Day 13: Serengeti

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Updated: June 8, 2025

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Our alarms went off at 3:30am this morning because it is Epic Hot Air Balloon Ride over the Serengeti Day!!!

Ready by 4am, we used the walkie talkie in the room to call for an escort to take us to the main tent. On the short walk to the front tent, we dodged some water buffalo droppings, then saw two of them sleeping just off the path. So the security protocol here is legit.

We met the rest of our balloon team at the bar — Aaron, Emily, and Lily — and enjoyed some very good coffee and a delicious muffin while we waited for Kingston to pick us up. The rest of the group (Adam, Cordwood, and Melanie) is sleeping in today and will go an a morning game drive. We’ll all meet up later around lunchtime.

Tickets to fly

Kingston (aka. self-proclaimed “Balloon Guy”) arrived and we drove for about an hour to the take-off site. Once we were there, we waited for the remaining guests to arrive. In the meantime, we were given ginger coffee (weird), ginger tea (delicious), and little hot air balloon shaped shortbread cookies (adorable).

Hot air balloon lounge snacks

Firing up

Eventually, the rest of the passengers arrived and we met our pilot Paul Sparks, who had the most awesome Zimbabwe accent. He provided the safety briefing and explained how we will start with the basket on its side. We will use the Gemini “astronaut position” for take-off and landing.

The before photo… proof of life

Assume the Astronaut position

Hot Air Balloon route (light blue)

From the air, we saw a bunch of animals including large dazzles of zebras, a ton of gazelles and impalas, elephants, and even a lion (and more!). As noted before, the word Serengeti comes from a Maasai word meaning “endless plains”. We really experienced that from the balloon as we could see the park in all directions seemingly to go on forever. It also explains why the drives take so long.

Going up

Balloon Safari

Balloon selfie

Balloons over the Serengeti

Balloons!

Hot air

After about an hour, we landed and celebrated with champagne. Paul explained the history of the first ballon ride (they thought it was smoke that provided the lift), how we got the name pilot (the hot air balloon was invented by a frenchman named Pilot) and why flights are celebrated with champagne (to prove you are not the devil when you land in fields and set them on fire). For what its worth, Paul did a MUCH better job of explaining this French invention than the French did when we did the hot air balloon ride in France. Thanks Paul!

Touchdown!

Traditional champagne toast

The most important part of ballooning

When we were done with the story and champagne we were driven to our breakfast spot about 30 minutes away. They served an amazing, fancy breakfast in the middle of the Serengeti. Paul sat at our table and we learned more about his life and ballooning. We were given certificates for completing the balloon ride. These were much easier to earn than the Kilimanjaro certificates.

Flight certificates. We’re the pilots now.

Breakfast buddies

With our epic hot air balloon experience concluded, we drove back to the visitor center to meet up with the rest of our group.

Now on the game drive together, we started spotting animals. The guides are really great at finding animals, but a clear hint is when there are a bunch of safari cars bunched in the same area. We followed suit and our drivers asked the other drivers what everyone was looking at. Turns out there was a leopard taking a nap in the tree! There are pretty strict rules about staying on the roads, and the tree was a bit off the path so we couldn’t get any closer. When we were satisfied with the blurry pictures, we moved on to find other animals.

Safari Day 3 drives (detail, green=AM, orange=PM)

Lazy leopard in a tree

As we were on the road, we came upon a lion family – two females, a male, and a cub. They were walking right along the cars for a while. Apparently they were looking for food. One of the females ventured into the grass and we couldn’t see her anymore. But then a flock of birds suddenly fled the area and the lioness jumped up to try to catch one. She missed. We left the lions to themselves and continued the drive on the way to lunch.

Lions looking for lunch

Grazing giraffe

We went back to the visitor center in Seronera and found the picnic area for our lunch break. There were a reasonable number of people vying for tables and chairs, but we eventually claimed a spot along with the hundreds of small birds that were happy to lurk by our feet for scraps.

Here’s a possible hot take… game drives after lunch may not be the best combo. It’s hot out, the sun is blazing down on you, and there’s not a cloud to be found in the sky. Now imagine you’ve just polished off a box lunch of pasta, bread, rice, chicken wings, fruit, yogurt, and other various deserts. YUM!!! But what do you think is gonna happen once you get back in a warm, bumpy vehicle??? NAP TIME, BABY!!!! Which is fine, but not helpful for viewing animals.

Actually, game drives in general have their pros and cons. “Safari-ing is not actually an old-person’s game,” says Matt. They are unique for sure, but also hot, dusty, bumpy, sleepy, and sun-burny. Sitting in a vehicle for six days after climbing Kilimanjaro seems like it would be nice, but it sorta makes you feel super lazy and a little-stir crazy. Alternate theory… after floating gloriously above the Serengeti in a balloon, it’s hard to go back to Land Cruisers.

Anyways, after lunch we embarked on an afternoon game drive and (provided you were still awake) spotted more animals before heading back to the lodge — including our closest encounter with a group on Giraffes so far.

Arriving back at the Nyumbani Collection Lodge at roughly 5pm, we had time to participate in the “spear throwing” activity they offer. Mkaka demonstrated and we all took a few reps trying to throw the spear so that it successfully sticks in the ground. Most of us nailed it. We event challenged one of the lodge staff members to throw the spear further than Mkaka… results were too close to call.

Back to camp

After the spear-throwing, we had time for another activity — a walk around the property. Mkaka took the lead and some of the other staff joined as well. Mkaka was able to identify all the droppings around camp (hippo, lion, water buffalo), all the tracks (hyena, impala, water buffalo) and could even identify where a water buffalo was sleeping. He’s a real everyday Aragorn. Plus, walking around felt really nice after spending the last few days in a car.

Short stroll around camp

Overly complicated spear posing instructions

We had some time to relax back in the tents before dinner. The food was once again delicious, featuring lamb roast, soup, and a fancy Italian desert. Some people have now had enough soup to last a lifetime and took a pass on that course, so we’re gonna need you to turn in your Soup Bros membership card. Tomorrow is another game drive in the never-ending Serengeti. The mission: Large Cats.

PS. Animals seen today:

  • Water Buffalo in camp
  • Praying Mantis on windshield
  • Hyenas
  • Little Bunny
  • Marshall Eagle
  • Gazelle
  • Impala
  • Lion
  • Elephants
  • Giraffes
  • More Water Buffalo
  • Wildebeest
  • Zebra
  • Monitor Lizard 🦎 (Kenge)
  • Leopard! In a tree!
  • Lion Family hunting Helmet Birds
  • Egyptian Goose
  • Heartebeest

Day 12: Lake Manyara to Serengeti

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Updated: June 10, 2025

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With only one night at Serena Lake Manyara Lodge, we woke up today and finished packing our bags before heading to breakfast. We slept in the farthest possible rondavel from the main reception and dining area but thankfully the porters were ready and waiting to take our bags for us. We were seated at the same table as last night and enjoyed the big buffet.

Take care, Cheesecake Factory Hut!

We finished, checked out of the hotel, and helped Juma and Aidano load the vehicles. They recommended we swap drivers so we could get to know them both (and their different personalities and styles). This was a great suggestion because Juma and Aidano are a fantastic odd couple. So for today, Matt, Jo, Lily, and Cordwood rode with Juma and the rest of the group rode with Aidano. The plan for the day was to drive to our next lodging in Serengeti National Park with a stop in Olduvai Gorge along the way.

Safari Day 2 drive (detail)

Early on, we stopped at one of the various road-side market shops we saw featuring paintings, carvings, textiles, etc. Just to be clear, this was not the “TANZANITE EXPERIENCE”. However, in the back room, they will try to sell you “raw” tanzanite rocks, which is a bit shady because we’re not even sure you’re allowed to leave Tanzania with such material. So no thanks. But Matt did barter for the perfect Kilimanjaro fridge magnet which is probably safe to take out of the country.

Roadside Tanzania Etsy

Serengeti National Park is several hours to the northwest of Lake Manyara. To get there, we drive through the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and right past the Ngorongoro Crater. We will spend more time here on our return journey in a couple days, but for now, we just needed to kill a few minutes while Juma and Aidano got our permits (a common theme). In the gift shop, we spied comfy-looking pajama pants with elephant designs on them. Mental note to check these out on the way back.

Ngorongoro Conservation Area gate

OK, so here’s the main thing we are conserving…

As we drove along the rim of the crater, we stopped at a scenic overlook of the crater. Unfortunately, it was completely covered in clouds. Gonna check back in a couple days.

Today’s Crater view

Back above the clouds

We hopped back in the cars and continued the drive northwest thru the remainder of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The Maasai tribes of Tanzania live in these Ngorongoro highlands — in their traditional fenced-in villages — where they tend to their livestock (cows, sheep, goats, etc) while somehow carefully (and safely) sharing the land with the wildlife (zebras, buffalos, giraffes, etc).

