In collaboration with Safariresor.se
Climbing Kilimanjaro - is it even possible? Ever since our first visit to Kenya, we have been longing to go back. To Africa. There is something special about that continent that makes all other experiences pale in comparison. Nowhere else in the world have we seen such beautiful beaches, experienced such colourful parties or brought home such powerful experiences. In collaboration with Safariresor.se, we write today about climbing Kilimanjaro, about African safaris and about our own memories from our trips to Kenya and Tanzania.
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Kilimanjaro
Rising 5 895 metres above sea level, Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. Located in northern Tanzania, near the border with Kenya, the mountain attracts people from all over the world. They all share the dream of one day standing on Uhuru Peak and enjoying the achievement of climbing Kilimanjaro.
We have been close to Kilimanjaro twice. During our first trip to Kenya (2007/2008) we flew to Nairobi, took the train to Mombasa and then continued into Tanzania, to Tanga, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. On our second trip (2012) we flew to Nairobi and travelled by car inland, including to Kisumu.
Africa - experiences for life
Both of our journeys in Africa have been experiences of a lifetime. On our first trip to Kenya, we landed awkwardly in the middle of an election, which was corrupt and led to unrest. We chose to leave the country and arrived, almost by accident, in magically beautiful Tanzania.
We stayed a few nights in a tent in a bungalow on the beach in Tanga. Every morning when we opened the tent canvas we could look out over miles of empty beach and the big blue sea, where you might see a lone traditional wooden fishing boat. From there we went on to Zanzibar, where we stayed in small hotels on the beaches, took boat trips to different islands and watched giant tortoises.
The second time we travelled with a friend from Kenya. We stayed with her friend in Nairobi, attended a wedding in the countryside, visited our friend's mum in a small village near the border with Uganda and partied in nightclubs in Nairobi. Need I say that this trip was an extraordinary experience?
Dreams of safari
If you've been to Kenya twice, you should have been on safari, right? Every time we have visited Kenya or Tanzania we have imagined a safari, but every time something has come up. Next time it has to happen!
Safariresor.se organises several different safari trips, and it is also possible to combine the following Travelling to Kilimanjaro with safaris. For example, if you visit Tarangire National Park, you can expect to see wild elephants, giraffes, zebras, hippos, antelopes, lions, cheetahs, hyenas, ostriches, buffalo and many other animals.
Is it possible to climb Kilimanjaro?
Climbing Kilimanjaro is one of those things that sounds almost insurmountable, at least for us mere mortals. But is it? According to Safariresor.se, the climb is a tough challenge, but does not include any technical climbing. All the routes are hiking routes, and what is required is good physical condition and motivation. The daily stages to the top vary between 4-13 kilometres, which can be tougher than it sounds as you hike upwards, while the air gets thinner.
On Safariresor treks you have a private guide, private chef and a team of porters throughout the climb. All guides are certified by Tanzania's park authority TANAPA, which is a requirement for being a guide on Kilimanjaro.
Do you dream of Africa?
Have you been to Africa or do you dream of going there? If so, what is it that attracts you?
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Lena - good for the soul says:
I can certainly understand that the second trip was an experience. I have been to Nigeria once and had a bit of a "fun" adventure (which could have gone badly). I think I've told you about it before.
And yes, I dream of a safari in Africa. I actually think it will happen next year, after several years of dreaming!
Hug Lena
15 November 2017 - 6:25
Helena says:
Oh how nice that you have safari on your agenda, and so soon! Exciting! I look forward to hearing more about that! 🙂
15 November 2017 - 15:55
Laila MA - Around the equator says:
We climbed Kilimanjaro in 2014, an amazing experience 🙂 .
15 November 2017 - 6:42
Helena says:
Wow! Cool! The question is, how tough was it really...?
15 November 2017 - 15:56
Kenneth Risberg says:
Climbing Kilimanjaro sounds like a great adventure.
15 November 2017 - 7:02
Helena says:
That sounds like your kind of challenge! 🙂
15 November 2017 - 15:56
4000mil says:
Climb Kilimanjaro in 1999, a real challenge!
15 November 2017 - 8:22
Helena says:
Wow! Impressed! You can tell me more when you get the chance! 🙂
15 November 2017 - 15:57
Ann-Louise says:
I have a friend who climbed Kilimanjaro last week so I have followed her adventure via Instagram and Facebook but I would probably not dare to do it myself unfortunately. Safari, Zanzibar and Cape Town I dream about though!
