...To See or Not to See???....That is the Question....

January 7, 2010 - the start of the Overland Track - yeah - we were so excited - 7 days of bliss..."blisters and bliss" *grin*! We woke up and there was not a cloud in the sky, but given the reputation of the Overland Track and that we would be hiking through mountains, I still put all my gear on including my gortex jacket. We adjusted our bags one last time then we headed out. The day was beautiful! Despite our packs weighing in at 50lbs each, we were hopping down the boardwalk trail, pinching ourselves that we were actually there doing it! As we were looking around with big smiles on our faces, looking at the mountains and rivers, skipping along, it hit us.....man, it was hot out here - I mean really hot. What was that all about. So, still being a bit cautious, we started to strip off only a few layers, but it was a matter of 30 minutes later when we just couldn't take it anymore. We were hiking with 50lbs on our back, pants, long sleeve shirt in 35 degree weather, needless to say, we were hot, hot, hot! This is not usual for the Overland Track, so we had our gear at the top of our bags just in case - the weather can change in minutes....so I hear!

Day 1: Ronnie Creek to Waterfall Valley - 10.4 km - approximately 5 hours of hiking (don't worry, I won't do this for every day - I will try to shorten it up a bit). I know that we are not super fit, but Delia and I have hiked and canoed and did alot of research before we left so we thought that we would be okay - which we were, but man, that first day was hard. Of course my ego was at steak, so I did not say much, but I was constantly adjusting my pack as we went along thinking, I must be doing something wrong, but really, it was just getting back into "hiking shape" and appearantly there is a difference - *grin*. The first day we hiked to the highest peak of the trail (not including any side tracks that can be done); 1200m, to view Cradle Mountain, Dove Lake and Crater Lake - beautiful! I definitely noticed my heavy pack climbing up - whimp!!! Every view you wish you could stay there forever, but after a few pictures and taking in the views, we carried on. We hiked down and then back up again (a generaly theme on the Overland track - ha!) to the Kitchen Hut. Here some people could climb up to the peak of Cradle Mountain, but Delia and I decided that for our first day and knowing we had 7 days of hard hiking ahead of us that we won't do the climb and carry on.....okay, okay, okay, you know me too well - Delia convinced me (or at least enough to get me to keep going) that this would be the best to do - ahhhh, a lesson that I need and did learn (sort of - still working on it), that doing it all is not always the best idea, but it still very, very hard for me to see it and not do it - a character flaw, I guess! Delia's knees cannot tolerate alot of the steep downhills, so she did tell me that I could do it on my own, but it is not nearly as fun. Anyways, the day was hard and it probably was the best to save our energy, knees and back for the days ahead! To prepare ourselves for the hike, we did try to read the map and the descriptions as much as we could the day before so we knew what to expect and enable us to plan our day as much as anyone could. So on day 1, we knew that to reach our first campsite we would need to go around a peak called, Barn's Bluff. After 45 min to 1 hour after reaching the Kitchen Hut ( our second landmark), we saw it, we saw Barn's Bluff - yeah! Again, snap, snap, snap of the camera along with being excited that we saw our next landmark and that it shouldn't be too much longer. As we continued wallking, we also continued to see Barn's Bluff in the distance, and we kept seeing it, and kept seeing it and kept seeing it - man, I started to hate that Bluff....just kidding! Don't get me wrong, we were loving our hike and every few metres the veiws of the mountains and landscape would change, but for the first day of trying to get our packs just right and finding the climbs hard, we kinda' just wanted to get to our campsite. We wanted the views, but just not as long for the first day that's all! The other funny issue was that when government or any organization set time frames on hikes, they tend to overestimate times, and Delia and I are always way under the suggested time frames, but for the Overland - not so much! We pretty much took the time stated minus 30min to and hour - so this also threw our mindset off. However, we were in Tasmania on the Overland Track and it was outstanding - the views & the weather - it was more of a joke then a complaint. We did finally get to our campsite well within the 5 hours and it was beautiful - and just as a side note, we continued to see Barn's Bluff until the end of the trail - albeit, far away - it was our little joke! On the Overland Track, hikers do have the option of staying in the huts, but it is first come first serve and Delia and I preferred to camp anyways. Although it was busy, we hiked on our own for most of it as we always got up early before the masses left. Plus I am not talking "metropolitan city busy", just that we weren't alone, that's all. Besides, it was nice to meet people and chat when we got to the campsite; it is all part of it. You tend to meet people of similar interests under those circumstances.

