Safari

Apologies for not being on the updates for the past week. The following should explain why this has been the case. We arranged our safari with Red Chilli Hideaway in Kampala. The trip was a 3 day extravaganza up to the north-west of the country and Murchison Falls National Park. The park is a fantastic mix of a number of different terrains, from jungles that are home to Chimpanzees to the classic African Savannah to the formidable Nile River. The park is named after the waterfall which is where the Nile River squeezes through a 6 metre gap - as you can imagine the effect is astonishingly powerful and impossible to really capture, quite immense. On arrival at the park we were ushered, all to quickly, along the route to stand by the falls. This could have been quite special had we not felt so rushed by our driver. Still, we arrived on time at the rest camp and settled into our lovely safari tent. We were with a group of 7 biology students from Imperial College, London. They were fantastic company and good value. We also had interesting conversations with an ex-israeli soldier and a marine tradesman from New York. It is always a blessing to find yourself with a good group of people, obnoxious or unnecessary people would somewhat spoil a safari...so we both found this very pleasing. The game drive takes place early in the morning. And we crossed the Nile onto the North bank to do this, as that is where all but the baboons and chimpanzees live. Safari's can either start at break neck speed or very slowly, and you start to get concerned that, of all the options, you went and chose the wrong one. Murchison Falls was most certainly the latter. But fortunately, it picked up. There are only so many Hartebeests, and Impala you can see before you start to get anxious to view the Big Five. Buffalo were ticked off early, herds of them, and though this was interesting and exciting, it does feel more like a warm up to the animals you are most interested in seeing. Just round the corner from the buffalo herd stood a lone Bull Elephant, exceptionally close to the road. If it were not for the gorillas, elephants wouldbe my favourite animal, so it is always enthralling to spend time in the company of this animal, the size of which, is always a surprise and as the guide reels off his facts, you cannot really grasp just how hueg the creature is. Our guide, was a total fruitcake and a nutter! Enough said With Two of the Five now ticked off we now came across an animal so distinctive and famous that it ought to be on the list, however, it is just too chilled out and peaceful for that to be possible...the giraffe. So cool. The sillouette of a giraffe as you look out across the savannah is an image of Africa you have seen so many times growing up...seeing it in real life is quite surreal and beautiful in equal measure. Driving around, we thought back to friends we had made on Lake Bonyonyi...they had spent days in Murchison without sighting the Lion or Leopard. We had a feeling that this might be the case too. As we went backwards and forwards seeing all manner of antelope, but no manner of cat! Until our guide, looked at us, with a crazed and amused expression and stated "Lions.....I seeee them"!  Awesome. Our vehicle turned off road and drove over to a lioness with two adorable cubs and a half eaten carcass beside them. The proximity was fantastic, the set up equally so and, neither of us having encountered a lion before we enjoyed the experience immensely. 3 of 5 down. Leopards eluded up, as they so often do. Still a herd of elephants on the way back helped to distract us. The afternoon saw us take to the nile for a boat ride along, hippos were seen in their hundreds, quite brilliant. Numerous Nile crocs, a few distinctive birds and a close encounter with the Murchison Falls meant that this was a really enjoyable way to spend the afternoon. Much of the time is spent, with a drink, relaxing and enjoying the experience of travelling down the Nile. It is always amusing how relaxed one gets about yet more hippos...having never seen this massive beasts before, and the excitement when you first approach them, it doesn't take long before you are totally chilled about it. Quite funny really. The final day is mainly about the drive home. But, since the time of Idi Amin Uganda has been devoid of wild Rhinos as poaching was encouraged by the regime. As such there is only one place in all of Uganda to see Rhinos and that is the Ziwa Rhino Sanctuary where they have become the long process of re-habituating Uganda with Rhinos...particularly White ones. The Rhinos are wild yet very much used to human contact. You walk up and approach them, yet it does all seem somewhat sanitised and not quite the exhilarating feeling that you get as you drive around on safari. Good to tick of 4 of the big 5, but not as great as we had hoped for. Home to Kampala. Then onto Nairobi, which is a wonderful story for another day. For now, we are in Mombasa, safe and loving this trip. The return flight is dawning and we are both quite concerned about going home to the job hunt. But we have a few days of beaching it ahead of us, ready to relax after what has been the most hectic 7 weeks. Best Wishes Nick

