Kili – Start of the climb to Umbwe caves
Sean and a group of ten climbers departed from O R Tambo international airport for Kilimanjaro at midnight on Friday night. After flying through the night, with a 3 hour stop over in Dar es Salaam, the group landed at Kili airport at 9am. Yesterday was spent recovering and relaxing at the hotel before the climb begins this morning.
After breakfast they will be driven to the Umbwe Gate at 1800m, passing through villages with coffee and banana plantations. On arrival at the Parks Gate they will meet the guides and porters and sign the register. The route initially follows a muddy, forestry track winding up through the natural rain forest. It then narrows and steepens to climb the ridge between the Lonzo and Umbwe rivers, with huge trees surrounding the climbers and glimpses of deep valley gorges. Umbwe camp is perched between huge trees and thick undergrowth at 3000m.
Hi Sean
Good luck to you and my very good friend John Wouters (ex Townsville, Australia) – please pass him my best wishes!
Regards
Augusta
Tell Natasha we say hi and that we are all behind her!
G´day John. Hope the back is ok. enjoy your trip. See you back at work after xmas. Look 4ward to all the photos and stories.
Cheers Tom