Preparing for Tanzania!
So my friend, Holly, and I decided months ago that we wanted a hiking trip to a big mountain. The debate was between Mount Kilimanjaro or the hike to Everest Base Camp. After some research and analyzing my vacation time, I pushed her into Mount Kilimanjaro. Mount Kilimanjaro with a safari was a two week trip and the hike to Everest Base Camp is three weeks. The hike to base camp is still on my list, but Kili fit better for now.
Once that decision was made, we started the search for the tour guides to use. I did the preliminary research on different companies and reviews for each. I had it down to 4 companies and then used Facebook to ask for recommendations. Reviews are wonderful, but personal experience from friends holds more weight for me. My friend Adam recommended Zara Tours, which was on my list, had good ratings, and was semi-affordable.
Next decision, what route and package to use? Zara offers 6 different routes up the mountain. I found several websites that did a great job of comparing the different routes including this one: http://www.climbingkilimanjaro.com/kilimanjaro-routes. Holly and I debated and decided that Machame route looked like the best for us. It was 6 days allowing us to not rush up the mountain, but it was also a beautiful, challenging route. We also didn't like the idea of staying in huts on the Marangu route. Then we found a combo package that added in a safari. We were mostly looking at total days and made our mistake here. We picked a 4 day safari without realizing that we needed a 5 day to get to the Serengeti. So sadly, we missed out on seeing the great Serengeti, but it was still incredible (more details to come in a few posts). View itinerary here: https://www.zaratours.com/kilimanjaro-a-safari/6-day-machame-4-day-northern-safari.html
Next up- picking a date. Again, Holly and I made this decision. We read amazing comments about doing a full moon summit so we compared the dry season with full moon dates. We decided that we wanted to summit on February 12 to enjoy the full moon.
With all these decisions made, we emailed all of our friends who might be interested in joining, thinking that a few might join us. We were amazed when we ended up with a group of 10, which meant we had our own private group. It was a great group of people including some friends of friends. We booked the trip in September and quickly followed with flights. It was incredible to plan this out right before departing for my cross country road trip.
The next months were spent finalizing plans and getting excited. I luckily didn't need to buy much since I had a lot from my Peru trip. Two months out, I worked on getting my visa, which was super easy since I live near DC and just drove down to the Tanzania Embassy. One month out, I went to the doctor to get all the vaccinations and medications needed. I can't thank my doctor enough as she followed up on possible altitude medication sickness prevention meds for me since I am allergic to Diamox. She called three days after my visit to tell me about dexamethasone, a steroid used for altitude sickness prevention. I can't thank her enough as this worked wonders for me.
A week out, it was time to pack and start freaking out. Packing is interesting because you don't want to over pack because of weight, but you also don't want to under pack and not have what you need on the mountain. I used Zara's list to pull everything I needed. The hardest thing to decide is how many layers to bring. I know my body warms up easily, but also I can get really cold once not moving. I ended up taking a mix of layers and figured I could always add more if needed. I then realized I also needed to throw a few things in for the safari (which was always a second thought for me). Lesson learned: for safaris, avoid bright colors, white, blue, and black (yes that pretty much only leave khaki).
The freaking out part comes when you start thinking about success in summiting Mount Kilimanjaro has nothing to do with your physical shape. It all depends on how well your body acclimates to the altitude. There is some panic in the fact that you can't control how your body will respond, and dread the idea of coming back without summiting. I decided a few days out that I would do what I could, but not stress about it since I couldn't control the outcome. Instead, it was time to enjoy the excitement and visit a new continent to climb its highest mountain.
Having so many months to prepare and get excited for the trip was fun. To me, planning a vacation is so much fun. I love the research that goes into it and then building the excitement. I couldn't wait for February to come!
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| Stock photo of Mount Kilimanjaro from Huffington post. My photos start next post. |
Once that decision was made, we started the search for the tour guides to use. I did the preliminary research on different companies and reviews for each. I had it down to 4 companies and then used Facebook to ask for recommendations. Reviews are wonderful, but personal experience from friends holds more weight for me. My friend Adam recommended Zara Tours, which was on my list, had good ratings, and was semi-affordable.
Next decision, what route and package to use? Zara offers 6 different routes up the mountain. I found several websites that did a great job of comparing the different routes including this one: http://www.climbingkilimanjaro.com/kilimanjaro-routes. Holly and I debated and decided that Machame route looked like the best for us. It was 6 days allowing us to not rush up the mountain, but it was also a beautiful, challenging route. We also didn't like the idea of staying in huts on the Marangu route. Then we found a combo package that added in a safari. We were mostly looking at total days and made our mistake here. We picked a 4 day safari without realizing that we needed a 5 day to get to the Serengeti. So sadly, we missed out on seeing the great Serengeti, but it was still incredible (more details to come in a few posts). View itinerary here: https://www.zaratours.com/kilimanjaro-a-safari/6-day-machame-4-day-northern-safari.html
Next up- picking a date. Again, Holly and I made this decision. We read amazing comments about doing a full moon summit so we compared the dry season with full moon dates. We decided that we wanted to summit on February 12 to enjoy the full moon.
With all these decisions made, we emailed all of our friends who might be interested in joining, thinking that a few might join us. We were amazed when we ended up with a group of 10, which meant we had our own private group. It was a great group of people including some friends of friends. We booked the trip in September and quickly followed with flights. It was incredible to plan this out right before departing for my cross country road trip.
The next months were spent finalizing plans and getting excited. I luckily didn't need to buy much since I had a lot from my Peru trip. Two months out, I worked on getting my visa, which was super easy since I live near DC and just drove down to the Tanzania Embassy. One month out, I went to the doctor to get all the vaccinations and medications needed. I can't thank my doctor enough as she followed up on possible altitude medication sickness prevention meds for me since I am allergic to Diamox. She called three days after my visit to tell me about dexamethasone, a steroid used for altitude sickness prevention. I can't thank her enough as this worked wonders for me.
A week out, it was time to pack and start freaking out. Packing is interesting because you don't want to over pack because of weight, but you also don't want to under pack and not have what you need on the mountain. I used Zara's list to pull everything I needed. The hardest thing to decide is how many layers to bring. I know my body warms up easily, but also I can get really cold once not moving. I ended up taking a mix of layers and figured I could always add more if needed. I then realized I also needed to throw a few things in for the safari (which was always a second thought for me). Lesson learned: for safaris, avoid bright colors, white, blue, and black (yes that pretty much only leave khaki).
The freaking out part comes when you start thinking about success in summiting Mount Kilimanjaro has nothing to do with your physical shape. It all depends on how well your body acclimates to the altitude. There is some panic in the fact that you can't control how your body will respond, and dread the idea of coming back without summiting. I decided a few days out that I would do what I could, but not stress about it since I couldn't control the outcome. Instead, it was time to enjoy the excitement and visit a new continent to climb its highest mountain.
Having so many months to prepare and get excited for the trip was fun. To me, planning a vacation is so much fun. I love the research that goes into it and then building the excitement. I couldn't wait for February to come!