Lake Bunyonyi

Its been a pretty hectic life for me the last 12months. Third year of study; Final good times at university, organising the expedition and dealing with the drama that Nick Kershaw has become famous for attracting in his life. So two days, on a private island, in the middle of a totally still and beautiful lake would seem like perfection. It was so far from anything, that we had to canoe for an hour to get there - pretty tough work in the humidity. And it was...eventually! You see, in 12 months, I haven't stopped. I tried to shut my mind down, and I simply could not work it out. All this time to sit and do nothing, I was thrown into disarray. Lisa kept bugging me to sit back and relax, but I didn't know where to start. We met some great people, a 6ft8 aussie, our very own Charlie Thomas returnedto our consciousness and 3 Oxford students joined us. It was great fun, and we really enjoyed having some conversation other than each other! Sadly, that lot left the day after we got to the lake. On that day we sorted out a 'geodome' - an open fronted thatched hut, with views out over the lake and a private balcony. Perfection. This time finally helped me relax, I even achieved 9 out of 10 on Lisa's Relaxation Scale and it was very pleasant, one more day would have gone down a treat. Swimming in the lake was a delight, reading by the lake was wonderfully quiet, sleeping to the gentle sound of crickets and bird song was a feeling that I cannot compare to anything else. I don't think I could spend too long in a place with so little to put my mind to work. I appreciate being distracted from my own thoughts, but for what it was the Lake will have a special place in my memories of the trip. The first time in 12 months where I let my mind go quiet and my body could just flop. The Lake is known as 'the place of a thousand small birds' and, I must confess, I was fascinated by all the different shapes and colours on display. I have never in my life considered myself remotely interested in birds, let alone a bird watcher. But as I sat on our balcony, I was loving spotting the brilliant colours that set these tiny birds apart from any I have previously encountered. The birdsong that gently wakes you up in the morning is full of many different tones and rhythms, again, unlike any I have known before. Lisa, being a Leeds lass, thought my new found interest in birds was a tad on the sad and pathetic side, but I remain firm that I was appreciating my surroundings. Anyway, it proved a good way of switching my mind off! The place needed a touch more sun and a ping pong table to be complete. But good food, good company, beautiful room and an unbeatable, smooth lake and the whole time there, all inc. cost about 25 pounds. Tomorrow we travel up to the crazy Kampala again. Then onwards to our safari, so no blog for a while methinks. I will do my best though. After safari we depart Uganda for Kenya, specifically Nairobi, very much looking forward to a rather special hotel that has been booked for us there! Best Wishes Nick

