Kilimanjaro

When it is visible, Kilimanjaro makes as impressive sight rising 4800m from the African plains to a height of 5895m (or 5892m, depending on who's survey you believe). As such it is the fourth highest of the big seven (the highest mountain on each continent), and the largest free-standing mountain in the world. The mountain is actually three volcanos. The oldest, Shira, finished erupting half-a-million years ago (again sources vary) and collapsed to form a massive caldera. Shortly after (geologically speaking) two further volcanos, Mawenzi and Kibo formed in Shira's caldera. While Mawenzi, at 5149m, is a technical climb, the summit of taller Kibo can be reached by simply putting one foot in front of the other. So following in the footsteps of my hero Douglas Adams, who reached the summit in a large rhino suit, I set off to conquer the mountain.

Day 1: The Machame Gate. Nothing happens very fast in these parts – after arriving at the gate the small army of porters (9 for our group of three, plus 5 others) sort out equipment before their loads are weighed (there are strict limits to avoid abuse). The whole process takes hours, so the 30 or so western tourists mill around in their expensive, newly bought hiking gear. I'd brought along my large backpack, expecting one of the porters to use it as a backpack. Instead, it was loaded into another larger, and all together less comfortable looking bag (along with some chairs) for transportation up the mountain. We finally set off just before noon, up through the cloud forest covering the lower slopes. As my companions, Leon and Thushara, set a rather slow pace, I walked ahead with the cook, Robert. The first day is a gentle 8.2km as you ascend from 1840m to the Machame camp at 3022m, and we were finished by 3:30. After a few hours sitting around the campsite, the clouds parted to reveal our target, the peak of Kibo.

Day 2: This was a short (5km) but steep hike which actually lets you see that you are on a mountain. The trees fade out fast, leaving a rocky moorland not dissimilar to Scotland. I decided to push it, and reached Shira camp, at 3800m, in two-and-half hours, ready for a nice afternoon nap. The campsite is barren and windswept, but occasionally, when the clouds part, you get a good view up to the crater of Kibo. Apart from coming down with a cold, which is not great half way up a mountain, I wasn't feeling any effects from the altitude (acute mountain sickness (AMS), or altitude sickness, is the main reason people fail to reach the summit, and thus the reason why a longer trek is better).
















Day 3: Very quickly after leaving camp, you find yourself in a large boulder field (both the boulders and the field are large), where only the hardiest plants cling to life, and the crater looms massively before you. This was one of a few acclimatisation days, where we hiked to Lava Tower at 4530m before descending to Barranco camp at 3900m. My sprightliness of the previous days had deserted me, and when we reached Lava Tower my legs felt like jelly. The tower itself requires a bit of climbing to reach the top. My guide, Jonas, thought it best if he sat at the bottom as I clambered up. I made hard work of the easy climb due to neither my muscles or brain working at full capacity. Once on top the view is rather good, if only the clouds would play ball and give a full panoramic. Once down, I somehow persuaded my legs to carry me the rest of the way to the camp site. The Barrranco camp, lying in a valley, is the prettiest on the route – although the low clouds never seem to lift, at night you can see the lights of Mosi far below, and in the morning, without its veil, the glacier covered peak looks quite majestic.

Day 4: This starts with a short walk (5.1km) out of the valley by going up the steep Wall of Barroanco. The tight nature of the cliff path means you have to stay behind the porters, carefully balancing their loads on their heads. The top of the cliff gives you yet another great view of Kibo, the summit of which still seems a long way away. From here you drop into a valley, up another ridge, then down in the Karanga valley before climbing to the camp above the valley. The sloping ground of the camp site, can give a really sense of vertigo, as the ground disappears into the clouds below it.
