Masai village

The Masai call the sound of cowbell “ngor ngor” (hence Ngorongoro crater)

Next stop: Olduvai Gorge. Still within the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area is the Olduvai Gorge Museum. It is right here where anthropologists have found some of the oldest (first?) humanoid skills and other fossils leading to a better understanding of human evolution. We had time to walk around the exhibits on our own before our docent gave us a short lecture about the museum, the conservation area, and the geology. We overheard one random tourist in the museum telling a guide he actually worked on the excavations years ago.

Olduvai Gorge

Gorge-ous weather today

The museum also had a picnic area where we stopped to eat lunch (featuring delicious chocolates for desert) before continuing the journey to the Serengeti. By the time we entered Serengeti National Park, there was some evidence of sporadic rain showers in the area. The animals seemed to be taking shelter and we didn’t see much, but we did see some lazy lions pretty much right away, so no complaints.

It is also notable that once you enter Serengeti National Park, the Maasai tribes are not longer allowed to graze their livestock here, so the amount of humans we spotted from the road (not counting other Land Cruisers) drops to basically zero. Now the view becomes a vast savanna of grasslands and open plains with scattered trees and shrubs. In the Maasai language, Serengeti means “endless plains”. Accurate.

Serengeti darf nicht sterben!

“Serengeti Shall Not Die” won Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1960

Water buffalo still getting no respect

No more people, just impala and zebra

A fairly obvious item, but the roads in Serengeti National Park are not paved (nor had they been since Ngorongoro Crater). With so many safari trucks driving on them daily, they are also not in the greatest condition. This made for quite the adventure in the rain.

First it was simply bumpy and loud, but then one of Juma’s windshield wipers stopped working. Then it was lost entirely (joining his radio antenna’s demise from earlier in the day, yikes!). Then the other wiper stopped working as well. I’m not saying our two vehicles mirrored our guides’ personalities EXACTLY, but if one truck’s motto was “Live Fast, Die Hard!”, that would definitely be Juma’s truck. Meanwhile, you can bet it all that Aidano’s truck has never missed a 10,000-mile tune-up.

After about an hour, we stopped at a gas station(!) that appeared out of nowhere (technically, a park administration area called Seronera) and Juma enlisted one of the attendants to help him attempt to repair the one remaining wiper. Of course, by now it had pretty much stopped raining anyway. We also managed to see a few more animals along the way including a hippo pool full of… hippos!

Hmm, looks like rain

Not currently hungry, hungry. More chilly, chilly.

Scraggly tree

Thumbs up for that bloat

Serengeti AAA… trying their best

Who needs windshield wipers anyway?

Finally, we made it to the Nyumbani Collection lodge. This is a permanent tented camp inside the border of the park. We checked in and were given the security briefing. We met the staff, including Mkaka, a Maasai who handles security in the lodge. Security, you ask? Well, because the camp is in the park, and not fenced off in any manner from the wildlife, we need to be escorted between tents. We were brought to our tents and given the tour. Each tent is complete with electricity and running hot water. Its really a hotel room with canvas instead of walls.

Tented paradise

After settling in, we use the walkie-talkie to get an escort back to the bar/dining tent for dinner. Everything was delicious, including butternut squash soup (for the Soup Bros) and steak. As we finished, we met Kingston, who will be our driver to our hot air balloon adventure tomorrow. He will pick us up at 4:30AM, so as we got back to the room, we went right to sleep. A little chilly in the tent, but perfect under the covers.

PS. Running list of animals seen today:

  • Marshall eagle
  • Giraffe 🦒
  • Ostrich
  • Secretary Bird
  • African Rabbit
  • Gazelle
  • Brown Eagle
  • Black Jackal
  • Sleeping Lions
  • Hippos!
  • Hyenas
  • Water Buffalo, RESPECT!!!
  • Topi

Day 11: Moshi to Lake Manyara

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Updated: June 8, 2025

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As we learned yesterday, the Safari Adventure phase of our trip begins at 7am in the hotel lobby. Having packed everything up last night, we headed downstairs to grab an early breakfast at 6:30am and prepared to meet our guides. James and Ari are not staying for this portion of the trip and so we said our goodbyes — they will chill at the hotel for a while and head off to the airport later this afternoon.

Our Ultimate Kilimanjaro safari guides (and drivers) for the next six days are Juma and Aidano. They gave us a quick rundown on the day’s plan, helped us load our bags, and we were off. Because there are eight of us, we split into two Toyota Land Cruisers. Matt, Jo, Cordwood, and Lily in one, and Adam, Emily, Aaron, and Melanie in the other.

The safari crew (Aidano on the left, Juma on the right)

We drove out of Moshi, through Arusha and toward Lake Manyara. The drive took about 4 hours with a bathroom/gift shop stop half way. We bought four little soapstone animals to turn into Christmas ornaments. We were also introduced to the ubiquitous “Tanzanite Experience” signage along the road (aka. The Wall Drug of Tanzania).

Safari Day 1 drive (detail)

Just before arriving at the gate of Lake Manyara National Park, we saw our first official safari animals — a few Savannah Baboons on the side of the road. We thought that was pretty cool, but that was just the welcoming committee. In order to officially enter the park, our guides needed to make a brief stop and take care of the permits and paperwork.

Quick permit stop outside Lake Manyara

Good time for an ice cream break

Well, well, well… where have we seen these wrappers before?!?

With permits acquired, we began our official game drive began thru Lake Manyara National Park. We popped the roofs on the Land Cruisers for the first time and were able to stand up and get excellent 360-degree views. The first views included lots and lots of monkeys — or Savannah Baboons to be more specific.

Why the sad face, baboon? (It’s a shadow from the grass)

After we stopped “monkeying-around” for a while (yes, thank you, we’ll be here all week, remember to tip your waitstaff), we stopped at a lovely picnic area that looked out over the lake. The menu was similar to our Kilimanjaro meals — rice, vegetables, fries, watermelon, and tropical juices. Still delicious!

Because they bite

Ultimate Kilimanjaro still busting out the heavy duty tableware

After lunch, Juma and Aidano took us back onto the roads in the park for another couple hours. We saw a bunch more Savannah Baboons, a Bushback, Blue Monkeys, African elephants, and a few zebras. African elephants can be identified in two ways: one, because their ears look like the shape of Africa, and two, we saw them in Africa.

Black faced monkeys. Remember, they bite

Zebra checking out the shoreline of Lake Manyara

Is this a Selelephantie?

Elephant family taking an afternoon stroll

Another Selelephantie

Other animals we saw include: Impala, Egret, Black faced monkey, Fish eater bird, Banded mongoose, Heron, Agama Lizard, and a Silver-cheeked hornbill. One animal we did NOT see was the Tree-Climbing Lion, despite the fact that the Lake Manyara National Park tagline is literally “Home of the Tree-Climbing Lions”. Alas.

Impala

Heron

After our loop thru the National Park was finished, we left and followed the road up the nearby Mto wa Mbu escarpment (aka. big cliff to the north of Lake Manyara National Park) to our lodging destination — the Lake Manyara Serena Safari Lodge. We checked in, and were assigned our rooms inside circular, double-story rondavels (traditional circular buildings with conical thatched roofs) that had a great cliff-side views of the Lake. Each room had a different animal key/name.

Heron Room #3 is at the verrry end of the path

Lovely hand-woven decor inspired by Maasai designs

Found more wildlife

But there was plenty of daylight left, so we quickly reconvened at the pool to relax. We were informed there was entertainment at the pool at 6PM. Sure enough, there was music, dancing, and acrobatics. It was an impressive show, especially since they were performing on the rocks by the pool.

Where’s the pool?

We should go there!!

Lake Manyara infinity pool

Poolside entertainment

After the poolside entertainment, we all went back to our rooms to get ready for dinner. The restaurant was packed and we were led to our table. It seemed like there might have been a large Chinese conference/tour group on site. The electricity went out a few times, but we were comically prepared with our own trusty lantern! Plus, the lights only stayed out for a couple of minutes. We took our time enjoying the many items in the buffet, including a Nelson salad – the same type of salad our Mt. Kilimanjaro server, Nelson would give us. After we couldn’t eat any more, we went back to our rooms for the night. Tomorrow we head to the Serengeti.

Emily is here… group photography skills upgraded

Day 10: Mweka Camp to Moshi

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Updated: June 6, 2025

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It only took us until the last morning, but we finally beat Ari in getting our bags on the tarp. Since we are back down in the jungle/monkey zone, the weather was warm again and we all spent most of the morning hanging around outside of the dining tent rather than bundled up in it.

Morning at Mweka

Last camp breakfast

After breakfast was the tipping ceremony. While we don’t actually provide the tips then and there, the guides sang Jambo Gwana (again) as well as a couple of other Tanzanian songs. One of the songs seemed to have freestyle/improve sections and, according to James, they were singing about how they were excited to not have to carry our bags anymore (fair). We thanked all our four guides and 27 porters for making this trip possible.