Gorillas in the Mist

There are three ways of getting to Mgahinda National Park from Kisoro. A special hire taxi, too expensive...a tour bus put on by your tour company, too expensive. And BodaBodas, motorcycle taxis, cheap as chips. So, in the pitch black, at about 6am we jumped aboard our bikes and headed down 14km of volcanic rocks and ash and dust and dirt. Gripping on for dear life, we could see nothing of the road ahead and it was pretty darn cold. But, I was thrilled by it. Knowing that I was about to tick off the number one thing on my bucket list, meant that every bit of the journey was only adding to my anticipation. Being outside of the confines of a car meant that our senses were heightened. The smells of the trees and plants we were passing, the feel of the cold wind whipping by our ears, the sounds of the villages we passed waking up and the birdsong, and, of course, the sight of the mountains, shrouded in the mist as the sun began to rise. It was simply beautiful, I barely noticed the bumps in the road, everything was just as I had pictured it. Gorillas have been a fixation of mine since I was a small child. My favourite books were about gorillas, my cuddly toy, Grilly, was and still is a gorilla...he still sleeps in my bed! All I ever wanted to see at the zoo were gorillas, all I ever wanted to be was like a gorilla. My Grandma loved them too, her talking about the gorillas is one of my strongest memories of her. She always wanted to take me to Howletts Zoo to see them, but was never able to. My Dad took me there shortly after her death in her name. I bet she never imagined that I would actually get to see them in the wild. This day was not just about me, it was about my Grandma as well, and her memory was strongly in my mind. Throughout the time I truly wished I was flying home that evening to tell her all about it, I know how enthralled she would have been, and I hope she is proud that I was able to do this. Mgahinda National Park is Uganda's smallest. It has three peaks and borders Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. This is a great place to see the gorillas, as permits can be obtained at short notice and the foliage is more open than Bwindi Impenetrable. The one problem being they don't need Visas to pop over to either of the other countries. Fortunately, they were happily munching there way through the Ugandan undergrowth. They were some way from the Park HQ, so we were bused round the park to a closer point. My travelling companions were a family of 5 Austrians and a Dutch couple. I was very lucky to have such considerate, honest and decent people to watch the gorillas with. The walk up to the gorillas took about an hour and was pretty hard going, lots of foliage, lots of difficult climbs, but you barely noticed as the sound of the gorillas started to become more obvious. The sight of broken branches and gorilla dung along the way meant that you the excitement was continually building. The trackers had located the gorillas nice and early meaning that they were prepared for humans to approach. Rounding a corner, I looked up to see a Silverback sat up staring right at us. The intake of breath in the group was an amazing sound in itself. He sat there looking, then looking away, weighing this group of humans up and deciding we were just about alright by him. However, there are three silverbacks in this group, making for a rather tense, testerone filled group of animals. And as we sat looking at the dominant male, his understudy came flying through the bushes at our tracker, screaming and smashing his chest, he must have travelled about 20 yards in no time at all. The tracker stood still, as is the correct technique, we all shifted very uncomfortably and quite frankly, we were all looking at each other in terror. We had been told about charging, but you never really expect it. The sound of the scream is ear piercing, and the sight of 250kg wild animal flying at you is one that is unforgettable. Still, the chap calmed down a touch [though he did do two more mini charges during our stay] and we continued to watch the dominant silverback as he watched us straight back. I sat about 4metres from him, just in awe. You see them on TV, you see them in a Zoo, but nothing can prepare you for the sight of the greatest animal on earth, sitting just metres away, staring at you. It is as magical as it is terrifying. As the dominant male walked off, we followed him for about 10minutes as he worked his way through the undergrowth. Soon we found ourselves sitting amongst the whole group. IN the tree a female sat eating as her 8 month old son swung in the same tree. The dominant male sat munching away, but the tension with the other males still clear...if another male entered within 10metres, the dominant male would shout at them, throw his arms about and generally make it clear that this was his food. How the group can survive with three silverbacks, two women and male black back I do not know, but it does make for pretty spectacular viewing! As we watched the other baby showing off in the tree right above our heads, the young male blackback approached us. He worked his way up a small path towards us then stopped. The tracker told us all to shift back half a metre, as we sat in a line looking out over the group. We were told that the gorilla wanted to pass by us. And he did. He came up, turned and walked along the line of us strange humans...then stopped by me. I know what you're all thinking, hairy nick, looks like a gorilla...something tells me that this chap was thinking exactly the same. He stopped there, just staring at me. I stared right back, in shock, in terror, in delight. His eyes were such a beautiful, deep brown. Here I was, half a metre from the greatest of all apes, a future leader of the group, staring right into his eyes. Its hard to explain how the eyes of a gorilla differ from most other animals, but I shall try. When I look into my dog, Brynach's eyes, he has a rather vacant, 'pat me' look to them. Nothing is going on more than just a basic loving look, its very simple and very nice. But the gorillas eyes are calculating, they are thinking, they are considering and they are interested, they are curious. At exactly this time, I felt a tug on my trousers, I look down to see his hand grabbing them, trying to get a grip on my leg. What do you do? I was just amazed, a wild mountain gorilla was interested in my trousers, interested in me! The moment lasted about a minute, but will stay with me a life time. I had always wanted to spend time with gorillas in the wild, watching them. I had gotten to see a silverback charge, a baby swing in the trees, and now, a young male was wanting to find out more about me. You dream about it, but you don't imagine it. Why did he stop at me and not the other 10 people? I don't care, it was wonderful and I just wish my Grandma could have seen it! Afterwards the tracker called me 'the friend of the gorillas', he pulled me aside and told me that what had happened was a special moment that I should never forget...I told him that there was no risk of that happening. One of the group caught it all on video, and is throwing it my way when they get home. So, watch out for that when I get home. Enough from me today. I have gone into much detail, and I could go further still. Can't wait to post up the pictures for you all. It is expensive, it is difficult to get to and hard work, but that hour that you spend amongst a group of the world's most amazing animals is the most precious moment of my life...my first born child is going to have a hell of a job on their hands to beat it! Since my Grandma's passing, my Great Aunt Maud has been my adopted Grandma. I see it fitting that, as Maud passed away last week, it was the money she left me that made my Grandma's dream a reality. Both women are dearly loved and truly missed. Best Wishes Nick

