Below is a summary version of my journal of my attempt to climb Kilimanjaro.
I will be adding more when I finally catch up on sleep.
Kilimanjaro 2013
(Summary version)
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The plan was to get to Uhuru Peak (5895m) on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world and the roof of Africa. Instead I find myself at 5200m sitting on a rock rubbing my eyes trying to get them to work again!
At first I thought the batteries on my headtorch had gone which is why things went black. You see on summit day you set off at midnight to try to get to the peak for 8am and then get back down again.
The headtorch was working but now as I looked down everything was flat and white. Maybe I had made it to the glacier? One more step forward confirmed that was not the case as my foot hit a rock and I fell. I was now confused by these invisible rocks!
Sitting on the rock I called over my guide, Peter, to have "that" conversation. I explained that I was struggling to see properly. He wasn't phased and we dropped down to a lower altitude to see if it improved. Sadly it did not so I had to make a call to keep going or turn back.
Peter's advice was that "Kilimanjaro will always be here waiting for you next time".
My response was under my breath. Ultimately this mountain had kicked my arse all week with various forms of altitude sickness and so it was with regret I headed back to base camp. That alone would turn into another mission, getting down the mountain with a pair of eyes that thought everything on the ground was flat white!
I made it back to camp and now back to the UK in one piece. This trip had plenty of lows but also some amazing highs and positives.
Before we even started the climb I went to the Shika centre and taught the kids there to play golf. They loved it and are some of the happiest kids I have met. You cannot comprehend the hardships some of these kids have had to endure yet they are fascinated and inquisitive. They have less and are happier!!!
I met one boy that was from a Massai family and he was telling us how he was looking forward to becoming a Massai warrior. It's a bit like us turning 18 although rather than having a celebration drink down the pub he will have to be circumcised and then head off on his own to kill a Lion! He was genuinely excited by the prospect. What different worlds we live in.
Our group has managed to raise enough money to run the centre in Arusha, Tanzania, for a whole year. For me it was great to see first hand that every penny Shika make goes directly to helping these kids. None of it is getting syphoned off or corrupted it just pays to help give kids an education.
I will add a more detailed version of the trip to my blog shortly but until then I will continue to be perplexed by that one sentence that has been going through my mind all week.
“They have LESS but are HAPPIER!”
neal granville golf 