The whole operation

Once the tipping ceremony was done, we started to make our way out of the camp and down the mountain. The campsite is pretty big and we heard some other groups sining Jambo Gwana along the way. The hike was all downhill, which was surprisingly hard. Our bodies were a bit sore and tired still from the previous seven days.

Day 8 hike map

Day 8 hike (detail)

Day eight hair, don’t care

Can you ride that down?

Masters of the group shot

We were still incredibly lucky with the weather. Although it rained for an about five minutes, we were under the cover of the trees and didn’t really get wet. The trail was slightly muddy which meant we had to step carefully, but overall, it was not too bad. While no longer nighttime antagonists, we even saw some capuchin monkeys in the trees.

Canopy Shyness

After about three and a half hours, we reached the final sign. We had successfully climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro (and back down safely). It wouldn’t be reaching our destination if we didn’t have to check in – or rather out! This time, Jo couldn’t forge everyone’s names and we all had to sign the register individually. Now that we were officially off the mountain, we were right back in Moshi Time. We rested and waited around as our guides finished up all the paperwork they had to do as well as print our completion diplomas that we will receive later.

“Should we wait for Bill? Nah…”

It rained for five minutes in eight days, what the hell?

It’s in the books

The fellowship of the temu rings made it back

Finally everything was done and we were ready to head out. We jumped in the bus for a very short drive to our picnic lunch spot. Of course, there was a gift shop for us to peruse as we waited for lunch to be ready. The Blue Zebra had a few good trinkets that we picked for Christmas ornaments as well as a ton of local art, but the real draw was the tanzanite section. Tanzanite is aptly named as it is only found in the Mererani hills at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. After some deliberation, Jo ended up with a pair of round earrings and a trilliant cut (or mountain shaped) necklace.

Shopping for Tanzanite

With perfect timing, as soon as we were done, we were told that lunch is ready. We went to the picnic area in the back where we enjoyed one last James cooked and Nelson served meal. It was great to see them and have a mountain meal one more time.

is this Ponderosa?

Our favorite drinks

From there, we drove back to the Parkview Inn. Since we left from the Mweka gate on the southern side of Kilimanjaro, we were much closer to Moshi than when we drove to the start at Lemosho gate. Along the way we passed coffee farms and jammed out to Dismas’ selection of Swahili christian rock videos.

The arrival at the hotel triggered organized chaos. We first checked in to the hotel and got our keys. We then all got our money and passports out of the safe, so there will be no need to start a new life here in Tanzania. We also had to identify the luggage that we left in the hotel storage as well as our duffles from the hike so the hotel porters could bring them to our room. Then, we collected and counted everyone’s tip money and presented one envelope to the representatives for the guides (August and Barraka) and the other envelope to the representative for the porters. August then presented us with our Mt. Kilimanjaro diplomas.

I swear we’re not drug dealers

Officially graduated Kilimanjaro with our diplomas

Finally, we were ready to shower! But another group arrived when we did, and with so many people trying to use the water at once we didn’t quite have water for a couple of hours. No matter! More time to re-pack and hang by the pool. At 5:00 pm we met with Emmanuel who briefed us (and that one couple who thought they were in our group?) on our safari logistics for tomorrow. We leave at 7:00 am in order to get to the first location and have time for a game drive.

We’re spending the rest of the day at the pool

With an early departure ahead of us and Stoney Tangawizi available at the hotel restaurant, we opted to just keep chilling at the pool for dinner rather than go out into Moshi. Emily had arrived the day before and was recovering from jet lag, then joined us for dinner. We regaled her with stories from our epic adventure before heading to sleep in a bed that’s off the ground and won’t deflate.

Day 9: Barafu to Uhuru to Mweka

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Updated: May 31, 2025

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Well, technically, it’s still Day 8. But not for long. We awoke at 10:45PM from our very limited evening slumber in order to begin the final push to the top of Kilimanjaro. TIME FOR SUMMIT NIGHT/DAY!!! Or, as Baraka told us… “You have almost eaten the whole cow, you still need to eat the tail!”. (Um… That’s one hell of a tail!)

Waking up after roughly two hours of “sleep” is not usually gonna make you feel great (unless you are professional napper), and doing it at 15,000 feet altitude amid a flurry of nerves makes it even tougher. However, one good thing about the early wake-up call was no longer having to lay in the sleeping bag with super cold feet at Barafu Camp (which was only gonna get colder overnight).

A quick breakfast of porridge (as always) and ginger cookies was prepared in the dining tent, but most of us didn’t eat much. We had plenty of snacks packed for later. A couple bites of a Larabar, some drinking chocolate, and a bottle full of hot tea was good enough for Matt.

The plan for the hike was simple — trudge up the final 2.5 mile, 4,000ft ascent to Uhuru Peak — the roof of Africa! Then turn around and come back down, all the way to the rainforest zone by the end of the day.

Day 7 hike map (part 1)

Day 7 hike (Summit detail)

We were ready and hiking at 11:30PM. As noted, it was pretty cold, and obviously dark, so we used headlamps and lanterns to light the way. A bunch of other groups also started at about the same time, forming a giant line. If you stopped for a moment and looked upward, it was hard to tell — were those headlights or stars??? Probably headlights — but it was nice to tell yourself, “Nah, those are stars for sure, they are REALLY high up there.”

Amazing use for the trusty (belt) lantern

Summit night train

Our four usual guides accompanied us, along with one of our porters (whose name was certainly John) to act as an extra guide in case anyone needed help carrying their bags or going back down. They did an amazing job getting us through the first tough rocky scramble section in the dark (guide James literally pulled me up in a few locations).

We slowly marched onward — one foot in front of the other — and stopped for a few quick breaks along the way. The breaks served a variety of purposes — catching your breath, throwing up, or finding a convenient wifi-tent location a short distance off the trail (probably a good thing it was dark). Stopping for more than a few minutes was not a great idea because you’d get cold pretty quick. Thankfully, we tossed on our extra puffy jackets and continued. Musical inspiration was the Hamilton Soundtrack.

Roughly halfway up, Lily had gotten sick a few times due to the altitude. It looked like she decided to turn around and head back to camp with Baraka. Even Cordwood hugged her and said it’s OK. The rest of the group continued on. But then… a couple of HOURS later, we come across Lily and Baraka sitting on the trail taking a break! WHAT?!? Turns out, once we left, she decided to give it another try and worked at her own pace with Baraka to plow forward (and past us, when we weren’t paying attention). Aaron immediately dubbed them the Hound and Arya Stark of Kilimanjaro. Accurate.

As we hiked into the early morning hours — roughly 4:30AM to 5:30AM — getting higher and harder, the guides provided us shots of hot chocolate or hot water, aka. “Kilimanjaro Whiskey” as August called it. The little bit of warmth perked us up enough to keep us moving, which was vital because the cold was also starting to lull/make us a bit sleepy (combined with lack of sleep, perhaps).

Speaking of beverages, a combination of strategies worked to keep most our liquids from freezing — including those insulated Camelback straw covers (that were a royal pain to put on), and blowing air back into the tube after taking a sip. We didn’t tip our Nalgene bottles upside down, but according to reports, it was ice, ice, baby for a few that were not insulated.

Heading into the 6AM hour, we looked to the east and were motived by signs the sky was starting to lighten. By this time, Matt listened to the entire Hamilton Soundtrack TWICE thru, and was relying on Ed Sheeran’s musical catalog for the home stretch.

Sunrise!

Finally, mere minutes after the sun rose, we made it to Stella Point. At 18,885 feet, Stella Point is not the summit, but represents the end of the super steep section. Only about an hour of a gradual uphill left to go. We asked Baraka if we should take a photo in front of the Stella Point sign and he (semi-jokingly) responded, “NO PHOTOS OF THE STELLA SIGN! This is not the objective!!! You can take a photo with it on the way down if you want!” And that’s exactly what you’d expect the Hound of Kilimanjaro to say.

Stella Point smiles

Contemplating the sunrise

So we caught our breath, picked up our packs and started along the crater rim toward Uhuru Peak. About halfway, we took one final break. Even though we were even constantly climbing in elevation, I was starting to feel hungry. I guess eight hours of hiking will do that to you.

Still need to go all the way up there

Final Snickers break until glory!!

Eventually, we were high enough where the ground was covered in ice and hard-packed snow. YakTraks and micro-spikes were extremely helpful here for stability and speed. We all reached the 19,341 ft summit at about 8:00AM and the celebration began! Hugs and high fives all-around. The weather was perfect while we enjoyed the view of the Kibo Crater and waited in line to take our pictures with the famous summit sign.

Where is the Uhuru Peak fast pass?

Overlooking the Kibo Crater

Made it! Now, where’s the coffee?

Good signage

Amazing Summit team

After about 30 minutes we packed up our bags and started back down the mountain. We had great views of what are left of the southern ice fields — probably not going to be around much longer. We also provided encouragement for the hikers we passed still heading to the top. Matt certainly told everybody to put on their microspikes if they had ’em.