Over the next few days, we got better with our pack adjustments and since I was carrying all the food, my pack got lighter too! As I said earlier, the Overland Track is not known for hot sunny weather, certainly not for 7 days. In fact, if you were to look at pictures of people hiking this track, most often they are dressed in their wollies and/or rain gear. But for us, we had 6 days of gorgeous, hot and sunny weather (7th day out we had a bit of rain). So when most of the time people would reach the campsite and huddle around drinking tea, we were fighting for space in the little fresh water swimming holes along the way - and they were pretty darn cold! We would dip in or just soak our feet - it was nice! The other bonus on the hike that we Canadians are not use to in the wilderness is that at some of the campsites, we had platform camping - that's right, wooden plantforms for tents - no sand or mud.......as you can imagine, Delia was in her glory - camping and being able to keep the tent clean - ha! At each campsite, we also had compostable toilets, fresh water tanks and in Tasmania they do not have any bears, or cougars and any other big animals so as long as your food was wrapped up to protect from varmits - no worries there! It made for easier hiking!

Despite the fact that we got better at adjusting our packs, our packs; or at least my pack was getting lighter and we were adjusting to our hiking shape, the hiking was still challenging. Up to this point, Delia and I always made it to the campsite well within the suggested time, but each day was different and you just didn't know really what to expect, despite the descriptions stated on the map. On Day 3 and 4 when we near the end of our day, legs a little tired, getting a bit hungry and grumpy, we started to look for any sign of a hut or campsite, anything that would give us hope that we were close, but alas, we had no success; there just seemed to be another bend in the track or hill to climb. We wanted that "Barn Bluff" landmark back again, that we before, started to depise after awhile, it is much better to have a landmark then no landmark at all....or is it??? Tasmania states there estimates in times instead of distances and there were no distance or time posts in between the campsites, so you had to rely on your own judgement of when you would arrive and every day bringing something new, we weren't sure if it was better to see a landmark that took forever to reach or no landmark at all; keeping you guessing how far you really were!

It was on our third day that I had to learn again, that doing more is not always the best. On the third day to Pelian Hut; 14.2 km - 6 hours, there was an option to climb the highest peak in Tasmania; Mount Ossa......hmmmmmmm.....just give me the challenge and I just have to do it, but with Delia's knees not tolerating the steep downhill on the way down, it was not an option for her. Although she did try to convince me to do it on my own, I just didn't want to hike alone and I didn't want Delia to hike on her own - that's just me. So, I declined, but not without a bit - okay, alot, of sulking after. But my lesson was not realized until we reached camp. Because most people did climb the mountain, this meant that people would not arrive at camp for another 4 to 6 hours. Delia and I were able to enjoy the swimming hole all on our own for hours and it was pretty special - one of my favourite moments along the way for sure! And as everyone came back sunburned and hobbling along in pain, and Delia and I were relaxed and healthy, it just made me realize that more is not always better. And as I look back I see that my most favourite moments were not the most spectacular, but the most peaceful and powerful. Our secluded time in the swimming hole and a moment I had when viewing the "4th Valley"; the valley was so massive and quiet it took my breath away of the shear power, I will never forget the feeling of either!

