My Tanzanian Adventure

The idea of this trip came to fruition when Erin (wife of the late Ross Smith), sent me a list of options for taking on a challenge to raise money for MND Victoria. Ross and I had been childhood friends after meeting on MSN in our early teens, and although we lived in different states for most of our friendship, I never felt the distance. Ross was family to me, he reliably supported me in every season of life and I feel so blessed that we enjoyed a 20+ year long friendship.

 In November, 2024 Ross lost his battle with MND, with his beloved Erin by his side. He is missed dearly, and in September of this year, Erin will be taking on her own MND challenge through Inspired Adventures, kayaking for 5 days off the coast of Northern Queensland.

Erin and Evie took me to Melbourne Airport for my flight to Doha on Qatar, which took 13 hours. I hadn’t slept, and on arrival there was a short transit through the significantly large airport. I had a peppermint tea to ease my stomach and continued the journey.

My next flight was from Doha to Dar El Salam, via Arusha, which was ironic as my final destination was Arusha. Yet, I was too tired from around 20 hours in transit to navigate communicating in another language that I wanted to skip the last leg of my itinerary. 

Finally, I arrived at Arusha airport again. I was met by my safari tour guide operator Angel (from Josh Dreamland Safari), who gave me a briefing and a t-shirt and I was taken to the hotel where I was staying. 
It was around midday, and although I was tired, I decided to stay awake a bit longer to allow my body clock to adjust. So, I had a shower, relaxed and then ate some dinner - local fish and vegetable makange (sautéed in a coconut and tomato sauce).

The first night camping was okay, I was still adjusting to the different environment: squatting toilets, food—I attempted to follow advice on food, only having cooked vegetables, so no salads (that I would normally have at home) and thank goodness my tummy was well. 

Tanzania currently has its first female president in office, Samia Suluhu Hassan, and the local people are very warm and polite. The country has a very faith-filled culture, with approximately 63% of people identifying as Christian, 34% as Islamic and the remaining 3% as traditional beliefs or no religion. This of course only takes into account those registered in a national census. The common consensus that I received when speaking to locals is that although there is much political unrest, there is widespread harmony and acceptance of differing faith practices.

Some animals we saw included: hippopotamus, zebra, giraffe, cheetah, leopard and elephants. We also saw a number of exotic birds: grey crowned crane, superb starling and Kori bustard.

We went down into the Ngorongoro crater. It was so incredibly beautiful, the sun was warm but the air was cool and fresh. It is a very special place, which is teeming with life. Amazing birds, antelope, zebra, rhino, marabou stalks, flamingos and much more. 

Our group made one final stop at a local Maasai village and had the privilege of observing traditional song and dance, techniques of creating fire, art and customs around food. 

Tanzania has approximately 130 Indigenous tribes, each with their own dialect, however, the national official language is Swahili. 
Although the 'interaction' was very influenced by tourism, raising ethical concerns of cultural disruption by some of our group members, I couldn’t help but feel incredibly humbled. Looking into the eyes of the people belonging to this beautiful country, some with a thousand-mile stare barely concealing grief, some with hostility towards "Muzungu", foreigners, others with glowing joy and pride showcasing their ceremonial dance and the innocent curiosity and smiles from small children. 
Jumping together in unison; dancing, the women beside me and my life so starkly contrast. This brief moment of unity felt so precious to me.

I departed from the group and was taken to a hotel—as the package I had booked was different. It was nice to have a hot shower and to sleep in a bed again.

I was allocated a private driver to explore the Materuni waterfall. It was a 30-minute, moderately challenging walk-in and well worth the effort. The waterfall approximately 70m high, was amazing and the cool mist in the 30+c heat was very refreshing. Many people had taken bathers for swimming, however, I opted to skip this activity, as I was trying to take it easy before the mountain.

Post walking to the waterfall, we returned to the village and were greeted by the local Chunga people with a lovely traditional meal. There was far too much food but it was all very good—cooked banana, brown rice, white rice, avocado, mango and papaya. 

There are a lot of local art and souvenirs for sale. It is evident how heavily the local people rely on tourism for income. Wages in Tanzania are very low, generally earned from seasonal work and this has led to the emergence of a tipping-for-service culture. One lady was waiting on the side of a trail with a chameleon on a leafy branch for tourists to take pictures and hopefully leave a tip. It was amazing to see a Chameleon up close, but a very confronting moment of reality, highlighting her determination. 

Naturally seeing human need will move many people to generosity, yet as the tipping culture has increased in Tanzania, many employers are lowering wages 'to accommodate', leaving large numbers of families destitute during the off-season of work or when tips are not offered (as they are custom, not mandatory). 

After much food for thought, I retired to my accommodation.

I was picked up and taken back to Moshi (almost the same route as the day before). I checked into the accommodation around midday. 

I was advised that the other members of the group were out on a town tour. When I asked to order some lunch at the accommodation, the chef let me know that food was not currently available, however, we could go for a walk to a restaurant down the road. The food there was good and Bryson (the chef) sat with me and taught me some basic Swahili. 

 Before our departure, we were asked to calculate tipping and provide it to their office until our return (this is to ensure that people are not carrying large sums of cash while hiking). 

That night my sleep was minimal as there was a lot on my mind for the journey ahead.

