So we're finally done with Kilimanjaro and a 5-day safari. The summit was a lot harder than I thought it'd be; 5900m or so really is no joke. Mainline tourist Africa can suck, and Kili is a big cog in a bigger money mill--too many people on a mountain for my taste (as I stand constituting one among everyone else's "too many"), but it's a unique, once-in-a-lifetime kinda thing, so I just rolled with it and enjoyed the walk. Having porters and all is a mixed bag, but there's not much other way to do it, as you need licensed guides and they all want to pump you for cash.
5 days in a Land Cruiser 70 rolling around spotting animals was an interesting change afterward...I wish you weren't obligated to be entirely vehicle-bound in the Tanzanian parks, but I imagine it's for good reason.
All in all, however, it was a much need recuperation period from a very long and stressful time with no vacation. And I'm very proud of Steph's determination throughout the trek, especially on summit day.
Anyhow, yeah, the cool part...
All rain forest on the first day.
First camp, on the border with the moorlands/heather region.
Nice view of Kibo and glaciers on the start of Day 3.
Steph beginning descent into Barranco Valley as we traverse under Kibo.
Climbing out of Barranco Valley the next morning via the Barranco Wall. Did I mention something about too many people (and their 3 porters each...) on the mountain?
Cool waterfalls opposite the Wall.
Back towards Kibo with senecio tree
Karanga camp at night
Kibo at night from Karanga
On the way to Barafu, the last camp before summit, and enjoying it.
At Uhuru peak in front of the southern icefields--Steph not enjoying it so much anymore...
Steph grabbed this cool snap up top as she sat around dazed, too.
(safari pics to be up later, and images from my film setup on both halves should hopefully be much better and I'll have them in hand in, oh, a month or two...safari pics with a 50mm lens made things interesting.)
5 days in a Land Cruiser 70 rolling around spotting animals was an interesting change afterward...I wish you weren't obligated to be entirely vehicle-bound in the Tanzanian parks, but I imagine it's for good reason.
All in all, however, it was a much need recuperation period from a very long and stressful time with no vacation. And I'm very proud of Steph's determination throughout the trek, especially on summit day.
Anyhow, yeah, the cool part...
All rain forest on the first day.
First camp, on the border with the moorlands/heather region.
Nice view of Kibo and glaciers on the start of Day 3.
Steph beginning descent into Barranco Valley as we traverse under Kibo.
Climbing out of Barranco Valley the next morning via the Barranco Wall. Did I mention something about too many people (and their 3 porters each...) on the mountain?
Cool waterfalls opposite the Wall.
Back towards Kibo with senecio tree
Karanga camp at night
Kibo at night from Karanga
On the way to Barafu, the last camp before summit, and enjoying it.
At Uhuru peak in front of the southern icefields--Steph not enjoying it so much anymore...
Steph grabbed this cool snap up top as she sat around dazed, too.
(safari pics to be up later, and images from my film setup on both halves should hopefully be much better and I'll have them in hand in, oh, a month or two...safari pics with a 50mm lens made things interesting.)
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