Day 5/6: The day starts with the very short hike to Barafu camp at 4600m. Once there, the hardest job for our tent man, Kennedy, was to find places to wedge the tents on the rocky side of the mountain. Where we ended up, gives quite stunning views across the Shira caldera to Mawenzi. The idea was to rest up before the night time assault on the summit. I agreed with the guide, Oforo, to leave at midnight, which in hindsight was far too early. Being Welsh, I had decided not to spend several hundred pounds on space-age thermals and Gore-Tex this and that. So, Arctic sleeping-bag aside, I thought I'd largely make do with what I had. Two hours in and Oforo announced that we were half way there, and thus would have to stop for a while. Even though my newly bought gloves boldly stated -15°C, I could no longer feel my fingers. Feeling had also gone from my toes and face, and the wind was cutting straight though all the (clearly inadequate) layers, making me by far the coldest I'd ever been in my life. In fact I came close to crying and had become slightly delirious - at 3am the new moon rose, and I tried to convince myself that the sun would not be far behind. By 4:30 we'd reached Stella Point (at 5795m, just 100m below the summit, this is considered a runner up point) a full 90 minutes early. The wind chill was incredible, but I had to spend the next half-hour running on the spot to stay warm and keep my mind of the cold – still no sign of the bloody sun. At quarter-to-six we reached the summit of Kilimanjaro, and unsurprising Oforo and myself were the first there. By 6:10 the eastern sky was lighting up, and fifteen minutes later the sun finally popped up. I would have liked to stay longer to take photos of the glaciers, but Oforo was keen to get down the mountain to help guide Leon and Thushara up. Having met up below Stella Point, I ran/slid/skidded down the scree slope with one of the porters all the way back to camp, arriving just after eight. Although I'd have liked to have slept, altitude sickness was finally kicking up, and my head was pounding. The final night's camp was down at 3100m, so I thought I'd stroll down to it to relieve the headache. What I got was a knee jarring three hours, dropping from the alpine desert, though moorland to the camp in the upper part of the cloud forest.
















Meanwhile, Thushara had twisted her knee shortly after we passed, and was first carried down to Barafu camp, before being placed in the stretcher cum wheelbarrow that are used for medical evacuation off the mountain – if one had a more serious injury, such as a broken leg, the experience could be excruciating.

Day 7: The final day begins with the traditional handing over of tips. With 14 staff between the three of us, each individual's tip was never going to look stellar. The strict hierarchy, which goes guide, assistant guide, cook, assistant guide/waiter, tent man, and finally the nine porters, means the individual amounts to the porters look stingy, and there was plenty of discussion among them, even though the amounts we gave were adequate if not generous. The final hike is another 3 hours through the cloud forest, this time with the path very slippery due to the humidity. Thushara was again in the medical wheelbarrow, guided by four porters who thought that as it was going to be uncomfortable anyway, you might as well get it over as quick as possible.
















I spent a relaxed night in Arusha, before boarding the bus for the dusty, bumpy, seven hour journey back to Nairobi along one of the worst roads in East Africa.

The Mara

Another bone-jangling journey later, we arrived in the famous Masai Mara National Park, or as us in the know like to call it, 'The Mara'. We just had time to pick at a decidedly mediocre buffet lunch at the potentially pleasant, but unfortunately not quite built yet, Sentrim Masai Mara Lodge, before heading out on our late afternoon game drive.

Having already had pretty good sightings of all the big five with the exception of the leopard, we were on a cat hunt. The day was overcast, and the temperature pretty chilly, perfect conditions for finding some active cats. After a couple of hours with nothing much more than antelope (although it was an excellent selection with topi, haretebest and eland added to the usual impala and gazelles), the radio crackled into life and our driver started to pick up speed – the chase was on. Before long we had joined a large pack of safari vehicles huddled around a pride of lions. There were eight in total, including two males. We watched the larger male lounging until he got up stretched, yawned, dedicated and preceded to where the results of an earlier kill, a rather sorry looking half eaten zebra lay. He munched away, completely unperturbed by the thirty or so safari vehicles crowed around. After having a good fill, he dragged it over to the ladies, although he still didn't appear inclined to share the feast, and a short but vicious looking spat ensued. Unfortunately the sun was starting to go down, so we had to start heading back to the lodge leaving the cats to their dinner. There was just time for a bonus cat spot on the way back when a serval, small but very cute spotted cat, crossed the road in front of us.














The next day, with pack lunches at the ready, we headed out for a full day's game drive. Again, cats were top of our list and we soon found another small pride of lions. Having had our fill, we moved on only to find two black rhinos, one adult and one young, making their way across the savannah – very impressive.