Heading back down

Kilimanjaro Southern Ice Field… for now

Upon returning to Stella Point, we were now allowed by Baraka to take a photo with the sign. We also took a moment to shed some layers (it was getting warmer) and stash everything in our bags — or get a helping hand from the guides to carrying extra items/jackets (Thanks James!).

A good portion of the downhill path from here is slightly different than our uphill route overnight (which makes sense as we did not pass anybody on the way up). It was a bit steeper with loose gravel and pretty slippery. To avoid falling, you really had to use your leg muscles and embrace the “skree ski” method. The summit adrenaline rush only gets you so far. It was basically alternating single-leg squats on a bosu ball for 4 hours. Guess who fared the best? (Hint: The volleyball player)

Now we are allowed a Stella Point photo

This took seven hours to climb up

About halfway back to Barafu Camp, we hear shouts of “ROCK! ROCK! ROCK!” We turn around to see there is, in fact, an extremely large rock/boulder careening down the mountain very quickly — and directly along our path of switchbacks. Some of our group was further down the trail and out of harms way (relatively speaking), but a few of us (James, Adam, Ari, maybe Aaron?), were closer and had to run/dodge to avoid the danger. I believe Baraka literally dwarf-tossed Adam out of the way.

After watching the giant rock tumble further down the hill (picking up speed and eventually breaking into pieces), the guides communicated with the group behind us to assess the damage. And it was not good. A woman was hit directly by the rock, and was badly injured. Our guides used their walkie-talkies to radio for help.

Rock fall incident

Rock fall incident location

Contemplating the close call

While shaken up, but otherwise uninjured, we continued down the path towards Barafu Camp for another hour or two, slow and steady. Good to play it safe after witnessing an entirely new way we hadn’t considered to get injured or killed on Kilimanjaro.

Along the way, we were being passed by an army of porters from different companies heading up the trail to help the injured woman. In the time it took us to hike down, these superheroes hiked up, fashioned a stretcher, and carried the woman down to the helipad (where hopefully an evacuation occurred soon, cloud-cover permitting).

Almost back to Barafu camp

We finished the Summit hike and made it back to base camp right at 11:30AM — a solid 12 hours after starting. The guides seated us and poured cups of the most refreshing celebratory (pineapple?) juice imaginable. The plan was to take the next 45 minutes to rest and pack up our stuff. Some of the group managed to nap, but we finished organizing and preparing our bags. Besides, 45 minutes of sleep would only be a mockery to our actual need for rest at this point.

Before departing, we sat down for a quick lunch, and while I have no recollection of what was served, Matt had his appetite back. Quoting Ari, “Moody, you look like you’re ready to go on another 6-hour hike right now!” And good thing too, because that basically what was about to happen.

Taking our knees into consideration, the guides offered us two options for the afternoon. We could either stick to the schedule and hike about four hours down to the last camp (Mweka), or we could do a short hike to a closer camp (Millenium). We would then have to hike further tomorrow, resulting in a later arrival back to the hotel. We opted to stick to the schedule, with visions of showers and the pool dancing in our heads.

Strap in for four more hours of hiking

Day 7 hike map (part 2)

Day 7 hike (down, down, down detail)

Hardest hiking yet

After such a long day, even a few hours downhill was difficult. The rough, cobbled trail was not doing our sore legs any favors either. But we eventually made it to Mweka Camp with plenty of time before dark. We took our sign picture, checked in, and found our area. The campsite was back in the rainforest zone and was quite large. We had a nice little cove just for us.

30 minutes to go!

Made it to Mweka – the last camp!

Won’t freeze tonight

Dinner was delicious and somehow our chef baked us a celebratory summit cake for a surprise desert! As expected, everyone was completely exhausted by the afterwards and went right to sleep. Tomorrow will be our last day of hiking, as we make our way out of the park and back to the hotel.

Is it cake? Or is it Kilimanjaro?

Day 8: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

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Updated: June 3, 2025

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We hit another daily double! Satisfying night’s sleep and amazing morning weather. Sleeping on the ground for seven nights in a row was a top concern prior to the trip, but hasn’t been a problem at all. Perhaps the lack of oxygen at ~13,000 ft makes your body to prioritize things differently? Sore back? Suck it up! No really, go suck up some oxygen first. (Caveat: I am not a doctor)

On the topic of restful sleep, Matt can confirm for anybody out there considering a Kilimanjaro climb, that bringing an extra canteen to send a “WiFi tent” message from the comfort of your own tent at night is very helpful. Matt does not mind the cold, but crawling into your tent ONCE at night and crawling out ONCE in the morning is plenty! Speaking of getting out in the morning, thank you James for always rising the earliest and catching the best photos at dawn.

Dawn at Karanga Camp

Our row of tents

Rise and shine!

The plan for today is to depart Karanga Camp and climb ~1,800 ft northeast toward Barafu Camp on a steady but relentless upwards path. Barafu Camp is often referred to as Base Camp, because it is the camp where many hikers (including us) launch their final nighttime push for the Summit, and return the following afternoon. Because of this, turnover for the camping “sites” at Barafu is not as early, and the urgency to pack up our Karanga Camp as early as previous days is not as strong.

Day 6 hike map

Day 6 hike (detail)

But don’t get the wrong impression… this ain’t Moshi Time! Porters can chill out for a while, but mere mortals like us still need to start hiking by 8am in order to reach Barafu Camp by noon (it’s a four-hour trek). The sooner we get to Barafu, the sooner we can start eating and napping — and eating and napping again — in order to adjust our body clocks for TONIGHT’S (!!!) Summit push.

Of course, we didn’t break camp without our daily dose of porridge. Today’s additional breakfast offerings featured French toast minis, bacon, and fruit. On the topic of porridge, here is a very subjective ranking of the top items you can use to modify/augment your porridge and enhance your culinary experience — or just make it edible… 1. Butter (for those who want to play it straight), 2. Fruit (hit or miss, depending on the fruit), 3. Drinking Chocolate (popular choice), 4. Milo (a worse version of Drinking Chocolate, don’t do it), 5. Peanut Butter (pretty good, and better when cold), and finally, 6. Nutella (splitting the difference between 3 & 5 but not really as good as either according to eyewitness reports). Not sure anybody gave the Mazoon Chilli sauce a go, but it was bound to happen eventually.

Tarp time preparations

Guide James leads us up and out

Kilimanjaro-approved sunnies

It’s all uphill from here

The hike was “easier” than yesterday’s scramble to Karanga in some ways, but harder in others. The challenge today was the ever-increasing elevation, ultimately landing us back at 15,000 ft at Barafu Camp. Another challenge was the knowledge that our impending doom (Summit Night) was growing ever-closer (just kidding…OR… were those rings getting heavier???).

The combination of these factors meant we all hiked a bit more focused and quiet. Hats off to Ari and Aaron for continuing to shoot a ton of great photos. As a group, we took it “Pole, Pole”, made a couple well-timed breaks, and stayed on top of our hydration and snack needs (headlined by Corn Nuts, Cheez-Its, Skittles, Peanut M&Ms, and unwrapped Jolly Ranchers).

If you are wondering why the Jolly Ranchers were unwrapped, that’s because in preparing for the trip, Matt followed some sage internet advice to eliminate having to deal with the empty wrappers. Before you leave, unwrap a bunch of them, toss in a bag with some cornstarch, and BOOM… amazing Kilimanjaro life hack to avoid being that person who just tosses their trash all over Kilimanjaro. (Whether or not a million Jolly Ranchers are the best thing for your tongue is another question, spoiler alert)

And yet, we still found “that person” (or evidence thereof) who tossed large quantities of their blue and gold Ivori-brand candy wrappers along the trail. Judging by how new the wrappers looked, they were probably not far ahead of us. Like, WTF people!?! We all imagined catching the person in the act and delivering some Kilimanjaro justice. In the meantime, we engaged in Legolas/Gimli-style competition to pick up as many of these stupid Ivori wrappers as we could along the way. Sigh, some people.

Other than those darn blue and gold wrappers, the Alpine Desert zone featured a rocky moon-scape terrain with a palette of blacks, browns, and some deep reds. Almost no vegetation was visible (save for infrequent appearances of couple small “weed-like” plants and yellow flowers). The trail itself was well-travelled, so that was not a problem. And despite some slight slipperiness due to a high level of dust, nobody had any problems with trips or falls. Good footwork, team!!!

Barafu Camp is just over that ridge in the distance

Getting good at the group shots

Looking back on the army of Porters heading our direction

The angle is only SLIGHTLY exaggerated here

Upon our arrival at Barafu Camp, the primary observation (compared to previous camps) is the elongated layout of the camp, and the drastic change in elevation from the tents at the front of the camp to the tents in the back. Our tents were higher up near the back, so we probably climbed another couple hundred feed AFTER passing the Barafu Camp welcome sign. On the bright side, that’s a couple hundred feet less to reach the summit!

