We live in a beautiful fascinating world. As many of my guests have discovered, I am a big fan of travelling and exploring the wonders that our world has to offer. In my younger years I have enjoyed a number of wild adventures - if you have an upcoming tour booked with me feel free to ask me about them!
It has been a number of years since my last big wild adventure and with a number of guests doing repeat tours with me I decided that I needed to update my travel stories with a new crazy adventure! So to start 2025 I decided to climb to the top of Africa's highest mountain - Mount Kilimanjaro! Its famous peak lies at 5,895 metres above sea level (19,341 feet). To put this into perspective the highest mountain in the United Kingdom is Ben Nevis which stands at a mere 1345 metres (4413 ft)!
There was no chance of me doing any altitude training before the trek but I did manage to invest in an indoor exercise bike and squeeze in some walks in the beautiful hills around Bath in the two months leading up to the trek. With that and a positive mind (and a new set of hiking books after I discovered my old ones leaked!) I set off to Tanzania on the 1st January. If you've looked into trekking up Kilimanjaro you may recall that there are a number of different routes. I chose the 7 day Machame route which starts at 1,800 metres. I joined a fantastic bunch of intrepid explorers who had signed up for an open group trek with Gladys Adventures, a local agency. We were an international team with representatives from the US, Belgium, Italy and England. There are no lodges on the mountain so you have to be part of an organised group and you have to camp. As a result our team of 8 explorers had 31 locals to assist us on the climb! These included porters, guides, assistant guides, a chef (who performed miracles by producing incredible meals miles from civilization) and rather luxuriously we had two toilet attendants so that we could have two private toilet tents to avoid using the dodgy rustic long-drops at the camp sites! As I get older I need some minimum form of comfort!
Starting from 1,800 metres meant that we trekked through different landscapes. We started in rainforest which changed to cloud forest and then more barren alpine desert before ending with ice-fields on the summit. The sceneries were beautiful and being a person who likes to take in the scenery I quickly earned the nickname "Dr Doolittle" after spotting different wildlife! This was quite ironic as I talk about Dr Doolittle during my Lacock and Castle Combe Tour and South Cotswolds Tour!
Twice a day the guides checked our health. They measured our blood pressure, oxygen level and body temperature. I did succumb to headaches when we were above 4,000 metres but it was not enough to concern the guides nor ruin my enjoyment. I am glad I packed the paracetamol!
On the 5th day we reached Base Camp where everyone was preparing for their climb. Our summit attempt started at 11:30pm. We left Base Camp and started the long climb to the peak with the moon and our head-torches lighting the way. If you pass by Kilimanjaro you will often hear/see the words "Pole Pole!" This means slowly slowly! At altitude this is key for making it to the top and our guides and summit porters did a fantastic job at minimising the amount of exertion we placed on our bodies by keeping a slow but steady pace. Incredibly as we conserved our every breath they would often break into song to help motivate us as we trudged up the mountain! They were true legends! We reached the ridge (Stella Point) as the sun was rising over the horizon. It was truly an emotional and magical moment. Out of nowhere the porters whisked out a flask of ginger tea and cups for us to celebrate! The climb was not over though - from Stella Point it was another 45 minute walk on a path that traversed and climbed across the ice until we finally reached the famous sign that announced that we were at the top: Uhuru Peak. After 8 hours of walking through the night we had made it to the top of Africa! We were standing on the world's highest free standing mountain! The only snag was how to get back down - there was no cable car, just a long arduous walk which by all accounts was a far more physically challenging feat!
Reaching the top of Mount Kilimanjaro was an amazing achievement and an experience I hope not to forget.
If you look at the above photo you will see that I took a sign with me to hold at the top saying "Thank You". This sign is to thank everyone who has kindly given me a tip for my guiding services. These tips helped to finance my big African adventure and provided me with some incredible memories and experiences. When you gave me your tip you were thanking me for helping to create memories and experiences for you, in doing so you have done the same for me so a big big thank you to all of you!
After the trek I celebrated by pursuing my dream of doing a safari and wow, what an experience that was! The wildlife in Tanzania is incredible - colourful, varied and abundant. I was able to see the Big 5 and more. I am now in the process of creating photobooks from my trip. If you would like to see these when touring with me do let me know, in the meantime below is a taster of one of my wildlife photos! This is now my favourite animal - beating the tiger that I saw in the jungles of Nepal!
I have been extremely lucky and started 2025 with some incredible travel experiences. I wish all of you many amazing travel experiences this year. If you are coming to Bath I look forward to helping create some wonderful experiences and memories for you (I won't be able to provide you with leopards or mountains though!)
If you are a new subscriber to my blog please be advised that my blog posts are normally about Bath and the surrounding area, this is a bit of a anomaly! A number of guests asked if I could do a blog post about my Africa trip when I returned. I hope you found it interesting and maybe inspirational too - travelling is great for the mind and soul :)
Wishing all of you a wonderful 2025, Daniel.
Great write up of your adventures Dan. Well done!
If you're back on terra firma, time to take a rest and put your feet up.