The famous migration of the wildebeest had already started, and based on the numbers that were in the Mara, it looked like many of them had moved north already from the Serengeti. Driving through the vast herds of wildebeest, interspersed with zebra, you could almost here David Attenborough whispering in the background. No wonder the lions all look so healthy and on the plump side, this place is a veritable smorgasbord. Not soon after leaving the herds, we came across another group of six or so lions. This time, they were proudly lying around in the sun, sleeping off the three wildebeests that they had devoured, whilst one continued to polish off the last of one of the carcasses. Luckily this time we were first on the scene, so we had the lions practically to ourselves and were able to get very close.














Unfortunately it is pretty difficult to actually see the classic wildlife documentary moment of the wildebeest actually crossing The Mara river, but we did stop at one of the spots were this happens. It also gave us the chance of a much needed stretch of the legs, a closer look at the river's resident hippos and crocodiles, and have a bite to eat whilst fending of the baboons.














After lunch, we were committed to finding some cats with spots. Although the elusive leopard continued to remain, well, elusive, we did find ourselves a gorgeous group of three cheetahs, very close up. Unlike the lions, they were much more aware and nervous of the vehicles, so after taking countless photographs, we moved on to let them get some peace.














On the way out of the park the next day, we passed by five or so armed park rangers herding some cows out of the park. They had confiscated it from the Maasai who had brought them in the graze against the rules. Indeed we saw quite a few herds within the park and also stopped to talk to a young Maasai herder. Whilst his spear was very sharp, he seemed much more concerned with the whereabouts of the rangers than the lions.














We were sorry to be leaving The Mara, but very satisfied with what we had seen, in particular the cheetahs. It was busier, in terms of number of safari vehicles, than most of the other parks that I have visited, but you can see why. The scenery is beautiful and the animal concentrations were very high, especially of lions. It is also possible to get off the beaten track and feel like you are in the wilderness, although when an exciting animal is found you don't stay alone for long.














Comment on First African Dream Tours: When Kiri and I booked our safari we found the choice of companies, and the lack of reliable information on them, somewhat overwhelming, so I thought it would be useful to add a few comments on the one we chose. In the positive side the price of our trip was pretty competitive compared to the competition. All food, game drives and mineral water were included in the price of the trip. The lodge at Amobseli was excellent and the one in The Mara was good, although it will be better when they finish building it. It was, however, a disappointment to have to stay in town in Nakuru and it wasn't clear whether this mix up was the fault of the hotel or the tour company. Our guides were professional and friendly and our vehicle was reasonably comfortable and very reliable, although if I were to do it again I would prefer a 4-wheel drive. We managed in The Mara with 2-wheel drive, but if it rained things could get pretty tricky. One real advantage was that there were only the two of us in our vehicle. This great for the game drives as you can go at your own pace which is great when you like to take as many photographs as I do. Other than the Nakuru accommodation, the only real problem we had was that the deposit we paid via Swift never arrived. We still need to follow this up, but I'm not convinced we will get it resolved.

Lake Nakuru

Now it doesn't seem to matter what time of day it is, or where you are trying to go, Nairobi traffic is terrible. As one tourist information leaflet we read said, the traffic jams are enough to make a New York taxi driver jealous. Unfortunately, the only sensible way to get from Amboseli to Nakuru is right through the centre of the city. After sitting in queues of trucks, dodging street hawkers and goats being herded across the road, we finally made it in and out the other side, arriving in Nakuru town in time for a late lunch.














Disappointingly there had been a mix up with the hotels and we ended up having to stay in the Merica hotel in Nakuru town centre rather than in one of the lodges in the park. Whilst it was a perfectly adequate room, it really didn't have the atmosphere of staying in the park.

In the late afternoon it was time for Kiri's first, and my third, visit to Lake Nakuru park. The sky was dark and stormy which made a dramatic backdrop for the pink of the flamingos. We took photos of us in front of them, whilst being careful not to step on the various parts of dead flamingo that scatter the lake shore. In addition to the usual large numbers of impala, gazelle, buffalo, zebra and baboons we also got a great close up view of three white rhino, including a calf. Like Amobseli, we passed quite a few recently dead buffalo carcases, untouched by predators. It was unclear why they had died.














After a somewhat restless night's sleep, being kept awake by the hotel's live band, we headed off early on the long drive for the Masai Mara.