Barafu sign!

The lack of “flat” space on the side of mountain at 15,000 ft is not surprising (duh), but it definitely presented a greater challenge for us to navigate the rocky terrain at this camp — even walking from our tent to the dining tent required caution — especially as darkness rolled in with the cloud cover and sunset. In retrospect, it’s basically a miracle none of us ended up rolling or twisting an ankle on this trip.

Ari earned the “tent in a hole” special! Actually fairly flat!

Quick pit stop in our tent before lunch

At lunch, James (our cook) and Nelson (our server) pulled out all the stops for a perfect meal to fuel us into the evening. The menu featured vegetable salad, fruit, french fries, kabobs, and potato soup. The kabobs didn’t last longer than 10 minutes. But in a surprising twist — despite the Soup Bros (Ari and Matt) combining to down six bowls between themselves — there was still some soup that didn’t get eaten. Come on team!!! We can’t do this by ourselves!!!

Speaking of which, one aspect of the Ultimate Kilimanjaro dining experience we noticed after every meal is that food is never thrown out. If there are a few bowls of soup left, or if the nine of us left any amount of uneaten food on the serving trays, Nelson and the porters take care to collect it, divide it up, and whisk it away to the porter’s dining tent. A+ Ultimate Kilimanjaro Clean Plate Club service. Some of those porters are definitely Soup Bros.

All smiles for lunchtime

Party People! Yeah! Soup, there it is! Soup, there it is! That K-A-B-Oh-B, Oh my! Soup, there it is! I’m done

At the conclusion of lunch (about 2pm), August and Baraka filled us in on the schedule for the rest of the day, culminating with our departure for the summit later tonight (we now qualified as “need to know”). Step 1: Rest immediately. Step 2: Health check and dinner at 5pm. Step 3: Rest some more. Step 4: 10:45pm wake up call with hot drinks and snacks. And Step 5: Profit! Just kidding, Step 5 is an 8-hour hike in freezing temperatures up the side of 27% gradient mountain. ARE YOU READY!?!? They did mention it was important to be very punctual on the 11pm start time for Step 5 because many other groups are heading out before and after we do.

As recommended, we departed the dining tent immediately and attempted to nap/rest until 5pm. Some of us are better nappers than others, but we each managed to get a small amount of sleep. We saved most of our gear prep and clothing changes for after dinner.

Go to sleep!

At 5pm, we shook off the daze of our pseudo-naps, and carefully walked over to the dining tent for health checks in the twilight of dusk. Mt. Mawenzi was poking thru the clouds to the east. We all passed our final health checks and were given the green light to start the hike later tonight. To be honest, I wonder what the guides would have to see or hear in order to prevent somebody from continuing (especially if that person wanted to continue).

In our group, despite some “not feeling great” answers and the fact that James often registered as clinically frozen according to the finger oxygen meter, they seemed pretty confident we were all fit as a fiddle. Everybody besides Matt chose to take Diamox pills for the previous week to help treat potential mountain sickness symptoms. And that worked out well because UK said everybody — including Matt — was doing fine in the AMS department.

It was interesting however, that August advised us to “think positive” as a legitimate psychosomatic solution to the potential for any problems that could arise on the hike. Like “Hey, if you feel like you have to throw up, then just go ahead and do that. You’ll feel better. It will be fun!” This did not sound like actual useful advice at the time (as in, “um… what will “thinking positive” do for actual Acute Mountain Sickness??”). However, during the hike, it actually seemed plausible. Good call, August.

Mt. Mawenzi peaking through

Not possible to walk your way to the top of Mawanzi

Dinner was noticeably full of stomach-settling foods like ginger carrot soup, as well as central-casting carbs like pasta and potatoes. As mentioned before, Ultimate Kilimanjaro is extremely proficient at knowing how to feed us for success.

Unfortunately, Matt’s tongue/throat was not doing to well — probably from sucking an excessive amount of unwrapped Jolly Ranchers, thus tipping the sugar balance in his mouth (or something), leading to difficulty swallowing. (Reminder Note: I am not a doctor) Earlier attempts to self-medicate with salt and alum (thanks Ari!) did not help much. A bite of pasta would go great until the tongue was needed shortly thereafter — and it turns out your tongue is surprisingly heavily involved with everything thereafter! Thankfully, the ginger carrot soup was a lifesaver… #SoupBroSavesLives. And next time, remember to give away even MORE unwrapped Jolly Ranchers to the porters and guides who pass you by on the trail!

Time to carbo-load

After dinner (around 6pm), we returned to to our tents. We made final preparations for the upcoming summit hike, including putting on all the gear and layers we planned on wearing, even if it was too early (such as knee braces under base layers four hours ahead of time). Jo got about three-and-a-half hours of sleep and Matt clocked in at maybe two. Thankfully, we took care of all preparations before we fell asleep. There was literally NO time to think after our alarms went off at 10:45pm. TIME TO GET UP and start the summit hike!

Day 7: Baranco Camp to Karanga Camp

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Updated: December 15, 2024

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Happy 4th of July! As advertised, today we will tackle the Baranco Wall… and we are ready to light it up like a fireworks display! Most of us got a pretty good night’s sleep following yesterday’s 2,000 ft drop from Lava Tower to the “lowly” elevation of Baranco Camp at 13,100 ft. Rolling out of our sleeping bags and tents, we were greeted by the crisp chill of another perfect cloudless morning (unless you count the clouds below us).

Dawn at Baranco (looking south)

First things first, we gathered for breakfast featuring crepes, toast, beans, watermelon, and you guessed it… porridge — the breakfast food of Kilimanjaro Champions. Some of us still had 30 minutes of internet remaining which was used, in part, to learn that Mark Cavendish won his record-breaking 35th stage at the Tour de France. Woo! Let’s gooooo! Tarp time!!!

The plan for today — starting with an 850 ft climb up the Baranco Wall — is to reach a maximum elevation of about 13,900 ft, then continue hiking to the southeast, traversing several hills and valleys along the way until we reach Karanga camp at 13,200 ft.

Day 5 hike map

Day 5 hike (detail)

Our guides suggested it would be wise to leave about 20 minutes earlier than usual today in order to get a head start on the Baranco Wall and avoid the traffic back up. The sun hadn’t quite crested the mountain yet, so an extra layer was a good idea. Also, put on your gloves and stash your hiking poles… it’s time to go scrambling!

Strong Stairs of Cirith Ungol vibes

Passing the “Kissing Rock”

“Very soon he will ask you for It! You will see!”

The trail was relatively narrow. Carefully planning of your steps and handholds was important to navigate certain areas, and a helpful hand from the guides was welcome once or twice. While the photos look scary (to be honest, why would we post the non-scary ones?!), there were really only one or two key parts where you could have *actually* fallen off the wall. In case you weren’t feeling “Hakuna Matata” about it, Ari asked August if there was a Swahili phrase that means “SOME worries, for the rest of your days”. Yes, in fact… that would be just “Matata”.

Most of the trail was full of big rocks that simply had to be climbed, crawled, and clambered over. For inspiration, you could watch the amazing porters fly up the hill at double speed carrying gigantic loads of gear and supplies. In the end, we made it, and everybody said the challenge gave them quite a thrill. Including James, who said it gave him the thrill… of vertigo.

Ready for the Aggro-Crag!

Once we crested the Baranco Wall, we reached the day’s top elevation of nearly 13,900 ft., and found ourselves with a glorious viewpoint of Kilimanjaro to the north, and cloud-covered foothills to the south in the direction of Moshi. We paused for a snack break and tuned up a series of epic photos.

I Bless the (Absence of) Rains Down in Africa

(We’ll) Be Coming Around the Mountain When (We) Come

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Ain’t No Valley Low Enough

Misty Mountain Hop

The day’s hike was about two hours old, but only covered a little over a half mile, leaving us with roughly three more hours of hiking to cover the remaining two miles to Karanga Camp. Audio entertainment for the dusty and rocky path that followed was provided by The Move podcast (downloaded earlier in the morning). One bad-intentioned rock tripped up Matt, but he emerged mostly unscathed (couple bruises with a broken gaiter clasp). He was moreso irritated for the temporary lapse in focus. Gotta watch your step at all times around here!

Onward to Karanga

The terrain approaching Karanga Camp was a series of valleys, featuring downhill and uphill segments. Karanga Valley was the last dip before camp, and also the trickiest. It really sneaks up on you out of nowhere, especially after you look ahead, see Karanga Camp in the distance and think “Oh, good… our camp is right over there!” It also rivals the Baranco Wall portion of the hike in steepness on both sides of the valley. Thankfully, we all survived the slippery silt terrain on the way down with only a few minor slips/falls. We caught our breath, and then scrambled back up the other side of the valley with no problems.

Oh look, Karanga camp is so close!

Just kidding!

