Bush Updates

Midnight – half asleep and with the thoughts of 7 hrs of uphill shuffling ( the kili shuffle) the guys where in a dither, Stu lost his head torch, there was a glove issue and it was bloody cold to add insult to injury – Time to ‘GO’ Paul voiced out,  as time had slipped by waiting for the lads to organise themselves. 7 hrs cannot be put into text especially as each step stretches only about 30cm in front of you at a time and not a lot happens during this time, the beam of one’s head torch illuminates  an 8 foot existence as to whichever  way your turn your head.  As Clare got into her rhythm a thought she could not shake was that however hard and bad she felt in these early stages this feeling was only going to get worse as she gained altitude and she still had to get back down!!

For those who have trekked through till dawn, there is a certain magic as the skies begin to change into a magnitude of pastel colours, the first glimpse of the sunrise was viewed from Stella point as all trekkers in varying states of fatigue mulled around like restless cattle. Paul – B2B’s gentle giant then shattered the magical moment as he pointed up hill to Uhuru peak and said only 45mins away!! Twendene ( lets go ) . At this point you need mind power – the biggest battle one can face on Kili is the will to continue, physical condition is secondary and the one thing you must do is put one foot in front of the other and head on up to the summit.

Success in the eye for those who step forth and try

The summit on most mountains is not so great as it happens, the satisfaction of reaching ones goal is what attracts thousands to Kilimanjaro every year, it is not a technical climb with the summit being reached by all ages and levels of fitness.

As Clare concluded and perhaps the lads will also after reading the last blog update for Twin Peak Challengers personal accounts, she was moved and silently pushed on by the fact that those who sponsored her also believed in Clare’s quest, one as a personal achievement in her life and secondly to assist B2B Safaris and The African Roots Foundation in bringing fresh drinking water eventually to the Esilalei Maasai Community.

Although this is the end of Twin Peaks Challenge 2010 we are still moving forward with our promise to you and the Maasai, for those who sponsored the climb and for those who continue to back this simple but needy cause. Do not fear Twin Peaks 2011 is already in the pipe line with the expedition set to commence out of Arusha on the 07^th of February 2011, if remotely interested in any part of the climb profile please do not hesitate to drop us a line and we will happily shed some light as to the new re-vamped – re-worked exciting itinerary that will introduce the intrepid traveller into some of the secrets that Tanzania holds.

The next update you will be reading is live off the shelf from last week’s little recky where myself and Ingrid meet with Peter Lindstrom who offered his advise and local knowledge as to what steps we should take in tapping into the annual rain fall that flash floods every year and disappears into an inhospitable dry rocky landscape.  His report and suggestions are very promising, anyone like digging holes by chance??!!!  Muscle power needed in exchange for great views, great food and an opportunity to immerse oneself into Maasai culture and beliefs.

Clare, Brad and Stuart a personal shout to you all, thanks for stepping forth and leading the first ever Twin Peak Challenge  “Climb for water expedition”, we hope that there will be others like you that will also come forward to take the 2011 challenge to reach their own personal goals and assist us along with the Maasai in reaching ours.

From a sunny 22 degrees winter day in Arusha with all bugs removed by Super Niels we are back on form to tie things up and let the world know (well the bushupdate followers and those who are tuned into the B2B face book page where we have reached in light of sponsorship that has finally been collected and the survey we have just completed with local expert on Geology and Water catchment areas.

Team leader ‘Clare’ seems to be the only one who had any time on her hands and has presented me with her last accounts on the Twin Peak challenge climb which commenced back in February 2010.  Her male team member’s have not come up with the goods so I feel that it is only fare to close this chapter and move on with fresher more recent stories from the bush, s0me of which you have seen posted prior to this overdue update.

It starts off as did many of Clare’s days with waiting for the boys to get it together, from my time I spent with Stu and Brad they were two oceans apart in packing technique!! Stu was the type that rolls it into a ball and shoves it down into the darkness of his pack, god only knows what else lived in there but I saw a pair of his soaks refuse his feet and walked out the hut door on one occasion!! . On the other hand there was Brad who liked to fold everything and empty everything on to the floor/bed or any-other surface available to him. The process of re-packing became a bit of a silent meditation for Brad as he could actually zone out even Paul’s calls of ‘Breakfast’ and Clare silent stare that for sure if it was a laser would have burnt a hole in the back of his head after the two weeks together.