On the track we did meet alot of nice people, but Pauline and Anne; friends from the mainland Australia, we developed a longtime friendship with. Sharing stories of the day; the tough, the gorgeous and any other things that happened along the way - it was alot of fun! Although we did not make friends with everyone, we did get to know each other and each other's abilities, so as we each arrived at camp, we looked out for each other to make sure that we all arrived safe and sound. It is amazing even though it is a short period of time and otherwise we would be complete strangers; under these circumstances we act more like family, protecting and looking out for each other, despite any other annoyances that might arise....I don't know, something like....loud snoring! This point was driven home for us on the last day of hiking the Overland Track. We absolutely loved everything about the Overland Track, but we were constantly comparing it to the West Coast Trail. The West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island is what brought us to Tasmania, as both tracks are rated in the top 10 hikes to do in the world. The Overland Track and the West Coast Trail were matched with the views and the challenge that they offered, but on the West Coast Trail we socialized and met people that were special - we seemed to miss this connection at the beginning of the trail. But like I said, although we were not close to many of the hikers, we did keep an eye out; however suttle it was. On the last day out Delia was unfortunate enough to get Gastro. For those of you that don't know what Gastro is, it is a very evil bacteria. At the Windy Ridge Campsite a girl had Gastro and once this happens, it spreads very, very quickly. The ironic thing, is that Delia is the most cautious person I have ever met, she cleans and takes every percaution (when it says boil the water for 3 minutes, she will boil it for 4, if they say the water is safe, she will still treat it to make sure) that you could possibly think of and those that you would not even think of, and SHE is the one that got cursed - it is that contangious......I just got lucky! So, at 9:30pm until 4:00am the next morning - Delia was in and out of the tent and everything that she could possilby have in her stomach, and more, was now out. The worst thing for me was that I was helpless, there was nothing that I could do, but to zip up the tent once she was out as she didn't have time. The next day, we had to make a choice. Our only choices were really was to stay another night or to pack up and hump it out. We still had 10 km left of the track. This may seem easy, but with no energy and feeling nauseated, 10 km might as well be 100 - we decided to hike it out - Delia was a trooper for sure - I am stubborn, but I don't know if I could do it or not! As people hiked by our site, they were shocked that we were still there as we were always the first up and out, but Delia did not want to make a scene so we just waved and said hello; even Pauline and Anne were unaware at that time. We went slowly, but 10 km later, Delia and I made it to Narcissus Hut. Just as we made it, it just started to rain - that was the only rain that we saw. I couldn't imagine carry a 50 lb pack 10 km, up and down, feeling that way, but she did it. Once we were at the hut and Delia was lying down, everyone instantly came to console Delia. Some offered medication to treat Gastro, there was a nurse that provided advice on what to do and what to expect and others that just came by to see how she was doing and to provide any comforting words that they could. They were great and it really showed how close we really were. So for those times during the hike when we were doing our own thing and I really didn't think that anyone really cared whether we were there or not, I was wrong, people did care and it was a good feeling. It took 2 days before Delia could tolerate food, but she did recover and recovered well - I was amazed!

"To see or not to see", hard hiking, being out of hiking shape, gastro; whatever was, Delia and I loved the Overland Track. We had the most amazing weather, views and met some pretty awesome people. Tasmania was certainly exceeding our expectations!

.....A Taste of Tasmania.....

Although we had an amazing time on the mainland Australia, we were excited to be finally heading to Tasmania. Our plan was to stay in Tasmania for 1 month despite the shock of most; including the mainlanders, on what we could possibly do for a whole month in Tasmania. As you will see a month is still not enough time - Tasmania is gorgeous!

