The start of 2020 has been amazing so far, last month I went to Tanzania in Africa, a country I’ve wanted to visit for a long time. We’d set ourselves a challenge to climb Kilimanjaro, Africa’s largest and the world’s highest free-standing mountain and chose the Machame route, which is a 7-day climb, camping on the mountain.
This natural wonder of the world is a snow-covered mountain which is set on the equator. It was a tough trek due to the high altitude, when we ascend above 2000 metres, our bodies must acclimatise to the decreasing amount of oxygen available. As you climb higher the air gets thinner, so your body needs to work harder to maintain the supply of oxygen. Failure to acclimatise can result in acute mountain sickness so Andy and I did plenty of hill walking prior to our trip to help us have a better experience on the mountain. We also did a night climb up Snowdon to get the feel of summit night trekking with our bags and using our head torches to light the way. It was a great opportunity for us to try out our kit and we were grateful to have a shower and change of clothes back at the hostel, something we didn’t have whilst camping on the mountain.
To successfully reach these heights you need to pre acclimatise your body to better cope with the lower levels of oxygen, so this slightly longer route helped prepare for this. Being on the mountain was an emotional sense of achievement and each day an adventure enjoying the dramatic changes in vegetation and animal life, we were lucky to see a few colobus monkeys in the trees on our way up. The trekking was 6 to 8 hours a day sometimes longer and the pace was set by our African guides. The porters carried our main bags, set up our camp and cooked some great food, although at altitude you have to force yourself to eat as you lose your appetite. They were always happy regardless of working hard and entertained us at every camp with plenty of singing and dancing which we joined in with. It rained heavily every day even though it was dry season, this made it hard to keep our clothes dry including my boots and the terrain was slippery. The mountain tends to have its own weather station so it’s unpredictable what it will be like.
Unfortunately, this time we were not 100% successful in reaching the summit. I suffered with headaches, felt breathless and didn’t sleep well as it was very cold at night, so I decided to come down for safety reasons. The descent still was no easy feat and when we finally reached the bottom we got met in a Land-Cruiser to take us back to our accommodation. It was a tight squeeze in the vehicle as along with us were also 15 porters plus tents, kitchen equipment and lots more luggage, we really felt the long bumpy ride back but were glad to get back safely.
We met with the rest of the group at the end of the climb and handed out tips for the guides and porters. We had all given $200 each which was shared equally between them and we donated any clothing that we no longer needed. After we enjoyed our last meal together and were given certificates for achieving Kilimanjaro. We climbed over 4000 metres which is the highest I’ve ever trekked, and I’m really pleased with that.
I feel that in order to grow you sometimes must do things that make you nervous and scared. Find something you want to tackle this year and get it done. You’ll feel great after and it’ll help you gain the confidence that you can do whatever you set your mind to in the future. I kept a journal with me every day, it’s a good way to document my thoughts and feelings and it’s something I will carry on with this year, to look back on and further my own personal development. I always encourage and welcome new experiences as it helps change how you perceive the world. When you move out your comfort zone it will give you a new perspective to see everything is possible. Choose one big idea to implement this year, money spent on experiences is far more rewarding and memorable. You can set goals anytime of the year, find some friends who want to achieve similar goals and strive to be each other’s accountability partners to help you stay motivated and on track. I am totally grateful to Andy who helped me get through some tough times on the mountain and coming down with me when I knew I was exhausted from lack of sleep and my body had physically had enough. We also shared lots of laughter and formed some of our best memories, taking in a safari and enjoying a few days in Zanzibar with some of our group after the climb and made new friendships.
The best things about Tanzania apart from stunning views of Kilimanjaro are the endless fields of yellow sunflowers, coffee and banana plantations with trees filled with bunches of green bananas and the beautiful women dressed in colourful clothes, carrying many baskets on their heads. It truly was a wonderful experience.
We funded this trip ourselves and chose to raise money for Focus at Cheltenham Oncology where I do some volunteering as a therapist. There are always unfortunate people who need your help so what better way to start off the year than give. I will be grateful if you will support us on this mission and help reach our target of £500. By supporting FOCUS today, you can help to invest in projects which will benefit local patients fighting cancer. FOCUS aims to create a comfortable and positive environment for all patients. You can support through a donation. All we can do is help shine a light so please support our Kilimanjaro challenge.
Please visit my just giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/zoe-hinkley2
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What goals or intentions have you set for yourselves this year? Please comment below I’d love to hear from you.
Thank you for reading and have a fantastic year ahead.
Zen Pamper Company 😊