Nigel
writes.... After the first night
camping we are up early and loading our nice new shiny kit on to the old
bus headed for the Umbwe gate. This follows several days of intense
discussion on which route we should take. The journey
was very interesting - various porters joining the coach on the way, supplies
be loaded on the bus, including eggs... mmmmm! how scrambled will they be on
the way up?
Simon
writes.... The Umbwe route is described as one of the hardest
routes up, very steep to start, they weren't kidding, it is also
one of the least used which was one of the reason we chose
it. It did go up fast, over 1,000 metres a day over the first two
days to get to 3,800 metres. Getting to the start we used the
Tanzanian equivalent of a 4x4 bus, consisting of a normal bus with 10
people pushing it through the mud. The first days hike was a 7 hour
muddy hike, we started late and so the last hour was in the dark, a rain
forest in the dark was a challenge for all of us, plus the cloud had come
down so we had mist as well, so it was a challenge.
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) The luggage is weighed -each porter carries 20kg |
) iAnn Marie delighted with her mere 5kg daypack |
Ann Marie writes... Desperate for the loo after a long and bumpy bus ride at the start gate, I was pointed in the direction of three doors - Guides, Porters and Tourists. Posh? Nah, behind the Tourist door was a very smelly hole in the ground. The path started off nice and wide, but eventually got narrower, steeper, very, very muddy and soon it was pitch dark! Trying to balance oneself on steep ridges, with sheer drops on either side ... in the dark!... tends to bring out a very nervous character.
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Lisa writes.... We started our hike through the rain forest. I thought I had already succumbed to AMS as we seemed to be walking through something out of 'Lord of the Rings' but I was assured that we were going in the right direction...
) All kitted and rearing to go |
) Mud, glorious mud! |
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Days summary:
Ascended: 1,307m
Descended: 48m
Trekking time: 7 Hours 03min