BUUNNGGGEEEEEE

So, we did it! It is fair to say that Lisa was less than happy that I phoned up and booked her in to do a 44m Bungee Jump over the Nile river. In fact, she was pretty worried and angry with me. Never in her life had she planned to do a bungee jump, and then some bearded greek goes and books her in for it! Still, I was mainly doing this to have someone else up there with me to hide my own absolute fear. For those of you who have bungeed before, you will know that initial feeling of free falling is possibly the most terrifying experience possible. The moment you jump you look down to see that you are simply falling, its not until the rope kicks in that you relax and enjoy the buzz, not for me at least. Lisa went first, and I was possibly more scared for her, after all the guilt trips and the "my mum's going to kill you if something happens" I was very very relieved to see her safely into the boat below. Seemingly having enjoyed the experience due to her wooping as she went (though I have to say, and you'll understand why I say this later, they had to count her down twice). OK, its official, I screamed like a girl...i know it, the chap who sent me off knows it (his exact words..."you fucked up the scream mate") and Lisa bloody well knows it and won't let me forget it! I jumped first time though! And the less said about the scream the better, I just figured I'd tell the world before she did. After the bungee and a brief visit to paddle in the source of the Nile (slightly unimpressive to say the least, but a sort of "must do" thing I suppose). We went off for a horseride. The views over the Nile rapids were spectacular. The experience of riding a horse around the area is fantastic as its a unique way of seeing the world. Both of us would have liked a quicker pace, but our fellow riders ( a group of dutch ladies and a man ) were less happy with the bumping around that accompanies anything faster than a trot. Still, it was a really pleasant way of spending the afternoon, and our legs are quite a bit more stretched because of it! Today we took bus down to Kabale, from which we will head to Kisoro where I will be doing my gorilla tracking. Fortunately, the gorillas are currently in Uganda, please keep your fingers crossed that they stay there and dont think it would be fun to potter off to the Congo or Rwanda for a day to two...that would be rather annoying. All safe and sound anyway. The place we are staying at tonight is really nice and friendly, as is usually the case with this country. Best Wishes Nick

This is on my road, only now do i understand it!

Kampala

What an amazing few days...where to start? When last I blogged we were in Mwanza awaiting the overnight ferry across Lake Victoria. It may well be my favourite experience thus far. It was like a scene out of an Agatha Christie novel...only without murders. I bunked with a lawyer from Mwanza who was very interesting, we spent the night in the bar together debating politics, education, football and all manner of things. He had climbed Kilimanjaro twice so we reminisced together. It was the kind of night you hope to have when travelling and to wake up to sunrise over the world's second largest freshwater lake is quite something. The girls enjoyed it also, and I believe it was a cracking start to Tash's birthday. After such a good start, it was unfortunate that a 7hour journey/border crossing lay ahead.  But it was a far superior journey to our previous coach ride and we were in Kampala before we knew it! So...Kampala. It is the craziest city I have ever visited. New York may be the city that never sleeps, but Kampala has to sleep because the pace of life is so astonishingly fast. Just walking somewhere takes complete concentration to be jumping over the pavements, avoiding the motorcycle taxis (boda-bodas) and cars and minibuses, and people with things on their heads, and just people....people everywhere. No one knows where anything is - you get on a boda boda and find that he has no idea where he is going and is asking everyone else (it took nine different directions to find the hotel). The maps have no correlation to real life and we have been leaving everywhere early to make sure we have time to get lost. Astonishing City Tash chose Fez Brasserie for her birthday dinner. After a month of chicken and rice this was a luxury none of us can quite find the words to explain. I had a Ugandan beef fillet with a beautiful onion sauce, Lisa the chicken with parma ham and gorgonzola and Tash the pan-fried Tilapia (fish found only in Lake Victoria). Each dish was exquisite. And we all fell in love with the chocolate cheesecake with mango and cashew nuts for desert. The house wine was  Rioja, which is always my favourite! You would pay upwards of 50pounds for this meal at home, we paid about 20...and it was amazing. I hope Tash enjoyed her meal...we certainly turned up in style, two white girls in dresses on the back of boda boda was something the locals found quite a sight! Our dinner last night was the antithesis of this high class  dining. We sat on the side of the street with kebabs, samosas and chipattis from street stalls (about a pound each) and loved it. All completely stuffed we moved on to the Red Chilli Hideaway.,.a backpackers retreat outside of Kampala. I can't say I'm a big fan, I go on holiday and travel to get away from Britain. Still, its cheap, and the people we meet are friendly. They also do laundry which is a nice treat. We are currently in Entebbe having visited the local wildlife centre. Tomorrow Tash departs for home and Lisa and I will go bungee jumping and horseriding at the source of the Nile. This should be amazing. Hope you are all keeping well. Love you Nick