Official sign you made it to Karanga Camp

We made pretty good time and arrived at camp around 12:30pm with a hearty lunch awaiting us in the dining tent. Vegetable soup for starters, followed by pasta w/eggs/cashews/peppers, chicken (best described in “lollipop” form), green vegetables (quite bitter), and ugali — a traditional Tanzanian dish made from cornmeal that you roll/squish into little balls with your hands before eating. Forget last night’s mashed potatoes… this thicker starch dish is even better-suited to carve a 3D model of our hiking path on Kilimanjaro! Also very filling.

After lunch, we had the rest of the afternoon to relax and take it easy for additional acclimatization. We took the opportunity to hold the first official “BIG 5” SAFARI ANIMAL Fantasy Draft. If you’re not measuring on the basis of size alone, what African animals should be in the “Big 5”? Does Water Buffalo really deserve a spot over Giraffe or Hippo? Better yet, what if we started a five-team league with absolutely no scoring criteria and each drafted a squad? Done. You have something better to do for the next two hours at 13,000 ft on the side of Mt. Kilimanjaro?? James, Matt, Jo, Lily and Ari did not.

Key takeaways… Best pick of the draft was made by Lily who swooped in to grab Zebra with the 22nd pick. This is probably more of an indictment of the rest of the group, who completely forgot about this ubiquitous African equine, unless you count the fact that Matt said the words “African Horse” out loud about 60 seconds earlier when mulling his choices for the 21st pick. Worst pick of the draft was when James reached for Okapi with the 8th pick ahead of a clear blue-chipper like Leopard, or even a solid starter like Baboon or Hyena. To summarize both moves — and to paraphrase Mike from Breaking Bad — never go Half Zebra.

However, in James’ defense, he did draft the best vibes team, putting together the most complete cast of Disney’s The Lion King — featuring Lion, Warthog, and Meerkat. Only later on the Safari would Cordwood learn to his dismay that there are ZERO meerkats in Tanzania. Sorry, Timon. Upon completion of this project we retired to our tents for intermittent napping in advance of happy hour.

Big Rock (Cotton) Candy Mountain

Still a few days before Cordwood learns about the meerkats

After happy hour, the sun set quickly, so we bundled up as usual. A moment of drama occurred when a guide from a nearby group approached August and Baraka to find out if we had anything to help a member of his group that was non-stop puking. That doesn’t sound fun, and Ari offered up the best option which was some Zofran he brought. Bonus points to Ari for offering the disclaimer that it was a prescription-only drug, but I suspect that other hiker was more than willing to take his chances.

Karanga Camp sunset

Golden hour is Fleece pants hour

Heath check and dinner time! On the menu tonight was another traditional Tanzanian dish — from the Chagga tribe — called Ndizi Nyama (I think), which is a stew of green bananas, meat (veal, in this case), and vegetables served with rice and cabbage. For desert, we got iced ginger cookies (call ’em Tanzanian oreos).

August and Baraka stopped by for their typical post-dinner chat. We started asking questions about tomorrow night (Summit Night) so they told us to relax and save all those questions for tomorrow (we are on a need-to-know-basis!). As Baraka said multiple times, “Don’t think about the mountain, the mountain does not think about you.” Ok then!

Meanwhile, August had more helpful advice, such as don’t save your Summit Night clothes for Summit Night if you need to stay warm now. Makes sense. In fact, Matt started wearing his “summit” puffy jacket to sleep three nights ago. Way ahead of ya, August! Also, if you need another way to stay warm, use those hot-water bladder teddy bears they gave us back at Shria 1 Camp! To quote Cordwood, “The teddy bears are amazing.”

Lily figured out how to stay warm

With dinner and UK advice fully digested, we brushed our teeth, removed our contacts, and shuffled out into the darkness toward our tents. The night sky was perfectly clear and offered an amazing amphitheater view of the southern hemisphere night sky. Being above the clouds really makes for a spectacular show, and we enjoyed the view for a while before going to sleep. Tomorrow we hike to Barafu Camp!

Night sky

Day 6: Moir Hut to Baranco Camp

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Updated: August 13, 2024

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After our third night tenting under the stars on Kilimanjaro, we are doing great. The temperatures dropped below freezing again, but we are well-prepared with plenty of layers and our rental Mountain Hardwear Lamina -30F sleeping bags are getting the job done. Because Moir Hut is in the alpine desert zone, we did not have any animal antagonists for the first time last night. The monkeys and jackals don’t like it much at 13,600 ft.

The only hiccup so far, is we confirmed one of our air mattresses is faulty. At Shira 1 camp, there was a debate if the problem involved the valve (August’s vote) or the seam (Cordwood’s vote). Assuming valve, we jerry-rigged a solution with tenacious tape and a plastic bag, but no dice (Cordwood wins, probably). Silver lining is that whatever is leaking, it is a very slow — maybe 60-90 minutes before you are on the ground. Matt determined he can fall asleep on the mattress before that happens. When awoken later, he can restore some cushion with a few deep breaths of air into the valve — rinse and repeat! Not perfect, but it worked last night.

After emerging from our tents to another bright sunny morning, we passed our health checks and enjoyed a breakfast of peanut butter & banana sandwiches, porridge (of course), eggs (surprisingly salty!), and sausages (going full sausage-fest with Ari & Aaron to finish the entire plate). Making final preparations by the tarp, it was cold and windy enough to warrant an extra layer or two to start the hike. Even Lily put on a jacket.

Warming up and heading out

Today’s hike departs from Moir Hut at 13,600 ft, rises to 15,200 ft at Lava Tower — where we will eat lunch — and then drops back down to 13,000 ft at Baranco Camp, which is back on the border of the moorland and the alpine desert zones. You could say, “today will certainly have it’s ups and downs.” And then Adam will probably say it again as one of the terrible dad jokes he’s been dispensing along the trail for our amusement/horror.

Day 4 hike map

Day 4 hike (detail)

The very first section was about a 500 ft incline, almost exactly like our acclimatization hike yesterday. If practice makes perfect, that explains why we crushed it. Plus, we warmed up very quickly.

The Fellowship of the Temu Rings

After the steep section, we continued to climb gradually through the Alpine zone for the next three miles. The terrain was rocky and mostly barren except for the “everlasting flower” which looks like a bush of daisies with spikes.

Hiking through the alpine zone

While our path yesterday took us to a less-travelled section near Moir Hut, today’s route merged back with the main thoroughfare that takes all travelers from the Shira Plateau to the Lava Tower. There were plenty of other hikers — and porters by the hundreds — sharing the trail with us heading east. Some appeared less beholden to the “Pole, Pole” concept than others. Florence and the Machine was the musical motivation in the earbuds today.

Bridge to the Lava Tower

We arrived at Lava Tower around lunch time and observed the controlled chaos of porters erecting and dismantling dining, kitchen, and WiFi tents all over the place. Technically, it’s a camp, but it seems most tour operators just plan a lunchtime/acclimatization visit for their clients (like us). With flat real estate at a premium, tent stakes are fair game to be placed nearly anywhere. It was like Ravinia — find a spot and claim it, even if it’s right next to somebody else’s tent. Ninja skills are required to avoid tripping over the maze of guy lines!

Welcome new members to the 15,000 ft club!

Lava Tower tent city changes fast… Yellow tent already gone!

Stopping for lunch at Lava Tower helps with acclimatization since we spend an hour or two at 15,000 ft before hiking down to Baranco camp. The primary concern is making sure your body is cool with the lower amount of oxygen in the air at this elevation. Our guides said we were all doing fine — despite some minor headaches. Another rapidly-changing environmental aspect of Lava Tower camp was the temperature, depending on if the sun was shining, or if cloud cover rolled in. Both dining tent flaps were put to good use — opened and closed.

Team Cordina ready for lunch (mostly)

Lunch started with a round of tomato soup — a popular selection that didn’t require any assistance from the Soup Bros to finish the pot (featuring founding members Ari & Matt, with honorary members Mel & Aaron pending the soup). Having observed the patterns of the Ultimate Kilimanjaro kitchen over the past few days, we thought we could start predicting the courses at meals. For example, a rice dish preceded a curry dish, and a noodle dish preceded a meat sauce/pasta option. Plus, Adam straight-up manifested pizza for dinner last night.

So we all determined the next course following tomato soup was going to be grilled cheese (right?). For a few minutes, we prepared ourselves to devour the most glorious grilled cheese sandwiches we’d ever seen, having worked up amazing appetites climbing 1,600 ft in the last four hours. And then… we were served a delicious lunch of grilled chicken, potato fries, and a garden pepper salad. Let this be a warning! The UK kitchen is NOT an imaginarium! 🙂

Two more random dining tent observations… First, the green thermos bottles filled with hot water for the table have handles that fold to the left or right thanks to hinges on the top and bottom of the handle. I suppose the idea is to save space when you pack the thermos, but it made grabbing, passing, or pouring the thermos an adventure every time. Lily simply “could not” with this design. Others agreed. Second, the plates used to serve meals in the UK dining tent are the heaviest metal plates I’ve ever seen — presumably to avoid losing your meal in a Category 5 hurricane. OR… perhaps to defend yourself in mortal combat. Because those plates, used in an aggressive manner, could kill a man.