Amboseli

After sending Richard on his way back to Tanzania at the crack of dawn, Kiri and I met our safari guide and driver combo, George and Tito. We had lucked out and had our safari vehicle for seven all to ourselves – a real treat after the overland truck experience. Our first destination was Amboseli park, and the aim was to get there for lunch, so we left bright and early at 7am. After battling through the atrocious Nairobi traffic for an hour or so, another couple of hours on a decent road, and an obligatory stop at a curio shop, we turned off onto what was probably one of the worst roads I have experienced in Africa so far. The gravel was so corrugated that most vehicles veered off onto the unofficial tracks that winded alongside. Unfortunately, as our van was not 4-wheel drive, we looked on enviously as the Land Cruisers sailed past.














Another hour or so of bone jangling later we arrived at the park gate. Amboseli, although relatively small at 392 sq km, is one of Kenya's most popular parks, not least because of the potential for spectacular views of Kilimanjaro to the south. When we arrived the sky was cloudy, and there was no hint of the mountain. As we needed to get to our lodge for lunch we drove through the park relatively quickly, stopping only for a few photographs of some of the park's large number of elephants, as well as zebra, giraffe, ostrich and wildebeest. The landscape varies greatly from large dusty plains with numerous mini whirlwinds (from which the park gets its name) whipping up the dust, to swampy areas deep enough to practically conceal a full grown elephant whilst it drinks and stays cool.














Our accommodation, the Sentrim Amboseli lodge, was just outside the park gates, and proved to be a very comfortable home for the next two nights. It had an attractive pool and restaurant area, and our 'tent' came complete with beds, bathroom, power shower, fridge and hairdryer. Now this is camping.

After a predictable buffet lunch we headed back into the park, the first call of business being a visit to a Maasai village. Whilst we expected this to be a tourist trap, we felt we should take a look given the importance of the Maasai in this area and the uniqueness of their culture. Amboseli was traditionally Maasai land until in 1975 the area was declared a national park and the Maasai and their cattle were driven from the area. Enraged, they practically destroyed the park's population of black rhino and wreaked havoc with the lion population. Things calmed down following the construction of a water pipe, although even today the cattle herds encroach on the edges of the park. Indeed, we saw several herds of Maasai cattle and goats within the park, being led by Maasai boys as young as about eight, with nothing but a spear to protect them from the lions. Apparently the park rangers largely turn a blind eye. In 2005, the president downgraded the park to a national reserve and this has caused further controversy with conservations arguing it will lead to poor management and even further erosion and supporters arguing that it will benefit the Maasai community and encourage their involvement in wildlife conservation. I believe legal disputes are ongoing.














We were greeted at the Maasai village by the second son of the village chief. We were welcomed with singing and dancing including some very impressive jumping by the men. This was followed by a tour of a house and a demonstration of traditional fire lighting. Then, of course came the visit to the craft market. Whilst we realised immediately we were about to be fleeced, you had to admire the tactics – these guys have it down to an art form. First they insisted that Kiri and I split up to look at different stalls; then they took hold of any items you might be interested in, but refused to talk prices; once you had looked at all the stalls, desperately trying to politely turn down more items, things turned to business and they started negotiations at a ridiculously high price. All this was done in an incredibly friendly manner, with lots of smiles and introductions. In the end we decided to consider our spending as a donation to the community as a reward for all the effort they had put in.














Wallets considerably lighter, it was time to partake of some serious game viewing. Elephants were the order of the day, but we also saw plenty of gazelle (Grants and Thompson), giraffe, zebra and wildebeest. Unfortunately the drought that is currently plaguing Kenya appeared to be in evidence as we passed quite a number of dead zebra, wildebeest and buffalo, that had not been touched by predators. As the sun went down, finally the clouds started to burn off and Kilimanjaro gradually appeared, allowing for some classic animal in front of Kili photographs.














Day two in Amboseli started well with a lion sighting; one male with three females, and another two lions in the far distance. This was swiftly followed up by a female and two cubs. This was particularly special as lion numbers are relatively low in Amboseli. The rest of the day was spent watching the many herbivores.














The next day we left early for the long drive to Lake Nakuru.

Nairobbery

There appears to be no such thing as a decent mid-range hotel in Nairobi. Our last stay was at the Boulevard Hotel, and whilst this was adequate, it's very overpriced for what it is. This time we tried the Kenya Comfort Hotel, a city centre hotel, which is well recommended by the Lonely Planet. In reality it is pretty dingy, but after camping for so long, any bed is better than none. Also the staff, whilst not exactly efficient, were at least accommodating.