Paul had assessed the morning carefully and there was simple no hurry to charge off up the daunting Baranco wall, breakfast was enjoyed outside the mess and in full sunshine the challengers watch as the zig zag of colours, being porters and climbers alike slowly gained height and disappeared out of view. Brad was still carrying his Bali belly with him and was not too great when he crawled into Karanga camp sometime after Clare and Stu. It’s amazing how food can taste so good on the mountain as hours later everyone hooked into Mash and Tuna bake, that night all were reminded as to how high they were with the birds-eye view over the twinkling lights of Moshi town some 3800metres below!!

The following day was an eerie one by Clare’s accounts as they headed off at a brisk speed into low hanging cloud, sounds and thoughts are magnified as one sense is shut down the others become more acute, sounds bounce off the towering walls and although you are aware of other climber’s presence you cannot see them. Barafu camp is not the most attractive camp in the world and in the low cloud looked fairly depressing, Clare banged some thoughts about in her head as she wandered in a day dream amongst the rocky strewn boulders that pretty much make up Baranco camps profile as to where tents have been and will no doubt be again. She realised now for the first time as to the altitude as breathing became laboured as the slightest physical effort!! I often worn climbers you will remember where you are when you go to pack your sleeping bag away or tie your boots up!! Trust me both simple tasks will have you coming up for air. The rest of the day was spent chilling, selecting a few prime songs for the i-pod, changing batteries, checking out the layers, appropriate soaks and so on in anticipation for the midnight summit attempt. At the altitude of Barafu the mess tent was a haven of warmth with all bodies crammed in from the dropping temperatures outside, Chelsea were playing against Man -City but Clare for once in her life could not fully focus on the game as her mind headed up the mountain by itself, and to add full special effects to the challengers quest, the heavens opened and giant snowflakes helicoptered to the ground around them.  A forced sleep was suggested by Paul at 18.00, mind games and the experiences of the two prior week’s danced in and out of the minds of all, Clare finally felt the weight of the days catching up to her and she started to drift into a light sleep, when the rustle of Brad sleeping bag with his thick Northern accent – request for Imodium brought her back out of it at lightning speed. Next thing to be heard was a shaking of the tents and Pauls voice calling to come and grab a tea!!

“Once again time and the passing” – wow the months and days seem to merge as one and we are continually battling with this invisible thing in all out lives that we have little control of >>>>>>>>TIME..

Good news is the dates are set and the full moon is ordered to appear on the18th February 2011 for us all. For those who would like 2011 to start off with a difference then why not find yourself standing with friends on the highest point in Africa when this happens!! Trust me it’s nice up there. Two Peaks in Two Weeks Mt Meru standing at 4566metres and Kilimanjaro just a few metres higher at 5898metres!! I said a few not how many  Commencement date of expedition into Tanzania will be 07th February, where all challengers will get to meet each other before heading into Arusha by night for some great local food at “Nicks” sample some of the best Bar B Q Fish and Chicken Arusha has to offer, then we ease you into a bush setting with a night under the stars at the crystal water springs of Maji moto, probably offering the best views of Kili one could ask for. The climbs begin firstly with Mt Meru taking 4 days with a full rest day in the exciting Elephant corridor running up from West Kili to Kenya – walking safari, wildlife game drives, night drives to see what stalkers and walkers are lurking out in the blackness then we deliver you to the foot of Kilimanjaro for the next 7 days of adventure and self discovery.

After the climbs and celebrations we head out once again into the bush – Tarangire National Park for game drives arriving to the Maasai community of Esilalei where all sponsorship/funding raised from Twin Peaks will eventually end up in order for us to establish fresh water for the community. Experience untouched grass roots culture of the Maasai people before we depart for Ngorongoro Crater the 8th wander of the world for wildlife game drives, finishing off at Fig tree waterfall camp for some pure RnR in the shadows of the Great Rift Valley wall.

Full PDF itinerary and info pack will be available when I get a handle on this thing called TIME but it will be in the next week or two along with the final update from last year’s Twin Peaks Challengers.

Twin Peaks is set for the full moon on the 18th Feb: 2011

Please watch this space – and if you are interested or know friends/family that would like to join us then you can always drop us a quick email.