And then there were 3

So Team B have left. Sob Sob. Actually, it is genuinely sad, I will miss the constant "niiiiiick, stupid question but..." it has filled my life with so much joy for the last 12 months. Looking on facebook the phrase that comes to the fore is "best month of my life" - and I concur completely. That was always the dream and the fact we made it come true is testament to each and every member of the team. I will truly miss them. I know for some it was more than enough of Africa, for others, they cannot get enough of Africa now and for others still it was simply a pleasant way to spend a month...whatever it was I know that we are all better off for the experience and many of the moments we have had in the last 4 weeks will remain with until the sad day when we depart this world! So, what has happened to Lisa Connolley, Natasha Edwards and Yours Truly. Well....13 hour bus ride was horrendous. Lisa was ill (a local food made with 2 day old milk, plantain and maize put pay to her stomach), but she fought hard through the journey and managed to survive unscathed. The roads were bumpy and dusty...the bus was often filled with too much dust to breath properly. My camera and Washbag were pilfered, annoying, but such is life. I have popped to the police, called the insurance and will work out a new camera in Kampala. Got to keep upbeat, outside of my unfortunate Imodium incident (taking imodium for a week instead of my malaria tablets) its the first mishap on the trip for me, so chin up! 13 hours is a pretty long time and our buttocks were well and truly pummelled. We got to Mwanza only to find we had misread the ferry and bus times...so we are still in Mwanza. We went and watched the sun set over Lake Victoria - a truly wonderful sight, the colour of the sun was unlike anything we have seen before and we felt blessed to be there. We catch a ferry at 9pm tonight across Victoria to Bukoba where we will pop on a bus to Kampala. It has been a slow start, but we have had warm showers so why complain?! That's all for now, will update when we get to Kampala. Hope you are all well. Best Wishes Nick

:-)

BBQ at Leo's!

Fish Pie!

Home sweet home

Everything is done, team A and B are home safe and sound! Nick thanks for organising! :-) Pete

A Mini Adventure

The other day, a group of us were in Arusha in order to pop to the Masaai market to pick up various pieces of tat for you relatives back home. A chap started talking to us, nothing unusual here, Tanzanian chaps often talk to you and 9 times out of 10 they say they are artists and you quickly move on. This chap was different. His name was Max and he wanted to practice his, already very good English. He dreams of being a safari guide and wants to work hard to get there. He took us to the market, haggled for us, then took us to a good local place for lunch and invited us to spend the afternoon with him. The boys had football coaching but Lisa was very keen to and I figured someone needed to escort her. So I did. He took us to his adult education college where he taught his English class. We were thrust to the front introduced ourselves then they practiced their english by asking us all manner of questions. They were really very sweet and lovely people and we both found it really quite cute I suppose. Then Max took us to his house. It was a small room just outside the city centre and we sat there for an hour or so listening to his stories. From being beaten by the police as a 15 year old after he tried to speak to the Prime Minister (we found out today he spent three months in hospital because of it) to his dreams for the rest of his life. It was moving as well as fun and we agreed to meet with him again today, he wanted us to meet his mother. So off we tottered on a dalla dalla way out of the city. We got off in a small village and walk for about 45minutes through the local area, with some people amazed at seeing a Mzungu (white man) in their area, not having seen it before. His mothers house was very basic and small but yet welcoming and cosy. He had a cow, a few chickens, a tiny kitten and a tiny puppy. On their land they grow bananas, coffee beans and avocados. His mother spoke no English but made us feel at home, feeding us a local dish and bringing us some bananas. It was amazing just to be out of the city and away from other Mzungus, all by chance and I am so pleased that we have now spent a couple of days with this great man. He asks nothing of us but to talk to him. Hopefully on Saturday we will have another mini-adventure to visit his grandmother. That's all for now folks. Love you Nick

Team A Depart

A subdued feeling this morning. The 9 Team A volunteers here with us in Arusha plus our very own Team B-er Stephanie Golightly had to head home today. There have been plenty of times on this trip where I have been quietly looking forward to the big group becoming smaller, but when faced with the reality of this situation it is a decidedly unhappy affair. The last 12months of my life have been dominated by this expedition, to see it end is like saying goodbye to a little baby really. To say goodbye to people I have become close to not only on the trip but also through the year is a very sad thing to do. What fills me with joy is that each and everyone of the 10 who departed today are sad to be leaving. Sometimes people feel ready to leave, and that is fine, but sometimes, after 4 weeks in a country you really do start to feel at home. It has been awesome to see people grow throughout this trip and learn to become part of Tanzanian culture. This trip can be another holiday, or it can be a chance to really push yourself outside your comfort zone and learn a massive amount about yourself in the process. No one epitomises this more than Steph Golightly. I have had so many emails from her this year worrying about this that and the other. Having never embarked on a trip like this and never done anything like climbing a somewhat large mountain, Steph was very nervous and wanted to know every last detail - she definitely kept me on my toes. Throughout the trip we have seen Steph really relax in this country and from being once very nervous about travelling she stood there this morning in tears as she simply did not want to go home. Nothing shows this more than last night as she fought with a DallaDalla driver who was trying to rip the team off telling him very very firmly that he was not to refer to her as 'baby'. She really exemplifies the idea that you get out of these trips what you put in and I am very proud of her from a leadership position, but more importantly a friend as well. She will be missed in the next three days. That's all for now folks. 3 more days before the rest of Team B depart and just Lisa, Tash and myself are left to take on the rest of E. Africa alone. Saturday will be a sad day indeed, On a good not,. I have booked a gorilla tracking permit for 21st August. Seeing gorillas in the wild is my no.1 thing to do before I die, so its pretty exciting. I know my Grandma would be so proud of this! Best Wishes Nick

Tanga!