After lunch, we grabbed our packs and started to hike down to Baranco Camp (both in altitude and cardinal direction). During lunch, clouds rolled in over Lava tower and remained present as we embarked on the trail down the mountain. Fog on this portion of the mountain is not uncommon, and while the temperatures were a bit cooler, it was nothing a extra layer or jacket couldn’t handle.

Strong Emyn Muil vibes

Everlasting flowers – life finds a way

Every now and then on the descent thru the alpine desert of black and brown volcanic rocks, if you turned around, you’d catch a glimpse of Kilimanjaro between the clouds, putting on a dramatic show.

Still on target

Dropping nearly 2,000 ft in elevation, we returned to areas where vegetation grows. In particular, this was our first glimpse at the iconic-looking Giant Groudsel. Per the UK website, the Giant Groundsel (Dendrosenecio kilimanjari) is a species of the Senecio genus, found predominantly in the alpine zones of Mount Kilimanjaro. This prehistoric plant is unique for its otherworldly appearance and impressive adaptability. Some of the larger “trees” are over 100 years old. When the leaves die, new ones grow on top of them, leaving the dead leaves intact to protect the trunk. This adaptation gives the Groundsels the tools they need to survive at roughly 14,000 ft on the slopes of Kilimanjaro.

Giant groundsels are beautiful and strange

New album cover for the band “They Might Be Giant Grounsels”

Is James… a Giant?

The trail was rocky because it used to be a river bed. We were able to walk a little faster on the downhill, but we still took it “Pole, Pole” to make sure we got down safely. The last section was full of groundsels which made for a great view.

Back on the trail to camp

Baranco Camp appearing in the distance thru the fog/cloud

We arrived at Baranco Camp by mid-afternoon and checked in with the ranger station. Adam and James arrived a few minutes later, having been delayed by knees and hiking pole conditions, respectively. Fortunately for Adam, the next couple days will be primarily uphill. And as for James, the hiking pole repair efforts may or may not prove to be successful, but the hiking pole repair discussion was classic.

Made it to Baranco Camp

Spotting our tents at Baranco Camp

After locating our tents and settling in, we had time to relax and enjoy happy hour. We learned that the larger camps on Kilimanjaro actually offer WiFi. You get 30 minutes for free (and if you have an iPhone, Ari can get you an additional 30 by virtue of his technological wizardry and Apple’s IP privacy feature). This prompted all of us to consider our most pressing queries for the outside world and what to do with our 30 precious minutes of internet. For example… How many tik toks can you watch in 30 minutes? How many podcasts can you download in 30 minutes? How long will it take to upload a couple photos to the “left behind” Google chat group so they know we are still alive? Who is winning the early stages of the Tour de France?

Moment of zen at happy hour

Amid these pressing questions and strategically-timed WiFi activations, we passed our health checks and prepared for dinner. Tonight the menu featured zucchini soup (Mel approved), noodles, mashed potatoes, pepper steak, and a pineapple/papaya fruit combo. The giant mound of mashed potatoes was very useful to create a 3D map to illustrate our hiking route up Kilimanjaro. (Note to self: should get a Kilimanjaro mashed potato or jello mold, lol)

After dinner, August presented us our usual briefing on tomorrow’s hike, telling us what to expect and what we should wear (or “how to wear” as August phrases it). In particular, tomorrow’s hike includes the infamous Barranco Wall that we climb almost immediately after we depart in the morning. The name “Baranco Wall” sounds imposing, but according to August and most of the internet, it’ll be fine. Nevertheless, anything involving scaling a wall does not enthuse James, especially the part called the “kissing stone”, named as such because hikers need to pass by a very narrow path close to a sheer face of rock. Ari re-dubbed it the “African Blarney Stone” to help make it sound less scary, but I’m not sure that helped. Tomorrow we shall see!

Day 5: Shira 1 Camp to Moir Hut

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Updated: June 8, 2025

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Last night we faced our first chilly temperatures on the mountain — dropping into the upper 20s. We layered up, made sure our sleeping bags were zipped, and were perfectly warm in no time. Besides the temperatures, last night’s wildlife was different as well. Shira 1 Camp is no longer in the Jungle zone (aka. the monkey zone), so the Moorland zone offered some new “animal antagonists” — which is what Ari termed the wild dogs and golden jackals we heard during the night. But tbh, they didn’t actually antagonize us at all. Rock on, jackals.

Shira Sunrise

By the time we awoke and packed our duffels, the sun was rising and the temps were warming. The dining tent served up a breakfast of eggs, bacon, fruit, and yes, porridge. Just gotta be careful with that bacon grease while trying to take notes in your journal! Following breakfast, we made our final preparations by the tarp (sunscreen alert!) and attended to some minor equipment malfunctions (Ari’s water bladder).

Morning Tarp Routine

Today’s hike is a gently-rising 6-mile route from Shira 1 Camp, thru the Moorland meadow, to Moir Hut — a lower-traffic campsite at the base of the Lent Hills. Starting elevation is 11,500 ft and Moir Hut is at 13,600 ft. Later in the afternoon, we’ll do a shorter, steeper acclimatization hike up in surrounding hills up to 14,100 ft. But first, let’s get there!

Day 3 hike map

Day 3 hikes (detail)

The hike’s rise in elevation was more gradual than yesterday, but the hiking path was somewhat uneven and littered with “trippable” rocks — providing plenty of reasons to stay focused on each step you take. Even so, we made good time in good spirits. The sky was clear and we had an amazing view of Kilimanjaro in front of us and we traveled east.

Kilimanjaro snowmen

James and Dismas taking a break with us

The second half of the hike started to ascend a bit more. When we turned around and looked west, we were afforded great views of Mt. Meru in the distance, and our previous Shira I camp below. It is also fascinating to see the larger vegetation look more and more “bestragled” as we increase in altitude, given the increasingly tough environmental conditions.

Hey guys, looking rough… Have you considered moving to a lower altitude?

By this point of the hike, many of the other groups sharing the trail with us diverted to the south and headed to Shira 2 camp, but we continued to Moir Hut. This meant our trail became much less crowded than earlier in the morning. Meanwhile, Matt attempted to put the Osmo Pocket 3 hyper-lapse feature to use, which turns out to be a decent way to show you portions of our hikes. You will just need to add the Benny Hill music yourself.

As we got higher and closer to camp, we passed by a lava tube formation with some cool caves. Geology geeks rejoice! The lava tube offers an exit for water run-off originating higher on the mountain, and some fun vegetation takes full advantage.

Continuing on the way

Lava tube & caves on the right

Smaller plants having a better time up here

Upon arriving at Moir Hut, we commenced our afternoon routine… dap up Abraham for a dusting, check into our tent, and go eat lunch. On the menu this afternoon was onion soup, chicken wraps, grilled cheese with peppers, and fruit.

Moir Hut… less people = moir space!

Home sweet home day three

After lunch, Baraka and August asked us about the chains & golden rings we were all wearing. Perhaps you have the same question — being keen-eyed observers of the photos we’ve posted so far on this blog. Well, glad you asked.

As in the Lord of the Rings — a long-form documentary about climbing a famous volcano — we realized there was a fellowship of NINE of us who embarked on this Kilimanjaro adventure. To honor this topical and numerical symmetry, we acquired nine precious replica ONE rings (complete with the etched language of Mordor, which I will not utter here), put them on chains, and handed them out to our group back in Moshi for motivation. Will they help? Only time will tell, because, of course, the hearts of men are easily corrupted, and the ring of power has a mind of it’s own.

Anyways, we explained to the guides the rings only have sentimental value (Temu.com, baby!) which seemed to relieve them from thinking they had a group of nine crazy people each trying to lose a valuable gold ring hiking up the mountain. Matt also pulled out his phone and showed them a couple key scenes from the movies to help jog their memories when they didn’t seem to recognize the reference. I was pretty sure we just saved Baraka 12 hours of watching LOTR, but after a few minutes, he remembered spending that time watching them 20 years ago.

After our cinema discussion and a couple hours to digest lunch, we re-grouped at 4pm for our acclimatization hike. The acclimatization hike was only a mile in distance, but very steep, taking us from 13,600 ft to 14,100 ft along one of the steep ridges visible to the north of the Moir Hut camp area. August gave us the mission briefing and turned us over to James & Dismas. Meanwhile, August needed to go the other direction to find a cellular signal to order up additional supplies and food from Moshi. Ok! Good idea!