Greetings from TZ – The B2B team

Straight out of Serengeti from B2B’ Safaris tops driver, Simon Kimaro!! is the dust is in the air and the ground is shaking under the pounding of hoofs….Location for you safari followers is North East Serengeti, Simon has reported medium size pockets of  Wildebeest moving in and around Lobo, a later bushupdate as Si’s safari continued was also a larger single group in the western corridor of Serengeti. With the season just around the corner everything looks in place for prime game viewing, the rains that fell throughout April and May were ample and regular leaving the parks and the surrounding bush in pristine condition. All that is missing is your presence..karibuni sana  the Tanzania wilderness awaits.

The moving masses

For those of you who have climbed kili the ‘TITLE’ may send you back down a vortex to you time on the mountain and for those who are considering it in the future you now have a head start on non readers to ‘Bushupdates’ to the Kilimanjaro theme song that is trumpeted out by guides and porters alike as climbing teams arrive to the camps each night. It is mandatory that you learn it and join in with the team spirit and and lighthearted behavior, depending on you emotional state of mind at the time it can be a touching moment and an inspiring one at the same time, the Tanzania’s are not worried about singing and dancing in the strangest of places Kili being one of them. It still catches my attention after 10 years of being here in TZ that music is so much apart of the daily lives. Bus conductors, waitress and your everyday drunkard can not help but swing that body to a favorite song being played on a neighboring radio and those mamas trust me know how to shake it !! The below entries have come from  ‘The Brad’  still present here in TZ and currently hiding out at the school of St Judes!! I have not heard site or sound of him for almost 2 weeks so trust he has settled in to his sports teaching activities and is now getting to understand what his fellow Australian volunteering folk are going on about, the poor lad was having a little difficulty with a few of the strong Ozzy accents and i would imagine the other way round with “The Brad” strong northern tongue, by the way “The Brads” was mild compared to Stuarts which actually needs a degree in Morse code to understand. Fresh out of  London are other entries from the lovely Clare who has now been swallowed feet first by her job at the Shakespeare’s Globe Theater where she rubs shoulders with those arty types who enjoy doing nothing more than drinking Cappuccinos down at Star bucks  planning the future of the world!! Fortunately Clare is extremely grounded and committed to her job and would sooner talk footy with the boys and down a good English ale. The below is a mix of Brad and Clare’s  accounts on the mountain… Stuart to date has not put his thoughts down and no doubt is proudly showing off his mozzie bites to his mates down the pub along with mixing iodine to a pint as he believes it is the only medicine one needs to carry to Africa and if consumed rather that applied one can become invincible!!  ( please do not try this at home – this is Stu’s belief only) The usual formalities at the park gates of any route on Kilimanjaro always seem to take an eternity, one is geared to go and anxious to get ahead of the 25 strong group of climbers that are also waiting at the start line. Fortunately the Twin Peaks challenge team were only x 3 and after a short time they were off into the magical rain forest that was heavily shrouded in mist. The mood was light and everyone had a spring in their step, the team was well primed after the 3 x days on Meru so certainly had that advantage with them over other climbers who had only stepped off the plane the day before.  Brad after suffering slightly from altitude sickness on Meru had decided to ease his anxiety for kili and started the morning off with a dose of Diamox. If  taking this daily it can assist in climbing at altitude as well as an emergency medicine if climbers are hit badly by Acute Mountain Sickness ( AMS) – the only down side of taking it as a preventative is that you need to head to those bushes far more regularly as it makes you ‘pee’ far more, meaning intern you need to drink more to keep yourself hydrated, catch 22 unfortunately, but for The Brad it was a physiological  companion as he was determined that he was going to make it and nothing was going to stop him – GO – The Brad!! As for Clare she started out from Maji moto with numb toes or perhaps it was ‘cold feet’ as to the challenge that lay ahead. Once again her male team members showed how close they had all become from the days spent on Meru and Stuart offered to amputate them as he had a knife and yes you guessed it Iodine to apply liberally after the job was done, Clare shrugged this off and thought to herself boys will be boys and let them have their fun. At one stage the Twin Peaks team started to doubt Paul Silwamba guiding skills and began to question that they were actually climbing Kili and not some random hill, the mist was heavy and one could not see out of the towering canopy above. Clare had hooked up with some fellow trekkers for some mental stimulation and left the boys to hackle Paul and enjoyed the latest news from the football world!!! All arrived to camp in good time  to the song of Deo and the porter team in fine voice with JAMBO – JAMBO BWANA, HABARI GANI, NZURI SANA…and so on The Brad later confessed that he finally mastered these words by day 7 and it was evident as even after his return to Arusha he could not stop singing it. The early wake up calls, bed coffee and tea were not a favorite of ‘The Brad’ and he began to get into the habit of rolling over to snatch an extra 10 mins – caffeine was not for him but sleep YES that will do nicely!! The Brad also on Meru had shown signs of being a painfully slow packer;  there is always the stigma of women being bad, but Brad well!! this time round he took the biscuit with Clare and Stuart always at the breakfast table before him. Now being as Clare was sharing a tent with him this habit was becoming a slightly frustrating daily factor. Brad has denied everything including snoring which was the sole reason that he escaped from Stu’s thunderous nocturnal habits, but now Clare faced sleepless nights as The Brad lapped up his zzzz’s.

