The next adventure: I’m climbing Mount Kilimanjaro!

Next week I will be setting off on my next adventure, and it is one that I am very excited about. I have given a few hints on this blog and the Facebook page over the last few weeks, but today I am happy to finally announce where I will be going.

I’m going to Tanzania!

Firstly, Veronika and I will be going to Bangkok for a few days – one of our favourite cities. I can’t wait to get back to all of that delicious street food!

From Bangkok, my lovely wife will head back home and I will be heading to Africa for the first time. I will only be in Tanzania for two weeks but it will be action packed!

An elephant with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background – by cjasik on Flickr

After I arrive in the town of Moshi, I will set off to climb Africa’s highest mountain – Mount Kilimanjaro. This is a climb that I have put off for a while now, but the time has finally come. I have been training hard for the past couple of months and I’m ready to fulfill another one of my dreams.

I have chosen to climb the mountain with Gap Adventures as I have only heard good things about them, and they do great things for the local people and environment. I will be taking the Machame route up the mountain which will take 6 full days of hiking before returning to Moshi.

To give you an idea of how high the mountain is, it stands at 5895m. When I trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp, the highest point was 5545m at Kala Pattar. That’s an extra 350m that I have to climb, and I know at that altitude, 350m is a lot! This will not be a walk in the park, but I am looking forward to the challenge.

Mount Kilimanjaro by Mike McHolm on Flickr

From Moshi I will transfer to Arusha where I will set off on a 5 day safari, again with Gap Adventures, where I will explore Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater. That should give me plenty of wildlife spotting experiences.

I can’t describe how excited I am about this adventure and also to get back on the road, even if it is only for a couple of weeks.

Zebra on the Serengeti by David Berkowitz on Flickr

Things will be a little bit quiet here while I am away, but I will have a few scheduled posts to go out and will try to make updates over on my Facebook page. I have a feeling that I am going to have a lot to say about this trip when I get back, and I can only imagine how many photos I will take.

If you’ve been to Tanzania and in particular have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, I would really appreciate any tips that you can give me.