Mount Hanang to Arusha

Thursday 24th March 2016 – Today our mission was to climb Mount Hanang in one day, the third highest mountain in Tanzania. It is an extinct volcano and lies at the base of the Rift Valley escarpment. It was an estimated six hour hike each way…a twelve hour mountain extravaganza! I was extremely nervous knowing that this was quite a climb, but Aaron insisted I was capable…I myself wasn’t so sure! The idea was to not only enjoy the mountain but to additionally acclimatise for a possible climb up Kilimanjaro…or at least for Aaron to try as I am truly not a natural mountain climber of which Aaron is. Our very likeable, softly spoken guide, Gabriel, met us at our lodge at 6.00 am sharp. It was cool and dark…head torches on we paced through the town of Katesh passing fields of sunflowers (alazeti in Swahili) as the sun rose slowly on the horizon. At 7.30 am we arrived at the mountain village which was also where Gabriel was born and grew up. He showed us his house made of all natural materials collected locally which he himself with his bare hands had built. There we sat having a snack in his cosy abode until it was time to start our climb. I will not lie…for me the climb was gruelling in places…at points more like rock climbing on hands and knees with the aid of my lovingly made stick that Gabriel had moulded from the forest at the foot of the mountain. The rough terrain was cruel on my knees but onwards and upwards we travelled…me vowing never to climb a mountain again. However…the mountain was kind to us…she had ordered perfect weather…I had been literally praying to her all day to get us up and down safely…she was a mountain of her word and trying her best to shelter and protect us. At 2pm we reached the summit after walking the ridge of many lower peaks almost across the entire width of the mountain…how far we hiked I had no idea…what we did know was that at the top we stood tall at 3,417 metres high. Concerned with the time we had a quick lunch…took pictures…and prepared ourselves for the decent. ‘Pole, pole’, Gabriel would say…slowly, slowly…I couldn’t have done it any other way. My knees were in excruciating pain by now…without Aaron holding my hand every step of the way and multiple painkillers I would never have made it down…it was to become my hardest climb ever! Through my tears and expletives the decent was agonisingly slow…Aaron deserved a medal for gently but firmly coaxing me onwards. At 8pm we eventually reached the foot of the mountain…the last hour of hiking we had been in darkness apart from our torches. There we were met by three motorbikes…Gabriel had ordered them to take us from his house to our lodge knowing that I was incapable of walking through town by now. On we got, whizzing through the darkness on rocky, muddy tracks that you could never call roads until we reached sanctuary…bed…I wasn’t even hungry…I just wanted to rest my weary legs and sleep…my only hope that in the morning I would be able to stand!

Friday 25th March 2016 – Battered, bruised and sore we awoke. Aaron had decided in the night not to attempt to climb Kilimanjaro for multiple reasons…mainly the cost of around £1000 and 5 or 6 days for the challenge…it would keep for another time. There was no reason now to stay in Katesh to acclimatise some more so we packed and left heading for Arusha…the Safari capital of the world! We were lucky at the bus station, only having to wait 10 minutes for a comfortable coach to our chosen destination. It was Easter Friday and as we journeyed northwards…out of our window glanced a huge wooden cross being carried by 5 or 6 people…in their wake what seemed like a whole village following on…a re-enactment no less of Good Friday and the crucifixion. So far away from home yet Easter still being celebrated…less the chocolate eggs of course! It’s strange…if you took a photo of the landscape here minus the people, animals and dwelling places you could easily mistake it for the Tuscan hills of Italy or undulating fields of Bordeaux…the reason…sunflowers…my favourite flower…thousands upon thousands of them carpeting the countryside, looking up to the African sun in admiration and contentment. By 3.00pm we had arrived at Arusha Backpackers…clean, central to the town, with a terrace bar and restaurant looking out over Mount Meru (the second highest mountain in Tanzania), it was ideal for us plus breakfast was included…such a bonus! We were hungry, thirsty and tired so after feasting on two huge plates of spaghetti bol we took a much needed siesta for a few hours. On awakening we ate again…the mountain climb really had depleted our energy reserves…and commented on the most travellers we had seen since visiting Victoria Falls. We slept well that night…stomachs full and thirst quenched.