The tables were about to changed and unfortunately ‘The Brad’ had somewhere along the way picked up a dose of Bali belly and he begun not only to have to pee more frequently but began to practice squatting in the bushes regularly during the 5days that followed. He had commented though that it did have an advantage after being robbed of sleep, that whilst braving the freezing breezes that circulated his lower regions,  the stars studded sky was something that he had never ever seen to the extremity that altitude climbing can offer- sky’s are generally crystal clear in the night as the warm lower land pulls any cloud cover down off the slopes as the temperatures drop. Being that ‘The Brad’ comes from Middlesbrough in the Northern reaches of the UK famous in a ‘ round about way‘  for its steel works, the folk are known as the ‘Smoggies’ due to the year round layer of Smog that hangs over that part of Britain, this was fresh news to me and one i do not need to experience.  So for The Brad this was a real treat although he would have rather experienced it under different circumstance.

Lava tower was next on the menu offering amazing views.

Above the Clouds

With many streams to cross after scrambling down from the heights of Lava Tower, Clare once again proud of herself from not falling in as she knew if this was to happen her supporting team member’s would never let it rest, although her blunder for the day was she forgot to put sun cream on the backs of her hands and even after the 4 days safari after returning from Kili she was proudly showing off her impressive tan stripes !!. The descent was slow over broken  ground but upon arrival to Baranco camp the clapping, smiling porter team burst into song with Jambo – Jambo Bwana, and so on : – )   Stuart looked around in disbelief and at the towering walls that encase Baranco camp and asked Paul where the hell was the route out – Paul pointed to a shear face that i must admit looks very daunting. For those who have climbed it is actually not so bad and for those who are coming rest assured 2hrs will have you on the top with fresh pop corn waiting you.  The Brads condition worsened,  his legs felt good but he was drained of energy due to the continuing Bali belly syndrome that was gripping him still. This day had a picture perfect ending with the multitude of  colored tents as the sun came out to light up the impressive Uhuru peak. As the Twin Peak Team awaited Sherif’s delightful soup ‘The Brad’ still had enough of his cheeky Northern humor to creep up on the porters and snap a picture of the guys huddled together whilst drifting off to  sleep listening to the likes of Boys to Man and Celine Dion, I’m sure ‘The Brad’ had The Boys to man C.D secretly stashed in his collection back in the UK.

Views from Baranco

And on that note we await for The Twin Peaks team to get back onto those PC’s to complete the final updates for me to upload. The news from the bush and Esilalei Maasai community is that the rains seem to have arrived and the water tanks  that combine to 10,000 liters which were installed by B2B during the droughts of 2009 are progressively filling once again, so fresh water as opposed to muddy puddles is now on tap.  Also steps forward into assessing what the lay of the land holds are in the pipe line and we have a local expert in Geology who has assisted in several water projects arranged to head to Esilalei this Wednesday 31st. As soon as we get the results to this first survey we will be sure to let all the readers of Bushupdates know what the next steps are. Thanks again to all the family members,  friends and former clients of B2B who pledged money to a very needy cause and a hats off to the ‘The Brad’, Clare and Stuart who piloted the Twin Peaks 2010 – as we have already mentioned Twin Peaks – February 2011 is currently being finalized to coincide with a February full moon with a slightly modified version, allowing an extra day for Meru and an upgrade in accommodation whilst in and around Arusha. We are hoping to see the ‘Abbot team leader’ ( Clare ) to come back with a girly posse, as she was slightly outnumbered up there, come on ladies make 2011 one to aim for.   Please drop us a line to www.bush2beach.com or www.africanrootsfoundation.org  if wanting to sign up or learn more.

