Mt Kilimanjaro

“Pole pole” (pronounced po-lé po-lé), which literally means ’slow slow’ in Kiswahili, was the motto of our trip up Mt. Kilimanjaro. This was a 6 day tramp up Africa’s highest mountain, also the world’s tallest free-standing mountain and the tallest mountain you can climb without technical gear.

Before the trip, we had heard such horror stories of people being overcome by altitude sickness - turning delirious, going insane and incessantly vomiting, all while climbing this foreboding beast. I was even sufficiently scared to arm myself with anti-altitude sickness pills before leaving New Zealand. We had read also that only a third of the people that attempt the climb up Mt Kili actually make it to the peak, most giving up on the way to the summit. So with unrelenting determination and with a foolhardiness that only spoke of our inexperience, we set out to make it to the top… no matter what!!

And we did! It was no walk in the park (well, technically it was… we walked through Mt Kilimanjaro National Park), but it was really only the final day’s climb to the peak that was most exhausting. We went up the Marangu route, which took 5 days to go up (including a day for acclimatisation) and one to come down. There were huts all along the way, but much to my (unfounded) surprise – no hot showers! We started our ascent to the peak at 11pm of the 4th night and made it to Gilman’s Point, which is where most people give up, around 4 or 5am. I was told later about an unofficial point, known amongst the guides as Mhindi Point, which is where apparently all the Indian climbers just rub their hands in exasperation and give up! Luckily I made it past without knowing its significance.

We reached Uhuru peak (at 5895m) just in time to watch the sun rise (“Uhuru” meaning Freedom in Kiswahili). I was first to make it to the top, followed by Bridget and then the two boys. Us girls didn’t have as much trouble breathing in the thin air as the guys did (though it did feel like my chest and lungs were quite compressed). We spent only about 10 or 15 minutes at the top, taking photos, making a video for Craig and generally freezing (it was about -20°C). The view was amazing and our pain in making it through the last leg magically disappeared when we got there.

Exhausted, filthy and quite frankly sick of each other, we made it back to the bottom just before midday on our 6th and final day, only to catch a shuttle back to Nairobi that afternoon and to catch a flight to Egypt at around 3am the next morning. It took a good 2-hour long shower for me to get rid of the dirt and grit that had cemented onto my body and till then I had never known what pleasure could come from such basic amenities as a clean toilet and hot shower.

Before we started the trip. All smiles and friendly faces… we had no idea what was in store for us.

Day 1 – Mandara Hut.

There were at least six different terrains along the way.

John looking doubtful

Horombo Hut – Days 2 and 3

Huts on the mountain

Unique vegetation

On our way up

Us, our guide Stanley and a French couple we met along the way.

Zebra Rock

Livingstone, my amazing porter who carried my 15kg bag up the mountain, plus his own stuff on top of that!

Filling up our water bottles from the last stream of clean water.

Mt Kilimanjaro

Craig looking on as the many porters carry our stuff up. Did I mention we had an entourage of 11 porters, guides, cooks and assistants??

John and Mt Kili, with our track up to the final hut in the background.

Us with our guide, Stanley. You can see the zigzag track up to the summit, to Gillman’s Point. From there it is a walk along the ridge to the peak on the left hand side.

Climbing mountains African style!

Mawenzi Peak

Us with our guide and Livingstone

The top of Africa!

Sunrise from the peak

Craig and I on our way down

The ‘After’ shot. Not so many smiles and a whole lot hardier.

Kenya

So we managed to get an overnight bus to Mombasa the same day we arrived in Tanga. Arriving at Mombasa at just past midnight, we casually put up in a random bus for the night. Oh how far we’d come! Able to sleep in any environment, in any position, at any time and under any roof (including the tinned roof of a bus!).

Catching yet another bus to Nairobi the next morning, we stayed at the Nairobi Youth Hostel (on Hasith’s recommendation) that night and organised a 3-day safari to the Masai Mara the following day. We unfortunately didn’t go on the same safari as Hasith and friends as we found a less expensive option from the tour operators at the hostel (and it turned out that John and I had the pleasure of having our own private safari). We met Hasith, Bridget and Yu-Ching in Nairobi nonetheless and also bumped into them several times at the Masai Mara.

The Masai Mara was amazing. We spotted the elusive leopard (completing our Big Five “hunt”) and hippopotamus, as well as many many wildebeest, and were simply taken by the beautiful Masai Mara (also the Serengeti from the Tanzanian side). While on safari, we also partook in traditional Masai dancing at our campsite and visited a Masai Mara village nearby.

After our safari, it was back to Nairobi for a night (and some last minute souvenir shopping), before heading back down to Tanzania to tackle the mighty Mt Kilimanjaro. (Just as a side note, Nairobi was really cool – just a massive city plonked right in the middle of Africa. I could certainly come back and live there.)