15 November 2017 - 8:30
Helena says:
Oh what fun to be able to follow such an adventure on social media!!! Cape Town sounds exciting, I agree!
15 November 2017 - 15:58
World by Tina says:
The Africa trip I did two years ago with the Pink Buses was absolutely magical! It felt kind of unreal for five weeks. From Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe to the paradise island of Zanzibar. And in between, lots of wild animals and overnight stays at abandoned petrol stations - all experienced from a pink bus with a sleeping place on the roof=).
worldbytina.se/category/world-by-tinaafrica.html
15 November 2017 - 8:52
Helena says:
Wow! What a journey you have been on! What experiences!!!
15 November 2017 - 16:11
Ama de casa says:
We were in Kenya for a month in 2005 with my cousin and her fiancé who became her husband while we were there 🙂 Stayed with a couple of friends who were working in Kenya at the time. We went on wonderful safaris in 6 different parks (that I can think of now?) and saw The Big Five. FANTASTIC!!!
As we lay by the pool at a hotel in Amboseli, looking out over the snow-capped peak of Kilimanjaro, Derick (her cousin's new husband) said:
- Next year we will come back and climb that mountain!
My spontaneous reaction was:
- No way!!!
And I stand by that reaction 😀.
Haha! I mostly like to walk on the plate. However, that mountain is unbelievably beautiful 🙂 .
15 November 2017 - 9:46
Helena says:
What trips you have been on!!! And lucky that it works to walk on the plate as well 😉.
16 November 2017 - 0:03
Ditte says:
Exciting with Kilimanjaro - Have friends who climbed it with Ola Skinnamo a couple of years ago and it wants to be very well trained to even be able to get all the way to the top. (at least in hand group. Some had difficulty with the thin air and got some problems) Followed them via Instagram and in the press. Very exciting.
Perhaps it will be your next project to get up there.
Africa beckons and in the first instance a road trip in South Africa.
Safari is also on my list and then more a specially designed where you are a small group of 4 to 6 people and maybe stay at lodges that are private and then usually smaller. Have started to look a little small.
Perhaps one of you will be able to climb Klimanjaro. For my part, I have to refrain, but it would be cool to join you.
15 November 2017 - 10:41
Helena says:
How exciting! Interesting to follow some of the people who are climbing Kilimanjaro! Yes, who knows what we will find in the future ...? 😉
16 November 2017 - 0:05
Johnny Friskilä says:
I probably dream of quite a few African adventures but Kilimanjaro is not one of them. A tour of West Africa would be cool. The pyramids in northern Sudan. The world's longest train in Mauritania. Desert landscapes in Algeria (I have visited Algeria but only the northern part), or why not the more peaceful parts of the Horn of Africa?
15 November 2017 - 11:03
Helena says:
Many exciting ideas there! You are good at giving Africa inspiration! 🙂
16 November 2017 - 0:05
Goatfish says:
I have never been to Africa. In spring 2014, I had actually paid the registration fee for a trip to Gambia.
But then other things came up and I started my donation investigation and in retrospect, I don't know if I'm going back to Gambia. I guess the dream of Africa is still there, but no Kilimanjaro for me.
15 November 2017 - 12:47
Helena says:
There are many things that can happen in life. But Africa is still there, so maybe the chance will come back!
16 November 2017 - 0:06
JoY says:
Africa has a part of my heart. I have lived there, both in Liberia and in Zimbawe, which is currently in the news.
We've travelled in South Africa, Zanzibar and Tanzania, walked up to the first stage of Kilimanjaro, which was great even though Jakob had a stomach bug and I had a super cold.
Hugs
15 November 2017 - 14:19
Helena says:
I remember that you lived in Africa, what an experience! A stomach bug and a cold don't sound good when you're doing a tough hike...!
16 November 2017 - 0:08
Daniela / Discovering The Planet says:
Always :))
15 November 2017 - 14:37
Helena says:
🙂
16 November 2017 - 0:08
Anette says:
Absolutely, I want to go to Africa. I haven't been there, but I really hope I'll get there someday.
I actually have a standing invitation that I haven't used yet.