We arrived in Hobart, Tasmania at around 9:00pm on January 4, 2010. The airport is very small so you can imagine a bit of confusion in the place as a large plane of 100's of people, land. As people rushed around grabbing trolleys, pushing and reaching for their luggage, rubber necking above people's head to see the people they were to meet to take them away and eventually vacating the airport, we continued to stand and wait patiently by the luggage claim belt for our luggage. We waited until the motor of the rotating luggage claim belt shut off. As we stood with only 2 out of our 3 bags, we looked at each other and then looked at the belt one last time. As the motor spit out another pathetic grunt, the belt made it's final movement, and still no more bags in sight - we were not happy. At this time, there was no one left in the airport except 2 or 3 staff and a few people standing in a line in the distance, and it was quiet - I mean really quiet - VERY weird as it is only 9pm - where is everyone? Anyways, as you can quess, Qantas lost one of our bags and heading to our first real tramp; the 7 day Overland Track, in 2 days, we were a bit nervous and anxious as we headed for the dreaded, "Luggage Claim Problem" desk! While in line we did start to make a re-count of things and realized that of all the bags to lose, this one was the best. We still had our knapsacks, all our camping gear, gortex and warm clothing, so really, we could buy everything else. Thinking of the man behind the desk, this wee bit of risk management assessment made his life a whole lot easier! Although one should not "shoot the messenger", it is very hard not to, when there is no one else around! Once we got to the desk, we did the ususal "lost baggage" routine. They would send our bag to us when it arrived. The only problem was we were staying at a hostel in Hobart for 1 night then leaving the next morning for Launceston to meet Danya Sayer; a friend of ours. This did not leave much room for error. After alot of fast thinking, we decided to have them deliver the bag to the hostel and we would come back to get it after the hike as it was in the plan to go back to Hobart after to meet up with friends anyways. Turned out not to be a big deal, but it is still stressful until you fiqure this out! So once we resolved that issue and we could re-focus, we turned around and the airport that was empty at 9pm was now a complete ghost town....seriously, it is only 9:30pm......where is everyone......is there something that everyone else knows that we don't.........?????? We grabbed our bags and started to head out of the airport to get our shuttle ride that the hostel advised us to get, when the one and only man left in the airport; and in Hobart apparently, said, "uh, excuse me, do you have a ride or know where you are going? There are no more shuttles or taxis that will be at the airport tonight." Man, Hobart shuts down early! No more shuttles, no more taxis, but of course, there is always one left that is always ready and willing to rip you off. You know the type, the one that claims that says that we are just lucky that he is still there, and of course he is not working anymore, and he will go out of his way, but because we are desperate he will "do us a favour". Yeah right! Anyways, we did not have a choice and our "one man left", other then this scammer, was absolutely no help, he just avoided eye contact and ignored the situation; he just wanted to go home - to do nothing I guess, since everything in Hobart is shut down*grin*! My excitment of Tasmania quickly turned to dispair, but as I learned along time ago - nothing last forever, not even the bad stuff - and it didn't! So our "rip of artist" taxi driver eventually got us to our hostel, and dropped us off at the locked door. I did have the access code, but between Delia, myself and another quest it still took us 10 minutes to get in the door. There were a few more things that happened, but I will spare you - enough already -we arrived safe and sound and that is all that matters really! We had a great sleep - NEVER underestimate the power of ear plugs - ha - and the next day we were ready to rock and roll! We took the bus (station right across from the hostel - things were already starting to look up) to Launceston and met with Dayna. Dayna is certainly a friend of ours now, but how we got the connection was actually through a friend of ours; Magda, from home. So prior to this day, we did not know Dayna at all.....and this is where the REAL experience of the people of Tasmania started - they truly are fabulous people. We had e-mailed back and forth so Dayna knew generally what are plans were, but she went above and beyond and made our trip so much easier and better. So what would have been a logistical nightmare getting around and lugging all our stuff around and taking much, much longer, in a matter of an hour or two, we had everything that we needed. We would stay one night with her parents then the next day Dayna would take us to Cradle Mountain; the start of the Overland Track - can't get much better than that - but it did! Dayna is from Tasmania, but moved to Canada 2 years ago. She was in Tasmania the same time that we were because her sister was getting married. So in between helping her sister and helping to organize things as well as visit her family, Dayna still had time to spend with us to get us ready for our hike, and also to enjoy some sites. I also have to mention here that since our initial e-mail contacts, Dayna's Dad was admitted to the hospital to deal with an older injury. Not too serious, but enough to be a concern. So now, Dayna had the stress of helping her sister, knowing that her Dad was in the hospital and now us....... and she never let it show if she was stressed that's for sure. Her only request was that we visit her Dad in the hospital as he really wanted to meet us. This was more than okay, we wanted to meet her family and definitely go see her Dad. Dayna and her whole famiy were amazing! They treated us like family - we chatted & laughed and just had a good time. We missed Dayna's Dad; Chris, that night, but we would be back to visit Anne and Chris (Mom and Dad), Leah (sister) and Brendan (brother-in-law) after our hike - if they will have us! The night before we left to go to Cradle Mountain, Dayna's mom Anne cooked us one amazing meal - salmon, steak, veggies and wine and then proceeded to apologize for not serving us pasta to perpare us for our upcoming energetic track.......hmmmmmm.......7 days of freezed dried noodles of some sort with a pea or two in there - the meal served was a true treat indeed!!!

So the next day, it was off to Cradle Mountain. Even though Dayna was still tight for time - she had to be back for the wedding rehersal at 2pm, she still took the time to show us some sites - fresh Tasmanian made raspberry ice cream and cheeses.....mmmmmmm.......! Dayna dropped us off at the Visitor Centre for us to pick up our park passes successfully, but she was unfortunately late for the rehersal. To make us feel better, she said that the rehersal was really for Rocky; Leah and Brendan's dog. Rocky was taking the rings up the isle! As we know now, all went well, including Rocky's part!

