The best of times; the blurst of times: February 2012

Tues 3rd Jan 2012 - Sun 8th Jan 2012

Despite being incredibly unfit and underprepared, we return having successfully managed to conquer Kilimanjaro, the tallest (freestanding) mountain in the world! This past week was an amazing yet challenging experience and we have made many firm friends on this climb - it really has been the best of times and the blurst of times.

We discovered before we started that the world record for climbing Kilimanjaro is 6 hours. We did it in 6 days. But it is at least comforting to know that climbing Kili is the most difficult trek in the world that you're allowed to do as an amateur hiker (ie fat, unfit people like us who haven't trained).

On Day 1, we woke up early in Moshvegas, bright-eyed and invigorated for the week ahead. Things started with an amazing breakfast where we got to meet the rest of our tour group. We don't want to exaggerate, but 'Team Milo' is made up of eleven of the most incredible and inspiration people you will ever meet - two Irish girls, four Brits, two Canadians, a Kiwi and us Aussies, thrust together on a common mission to get to the roof of Africa. And to help us get there, we had our affable local guide Mndeme, who was far easier to get along with than he was to pronounce.

As always, we were super prepared... Justin had to hire an entirely new wardrobe, as he had left his waterproof jacket, pants, hiking poles, gloves and boots in Adelaide. Michael needed sunglasses to prevent being blinded at the snowy peak and ended up having to awkwardly buy a pair straight from the face of a passing local because there were no nearby shops selling them. However, once fully kitted out, we jumped in a minibus, drove up to Machame, waved to the hospital as we went past, and signed the entry book at the Machame Gate of the Kilimanjaro National Park. The trek had officially begun!

The first signs of shortness of breath, wheezing and cramp came on within approximately seventeen and a half steps and, although we strongly considered turning back, there was unfortunately a large group of annoying Americans blocking the path behind us so we had no choice but to struggle onwards and upwards.

Physical pain aside, we were pleasantly delighted with the weather, as we were treated to a beautifully clear day. One of the most amazing things about the hike was the variety of climates and scenery that we passed - each new day was like entering a completely different world! The first day was in a hot and humid rainforest, where we covered 18kms of gentle slope to finish the day at 2980 metres above sea level. Here, we were treated to the first of many candlelit dinners in the group tent. Spirits still high, we spent the evening playing games and introducing all the non-Antipodeans to milo. Although initially suspicious, it is safe to say they all absolutely loved it (unsurprisingly) and thus Team Milo was born.

Next day we hiked though moorland, which was very swampy and we had to contend with patches of rain. We spent the night at the Shira campsite, which was 3840 metres asl and had beautiful views of the rainforests of Machame. So far, the walking had not been too strenuous and we spent most of the time trudging slowly along as a group, chatting away and just enjoying the company and scenery.

Day three was through a rocky and barren semi-desert, with a much steeper ascent. One of the girls likened it to "walking along the bottom of a fishtank" which is pretty much the best way to describe it. We hiked up to 4630 meters asl today, but came down to 3950 metres to camp. This was to help us acclimatise (climb high, sleep low). Medical advice is to only increase sleeping altitude by 300 metres per day, but we have slept about a kilometre higher each day so far. Luckily, no one has any symptoms yet (although it has been really hard to distinguish between altitude sickness and general unfittness).

Day 4 was a hike through complete desert, then climbing the Barranco wall. This was a sheer rockface where we were climbing over ridges, cliffs and waterfalls. We slept at 4550 metres asl in preparation for our ascent to the top!

By far the most gruelling day of my life was summit day. Basically, if you wanted to design the most fiendish way to torture someone, it would be to get them to start hiking at 12am in pitch black darkness, with only three hours sleep, in sub-zero temperatures, hiking up the steepest slope ever, that is inconveniently covered in loose gravel and scree, at 5000 plus metres so we could barely breathe. It was tough and slow, but we eventually got there despite not having a torch or any light so we were walking blind. Even another good old sing-song didn't help our breathlessness, although it did raise our battered spirits.

We got to the first of Kilimanjaro's twin peaks, Stella Point (5685m asl), just after dawn and were able to appreciate the stunning sunrise in between gasps for air and pain. We then struggled on for another hour to reach the highest point in Africa, Uhuru Peak (a staggering 5895 metres above sea level - even higher than Everest base camp!)

The views from the peak were stunning - there's far too much to take in here; more to find than can ever be found. But the sun rolling high through the sapphire sky keeps great and small on the endless round. The newly risen sun lit up the glaciers and snowcapped peaks, with acres of snowy mountain as far as the eye could see. We were above even the clouds, which swept away like a blanket below us. It was just beautiful.

Happily (and despite Justin's protestations that "I'm not really the outdoorsy type"), we all made it up to the top, although one girl in our group had a stroke and some had to contend with altitude sickness as well. To celebrate Team Milo's achievement, we did star jumps in front of the sign, so we probably got to about 5896 metres in the end. Then, to top it all off, we randomly bumped into Alex, our travel agent who planned the whole trip for us, here at the peak. Clearly STA Travel goes above and beyond what's required to check that we were satisfied with our trip. It was the weirdest feeling to have an intense Adelaide moment at the top of Kilimanjaro!

All this had been achieved by about 8:30 in the morning - but the day was far from done. We had to cover about 22 kilometres in total today in order to get down to 3000 metres before nightfall for health reasons. This was tough as there was no path, only scree, and it was really steep. So we had to slide down the mountain in zig zags. It was basically like skiing as it was impossible to walk normally as the ground was loose and gave way underneath. It was horrible. It was also a desert, so the scenery was really ugly.

Luckily the lower altitude made us all feel a lot better, and made our friend's face stop drooping. Sleep deprived, sore, sunburnt but very happy, we fell asleep. On day 6, we woke up full of oxygen and completed our descent and return to the hotel victorious to celebrate our achievements.

The feeling of having conquered Kili is just brilliant, although the achievement is tempered somewhat by the fact that I struggled up the mountain carrying my 5 kilo daypack, while I had a porter who had to carry all his own stuff, my tent and food and then balance my 15 kilo pack on his head all the way up. Plus, he was incredibly quick and always got to the campsite way before we did to set up our tents and cook our food. I feel so inadequate.

Luckily though, the hike was about so much more than just walking. Clearly, climbing mountains creates strong bonds between people as there was much camaraderie and helping out from each member of the group. The people we went with made a huge difference and it's a week we will always look back on fondly.

Cheers,
Justin and Michael

Inspiration from Lance Armstrong via Simon: 'Pain is temporary, quitting is permanent.'

The best of times; the blurst of times

Days 23-28 - We arrived as boys, we leave as men

- Apologies for the lull in the blog -