Time and the passing of time… days, and now over a week have passed since the Twin Peaks Challenge team bravely stepped forth to undertake the allusive slopes of Kilimanjaro. After the Meru success with all hitting the summit on a clear 22nd of February, the team headed back down the long slopes to “heavenly” received awaiting B2B vehicle and a smiling ‘Gody’.

The long way down...

I will only touch on the down pour and thunder storm that cranked overhead to reminded us all that the nature of mountains is unpredictable and wet weather gear should be carried at all times!! drenched to the bone in less the 3 minutes, tracks turned to gushing torrents of chocolate latte and my gortex boots doing a fantastic job of keeping rain water “IN” as opposed to “OUT” unclad legs make for perfect funnels to guide rain water directly down the neck of any walking boot.  As we all changed our sodden clothing later at Mariakamba Hut, a thought came back to me that a climb is seriously not over until the fat lady sings, and at that stage of the trek with still 2hrs between us and the hut she had not even began to warm her vocal chords up. The thermos flask glowed to attention on a prepared table for the drowned rats team, namely us!! A good, slightly chilly reminder for one and all,  never underestimate the power and ruthlessness of nature unleashed.

Three seasons in one day

A full day of rest back out at Maji Moto for some well earned RnR – Stuart once again managed to flash his legs to some blood starved wings with teeth leaving him with a series of mozzie bites in perfect ring just above the soak mark.   At this stage myself and Ingrid had been pulled by an invisible magnet back to office life where glaring  computer screens waited our immediate attention!! don’t you just hate that??

Paul Silwamba head kili guide for B2B now fell into his step as he prepared the Twin Peaks team mentally for the next 7 days that was to begin at the crack of dawn the following day.  Over breakfast daunting views  of Kili standing larger than life stirred butterflies deep down in Clare as she took in the magnitude of the mountain glaring down on her from nearly 6000metres above.

The magnitude of it all.

The next updates are immanent, so watch this space,  coming in as  personal accounts as to what happened as the Twin Peaks Challenge team of 2010 began the journey up the dramatic and scenic route of Machame over 7 Days.

Without being a Party pooper and for the sake of loved ones and worried Mums – Everybody made it!! yippee!!!!

And off we went, a few custard creams floating on a bed of coffee was the meal ticket we set off with, thankfully the wake up rains and buffeting winds sounded a lot worse than they actually were and by the time we formed a single file with head torches blazing the morning stillness had returned with the only sound present was the crunching of scree under foot.

The pace was good and the 01.30 morning coolness was making trekking enjoyable in a strange sort of way,  although i quickly realized that i had thrown on one too many layers expecting blizzard condition’s in preparation as to what we woke to.  For those who have not trekked at night its a strange but peaceful experience, one tends to go within and all manner of thoughts pass you by as your gaze is fixed 3 feet in front of you on an unchanging section of scree or to the persons boots who happens to be in front of you.  LED head lamps are great for long battery hours and not burning out the back of follow campers eye balls when you address them in conversation,  but unless you have a super funky one with spotlight feature your world becomes a 15 foot existence of white blue light with every which way you turn.  For Meru and Oldoinyo Lengai ( mountain of the Gods ) Tanzania’s only active volcano this is somewhat of a blessing, reason behind this you may be wandering? is if half the people could actually see what they were climbing they would be making a B – line for the mummy shaped sleeping bag that is still holding some of their body heat back at the hut or camp.

Now being as it was dark and terrain not very forgiving the happy snappies did not come out till the the first rays of sunlight painted a watercolor smudge across to a silhouetted Kilimanjaro. I will not go into details of the events that happened during those darkened hours that the The Twin Peaks Challenge Team struggled with their own inner battles, fatigue and shear will to go. These experiences are personal to each individual and for my 20 odd years of putting myself out there testing ones boundaries and comfort zones the ultimate goal i strongly believe is not about reaching the summit but the internal journey that you take yourself through to get there.

A new day begins and another summit awaits....