It has been a hectic few days for me and Phil. We left Arusha on
Saturday and headed to Lushoto in the mountains. We arrived after a
tight but rewarding bus journey in the cool mountain town. On Sunday I
went to church then Phil and I walked up to Irente point to watch the
sunset over the plains of North Eastern Tanzania. The walk was short
but with great scenery and we stopped for Lunch at the Irente Farm
Shop. We had Rye Bread, Quark with herbs and various other salad and
cheese snacks. There was also some homemade jam.

This morning we got up and left Lushoto to come to Tanga. We arrived
at Inn by the Sea and it turns out it really is by the sea. There are
steps down to swim and a large veranda looking out to sea. :-) Phil
and I have had a swim and are now exploring the town!

Pete

The Final Week

And so we enter the final week of our trip. The volunteer placements have generally been going very well indeed and everyone seems quite subdued at the idea of going home. This week a major highlight was a football match against a local academy side. The pitch was a good size but was pure gravel. Mount Meru casts its huge shadow over the place and over 200 people lined the touchlines to watch Team Lash Aid take on the Sinone Academy. It was tough....The heat, their pace, their first touch, our ineptitude all added to a very long and tiring 90minutes. The final score was 6-3. JP Matthews and Nick Kershaw were the goal scorers (along with our Tanzanian friend Toby) - both celebrated in a typically over the top and unnecessary style, but its not everyday you get to enjoy such an experience. 26 of us piled into a dalladalla home and had a bit of a party all the way despite everybody being on everybody elses laps. Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Chief Prosecutor in the UN Rwandan Genocide Tribunal. Leo Hacking set up the lunch and we went round to his house to enjoy a huge meal and fantastic company. Having studied the genocide in detail this year it was very interesting to question him on the different areas of the tribunal, including a bit of Frog bashing when asked about the role France played in the atrocities. The week ahead looks good, lots more to do and see. Final shopping to be done and perhaps a couple more nights out! Hope you are all well! Best Wishes Nick

Volunteering

About 30 of us now reside in Arusha, in a very small, quirky and African motel which Kilimanjaro Volunteering Exposure have sorted out for us. It is amazing, each shower room has its own unique way of going totally wrong. For example, mine and Martin's shower turns on when we flush the toilet. Martin and I have pimped out our room....multicoloured flashing lightbulbs, massai cloths on the walls, paintings - it is a real bachelor pad, there is even a TV which turns on only to a blue screen.....we call it mood lighting and the girls are, quite frankly, loving it!!hahaha. The volunteer placements started yesterday and the feedback has been amazing. Fergus Wilson was immediately thrown into teaching a class of 60 on his own! The football coaches had the pleasure of playing on a pitch in the shadow of Mount Meru. The HIV/Aids volunteers have been truly humbled by the stories so far and are very interested to be going again to meet more sufferers as well as helping educate the children on prevention. The painters and builders started today, so I await feedback there. Arusha has finally made me feel like I'm at home in Africa. Until now, everything has gone very smoothly and brilliantly, but now I think we get to see the real side of Africa. Just two minutes from our motel is a slate quarry where women work long hours, in the blistering heat smashing up the slate into small pieces. Some of us got the chance to go down into the quarry and do some mining of our own, and it is hard work, the conditions are dangerous and fatalities are regular. Gone are the days of private hire buses, we hop on and off dalla-dallas all the time. People are honing their haggling chops just nicely and it is all becoming a lot more real - and for that reason, more enjoyable Best Wishes Nick

In Arusha

What a hectic few days! We came back from Zanzibar on the 1st of
August. It was such a great 3 day break. Some people went on Safari
for 2 or 3 days and some of us went to Arusha. Helen and I visited our
sponsor child which was such a humbling and wonderful experiance. This
took up all of the 3rd. Then today (4th) we changed hotels and
everyone arrived back from Safari.

One of our group (Jess) has managed to dislocate her knee! but she is
all fine now, walking around on crutches! Everybody else is in full
health!

The lazy tanzanian sunsets are beautiful each night!

Pete

Chilling in Zanzibar

We are in the Blue Lagoon Hotel in Zanzibar. We arrived yesterday
after a long day travelling. We are stoked to have made it up
Kilimanjaro, it was a lot hard than many were expecting! The climb was
really fun and challenging and here we are on a beach in a hotel!