The late afternoon weather was perfect and our 500 ft acclimatization hike was a success. Along the way, we learned previous European hiking clients (may) have actually taken the time to clear off a soccer-pitch sized area of the alpine desert terrain — which would involve moving a ton of rocks. I don’t know why they would make that up, so it’s probably true. One perk of the acclimatization hike was not needing to carry our day packs. Popping in headphones for the first time, Dua Lipa was excellent musical motivation.

After arriving on the top of the ridge, we stayed for about 20 minutes to enjoy the amazing view above the clouds and to help with the acclimatization process. Dismas and James busted out a rendition of Jambo Bwana to celebrate the occasion.

View from the top

Is there cell service up here?

Girl crew approved

Welcome new members of the 14,000 ft club!!!!

On the way back down

After the hike back down we had some time before dinner and watched the sunset. In one direction, we attempted a timelapse of the sunset. In the other direction, we just recorded the light reflecting off Kilimanjaro for ten minutes. The results are below. The timelapse is ok, but watching the colors change in real time — over a short period of 10 minutes — is pretty cool.

Setting up for epic sunset shots

Great end to the day

We bundled up for another chilly night and shuffled into the dining tent for dinner. One thing is clear about our trip so far… Ultimate Kilimanjaro does not mess around when it comes to food. They feed you well. And they may also be able to read your mind.

Earlier, Adam joked that he was hoping to get pizza for lunch (see video above). That did not happen at lunch, but lo and behold, guess what we had for dinner? Pizza. Along with pasta with meatballs, flambéed pineapple, and butternut squash soup.

Soup! Shaka-laka-shaka-laka-shaka-laka-shaka

Tomorrow we will hike to the Lava Tower for lunch and more acclimatization, then back down to Barranco camp for the night. Hike high, sleep low!

Day 4: Big Tree Camp to Shira 1 Camp

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Updated: August 4, 2024

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Good morning! First night in our new tent home was pretty good. After years of hammock-camping, we had a concern that a return to the ground level in the Mountain Hardwear Trango 3 might be tough for the 45-year old set, but the combination of the sleeping pad, the sleeping bag, and our air mattresses seemed to get the job done (pending whether one of our air mattresses was working properly, which — spoiler alert — it was not, as we came to discover over the next couple days. But that’s a future us problem!).

BONUS! We had some wildlife drama to keep things interesting during the night. Before heading to sleep, the guides told us we may hear some monkeys and jackals scouring the campsite for food during the night. Sure enough, at about 12:30am, we heard some screaming monkey sounds very close to our tents. The monkey (or monkeys) liked our camp and was not planning to leave, or be quiet, anytime soon. Then, clear as a bell, we heard one of the guides shout “FINE! DO WHAT YOU WANT!” and the monkey never made another peep. Ari confirmed he heard the exact same thing, so it wasn’t a Kilimanjaro jungle fever dream.

Even with the monkey entertainment, we got plenty rest (temps did not dip below freezing). Wake up call is at 6:30am, but we awoke quite refreshed at 4:30am, so we had plenty of time to relax, eat a wake-up snack (trail mix), and learn a routine of re-packing and organizing all of our stuff inside the cozy confines of of 92″ x 64″ alpine tent.

Rise and shine and bags on the tarp!

Breakfast was delicious. The eggs and sausage (let’s call them hot dogs) hit the spot. We didn’t know it yet, but us and porridge would become very well-acquainted over the next seven days. Eggs and sausage come and go, but porridge will ALWAYS be there for you.

After breakfast, we stepped out of the dining tent and discovered the porters has already deconstructed our camp. These guys are amazing! We made our last-minute day-pack adjustments, and were ready to go right on schedule at 7:45am — we are definitely on “UK time” now, hooray!

Melanie is still the No. 1 draft pick if we were a fantasy hiking team

“The Allegory of Coffee vs No Coffee”

The day’s hike began in the Rainforest zone and eventually emerged into the Heather-Moorland zone. It started at 9,144 ft and ended at 11,472 ft when we arrived at the Shira One campsite. During the first part of the hike in the jungle, the weather was amazing and the trail stayed dry — avoiding what could easily have been a muddy disaster with a small amount of rain.

Day 2 hike map

Day 2 hike (detail)

After about an hour, we transitioned to the Heather-Moorland zone. It was a striking change of scenery. There were no longer large trees around us, replaced with bushes and shorter plants more adapted to the higher elevations and cooler temperatures. Looking west above the jungle, a cloud layer sat atop the lower cultivation zone, and Mount Meru rose in the distance.

Westward view of Mount Meru after emerging from the jungle

We were out of the jungle, and the sun was shining (remember your sunscreen, people!), but the Moorland zone is no joke and our relatively easy hike quickly turned a bit challenging about halfway thru. The slopes were steep and we could see hikers on the ridge far above us. When we eventually reached the top of that ridge, we would quickly discover another higher ridge in the distance. That probably played out about 4-5 times. As James eloquently put it, “So many false plateaus!” Without the larger vegetation, the sense of distance was altered as well. Aaron compared it to the Vegas Strip, in that “objects in the distance are much farther away than they look.”

That ridge is SURELY the top!

Pretty vegetation in this area

Along the way, we took several snack breaks and enjoyed the view. As we approached 11,000 ft, we found ourselves passing thru a cloud layer or two. The cooler air was a nice break from sun. We also discovered the higher elevations afforded better odds for those of us hunting for international cellular service signals. This is how we came to learn that Ari’s garage door in Minneapolis was successfully closed this morning. We also successfully sent a proof-of-life photo to Becca (and the “left-behind” google chat).

Northward view over Shira Plateu as some light clouds roll in

Breaks are for millennial selfies and cellular signals

At long last, we cleared the final ridge and our GPS apps no longer indicated we had a significant number of contours to traverse. Welcome to the Shira Plateu! The last 2-3 kilometers were a flat walk eastward with a great view of Kilimanjaro in the distance, and our campsite growing ever larger in the foreground. Everybody eventually made it — even Lily, who got a bit queasy/cold as a result of her never-ending quest to avoid wearing extra layers.

It’s a straight shot to our campsite from here

Still on target

When we got to camp, we were greeted/congratulated by the UK staff who, once again, worked their magic and had our entire operation up and running by the time we arrived. One “downside” of our amazing weather without precipitation is the higher levels of dust. As such, one of the MVP candidates among the porters for the next week was Abraham, who was always one of the first people to dap you up on arrival, and would then immediately dust off your shoes & gaiters — a HUGE help keeping our tents clean.

We unpacked a bit and soon gathered in the dining tent for a lunch of leek soup (not to be confused with “weak soup”) and pasta with minced beef sauce and shredded cheese. We discovered a bottle of hot sauce on the table labelled “Mazoon Chilli” that featured the following ingredients: Red Chilli, Mango, Ginger, Vinegar, & Garlic. As expected, this stuff was fire (in a good way), especially when added to the right dishes, such as the leek soup. Mazoon Chilli sauce might be the dining tent MVP.

Checking in at Shira 1 Camp

Less crowded… Less trees… Less monkeys

Home sweet home day two

Everlasting flowers

Complete with spiky protection

For the remainder of the afternoon, we took it easy around camp, and gathered in the dining tent to play some card games. If you preferred a normal card game, you could play hearts. If you preferred a more wacky card game that — as eloquently noted by Ari, “you could win by accident” — then you were probably playing Fluxx (but with an appropriate nature theme for camping).

Also, in case you weren’t taking your game seriously enough, there was a funny moment when the guides popped-in the tent to give us some information, but kindly waited seeing that we were focused on the games. After we took a pause and directed out attention to them, they jokingly said “No, keep going, we need to figure out who the loser is first!”

Nature Fluxx!

Having survived our second day of hiking, this must be the point when the Ultimate Kilimanjaro team figures we might be around for a while (just kidding), so we were all invited to join the full team outside the dining tent to participate in the official introduction/welcome ceremony. It actually makes a lot of sense to do that here instead of the very crowded Big Tree Camp.

August introduced all 30+ of the porters making it possible for us to do this climb and we are incredibly grateful for their support! After that, August tossed it over to Nelson (our server and primary music man) who stepped forward to lead the group in dance & song. Later, August explained that UK has hundreds of porters and that groups are called for duty in alphabetical order. And thus, we learned why over 50% of our porters’ names start with “J”.

Shortly after the introduction ceremony, we watched the colors of Kilimanjaro change rapidly with the setting sun. Following one last burst of bright orange, twilight settled in, and we gathered for dinner. Being in the Moorland zone at over 11,000 ft (+2,500 ft compared to last night), we all needed to put on our extra layers to stay warm after the sun went down. Dinner featured a zucchini soup, avocado salad, and stewed chicken curry on rice. We devoured all the food before heading back to our tents for the night.

Kilimanjaro an hour before sunset

Kilimanjaro five minutes before sunset

After a second day of hiking, we are feeling great! So far so good. With a few additional layers, the colder temps should not be a problem. There won’t be any monkeys tonight, so who (or what) will provide the overnight animal entertainment?!?! Stay tuned!

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