A lesson in Human Biology by some salesperson on the bus to Nairobi, evidently selling a miracle cure that will cleanse your kidneys and bowels! (Or so we figured).

Those enterprising Africans, out to make some money.

The Great Rift Valley

The Masai Mara

African buffalo (also one of the Big Five)

Spot the happy couple

Yes, we were that close!

Vultures devouring a wildebeest carcass

Lions copulating (tsk, tsk)

Ahhh, Africa…

Watch out!

Finally! Hippos!!

Seven countries later, we finally see hippos.

Guard with AK-47 protecting us from the hungry, hungry hippos

Typical shot of giraffes underneath an acacia tree. Ahhh, Africa…

Migration south to the Serengeti

John is in Kenya, me, Tanzania

Looked who we bumped into! What an unusual species…

At the Masai Mara village

Dance with a lot of jumping

Home already

Hello… long time no see! Sorry for not updating the blog, but for those of you I haven’t already caught up with, I’m back home safely in Dunedin, New Zealand. Our itinerary was chock-a-block after my last entry and we didn’t really have enough time to sit down and blog. But the good news is, now that I’m back, I can upload more pics and fill you in on what we got up to since Zanzibar…

Zanzibar

Salaam Alaykum! We arrived in Zanzibar last week and experienced something completely different from all the other African countries we had been to. Zanzibar, on the East African coast, was heavily influenced by the Arab world and was a major trading port for African goods (including slaves) to the East.

We stayed a total of 5 nights in Zanzibar and its surrounding islands. We spent 3 nights in Stone Town on Zanzibar Island, exploring the old city’s labyrinthine alleyways, savouring the “fresh” seafood at the local markets and visiting museums (House of Wonders) and historical sites like a cathedral that was once a slave market and the old Persian baths. We also took in a spice tour of the island’s famous spices, which took us through the spice farms on the island.

After visiting the Eastern beaches at Paje and Bwejuu on our third day, we took an overnight ferry to Pemba, where we spent 2 nights at Kervan Saray. We went diving here in a truly idyllic setting…turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, 40m underwater visibility and beautiful coral reefs….just perfect! Due to the remoteness of the island and our time constraints, we didn’t have much of a choice than to take a flight back to Tanzania’s mainland and continue our journey North to Kenya.

Dhow

The alleyways of Stone Town

Breakfast on the rooftop

View from the top of Bottom’s Up

Zanzibari beds

We did a Spice Tour of the island’s famous spices…seeing, smelling and tasting Zanzibar’s spices

Cocoa

Dala-dalas, our favourite form of transport on the island.

Local Spanish-speaking children in Bwejuu (Eastern coast of Zanzibar Island)

We took a dip in the water after a fishy lunch

Pemba Island. The view from Kervan Saray, where we spent 2 days diving at the picture perfect location.

We caught a 13-seater Cessna plane back to the mainland.

The 13th seat was literally the co-pilot’s!

Welcome to Tanga

Doors of Zanzibar

 

Dar es Salaam

Jambo! Tanzania, despite being scammed, ripped-off and robbed here, is actually quite nice. I’ll explain what happened in the order they occurred. So we made it past the border (John, once again, had to pay for a visa, whereas the Malaysians get in for free – I can’t remember if I’ve already mentioned this on the blog – but Malaysian passports are the easiest to travel around Africa with! I haven’t had to pay for any visas, while the poor Kiwis and even more so the Brits, have had to pay through their noses.) and were first of all greeted by a minibus driver that totally ripped us off for a ride to Mbeya, where we had to catch a bus to Dar es Salaam. Then, during that bus trip – in which we had to sleep overnight at some random police check point – someone had stolen my cellphone!! The zip to my bag was opened and my cellphone was missing. I didn’t realise it till we actually got to Dar, so the next morning was spent at the police station filing a report.

At the police station, I met an Indian lady – a film director, according to her business card – who mentioned there was a Sikh temple really close by. So that night, I took John to his very first gurdwara (Sikh temple), we stayed for the kirtan (prayers) and then had langar (food). John was invited by one of the gurus to play the sitar afterwards. I think he really enjoyed the whole experience – and seems to want to know all things Punjabi/Sikh/”my people”.

Despite having to be on full alert for pick-pockets and thieves whenever we roamed the streets, I have to say I really liked Dar – it reminded me a lot of Malaysia. The East African coast is Muslim-dominated, and there has been a definite shift in religion, culture and clothing as we headed East.

