Kilimanjaro Base Camp

For our first full-day foray into the tourist world, we gathered the students into the mini buses and made our way to the foot of the epic Kilimanjaro. After several days of drinking our morning coffee in its shadow, we were all just a little bit excited.

There are several routes to climb 4,900 metres to the summit at 5,895 metres, some quicker and more adventurous than others. We opted for a gently sloping day trip of a walk, considering our time constraints and variable fitness of the group.

We stumbled at the first hurdle. In climbing the mountain, you have to check in all members of the group, including the names, birthdates, nationalities and passport numbers of all individuals, no small feat when you're travelling with the United Nations of student backgrounds.

Guides are required for all journeys and groups staying overnight were required to hire porters, whose kit was weighed on the way in and out of the park. My favourite group of walkers were the large group of women from Dar who were decked in colourful khanga and hijabs. Considering we passed them on the way up and then back on the way down, they weren't really going for a speedy summit.

The walk sloped gently up through the woods before taking slightly steeper turns up towards basecamp.

Some of our students struggled a bit but five hours after we started, we made our way to Mandara Hut at 2,720 metres. There was no view but the sun was shining and lunch tasted fantastic after the sweaty walk to the almost halfway point up Kili. Much of the group then made their way another 350 metres up to Maundi Crater. I stayed behind with the wanting a resters.

As I rested, I contemplated the human desire to conquer big peaks.  We saw, and smelled, many people making their way down after summiting. It seems like a great idea, a huge accomplishment but when you get to the higher altitudes, oxygen canisters and heavy-duty mountain gear is required. Snow falls year round at the peak. And there's a good chance that you get to the summit and the sky will be marred with clouds. Imagine that, you climb to nearly 6,000 metres and you don't even get a view.

For the moment, I'll stick to this Kilimanjaro taster.