The Brad, Stuart and Clare not forgetting my partner Ingrid all hit the summit of Mt Meru at approximately 07.20 but nobody really cared about the time, 4566metres had been reached after a long hard slog,  a new day begun as kamikaze swifts performed their aerial display at summit heights.  I was really wandering what fly’s and bugs live at that altitude for them to feed on, but they were going for it and you could hear the wind being cut like a stealth fighter as they flew in formation taking what ever they could on the wing.

Success is not about the summit but the journey undertaking along the way..

We descended after several hours and continued back through to Arusha after all getting caught in a torrential down pour about 1hr from Mariakamba Hut.  The Twin Peaks Team were happy to get back to hot showers and a cold bottle of Champagne that awaited them in Arusha. The following day it was back off to Maji Moto again to swim, relax and reflect on the next challenge that stood a little too much larger than life before them.

There she blows...Kilimanjaro

The bed coffee/tea!! was delivered at 06.30 as a cunning plan by Paul Silwamba head guide to kick us into life, it sort of worked and we peeled out of of mummy shaped sleeping bags to meet at the breakfast table to swap stories about how bad each of us slept!! the Germans (nothing against Germans by the way) just this particular group decided to move from the mess room to the wash basin located 10 feet from our cabin to continue to party and giggle like demented school children.  Ingrid living up to her Dutch back ground piped out in between their laughter KEEP it DOWN!! to which they did surprisingly and the voices and laughter faded to leave the still of the night in place, well almost! Stuart was still going for it hammer and tong with his low reverberating snoring next door. The Brad had more words to say on this behavior over breakfast and it was from this point on Stuart was abandoned to reverberate on his own, with the luxury of a cabin to himself.

STEPS!! nobody mentioned steps and there were many of them, up and up, switch back after switch back but on the whole the mood was light and the weather perfect with a low cloud and a cool breezes buzzing through the trees from time to time. The scenery started to get more dramatic and wilder as we steadily gained altitude, the topic of the day over the high pitch shrill of the Red necked Francolin and distant black and white colobus monkeys  was between Clare and ‘The Brad’ and yup you’ve guessed it ‘Football’ was on the menu !! it still surprises me that were ever you are or what ever you are doing somebody will always bring the subject up and be so passionate about it, i begin to wonder just what i am missing. The Brad certainly met his match though as Clare turned out to be as big of a fan as he and The Brad even commented that Clare was a wealth of information, Clare just brushed it off and said “it helps having a kid brother, he’s nuts on it”

Day 2 - 'Gaining Altitude'

I think for all the Day 2 was the best, the walk was a breeze and the scenery becoming more dramatic with each corner we turned, we waked steadily on with Ranger Dickson and Mr magnum, i had warned Brad earlier not to take the Micky to much out of Ranger Dickson due to him wearing a Liverpool scarf and having Mr magnum loosely slung around his shoulder with a bullet in the chamber, mainly against bad tempered buffalo, but the Tanzanians are also passionate about football and Ranger Dickson might not see the funny side to The Brad’s Northern humor.  Brad swallowed hard to my lighthearted warning and dropped several places back putting Stuart and Clare in between him and Mr magnum – great ti have team members in situations like this.

We approached the hut and the smell or more so the thought of the chefs delicious home made soup moved us along the fairy tale walking trails at stealth speed,  time enough to stop however for a few more snap happy moments as time was still on our side and the weather although had become somewhat grim it had not rained at this point.

Follow the Goblin Trail

Lunch was consumed in record time ‘The Brad’ once again outdoing Stuart who had already retired after his second helping on the main dish.  We were shortly joined by Paul head guide to learn of the afternoon and evening plan of attack. It was all very regimental 15.00 we were to scale Little Meru as an altitude hike, return and pre-pack for the midnight wake up call with bed tea/coffee, in prep for the final quest.

The Little Meru walk as of 10 years ago had some satisfaction when arriving to the summit and I remember sitting for a good hour soaking in the vistas that fell before me whilst learning a few phrases in Swahili from a couple of porters i had met on the top. This time we arrived to a different view and for those who ski you are all aware of the term “White out”!!..we could see each other but further than 20feet away white clouds shrouded our very presence, so the happy snappies were pulled out and the group Twin Peaks Challenge pic were fired off to capture the moment for ever on digital image. I’m actually in this one to prove that Long haired Chris is also walking the walk and not just talking the talk.

Where's the view!!

So from the summit of little Meru we descended at lightening speed to the comfort of the cabins and finalized the clothing selection for the Midnight wake up call.