The last of our misfortune occurred the next morning as we tried to get tickets to Zanzibar. We were shepherded to a ticket office, told the price of the ferry tickets, and paid unknowingly. It was only when we got on to the ferry that we realised that we had gone through a “ticket tout” that had scammed us on the exchange rate.

Random temple (not the Sikh temple) in Dar es Salaam

National Museum of Tanzania – we spotted some ‘Miss Tourism Tanzania’ models when we visited the musuem.

MV Illala

Never again. The MV Illala is a ferry that runs up and down Lake Malawi and has done so for decades. But our romantic notions of sleeping underneath the stars were quickly dashed as we realised that our 2nd Class tickets subjected us to sleeping amongst ‘the commons’ – as well as the live chickens, smelly fish and the many cockroaches. (OK, so the roaches weren’t quite as big as the flying hissing cockroaches of Malaysia – but still!) I was most worried when I woke up several times during the night to find myself sleeping with my mouth open. *cringe*. Anyway, by the end of it all, I was literally rocking to the mantra “insects are my friends…insects are my friends…” in a slow daze.  I’m sure I’m medically afraid of bugs.

Actually, the best part of that whole experience was in the getting to the ferry. It was a bit surreal towards the end of our last-minute chase to get on the ferry – from bus, to minibus, to ‘matola’ (unofficial ute/pick-up truck), to bicycle! No really, sitting at the back of a bicycle with our luggage and all.

So 2 nights were spent on the Illala, which docked at every two-bit harbour along the way (including a few in Mozambique), before we arrived at Nkata Bay. Here we were reunited with Craig again at what really is a Backpacker’s Paradise. We stayed for 2 nights (though we easily could’ve stayed a week – as Craig had) and did a dive each on Lake Malawi. Lake Malawi is quite unique in that it contains many of its own species of fish – the most famous of which are the mouth-breeding cichlids. It was cool to see these fish seemingly gobble up their young in order to protect them (in their mouths!).

Sleeping in 2nd Class

Boat going out to the “harbour” (=beach)

Mozambique

Our chalet at Mayoka Lodge in Nkata Bay

Craig decided to go all out and complete his Advanced PADI course, so John and I once again, set off without him. We headed to Mzuzu and then onto Karonga, where we had to spend the night as the border post to Tanzania was closed by the time we arrived.

I heart Malawi

Hello! Sorry for the long delay between blog posts, and thanks for the comments guys! Catrin – sorry for invading your dreams but it sooo sounds like something that could happen! And sorry Fernanda about the comments – I apparently have to approve them before they appear on the blog and I had several sitting there that I didn’t know about. Same with your comments Tim and Wenzel. Oh and it’s so cool that you guys (my dear flatmates) are following my progress on the map!! Can’t wait to see it when I get back

Ok, so I’ll give you the abbreviated version of what’s happened. After our minibus fiasco in getting to Lusaka (during which we befriended a couple of Zambians and even picked up a bit of the local language – starting with the expletives as usual and then the pleasantries), we finally made it to the capital at some ungodly hour. We moved straight on to Malawi the following day, staying a night at Chipoka first, then heading to the border, to Mchinji and then onto to Lilongwe (I’m naming all these places for the express purpose of Bruno and my flatmates by the way).

Malawi – the warm heart of Africa – lives up to its name after all. We met with Craig for only a night in Lilongwe before he headed North to Nkata Bay to start his PADI course, while John and I decided to explore the country while waiting for him. I think it’s fair to say we well and truly “did” Malawi. We started off in Senga Bay (a small fishing village by Lake Malawi) at a lovely guest house and met a Sri Lankan man, who would later turn out to be invaluable for us. Then we headed South to Zomba, where we climbed the Zomba Plateau and savoured the strawberries and mulberries grown in the cooler climate, and headed to Blantyre the following day. Blantyre was OK, we didn’t have a good experience at the backpackers we stayed at (DON’T go to Doogles, if anyone is heading in that direction) but we made up for it by taking a day trip to Mt Mulanje and visiting the tea plantations at its base. I couldn’t resist buying some Chombe tea after our tour…. tea party when I get back?? 

So after Mulanje, we headed back to Blantyre, caught an overnight bus to Lilongwe (where we actually slept in the bus at the bus depot! It’s what everyone else did) and headed to Chipoka the next day to catch the famous MV Illala ferry up the lake.

Senga Bay

Kapenga at Senga Bay

Cow crossing, our view from Carolina’s restaurant (where we had a really good Sri Lankan curry!) – yeah, Evan, I know…hardly the starving African scenario is it?

Me and Sostein (our guide) – Tired from climbing Zomba Plateau.

Mt Mulanje

Tea plantations on Mt Mulanje

Siavonga

For the first time in our trip, we parted ways here on our way to Siavonga. Craig, needing to do his PADI diving course in Malawi, decided to head straight through to Lusaka after our brief stint in Livingstone, whereas John and I decided on a detour to Siavonga for a day or two.

