Kilimanjaro to Serengeti

Kilimanjaro seems like years away, yet it was less than a week ago that I was trying to take a nap in preparation for getting up at 11 p.m. in order to start the climb at midnight. The stars were shining brightly even with the full moon. We started with our headlamps on but turned them off because it was so bright. We set off from 15,000 feet this cold winter-like night, knowing that if we were to summit, we needed to reach 19,300 feet.

Eight of our group of twelve started the summit climb. One person who came over only for the Kili portion of the trip had already gone back to Arusha after two days of being ill. She was our foundation. Another two people were dealing with altitude sickness and a third decided she was best staying at our “base camp”. Of those who started, two turned back along the way, though having reached at least 17,200 feet or the equivalent of the Everest Base Camp in Nepal. The rest of us trudged on, cold, fatigued, tired and trying to drink our water, which was freezing in our camelback hoses.

Just before sunrise, I felt as if I were sleeping as I was walking, hitting the wall of exhaustion. Then the sun rose, and along with it my energy came back. With the inspiration of PJ behind me, I made it over the crest of the ridge and on to the highest point. If felt like a miracle and it was. The air at that height is about half what it is at lower levels. I did what I was meant to do from my previous treks to Nepal and Peru along with the three men who encased me in a triangle of support. We supported each other—one from Sweden, one from South Africa, one from Colorado and me from Minnesota.

After summiting, we rejoiced for a few minutes, and then started out descent. We swished our way down through the rocks, kind of like skiing. What took about 7 to 8 hours to climb took us about two hours to descend. After a two hour nap, we then went down another 2,500 feet. That wasn’t too bad, though it wasn’t as fun a skiing down. The next day was grueling, with knees creaking and some slips along the way. One summiter walked several hours after turning an ankle that is still swollen and sore. Luckily, the safari followed, which meant lots of looking from a Land Cruiser.

The safari took us from Arusha to the Serengeti, along crater tops and gorges and through thousands of wildebeests, zebras, and cape buffalo. We saw gazelles, grand gazelles, impalas, baboons and several other kinds of monkeys. The highlights were the cats. Lions, tree lions, cheetah, and leopards. We saw lions as close up as five feet just outside out trucks, and cheetah on the hunt. We even saw a gazelle that had been drug up a tree by a leopard, protecting his dinner from other land bound predators. This ecosystem works, as we saw again and again, though unfortunate for the babies and older animals. We even saw a wildebeest giving birth and a new born that was getting its footing. Oh, what Mother Nature bestowed upon us.

Now for the nautical part of this adventure. We’re off to the island of Zanzibar in the morning for relaxation. Seashores and long white beaches sound very inviting since we’ve been on the go this entire vacation.

More from the sunny shores of Zanzibar and Pembe.