranco Wall, a several hundred metre high wall of mostly sheer cliffs that loomed over our camp, with a small trail zig-zagging upwards.

    We made a slightly later start (9am) to let the 6-day trekkers through, then attacked the wall ourselves. Thankfully it was actually easier than expected, mostly because of the amount of scrambling involved. A couple of hours later we scaled the last ridge, tired but proud. Above us was another amazing view of the summit, and ahead of us was a mostly-flat desolate moonscape. Off we went for the rest of the day's walk, though the final annoying stage was a rocky descent of several hundred metres to Karanga river valley, followed by a several hundred metre climb up to the camp.

    As it was a short day, we were basically finished by 1pm. Had a wash, a hot lunch, and a brief rest in our tent before heading out on another acclimatisation hike. We climbed a few hundred metres up a ridge above the camp, much easier going without backpacks and we stayed on the ridge for a while despite the cold chilly weather.

    Back down to camp for another hot dinner and a frosty night. We both feel like we should socialise more with the other climbers but the reality is that it's simply too cold outside and our tents are too small to do much socialising.
    Read more

  • Day 8

    Day 7: Mountain Day 5

    March 12, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Karanga Camp, 4035m ASL

    Today's task was a relatively short uphill hike to Barafu Camp, aka base camp for the summit. We headed off at 9am and made good progress up the long slopes. As usual, the hut we were making for was actually further off than expected, forcing us to descend another rocky valley before a trudging ascent to the camp.

    Barafu is by far the highest camp, nearly 700m above the previous camps. Thankfully we're pretty well adjusted to the altitude, and we arrived in Barafu at 12pm. It's high on a rocky desolate ridge, with the summit trail looming high above us.

    Unfortunately our reasonable chemical toilet hadn't made it up to Barafu, so we had our first encounter with an African squat toilet. Not recommended!

    Today also gave us our first taste of Kili's inclement weather, with a multiple-hour snowstorm. Nothing too heavy, just constant tiny snowflakes.

    At the moment we're having a several hour rest before an early dinner, sleep at 6pm and the start of our summit assault at midnight. We're in good spirits despite the snow and cold, our muscles are so far holding up to the challenge and no blisters etc yet. Also had a boost from the returning 6-day trekkers - all 3 had made the summit overnight. For now though, we wait.
    Read more

  • Day 9

    Day 8: Summit Day

    March 13, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Barafu Camp, 4690m ASL

    We did it!!!!

    As expected, the climb was a long hard slog, but we managed it in the end.

    The snowstorms mentioned in yesterday's entry intensified during the evening, so that by the time we got up at 10pm the snow was already several inches thick outside our tent. After some steaming tea and biscuits we set off into the night at 11pm, armed with headtorches, cameras, and a shitload of warm clothing.

    The first stage directly out of the camp was pretty brutal - lots of steep rocks to scramble over in the dark. Extra fun when you realise they're also treacherously slippery with the wet snow which was still falling.

    After about 30 minutes the rocks gave way to what we were all expecting - long, steep uphill stretches. Since it's dark you don't really have any conception of where you are, how high you are, or how close you are to a cliff. Most of the climb thus passed by simply staring at the boots of the person in front of you, with the occasional glance down at the lights of nearby Moshi.

    Our altitude sickness was mostly under control at this point, though from hour 2 onwards I felt drunk and light-headed. I listened to music for an hour or two, but I found it more of a hindrance than a help. I couldn't hear people talking to me or others, couldn't hear the sound of my breathing (very important when every breath is about half as effective oxygen-wise as it is at sea level), and it just took me completely out of the group.

    Despite being emptied of everything except snacks, water and the first aid kit, my pack was still too heavy for me and Samweli our assistant guide carried it for me the rest of the way.

    Looking back, it's honestly hard to remember how the 7 hour climb passed. It was just walk, keep walking, keep breathing, keep drinking. Eventually we arrived at Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa at 5895m above sea level. Only two other groups on the mountain had beaten us to the summit, one of those being John our Canadian friend (we discovered later he was a marathon runner). We all took some photos with the sign, I tried vainly to call home by was foiled by Vodafone, and attempted a few fruitless scenery shots. Sadly the clouds had closed in again, despite the growing light in the eastern sky.

    All up, the summit was a little underwhelming, but I guess it's about the journey, not the destination.

    And so began the long descent into the morning. The journey up had taken roughly 95% of my willpower and energy, so the trip down was mostly torture. Snow fell on and off, we slid down dirt slopes past vistas we'd completely missed in the dark, stacked it onto arses and started the cycle again.

    After 3 tortuous hours, I finally arrived back at Barafu Camp, 9:15am. The whole climb and descent had taken just over 10 hours. Shandos arrived back about 15 minutes before me, as we'd gotten separated during the final parts of the descent. She was much better able to keep up with Hasani who was doing his best Speedy Gonzalez impression.

    I had a few glasses of pineapple cordial, a stretch and a lie down for 2 hours. Then by 12pm we were having a brief hot lunch before the second descent of the day.

    What was described as a gentle 3-hour descent to a lower altitude camp was one of the most horrible experiences of my life. After very little sleep and already walking for 10 hours, we were now being asked to walk another 3+ hours. The first hour or so was OK, fairly smooth and a long gentle down slope into the valley.

    But as we left the alpine moonscape behind, the road, scenery and weather all changed. The snow gave way to drizzling rain, the desolation became pine and then rainforest, and the smooth trail became a muddy, rocky staircase. I hated every minute of it.

    Four long hours later, we arrived at Mweka Hut in pouring rain. Thankfully our tent was mostly dry inside. We had a brief chat with Tom and Sarka who confirmed that they hadn't summited and turned back at Stella Point due to gastro, mountain sickness and fatigue. A wholly unremarkable dinner, a group cup of tea before collapsing into bed at about 8pm. Summit Day was finally over.
    Read more

  • Day 10

    Day 9: Mountain Day 7

    March 14, 2011 in Tanzania ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Mweka Camp, 3100m ASL
    Last night's rain had thankfully given up, though being perched in a rainforest we weren't expecting to stay dry the entire day. Hasani warned us that the weather usually rolled in around 11am, so we hit the trail early at 7am.

    The track was thankfully very smooth and mostly mud free. Our hike to the gate was a mercifully brief 3 hour journey, enlivened only by thoughts of cold beer, hot showers and soft mattresses. And some white corborus monkeys in the trees above us, which were extremely hard to photograph.

    Before we knew it, we were at the gate and our week-long trek was finally over. We signed the registration book, filled out a few forms and hopped on the bus back to Springlands Hotel. My phone decided to work again, so I called both Mum and Dad to tell them of our success. My joy was muted though with the sad news that Grandma had passed away on Saturday. I'm still pretty upset about it, but it just seems like it isn't real. I'll go home and everything will be fine. Mum also informed me that there'd been an enormous earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and that a nuclear power plant was melting down. Crazy what happens when you go off the grid for a few days.

    On arrival back at Moshi we took care of some housekeeping - certificates, tips for Hasani and the porters, laundry, internet and so on. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and drinking with Tom and Sarka.

    We had our safari briefing in the evening, where the big news was that we'd been given a free upgrade to lodge accommodation instead of basic camping due to the rainy season. Being thoroughly sick of camping, this was pure music to our ears and we went to bed very excited about the next few days.
    Read more