Marangu Magharibi

I awoke with a bit of a hangover after a little too much red wine the previous evening. I walked up to a nearby grassy area with a view of Kilimanjaro and was delighted to see the snow covered peak was fully visible with wispy clouds slowly building around it in a clear blue sky. We readied ourselves for a long ten mile trek up to Kilimanjaro base camp. A van took us to the National Park. We stioped on the way to take more photos of the clear summit. There was a debacle at the entrance when it took over an hour of ridiculous overblown bureaucracy for us just to pay for our tickets and enter the park. This was all played out besides a weird full size model of Father Christmas with glasses, swaying to awful Christmas carols. Save to say, my hungover mood was not improved by this special form of Tanzanian torture. At last we started our walk which was five mile hard slog steeply uphill through temperate mountain forest with large red mahogany trees covered in moss and ferns. There were also clear water streams and waterfalls tumbling down by the path. The whole forest was very reminiscent of English woodlands and streams on Dartmoor except that there are no monkeys on Dartmoor. The guide kept a high pace and we eventually arrived at the base camp somewhat exhausted with the exertion and the altitude of 2700 metres. We had some well needed lunch and walked on to a small crater, passing fascinating tree hyrax along the way which move deliberately and slowly like a small koala bear. The flora changed dramatically to more desert like pampas grasses. We saw the view over the small crater which was a little underwhelming after such a long climb. There was a stunning orange-red flower there though. The peak of Kilimanjaro was now hidden behind thick cloud. We found a viewpoint over the surrounding landscape which was very hazy in the sun's heat but you could still see flat plains stretching out for miles to lakes and distant mountains. We started our long descent over rocky paths and came across a tiny chameleon which was fascinating in the way it moved with extending its cupped hands and changed its bright vivid colours according to what plant it was gripping.. As we descended the long five miles back to the entrance of the park we realised why we had got so tired walking up the rocky, tree root criss-crossed path. We eventually arrived back at the entrance exhausted after such a demanding trek. Our guide and driver took us back to the campsite. We gave the guide a tip, but I had the sense that he didn't feel it was enough and he gave us quite a perfunctory goodbye. The tipping culture is very challenging in Afrca as its difficult to know how much to give, Everyone involved in a trip seems to expect a tip, and you feel that their initial enthusiasm towards you is in the hope of receiving a big tip rather than doing so out of the goodness of their heart. All in all, I felt the trek to the Kilimanjaro base camp was expensive for what it was, and a very hard slog to no great benefit. In the end, I wished I had stayed. at the campsite for a well needed rest, as I knew I would be exhausted the following day after the trek.Read more