Rich and I's first full day in Nairobi was spent doing very little indeed. We did manage to brave the mean streets of Nairobi and make it round the corner to a branch of Java Coffee House, for a decent cup of coffee and a pleasant meal. In the evening we ventured out to a cinema in a mall in Westlands, one of the posher suburbs. I had persuaded Rich to see the new Harry Potter film, and at least he seemed to enjoy it more than the last one as this time he managed not to fall asleep.














The next morning we welcomed my old friend (long-standing that is rather than elderly), Kiri, to Nairobi and the splendour (cockroaches and all) of the Comfort Hotel. We spent most of the day taking taxis between different shopping malls, as Rich needed to stock up on a few last minute items for his Kilimanjaro assault. Kiri gamely fought off the jet lag (she had been awake for around 34 hours having flown in from Edinburgh) in order to join us for a very good dinner at Trattoria, Nairobi's 'best Italian restaurant'.

Rich left early the next morning by minibus for Arusha in Tanzania, leaving Kiri and I to our own devices. Unfortunately, most of the day was spent dealing with last minute hassles for our Masai Mara safari (apparently the Swift payment for the deposit had not arrived). We did, however, manage to hop in a taxi to the Giraffe Centre where we were able to both feed, and kiss, Rothschild's giraffes. Whilst the centre is targeted at children, this was still a real treat for me as I definitely have a soft spot for giraffes, and it is great to get so close.














As we were not sure of the quality of food we were to get over the next six days on our safari, we decided to spoil ourselves with dinner at 'Nairobi's best fish restaurant', Tamarind. This was a very smart affair with excellent food and service. Particularly impressive was when the power went off and the pianist didn't even miss a beat, and the waiters calmly and quickly lit torches and continued as if nothing had happened. Power cuts appear to be a regular occurrence in Nairobi. After desserts, which came complete with a personal message written on the plate, we went back to the hotel, slightly tipsy and pleased with ourselves that we had survived another day in the big bad city.

Overlanding

There are basically three ways to travel overland around Africa on at least some sort of budget: hire or buy a 4x4 with camping equipment; go by local transport and stay at backpackers; or book yourself on an overland truck. An overland truck is basically a lorry with a custom built rig comprising of luggage, food and equipment lockers, and bus seats (for between 20 and 30 people) on a high deck – it is effectively a very rugged bus.

When we booked our two tours from Australia we had no idea as to the size of the market – a dozen major firms (Kumuka, Nomads, Acacia, Geckos, Africa Travel Co (ATC) etc.) run the Cape Town/Jo'burg to Nairobi route in both directions at least once a week. So, together with the smaller operators, there must be a few hundred overland trucks operating in Southern and East Africa. All the trucks tend to do the same routes, and use the same campsites, which means you'll usually be joined by another two or three trucks on any given night, and at Snake Park in Arusha, we were one of eleven trucks parked in a neat line.
















From the comfort of Perth, we had no concept of how difficult it would be to drive from Jo'burg to Nairobi, and perhaps fell victim to the ridiculous stereotype of Africa as a dark continent, full of machete wielding maniacs who will hack to death any Mzungu they come across. After 10 weeks in which time we successfully drove ourselves around Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland, Africa's stereotype had been blown away, and we were regretting being so cowardly in the first place. That said, driving round Africa is not like driving down to Cornwall, you do have to have your wits about you, but it's not overly dangerous. We also recognise these four countries are comparably safe and well governed, and it does get more challenging as you go north. In addition, it's good idea to have some field repair skills so you can at least get the car to limp on to a garage if stranded somewhere remote.














The overland tours are advertised as being “expeditions”, which in reality just means that you'll be expected to put up your own tent, and pitch in with the cooking and cleaning. I'm sure that for some people they do feel like a real adventure, but for anyone who has done a fair bit of independent travel, or indeed anyone who is independently minded, you might as well be on any other bus tour where you have no control whatsoever, and feel a great disconnect from your surroundings. Whilst the pre-tour briefing correctly emphasises you get as much out of the tour as you put in, the reality is that the schedule is often so tight that there is little time to branch out on your own.

