I made the decision one September 2022 morning to climb the enormous Kilimanjaro mountain in Africa.I told my daughter Trish and my husband, who was away on vacation visiting his mother, about my happy and exciting decision. The responses were quite diverse! My daughter exclaimed “WOW” and wanted to follow me, but my husband Shiv only responded with a terse “Okay”! This occurs when you are on a bad WhatsApp call and there are barking dogs behind you. I’m confident he didn’t hear me! I thought both responses were perfectly fine.
After hearing about our plan a week later, Trish’s friend Sid caught the climbing bug as well, giving birth to the name “Killi Babes”! Our soul was in this WhatsApp group for the following few months, this WhatsApp group served as our sanity. Sid was the one who found our flights, and the next day we had all made reservations for February 2023. These two had to schedule their vacations, but I was eager to go and had already done some research before deciding to begin the climb on the 8-day Lemosho route on February 17, 2023. And that was just in September 2022!
I’ll then briefly go over the planning (very different from a lesson plan), the lists we created, and the mountain of equipment we gathered—and returned too!
We made the choice to use Moshi-based Monkey Adventures. The wisest choice ever made! First, they responded to my silliest and most vaguest question on Whatsapp even in the middle of the night.
A list of items to bring was provided for us. I’ll post a picture of the list I handwrote and checked off as I went. Oh wait, we had to look up what a balaclava and a gaiter were. I kept saying “baklava” but later realized that the “baklava” in my kit wouldn’t help. Baklava is a type of halwa (a sweet treat) that is made in Turkey, Russia, or the Middle East and is sticky, nutty, fruity, and sweet. The woolly mammoth face mask was what I needed. baklava
Kili babes off to Kilimanjaro with an early morning stop over at Addis Ababa.
Jambo Tanzania and Hello Africa
The babes have landed, now for all the formalities which actually went smoother than expected! We had our visas and all the printed documents so no time was wasted! All our precious luggage arrived! PHEW!
Honey Badger Lodge
To get to Honey Badger in Moshi, we chose Ali and his taxi. We took a crazy taxi ride together. It was best to keep the windows closed even in that heat after we and the suitcases almost flew out the window! You’ll never forget Ali’s toothy grin and cheerful expression. Oh, the bumpy, ditch-filled dirt road leading to Honey Badger reminded me of my very own Priors Lane in Surrey. The only difference was that this one was a never-ending dirt path instead of water filled slushy pot holes.
What made Honey Badger a lovely haven in Moshi was the peace and quiet amid the countless noisy, animated monkeys, the lush surroundings, the pool, the tortoises, and the helpful staff. Good choice this one! 
Honey Badger in Moshi
Day 0 in Moshi
Briefing at 4pm
This day had been long anticipated by all of us! The day the Monkey Adventures crew would arrive! We meet Charles and Enock in the Honey Badger lobby at 4 o’clock. We had no idea that they would soon assume the enormous responsibility of tolerating us and become our GODS! At this point, we didn’t really understand what the map and route meant, so we just nodded and said OKAY! For a very long time, I had been seeing this map on Google Images. Then the BOSS arrived, and the entire amount was paid.
We ask : Charles, tell us which route is your favorite?
Answer: Lemosho
Day 1 Kili Babes get picked up by the Team!
ONE TEAM ONE DREAM
What a dramatic beginning to Day 1 and the morning. That morning Sid discovers a gecko trying to escape the water in the toilet. The monster makes the implacable decision to swim in after he flushes. He delivers the shocking news in a gentle manner. In my mind, THIS IS PANIC! As if we didn’t already experience anxiety or stress. I make no attempt to enter and take a peek at this swimmimg creature. Trish entered the toilet with courage and seemed calm as she greeted the little monster.
‘Awww…so cute’, she remarks!!
Londorossi Gate
We get a lunch box with and meet other climbers! This gate is a start for Lemosho route and here is where a lot of paper work gets done by our guides. Duffel bags are weighed and we pass! Phew, what a relief!
Our Routine
Washy Washy bowl brought by Yuma( say Juma)
Dinner is served at 7:30, and Dr. Enock will arrive at the mess tent around 7:50 to check your health, oxygen levels, and mood. Every detail is recorded by him.
8:00 ish pm – Charles and Simon enter to give us a briefing on what to wear, what to pack for the day, when to get up and go, and the weather for the following day. All other things included!
What will the terrain look like tomorrow, we ask Charles. He would wave and move his hand in a wave-like motion while saying, “Simple,” “Easy,” and “Little bit up.” And we’re delighted!
We only learned how to use this waving hand language on day 8 !
Our First Camp - Day 1 Mti Mkubwa
The Lemosho Route’s first small camp was Mti Mkubwa. This is montane forest vegetation. It appears cooler in the evenings compared to the daytime temperature because it is surrounded by green trees.
Things change at night! We get used to using our own personal toilet . When you pull the lever the cover opens, you do your job and then you flush and push the lever to close the cover. Very clever piece of equipment!This way, at the very least, you keep snakes, toads, frogs, and geckos out! My thoughts are calm.