A short wait and it was soup time followed by a good solid meal of carbohydrates and off to bed by around 19.00 probably a record for all of us. Sleep did not come easy once again and the shuffles of sleeping bags and other trekkers passing and closing doors kept most of us with the exception of Stu and the Brad in a light suspended dozing state. When bed tea/coffee arrived it felt as if we had been robed of precious minutes and all sat up right, blinking away trying to adjust to the solar strip light that burned at 2000 candle power in the early hours of the morning, rapid blinking of the eyes seemed to be the only cure to soften the blow. The rain and wind ripped at the outside of the hut and we were wondering if this was such a good idea…the darkness waited.

Apologies to all Twin Peak followers, family members and friends for this lapse in current  updates..our server in the good old US of A had been having technical problems and only as of now 25th got it sorted!! oh how i love technical stuff (not) so although the updates are a little older than planed, there still as fresh as the buffalo dung i slipped in whilst trying to be cool, calm and collected whilst re-telling my story of climbing Meru some 10 years earlier.. without further ado or poo, you can now move with the ‘Twin Peaks Team’ since they stepped foot on Mt Meru.

After park formalities and the impressive form of ranger ‘Dickson’ with his 280 magnum rifle being appointed to us, we headed off across the grassy plains looking at the rain forest clad lower slopes of Meru as our team of  8 strong  porters slowly got smaller and smaller as they steamed on ahead. The famous trio with myself and Ingrid were not in any hurry with a whole day ahead of us so we soaked in the impressive views and took in some wildlife of the open grassy plains.

Happy for ranger 'Dickson' and Mr magnum to accompany us though !!

Well after passing safely through the buff: and a sighting a few distant giraffe we hit the lowland forest, the trekking itself was not too hard but the day was sunny with broken cloud and when that sun popped out..phew!! it was like being caught in a heat wave, the shadows and the trees were welcomed by all.  A picnic lunch packet was consumed furiously with ‘The Brad’ showing that although small in stature his appetite belittled that of Stuart who in a former life stood at a few club doors in his time and although i am 6′4″ I’m completely happy to be his friend.  Now as to Stuart progress although he had not said anything to anyone, we started to keep an eye on him as he sat for a full minute in the shade of a tree with views across to Momela Lakes with Kili as backdrop baffled by a juice packet!! put it down to heat, altitude or is it that all juice packets in the UK are rectangular?? but he was certainly puzzled as where to insert the straw, bingo the silver dot.  We crank started our bodies into an upward motion and continued for another 1.5 hrs to Mariakamba Hut, the forest was as magical as i remembered it all those years before with “Old man’s Beard” a form of  hanging moss clinging off of every tree to give the darkening forest that mystical fantasy feeling, the silence was  bliss and far removed from the buzz of Arusha town. I was personally re-leaved that we had arrived to the hut, legs were heavy and did have too much go go juice left in me.  For those who do not know Meru as a hike,  it is all very civil with good supplies of running water and private mountain cabins, 2 x double bunks to a lockable room, you couldn’t ask really for much more!! although more was to come. A small knock at the door and Gody, head porter appeared with his beaming smile  holding bowls of steaming hot water to freshen ourselves. Oh what a delight – we all congregated around the mess cabin and between the five of us ,what seemed like an impossible task managed to polish off two huge serving plates worth of pop corn, before the 3 course meal had even arrived!!

A relatively early and necessary escape was executed by the Twin Peaks Team as a bunch of noisy Germans who had hit the  summit the previous day started getting vocal with no respect or etiquette  for other climbers, so we left them as the first song was launched onto the other dinners who had not yet finished.  Day 1 of Meru came to an end with the rustling of  sleeping bags and the distant sound of Stuart snoring in the next room.

After a pleasant evening spent at Maji Moto the intrepid trio were coaxed out before all got cosy to see what noctural walkers and stalkers were out there. At an early stage Clare mistakenly believed she could walk on water and although she was being guided and held by her two trusty team members they left her sink to the thigh before pulling her out whilst trying to swallow the laughter.

The walk turned up four bush babies, 3 terrapins and a crocodile! Well at least its eyes as it lay hidden under some heavy vegetation. A few more hours were spent around a dancing camp fire whilst the bush babies shrieked out in the still of the night.

All woke up to the smell of coffee and after several hours of packing and separating different kit, we were off with Meru firmly in our sights.