Photos to come I hope, we are here for the next few days hanging out.

Thanks to everyone who supported us, and thanks to everyone for
reading. Everyone is safe and happy! Most illness are fully recovered!

keep commenting, we love the feedback!

Pete

Success!

And so it is finished.

25 of 26 made it to the top from Team B. 21 of 27 did the same for Team A,

I have played in many sports teams in my time...never have I felt the camaraderie and team spirit that I felt on that climb. It was humbling as well as inspiring.

Special Mentions:
Leo "the daddy" Hacking - Looked after everyone on the mountain. Took much of the strain off me and for that I am truly grateful. He was always checking how everyone was and if they were hydrated, it was brilliant and selfless. Thank you.

Tash "the hero" Edwards - Utterly inspiring. Early on summit night she was struggling to stay awake, falling asleep on her poles. None of us truly thought she could make it, but she battled on, never ever gave up. The porters helped her all the way and her fight to carry on inspired all of us to keep putting in the effort...well done Tash and thank you.

:Lauren "the chunderer" Lynn - Before we even started summit night, Lauren was throwing up like a beauty.  She fought on quietly, not complaining and reached the summit, a proud moment and again, a true inspiration.

Ben "both ends" Peart - A similar story to Lauren, never ever gave up, never ever complained. We all had his back and he knew it.

Charlotte "the fighter" Sellars - Had to turn back, but gave everything she had before she was forced to. All our love and respect goes to Charlotte who's valiant effort helped us all to drive on. Well Done Charlotte

Martin and Phil: "EVERYWHERE WE GOOOOO....." need I say more? Kept us all singing no matter how much precious breath it wasted! Spirits never dropped.

My humble thanks to every single member of Team B who kept me going through the hardest night of my life. It truly took every ounce of  energy to get to that summit and I would like a personal thank you to Lisa "the feet" Connolley - who's footsteps I followed up every step of that summit climb! I needed that so badly!

The effort was huge, but the finish was amazing. A truly magical five days, it all feels a bit like a dream now. The pain in your lungs, the cold in your extremities. The constant call from your mind to turn back. This was the challenge of a lifetime and I could not be more proud of the 25 others I call brothers and sisters now!

Thank you to all our families back at home who's faith as well as derision inspired us throughout. I hope you are all well.

Best Wishes

Nick

WE MADE IT !! but it was hard

All but one of our group made and we are thrilled.  A quick run back down the camp and we are shattered but elated! 

One girl in our group had altitude sickness and has gone to hospital but believed to be doing well.

Well done to all from the ground crew back home manning the blog!

CONGRATULATIONS ALL ROUND

Sleeping at 9540 feet

Day One was not too bad.  The forest/jungle is very pretty and everyone doing fine.

We slept (very well) at 9540 feet and now start Day Two with 1000 metres to go (great mix of metres and feet – hope everyone can translate!).

from the Intrepid Team

At 5000 feet - Nerves setting in!

In the hostel at 5000 feet (did I say metres by mistake..). The climb starts tomorrow and the nerves are building.  Africa is so beautiful and we are looking forward to seeing it from even higher up.

ARRIVED!

Team b have arrived in Moshi safe and sound. We got our first glimpse of Kili today, she looks like as formidable woman. Settling into the hostel for dinner now. Tanzania is such a beautiful country!

Peter

All checked In

All checked in fine and ready to board. 

From the team at Heathrow

Newcastle2kili starts out

We gather they have all arrived at the airport but from the home front:  the packing is done; the pharmaceuticals are packed along with a few clothes where space allowed; and some doting parents have dropped travellers at Heathrow.  No doubt Nick K will have duplicates of all required paperwork, though he has no control over the passports!

The house seems emptier without the would-be travellers and their vast tortoiseshell-like bags. 

No word yet on check-in or whether the flight will take off on time

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL  AND TRAVEL SAFELY.

A parent!

Ready to leave in the airport!

The Journey Begins

Swansea! Well, we all have to start somewhere don't we. But with great sadness I have said goodbye to my family and dogs, ready for two months away from them all. Predictably, they are far more worried about me than I am, I know that drama and trouble seem to follow me, I'm comfortable with that and ready for it! The parents however are neither comfortable nor ready.

Hopefully they, and all the other friends and family keeping up to date on this blog will be comforted by the stories we tell here. We will keep you fully posted on all we do as we take on this huge adventure.