It gets a little chilly as night falls. I am astonished by how clear the stars are. Although I am strongly tempted to stay up because the stars are so clear, the thought of sleeping and relaxing draws me into the tent. Trish decides to sleep alone, so we set up a rota for that “alone” time since we have two tents between us. I sleep in my tent with Sid. We manage a good night’s sleep because it is cozy and warm. I had to get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee (guess it was the Diamox’s effect). Night time access to torches is required for this. You definitely don’t want to trip over a stone or a tent peg!
The vivid plant is also known as the African Blood Lily. The spectacular flowerhead is a large spherical mass can grow to a diameter of 9 inches wide and is made of up tp 200 tiny florets. Each plant will produce one flowerhead in a season.
The bulbs are toxic if ingested. The extract is used to make poison tip arrows and fishing poison.
Impatiens kilimanjari – is found nowhere else in the world except the jungle floor of Kilimanjaro.
Day 2 - To Shira 1
Day 2 : To Shira 1 We make our way to Shira 1 ( 3500m). We pass the rainforest and we also see the end of the rainforest! We reach the lower part of the moorland. We move from the west side of the mountain to the east side of the mountain.
Colobus monkeys were parading around the Mti Mkubwa camp in the morning, attempting to get their hands on any food crumbs they could find. Yuma our alarm clock served us hot tea, and then followed a red bowl of hot water for washy washy. We appear fairly tidy on Day 2. At this point, we prepare our belongings for the day by putting everything we’ll need in our day bags and in our duffle bags, which we can only access in the following camp. Here I found that I had forgotten to put two of my tracks in the bag. Accuse Honey Badger lights. I guess I’ll just have to do without them. We had to pack your hard-shell coat and a pair of waterproof leggings even though we were informed it would be warm during the day. I simply wore gym clothes (I wanted to resemble a pink leopard a little bit!) and tucked the other items wherever I could find room in the backpack.
Day 2 Trek highlights
The route opens up, we bid good bye to the rainforest, enter moorland with shrubs and today we see the western flank of mighty Kilimanjaro bathed in bright sunlight! ‘
Day 3 Shira 1 to Shira 2
Morning Preparation: Yuma’s tea, a red bowl filled with hot water for washy washy, breakfast, Enock’s health check, duffel bags prepared for the porters, Diamox, a bladder, and Nalgene bottles of water with those flavoured electrolyte to give us some energy.The tingling sensation started in my fingers but it wasn’t that bad. Breakfast like yesterday was excellent. Loved the porridge, omellete, and those tropical fruits! All done and we set out for another day of trekking!
OH… we forget to brush our teeth.
Day 4
Pole Pole - Shira 2 to Barranco
Today, we travel through Lava Tower to reach Barranco Camp, covering a distance of roughly 10K while ascending to Lava Tower for acclimatisation before descending to Barranco Camp. Lava Tower seemed creepy and rather unusual. We were nervous and anxious! Now that we were in the cloud cover. Lava Tower was shrouded in mist as we drew near, and we were unable to see anything. The mist suddenly dissipates, and everything becomes visible. The rock was tower-sized and enormous!
Day 5: We climb the wall and reach Karanga camp
Pole Pole, we reached Barranco. Pole Pole (pronounced Poleh Poleh) is Swahili for “slowly slowly.” The Kili mantra: Never forget this.
Today, the altitude started to affect us all, and the temperature was dropping. In Barranco, we were. When we first awoke, we stared in awe at the Barranco Wall. How did we intend to climb that?
‘We are going to die’, says Sid as we observed the line of human ants crawling up.
Day 6 -Kili babes reach base camp - Barafu
It is day 6! We wake up in the morning at Karanga and it is a little bit daunting now that the summit day is nearing.
The vegatation is Alpine desert and everything is POLE POLE ! We ask a lot of questions about the summit but we get few answers. 'I will tell you when we reach Barafu' says Charles.
Summit Day
Day 7 : Kili babes are going to the summit
For the summit, we Kili Babes are prepared. At 12:30 a.m., we depart from Barafu. We have butterflies in our stomachs and it is freezing with all the layers on. Only 5 km separate us from Uhuru Peak.
Day 7 Descent from Uhuru Peak
5km from Barafu to Uhuru Peak took us from 12:30 am to 8:45 am! YES!
At 9:30 am, the descent from Uhuru Peak (5895m) to High Camp or Millineum Camp (3950m) began. A brief lunch and stretch break were taken at Barafu Camp. As soon as we began descending, our breathing began to get better and started to feel better. I observed the other climbers approaching the Uhuru board while carrying what appeared to be the weight of the entire world on their shoulders. You’re almost there, I tell them as I encourage them. It was exactly where I had been a few minutes ago, so I recognized how they felt.
Day 8-Mweka Camp to the Monkey Adventures office
We wake up in High Camp or Millennium Camp (3950m) feeling content, joyful, and exhausted. Today, we wear T-shirts and jeans or shorts instead of our usual layers and thermals.
