Mum was up AGAIN three times in the night. she cant handle the diamox! shes also snoring really really loud and its doing my nut in! We got up at 6am and to everyones excitement, it was porridge. my headache had gone and i was feeling great, much more positive about the day ahead! From Mawenzi Tarn we were to trek for 6 hours across the saddle of the mountain amongst the alpine desert landscape, heading 4700m to Kibo camp. Kibo is the base camp for the peak of kilimanjaro and kibo is where the finale for summit night would begin. The walk to kibo was very boring. As we left Mawenzi, we had our closest view of the top of the mountain yet. The blue sky complimented the white ice caps that clung to the left side of the peak. it was a breathtaking view and gave everyone a kick of motivation to want to get to the top! during the trek through the saddle, we had a marie curie group photo, holding the MC banner with the mountain in the background. rich set the timer on the camera and ran back to the group before the 10 seconds were up...but at this altitude, the most sudden of movements left you breathless, and rich was wishing he hadnt just done that!
The walk through the saddle was starting to take its toll. the oxygen was getting less, and my headache was beginning to come back. The only interesting part about the walk was a plane crash. there were many rumours about the story behind this plane crash so i have since looked up what really happened...
8th november 2008, 4 italian tourists and a pilot took a tour of kilimanjaro. at 11am the 6 seater Cessna 206 hit Mawenzi. All 4 tourists were killed but the pilot survived.
A lot of the plane wreck is still around today. i felt it disrespectful to take any pictures but the door of plane is present, along with the tail end of the plane and much of the upholstery from the chairs and floor. it is very eerie.
On a different note the toilet stops were awful as there were no shrubs at all to hide behind and the rocks had become small...however by this point in the trip, everyone was more than comfortable about doing ones business in front of others. We could see kibo camp in the distance but it didnt seem to be getting any nearer...so near yet so far!
When we arrived at Kibo around lunch time, i really did not feel like eating. i felt so sick and my head was going to explode. All i wanted to do was curl up in my tent and go to sleep but i knew i had to eat something to keep up my strength for the summit night ahead. i therefore forced down some spaghetti, retching as i tried to swallow it. We were all sent to bed after lunch to try and get 4 hours sleep before dinner at 6pm. unfortunately our tent was situated right by the main path at Kibo and it was very noisy...mixed with the fact mums snoring had become a fog horn but i didnt have the heart to wake her anymore as i knew we both needed rest to prepare for the summit. the toilets werent much better either, i couldnt even go in the long drops as they too made me retch...i therefore had to settle for some nicely positioned rocks.
At 6pm we were woken for dinner. my headache had gone after taking 2 paracetamol and i was feeling more positive about summit night. i forced some food down me, again not feeling hungry at all and looked over at mum who didnt look so great either. i think altitude was having its effect on everyone in the group. the conversation had got less and less as we had got higher and higher. after dinner we were sent back to bed. the sun had gone down and it was well below freezing. mum spilt some water int he tent so i mopped it up with a towel - within an hour of it hanging up outside the tent it had frozen. at 11pm we were woken up and it was time. - the finale.
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