Siavonga is a tiny fishing village on the Northern tip of Lake Kariba (the world’s largest artificial lake), which also lies on the Zim/Zam border. We had our own little chalet by the lake here, and enjoyed the day by taking in the local cuisine, visiting the Lake Kariba dam (where we met a couple of very friendly Zimbabweans who gave us an impromptu tour of the place) and rounded off the day by managing a sunset cruise on the lake (which was actually part of a conference for some officials from the Zambian Tax Revenue Department – who were a surprisingly cheery, friendly, nerdy (they were debating the pressure of the dam wall for the better part of the cruise, in which I was only too keen to participate in!) bunch).

The ride back to Lusaka after that is where the real story begins though. It’s really one to be told than written… but briefly, let’s just say that after debating the price of the ride back to the capital for the better part of the night, when we were ready to go, it turned out that the driver was drunk and John was handed the keys to the minibus!

Tasting the local cuisine – nshima (pronounced “sheema”) is a maize-like bread (very similar to the South Indian Idly (sp?)), with brim fish, some sort of sauce and green leafy vegetables. Incredibly tasty!!

Zimbabwe border

Don’t worry, we didn’t actually go in. That’s John and me, with Lucky.

Lake Kariba Dam

View from our chalet

Our boat for the sunset cruise

Sunset cruise

Water Rafting Down the Zambezi River

So Day 2 in Livingstone was taken up by a full day’s rafting down the Zambezi, going from Rapid 1 to 25. I can’t describe just how much fun this was! It’s a grade 5 river, which apparently is no leisurely paddle, and after John’s almost instant dismissal from our raft on the first rapid (which was absolutely hilarious when looking back on the frame-by-frame photographs) we took it pretty seriously. But that doesn’t mean our raft didn’t flip. On a rapid called “The Mother”, our raft did a such a spectacular flip that everyone fell overboard and I soon found myself clinging on to dear life trying to swim my way through the rapids, only to be rescued by another raft. The others had somehow managed to hang on to the OS (“oh shit”) line on our raft and happily climbed back on. Our raft guide (cutely named Simba) must’ve been relieved to see me clambering on to the rescue raft further downstream. Apart from that, actually, including that, we had a great time rafting that day. John and Craig came back rather sunburnt, and me a little blacker. I’ll be browner than you now, Andy!

Craig and I enjoying a “traditional” African meal in Livingstone

All of us with a traditionally dressed waitress

The Smoke that Thunders

And that is exactly what Victoria Falls is. Since internet connection, or rather, fast internet connection, is as rare here as hen’s teeth, I’ll backtrack a few days to describe our adventures from where I last left off.

After Maun, we caught a minibus to a small transit town called Nata and from there (sorry Mum and concerned friends!) hitched a ride up to the Botswana/Zambia border. Despite what people think of hitchhiking, it’s actually a relatively safe mode of transport, if not cheap and a great way to meet the locals. Even if the ride we hitched was with a truckie, who was driving a 46-tonne truck of mining equipment headed for Congo, and happened to be chugging back Castle Lagers as he drove. This made for an interesting trip, the 3 of us tucked in the front part of his truck (which was surprisingly roomy! There’s even a bed!), watching wearily as he reached for each new bottle of beer after casually tossing the last one out the window. The plan was to reach the border town of Kasane and spend the night there before catching the ferry over to Zambia the next morning. This was simply not to be however. The truckies, it seems, like to stop at around 9pm at some random truck stop, drink, party, play and continue driving at midnight to reach the border, where they wait all morning till the 6am ferry over to Zam. So we did as we were told and followed suit. However, I quickly re-discovered that not having anything to eat and then drinking was not the greatest idea. So feeling a little worse for wear the next morning (and after spending an uncomfortable night sleeping in the truck amongst food, bicycles, power plugs (did I mention Humphrey, our friendly truckie, had packed his truck with “presents” for his kids?)), we made it to the Kazungula border post and crossed over to Zambia. (Not that we cared too much at the time, but we also crossed the 4 corners of Zambia, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe on that short ferry crossing over the Zambezi river).

So we arrived in Livingstone later that morning and after a short recovery nap decided to make the most of the day by visiting the majestic Victoria Falls. The photos shall describe the rest.

John, me, David Livingstone and Craig

Baboon…not Babu!

Victoria Falls from the top

Victoria Falls

Treasure at the end of a rainbow?

Walking down to the Boiling Pot at Victoria Falls

John at the Boiling Pot

View from the Boiling Pot

Brigde connecting Zambia and Zimbabwe

Have to climb all the way up again…

More baboons