Day 1 -- 4th Sep
Time
7:00	Our first dinner in Tanzania. We woke up at Moivaro Coffee Lodge near Arusha. where we checked in the previous evening after a long flight. It was dark when we landed and met our safari guide Peter, who drove us to the lodge, an hour from the airport. We were too tired to explore the lodge, so we retired after dinner.
7:30	Good morning Tanzania. CK sipping on the home-grown coffee. The lodge was beautiful under the daylight. After changing into hiking attire, we followed the maze-like footpath to the restaurant, where we had breakfast at the porch and enjoyed coffee grown locally on the lodge.
8:30	We met our hiking guide Wilbard from Nature Discovery, who briefed us on the trek and double-checked that we had all the necessary equipments.
9:10	We checked out of the Moivaro Coffee Lodge; Peter and his SUV was waiting for us. After 2km of very bumpy dirt track, we reached the paved Arusha-Moshi road and headed east towards Moshi.
10:00	Clouds over the Arusha-Moshi Road. Modeling in Tanzania. Buying bottled water at the Coca-Cola stand. We stopped at Boma Ngome to purchase drinking water for this first day of our trek. It was not safe to drink tap water in Tanzania, but the bottled water was quite affordable -- about US$1 per liter. We bought 6 liters at a water stand which shaped like a giant Coca-Cola bottle, and the owner was kind enough to fix Emily's broken sunglasses.
11:20	Landorossi Village. Emily chatting with a local hairdresser. After Boma Ngome, we left the Arusha-Moshi road and turned north towards Kilimanjaro. We entered Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park at Landorossi Village. When Peter was working on the paperwork for entering the park, we walked around the small village and chatted with the friendly Tanzania children.
11:45	Weighing our gear. At the ranger station at Landorossi Gate, we signed in for the trek. We also met the rest of the crew: Sharia the assistant guide, and our team of 13(!) porters. We were quite shocked by the large number of bags, sacks and baskets they brought. All of our gears were weighed at the station to make sure that each porter was not carrying more than 15kg. Since there were several teams checking in, and many bags for each team, but only one weighing station (a spring balance hanging from a tree), it took quite a while before everything was properly weighed.
12:55	We left Landorossi Gate.
13:45	Lunch. Finally, we arrived at the Lemosho Trailhead (2200m). However, before the actual hiking began, lunch was served. Expecting lunchboxes, we were led to be seated at a table (with tablecloth!) and were served with chicken, eggs, bread and fruit. For drinks there were hot coffee, chocolate and tea. This was the first of many memorable meals on the trail.
14:20	The first slope. The balancing act of the last porter. The lush tropical vegatation. A beautiful agave-like plant. We hit the trek after lunch. The porters carried our bags, and we walked with only day packs on our backs. With Sharia leading the way (he repeated pole pole -- pronounced as "POH-lee POH-lee", Swahili for "slowly slowly" -- and warned against walking too fast), we started climbing through the lush tropical forest. The trail was steep at sections but overall moderate, and the porters sped past us as if the huge loads they carried were weightless. There were some pretty wild flowers along the trails, and Sharia pointed out some monkeys swinging on the trees.
16:50	Trailhead - Forest Camp (4.0km ↑450m) The warmup for challenges to come, this short 2.5hr walk nevertheless got our juice flowing and eager for more trekking on the next day. It was getting dark when we walked into the Forest Camp (2650m). Also known as the Lemosho Camp or Big Tree Camp, it was a small patch of flat land in the forest, with many tents closely packed together. Tea in the mess tent. Being much faster than us, the porters have arrived much earlier, and our tent was already standing, waiting for our arrival. Hot water was brought to us for cleaning, and after we changed into clean clothes, cookies, popcorn and hot drinks were served in the mess tent (our mobile dining room). Not used to being waited upon, we were very pleasantly surprised by these little luxuries on the mountain.
18:30	Chef practising his magic. Dinner was served, and it was a feast. One of the porter, Michael, also served as our chef, and we were very fortunate to have him on our team, as everything was delicious. Hot and hearty vegetable soup was followed by green salad, pasta, and fresh garlic bread. When fresh fruit was offered, it was clear that we could not finish everything, and we were happy to share them with our team.
19:50	It was dark after sunset and we retired to our tent. Not used to the new environment, we could not fall asleep easily. Evidently we were not alone, as the whole camp was buzzing with noise of excited trekkers. Only after several hours (and several trips to the restroom) before we slowly sank into sweet slumber. next day
Jump To: CK's Home Page Tanzania Trip Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10 Day 11 Day 12 Day 13 Day 14 Thoughts (These pages were developed with Internet Explorer and may not align correctly in other browsers.) Created on 27th Sep 2006. Last updated on 8th Nov 2008. ckchow.mbox@gmail.com