The first day of hiking was 8km to Rongai Cave over 3 hours to an elevation of approximately 2,830m above sea level. The terrain was beautiful, trekking through cultivated land and rainforest. 

I was very surprised by the high level of catering and care given, it felt quite unnatural to be watching others do all of the packing/carrying/cooking for us. However, this is their livelihood and something that they take great pride in. 

The first night I slept well as I was tired from the night prior.

We rose early the next morning at 6 am, to pack and then be ready for breakfast at 7 am. After pancakes, toast, egg, fruit and tea, we departed for our next leg. 

At this time I began to feel the altitude increase, and I became a lot more slow-paced and lower on energy. Our hike was 6 km long to Kikelewa Cave at approximately 3,445m elevation.

Our trekking habitat was a heath/moorland climate and during this time Matt started to experience some of the symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). He reported nausea, fatigue, poor appetite and poor sleep. 
He had some medication, however, this did little to ease his symptoms and on arrival at our next camp, he did not improve. At that time our guide, in discussion with Matt decided that it was not best for him to continue, and evacuation was arranged for him at 7 am the following morning via helicopter.

Our guide AJ advised that we would be staying another night at this camp to acclimatise. We did a short walk 3 km and 200m elevation and then returned to our camp, to assist with acclimatisation. At our camp-site, a group who were close by, also required emergency evacuation for a member, who appeared to have symptoms consistent with High Altitude Pulmonary Oedema (HAPE).

In the evening Darren started to feel unwell and began describing symptoms similar to his brother Matt, including significant abdominal upset. After some rest and a poor night's sleep, he did not feel any better. 

We rose early at 6 am to pack and have breakfast at 7 am before commencing our next section of hiking. 

After approximately 30 minutes, Darren experienced worsening symptoms, with a significantly low body temperature of approximately 34 Celsius (hypothermia is considered under 35c), on consultation with our guide, he made a plan to be escorted back down with two porters, to assist with his packs.

We rose early again and began the 8km journey to Kibo hut. As we ascended my 10kg pack began to feel very heavy, it was harder to catch my breath and I felt very tired. The climate remained alpine desert, however, the path was clear and straight, helping my motivation. 

Towards the end of the trekking, we experienced some rain and were fortunately prepared in our wet weather gear, finally reaching our destination at approximately 4 pm, at an elevation of 4,700.

On arrival at camp, I had a headache and some nausea. I also had a reduced appetite but did my best to eat my evening meal, knowing that upon waking, we would be attempting the summit. 

Dinner was at 5 pm, I took medication for nausea/headache, laid down to rest and rose again at 11 pm to commence our summit attempt.

In my mind, I decided that I would do my best, the outcome was not important but showing up was because that’s why I was there, because Ross had always shown up for me.

My mind, body and soul were tired. I had been reading a little of my bible each night and it was at this time that I felt weak and needed to call on God to be my strength.

It was dark, cold (between 0c to-5c), and raining. Richard and I were both very quiet, we had a protein bar each, some water and began our ascent. 

On arrival back at base camp, we were advised that we could rest/sleep for 1hr and then it would be best to continue to a lower altitude. I was feeling very weak, tired and emotional. 

After 6 km we made it to the next camp Horombo Hut at 3,733m, however, I felt that something wasn't right and although my body was tired, I knew that I needed to come down from the mountain. I explained to the guide that I was not feeling okay and he allocated 2 porters to continue with me to 13km (6km before the finish where a vehicle could collect me). 
As I descended lower, I could sense that my left ear had pain/was blocked (possibly some barro trauma from high altitude/wind). I felt feverish and was coughing up coloured sputum—a suspected respiratory infection.

From departing Mawenzi hut I was awake for 38/39hrs and walked 33km. The Jeep met us for a 20-minute bumpy ride through the jungle and then to the Mt Kilimanjaro gate, where our tour company met me with a comfortable car.

The drive back to the Moshi accommodation was around 2hrs. I arrived back and had a shower. Fortunately, Darren was still at the accommodation and we, along with the chef Bryson, got some vegetarian pizza. 

Finally after 38hrs awake, I got into bed and slept, it was so good. I couldn't believe that I was back. The next morning I rose early to sort things from my pack and make a trip to the pharmacy. After some fresh fruit for breakfast, I said goodbye to Darren and was collected by my driver to head to Arusha.

It was a 2hr drive back to Arusha, when I arrived I sent some clothes for washing and spent the afternoon resting. 

Richard was the only member of our team to finish the trek to completion and gave a beautifully touching speech of thanks on behalf of our team to the porters. I am still not sure how he managed to have the comprehension to speak so eloquently after the hike but glad that he found the perfect words. 

The next day I with Richard at the African Cultural Heritage Centre, it was an incredible place filled with beautiful local art. Although there was a very significant tourist price attached to many things, there was not the pressure of bartering that you sometimes experience on the streets and it was a very enjoyable experience.

The final day I spent resting and recovering in my room. I did leave briefly to the reception desk, where a lovely lady helped me to make a call to the airline I was flying with, after receiving an email about a flight change but everything worked out well. 

I'm writing this in Zanzibar airport, taking some time to reflect before boarding my flight to Doha, Melbourne and finally home to Tasmania.

 I am excited to get home and give my doggo Willow lots of pats. 

Thank you for taking the time to read about my journey. God bless and Hakuna Matata (Swahili for take it easy/no worries)