15 November 2017 - 14:58
Helena says:
Oh, but if you have such an invitation you have to use it! 😉
16 November 2017 - 0:08
Ruth in Virginia says:
Have been to Africa but only Morocco, and it's not exactly
"real" Africa. I wish I had travelled to Cape Town when I could,
but now it won't be. I have never actually thought of Africa as
destinations but eagerly read National Geographic's articles from there. 🙂
Climbing mountains has never appealed to me. But being AMONG mountains
(see Gerd's post today re Madeira).
Read about your adventures in Africa in previous posts. Kind of hairy!!!
15 November 2017 - 15:55
Helena says:
We've also been to Morocco, which is a completely different part of Africa, so to speak. And even if you do not want to climb mountains, there are other things to discover and experience in Africa. National Geographics usually have fantastic photos!
20 November 2017 - 18:12
Snows says:
The daughter and her husband spent their honeymoon in Zanzibar and they were so happy. I have been to Africa twice, both times in Egypt. I found it very interesting and there was so much to see. But the continent is huge, so I've only scratched the surface....
15 November 2017 - 17:51
Helena says:
Understand that they enjoyed their honeymoon on Zanzibar, just the right destination for such a purpose !!!! Egypt is Africa, but a completely different part, so there is certainly a lot left to see! We also have lots left that we would like to see and experience in Africa.
20 November 2017 - 18:13
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
When I met my partner he had a dream, a real safari. Having spent a few weeks in Tanzania and visited the Ngorogoro Crater and Lake Maniara, I suggested Botswana and YES, YES, YES. It was so cool. 14 nights in tents where we got to see everything we dreamed of, wild dogs hunting antelopes, lots of leopards, lion cubs playing and all without lots of other safari couples around us, as it often happens in Kenya and Tanzania.We travelled with Sunway Safaris and were so pleased that we travelled with them from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Of course, Africa is cool but there are more countries on the wish list so now our thoughts go east.
15 November 2017 - 19:05
Helena says:
Wow what a trip you have been on! We have been to Africa a few times, but not on safari, so I would like to be part of it at some point!
20 November 2017 - 18:14
BP says:
Have been to Morocco and Gambia. My husband's niece climbed Kilimanjaro with some work colleagues a few years ago. Something about a charity walk sponsored by their company. If I remember correctly, they raised £10,000 for the charity.
Hiking in the mountains is fine if the hike is no more than 20 kilometres round trip and includes pit stops at the beginning and end (at least). But camping and "wild life" is not my thing.
15 November 2017 - 20:06
Helena says:
What a thing to do with your workmates! And no worse because they were raising money for charity at the same time!
20 November 2017 - 18:15
Marianne - Glimpses of the world says:
Yes, I love that continent and have been there several times - Sierra Leone, Madagascar, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Morocco. In the New Year, I'll be travelling to Ghana, Togo and Benin, ready to sleep in tents, explore villages, experience the hustle and bustle of big cities, visit historical sites, enjoy the beach, canoe and go on safari. It will be exciting to see what it is like to go on safari in West Africa, compared to the other safaris I have been on.
African countries deserve to welcome more tourists, and I think many people who are not keen on travelling to that continent would be pleasantly surprised if they gave it a try.
15 November 2017 - 21:34
Helena says:
Wow, what many exciting places you have visited in Africa! We would really like to visit that continent again, and there are so many countries there that we have not visited! I think it's easy to have preconceived notions about Africa, but once you go there you want to go back 🙂.
20 November 2017 - 18:17
Mr Frank Olsen says:
We have been to Africa, yes, to Kilimanjaro, on safari and to Zanzibar.
A fantastic trip that we plan to do again, as there were a couple of participants who did not make it to the top of Kilimanjaro.
The safari part was probably the most amazing, although it was also great to stand on top of the world's highest freestanding mountain 🙂.
Zanzibar was probably the one that came at the bottom of the experiences down there, and I think we will probably drop it if there is a next time.
You can read more about our Africa trip here: http://janneogfrank.blogspot.no/p/tanzania-kilimanjaro.html
17 November 2017 - 10:11
Helena says:
I peeked into your blog, what experiences! We liked Zanzibar a lot, but we like to alternate with other types of experiences as well!
20 November 2017 - 18:20
Hanna says:
I would love to go there!
17 November 2017 - 16:57