Saturday 26th March 2016 – After a comfortable nights sleep we awoke and enjoyed a very pleasing continental breakfast on the roof terrace…there was even locally produced honey which was delicious! Today we wanted to get a feel of the town and start researching the best Safari for us. With over 100 companies to choose from, some of which were complete scams, it was a minefield and no easy task. Choose the cheapest Safari and you ran the risk of losing your money altogether or seriously sub standard conditions (no fun when there’s lions about)! Choose an expensive Safari and lose out on value for money. What we needed was a middle range Safari with a reputable company…a great experience at a fair price. We left our room and as we sauntered to our hotel reception we were accosted by a Safari taut who had learnt of our arrival! He was clearly going for the aggressive hard sell…the worst approach he could possibly choose with us…we firmly dismissed him especially when he grabbed my arm and insisted we go to his office when he continually refused to give us a quote! Walking through the streets you could tell this was a highly touristy town even in low season like we were in. I was carrying our day bag which seemed to be a beacon for undesirables…my antenna was on high alert…we were followed at least 6 times that I counted…each time we stopped by a shop in the shade until the follower realised his game was up and he carried on empty handed! Feeling increasingly uncomfortable and after stumbling upon a seedy part of town where Tanzanite was being traded (a semi precious stone found on Kilimanjaro), we headed back to our backpackers to deposit our bag for safekeeping in the hotel safe. Having unladen ourselves with valuables we proceeded to visit 4 or 5 Safari companies…we should have realised…all were closed due to the Easter holidays. Returning to our backpackers, I checked our valuables…there was a 10,000 shilling note missing…only worth £3…but nethertheless an unpleasant feeling arose in me. It wasn’t worth mentioning it for such a small amount plus we had no proof but I knew it was taken so the hotel safe would not be used by us again…we would put our own Fort Knox procedure into play! After emailing half a dozen Safari companies we chilled out on the roof terrace, ate, drank and returned to our room for a good nights kip.

Sunday 27th March 2016 – At breakfast we checked emails and proceeded to visit some more Safari companies (this was turning into a mammoth task)! At Basecamp Safaris we met Achmed…the complete caricature of a colonial…half English, half German…with that unmistakable quintessential Terry Thomas moustache curling up at the sides…what a character. We were sure that Achmed was born by some other Western name…however after falling in love with a Tanzanian lady who was Muslim we guessed he had converted himself and subsequently changed his name. After making us a perfect cup of coffee we enjoyed some good old English banter, swapping stories and reminiscing about great British humour such as the Monte Python and The Life of Brian! When we eventually got down to business his quote for a 4 day Safari was still on the expensive side so we said fond farewells and left to continue our quest. As we wandered the streets in search of our golden Safari we came across a pitiful looking stray dog. He was coiled up in the shade, licking his wounds…emaciated beyond belief…I couldn’t stand it…he turned and looked imploringly into my eyes…gentle, soft, loving eyes with no owner to care for him. I had to find him food even on Easter Sunday! Searching for anything a dog might like we happened upon a man cooking pork kebabs…perfect…we quickly bought some and made our way back to the dog who had so stolen my heart. En route a ginger and white cat was also looking for food…he was delighted when a little kebab came his way. There on the roadside was my beloved dog…just where we had first seen him…I gently fed him…he could hardly move…he thanked me with his eyes…there was nothing else we could do so on we went, tears welling in my eyes at the injustice of it all…seeing the suffering of stray cats and dogs in Africa really is heartbreaking. Needing some girlie time and Aaron some boy time we enjoyed the rest of our day separately…Aaron in Arusha and I on the roof terrace. Hopefully tomorrow our perfect Safari would present itself to us!

Monday 28th March 2016 – After breakfast I gave Aaron a much needed haircut on our balcony with our new sharp dressmaking scissors bought back in Lilongwe…he was delighted with the results saying it was the best haircut he had ever had…I doubted that but it was a pretty good effort and if he was happy with it so was I! On checking our emails we were delighted to have a reply from Sunny Safaris quoting a very reasonable price for a 4 day Safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. This company had a very good reputation so we called the agent immediately and 20 minutes later Irene arrived at our hotel to brief us and give us more information about the trip. She was friendly and delightful, I liked her straight away…the package sounded ideal for us plus it would be just Aaron and myself…our own private Safari with a cook and driver all to ourselves…sounded magical…almost like a second honeymoon! We agreed a pick up time the next day of 9am…just like that…simple and straightforward, just how we liked it…we had eventually found our perfect Safari and couldn’t wait for the adventure that awaited us. To celebrate we bought ice creams and chocolate from Pick n Pay, the local supermarket and stocked up on some beer and soft drinks in anticipation of the trip of a lifetime!