We only have direct experience of Kumuka (and then only one crew), but we did meet up with various other trucks along the way. Apparently different firms target their advertising differently leading to different crowds on various trucks – all ATC trucks seemed to be full (which for them means up to 30 clients) of a youngish crowd, while Kumuka seemed to pull in a lot of Australians, and one Acacia truck had half a dozen hungover girls throwing up over the sides of the truck on the first day of their tour. On our truck we had an Aussie who waxed lyrical about the Contiki tour he'd done of Europe a few years earlier (Contiki tours, apparently, start with everyone having to state their name and favourite sexual position – they are squarely aimed at the under 21s who fancy non-stop drinking and the chance of some drunken sex, while being driven around Europe/New Zealand/Australia). He was clearly disappointed that this would not be repeated in Africa.

On the flip side some people take the whole “expedition” thing a bit too much to heart – they follow the “rules” laid out in the introduction talk to the letter, and regard anyone who shows the slightest inclination of independent thought or action as a dissident and a danger to the mission. The normal rules of decorum between people, who are essentially strangers, seem to go out the window, as people feel they can shout at someone for putting the butter in the “wrong” place or demand to know if someone has washed their hands. From a sociological point of view this is all very interesting, and behaviour like this has been observed in prison and the Big Brother house.
















To hire a 4x4 in South Africa costs a minimum of 1000 rand (~£85) a day. So by the time you've factored in the fuel (~£50 a day) and one way fee (~£200-£500), a 30 day Jo'burg to Nairobi trip will set you back ~£4500, and that's before you're bought any food, paid camping or entered a national park. By comparison Kumuka charge £1350 plus a local payment of $450 which covers food and camping (the Australian authorities have now banned the local payment, as it disguises the true cost of the trip). As this also included park entry, there is a considerable saving versus hiring your own vehicle (unless you're packing five people into it). Buying your own vehicle could potentially work out cheaper than hiring, but you are left with the risk of not being able to sell it at the end, and the hassle, and potential cost, at borders would be much greater. Of course the cheapest (and perhaps the most adventurous) way to do it would be to take local transport. However, you'd have to leave much more time for this, some places would be very difficult to get to, and you'd still have to pay for safaris in the national parks.
















We in no way wish to disparage the crew or some great and open minded folk that travelled with us over the six weeks, and our experience could have been very different with an alternative crew (for the worse) or travelling companions. However, we would never join an overland truck again. We may, in the future, buy a Land Cruiser in London and drive it all the way around Africa, but that's a different story.

Queen Elizabeth National Park

From Lake Bunyoni we headed north, roughly parallel with the border with DCR, to Queen Elizabeth National Park. This park, which covers nearly 2000 sq km, has been decimated by the many armed conflicts that have plagued the area, but is now starting to recover, making it one of the most popular parks in Uganda. One of the highlights is a boat trip on the Kazinga Channel, which is home to thousands of hippos.














After another long and bumpy drive we arrived at aptly named Hippo Camp, set up our tents and headed out on our boat cruise in the stifling heat. Fair to its advertising, we were treated to plenty of hippos, as well as pelicans, storks, fish eagles, buffalo and elephants. Of particular interest was watching the locals go about their business on the river, only metres from the buffalo, one of the most dangerous animals in Africa.














We spent a slightly restless night at camp, fearful of needing to visit the loo, given the proximity to the edge of the lake and the abundance of aforementioned hippos, which are reportedly responsible for the most deaths by animal in Africa, save for the lowly mosquito.














The next two days were spent making the long drive back into Kenya, stopping at Chilli's campsite in Kampala, and at Naiberi River Camp near Eldoret in Kenya. The latter is a particularly pleasant campsite, not least because Rich and I upgraded ourselves to a lovely comfortable room, and thanks to the large number of very friendly camp dogs.














Our final night with the Kumuka trip was spent at Lake Nakuru, in the same campsite as our previous visit. The next morning, we went for a game drive whilst Celia stayed behind to prepare breakfast. Unfortunately, only minutes after we left she was attacked by the resident baboons, who had decided they also fancied our breakfast. They continued to hassle her for the next couple of hours until we returned – a very unpleasant experience. For anyone who still thinks they are cute, you are sadly mistaken.














We said goodbye to Doris, Jacques, our travelling companions and Homer (our trusty tent) at Naivasha and headed back to Nairobi in a taxi with Celia, who was off to pick up new passengers.