We will also write up about why we are doing, what the money we have raised will go towards. This trip isn't simply about us, it is bigger than that. And as building work begins on the hospital wing in Malawi that the Ameca Trust is building, there is no clearer evidence that the 53 students climbing this mountain are truly impacting the lives of many people for the better. I hope that our actions in Tanzania continue to be inspired by a constant sense of humility and service. As we climb the mountain I hope that we are driven on not by some sense of personal gratification, but by a heartfelt knowledge that we are not climbing for ourselves, but for the many many people who's lives will be saved and enriched by what this team is attempting.

Train departing Swansea now. Excitement is building.

Nick
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Wake up call

Jonathan Williams
SlugPhotography
jonathan@slugphotography.co.uk
www.slugphotography.co.uk

Enough rest is essential

Jonathan Williams
SlugPhotography
jonathan@slugphotography.co.uk
www.slugphotography.co.uk

The quiet before the storm

Petes room home to phil, jonny and his own gear the night before we fly out!!
Jonathan Williams
SlugPhotography
jonathan@slugphotography.co.uk
www.slugphotography.co.uk

Chilling before the big day!

Musical picnic for the Royal Neurological Society

What better way to spend a Saturday than soaking in the dulcet tones of a middle aged women. And of course the Elmbridge childrens band. Well there probably are better ways, but my mum is singing so I came to support.

With only 2 days left and 'are you taking this?' And 'how much of this are you taking?' Being the main topic of conversation I feel like I should probably be more organised, but actually I am basically packed so here we are enjoying music in Putney!

If you are on the trip and you would like to know how to update the blog yourselves contact me and I will give you instructions.

If you are a parent or friend of someone on the trip, comment away!

Pete

Bed Buddy

I'm going to miss my bed buddy Brynach for the next 2months. Maybe I'll actually get some room to sleep without him hogging the bed!

Nick
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Need I Say More?

Nick
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Ready for kili?

Video Equipment

Yours truly, "Nick Never" and "J Potential" will be presenting a documentary of our trip whilst out in Tanzania. Serving up the facts, the fiction and the gagliatelle from the trip.

We will be using the Sony Handycam DCR-PC105E for this. And will edit it all on iMovie on our return.

Nick
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Camera

My camera of choice is the Canon Powershot G10. I bought it about 2 months ago and I could not be happier with it. Unbelievable quality and really easy to use, particularly for someone now to the SLR realm (strictly its a Bridge rather than an SLR). Still, expect to see many reasonable shots from this camera over the next 2 months.

Nick
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Musical Soundtrack

My music shall be provided by 4gb Sony Walkman...ipods break in hot countries...thus I have gone for the safe option!

Now...what music to choose?

Nick
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Did someone say high calorie energy snacks?

Telecommunications

My telecommunication of choice for the next 2 months shall be the Nokia 6100 - I could not be happier with its fantastic combination of looks and usability...
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Training

My dog certainly enjoyed climbing Carn Ingli each day...let's hope the training pays off!!
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How to check your bag is waterproof!

You will need
1. A hose connected to a water (or other odourless pH neutral liquid) supply
2. A bag (unknown waterproof capabilities)
3. Tissues, 1 for each pocket of the bag
4. Post it note, 1 for each pocket of the bag

First empty the bag of everything it has in it. Second put a tissue and a post it note in each pocket.





Third zip up everything properly.



Fourth soak it.





Then observe the damage after a minute (turn the hose off first)

The results:

1.Main non camera pocket = completely dry

2.Front pocket = soaked (I am pretty sure I sprayed the hose at full into the zip, needless to say I will not be trusting things to this pocket in the rain)

3.other front pocket = completely dry (not even a hint of moisture)

4. Back pocket (laptop slot/camelback slot) = soaked (again due to the direct hit with the hose, luckily this will just contain water.

5. Camera compartment = mildly damp (the post it note was fine the tissue had issues, but I think this was due to a direct hit with the hose, if I put some plastic casing it it should be fine!

Other tests: I had this bag in monsoon weather in Delhi and Himalayas and it was great so not worrying too much!

Pete

Raffle is today!

It is only 5 days until we leave and I am drawing my raffle today! If anyone wants tickets go to www.skiraffle.jimdo.com, or else you can just message me TODAY with how many tickets you want and you can pay when I get back from Africa! No rush :-)

Pete

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to the new blog, there will be a variety of contributors to the blog over the next month so come on in and make yourself feel at home! I hope this will give many perspectives of our climb up the mountain and beyond. Feel free to leave comments as I am sure they will be appreciated.

Since leaving 8 Ashleigh Grove in Newcastle after exams much has happened, but here is the video of how we left...

Farewell to 8 Ashleigh Grove from Peter Wilson on Vimeo.

I look forward to seeing everyone on here soon!

Pete