Most Inspirational Moment
There were so many inspirational moments, but the top ones for me are:
Seeing the stars for the first time at camp, the clear view of Kilimanjaro at night, the moment you realise you are above the clouds and you see a bed of fluffy clouds in the distance.
Standing on top of Shira Cathedral and enjoying the magnificent views of Shira Plateau.
Sharing the adventure with the people in our group, we became great friends and it was a pleasure to have reached the top and to have shared the journey with them.
Thoughts on Group Leader
We had Mussa and his team for our expedition and he was amazing, very knowledgeable and social, he was like a big brother to us, making sure we had everything we needed and that we were completely safe. He'd give us briefings every day after dinner and answers any questions we put before him.
Mussa and his team works extremely hard, his assistant guides leads the walks and Mussa only took lead on Summit night, this was to ensure that he was the last one to leave camp and that everything was organised and on schedule.
Mussa's team was amazing, the assistant guides were excellent, experienced and well versed in english, they set great paces and even if the team did split there was more than enough guides on route with us to reform the groups, so each segment never had to slow down for the other.
Mussa works extremely hard, on the final day he was the last to leave the camp and he ran to the final check point to ensure everything was organised and ready for our arrival. On our last night in Tanzania, we had the privilege of going into town with Mussa and a few of the guides to party the night, something that often does not happen.
We had such a great connection with Mussa and all future adventurers that are guided under him should count themselves very lucky!
Advice for Potential Travellers
Pack light and don't over do it! I know many of you would have read on various sites to pack a lot of gear, have a lot of snacks etc, but let me tell you this, you are extremely well catered for! You will have a hot meal served to you every dinner, packed lunch given when needed and a hot lunch for days when you are expected to arrive at a camp early, snacks and treats are also provided as well.
You only need energy snacks for summit day and nothing else, I'd recommend taking energy tablets for the water which helps you drink the required amount of water per day. (You don't need to do water purification, it was treated for us and everyone was fine drinking it).
Bring some entertainment, a pack of cards or a book, some days you arrive at camp early and you often have a lot of hours to burn.
Bring a pillow case to put your down jacket in for nights when you're not using it, silk liner is recommended as nights can get extremely cold! Bring a good quality camera! on our trip many bought DSLR's, the weight is fine and the pace is slow enough that you'll be taking a lot of photos!
Paracetamol or Ibuprofen a must!! Headaches will come and go and this will help significantly.
Diamox is a choice, only 3 out of 14 people in our group took it, research it and decide if you need it, the guides do have it but it's always better to have your own for your own convenience.
VISA! try to get this before hand if you're close to the embassy in London, if arriving at Kilimanjaro during the peak time you may find the queue quite big!!
Bring something to leave behind! They do so much for you, and have very little, leave what you can behind to help them.