Delia and I stayed in a cabin that is located at the start of the Overland Track. Very cute. It was rustic, but still had all the cooking facilities there for us to cook our food.....ahhhhh....the joys of freeze dried food! Delia looked for some walking sticks for the hike, we had dinner then it was off to bed. We had a great sleep and we were stoked to be starting the hike - Overland Track is considered one of the top 10 hikes in the world - I believe it!

...Out of Africa.....

The next leg of our adventure was taking us from Springlands Hotel in Moshi, Tanzania (4am start) to Cairns, Australia - that is a big change over a short period of time! Since our Tanzania trip was not part of our "Around the World" ticket, we were more cautious with our connection flight from Johannesburg to Cairns, Au. We arrived from Moshi, Tanzania to Johannesburg, SA on Dec 29, 2009 and left Johannesburg to Cairns, Au on Dec 30th. This meant an overnight in a hostel in Johannesburg. Although the hostel was good - they picked us up and dropped us off at the airport, I still did not feel all warm and fuzzy when in Johannesburg - I am afraid that it lived up to it's reputation of not a very nice city. But again, we did not stay for a long time, so I will save my judgements.

We travelled on Qantas and it was a good flight and was fairly uneventful for the most part. We had our own little movie screen with options of what and when we watched the movie or TV program - we could pause, fast forward, rewind - cool! Maybe this is common practice now on long flights, but it was my first experience. The food was good and they even provided a little snack pack after dinner for the remainder of the flight so to avoid interruptions - cool! I won't get into it, but Delia did suffer a bad case of nausea from the time we left Johannesburg and was not able to enjoy her food or the entertainment, but the young Aussie bloke that sat beside us had no problem taking care of Delia's unwanted food *grin*. We arrived safe and sound in Cairns and we stayed 2 nights in a hostel to get our bearings and to organize where we were going to spend the 5 days on the mainland before we headed off to Tasmania, Au. The hostel was great, but the hostels do have a way of making a 44 year old feel really old - ha! It was clean, nice and close to everything. We did walk around Cairns and see some sights, but for the most part, it was just too touristy and muggy for our liking - we just wanted to get out. We arrived on Dec 30th so it was close to New Year's and it is known for a touristy part of Australia, so as you can imagine, it was loud. We decided that we would rent a car and head up to the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. Before we left Toronto, Delia researched a place in the Daintree that we decided would be a great place to spend New Year's. Although the owner; Vaughan did not really want to rent it to us at that time, he agreed that he would - yeah! So, on the 31st we headed up to the Daintree - passing by Port Douglas and Mossman Gorge - both that are highly rated, but we only have so much time - so we went on to Daintree. Vaughan's driving instructions were great and really - just follow the coast line - even for Delia and I, we would have had to work hard to get lost! As we crossed the river and entered the Daintree Rainforest, it instantly felt great. The views of the sea and the lush forests were incredible - and it was soooo quiet. The road was narrow and had several twists and turns, but it was definitely worth the trip. After a 2 hour drive from Cairns we arrived at Coral Sea Views - the chalet that we would spend 3 nights including New Year's Eve. The drive to Coral Sea Views was beautiful, but when we arrived - as quoted by Joey Tribianni and Chandler Bing from the show "Friends" when they sat on their lounge chairs for the first time.......oh, ohhhh, ohhhhhhhhh......it was that sweet. Vaughan; the owner, met us at the driveway and showed us to our private chalet. He has 2 chalets, but we were the only ones there. It was off season which was one of the reasons Vaughan preferred not to rent it to us at that time - he came home early from his vacation to accommodate us - and that was just the beginning of his generousity! The place was truly a piece of heaven. We had a bedroom with ensuite, living area, bar that lead to 2 hammocks on our deck. Our views of were the sea, the rainforest and Thorton's Peak. We had access to the BBQ and Vaughan gave us breakfast in the morning - fresh fruit and cereal and toast - perfect for me! Vaughan gave us tips of things to do including places that only the locals knew about. Being New Year's Eve the night that we arrived and being off season and the fact that the Daintree Rainforest is quiet to begin with, we were not so sure what was going to be available. Vaughan did suggest a restaurant close by called the Lync Haven - he called to make sure that it was open and all that they requested is that we come before 7pm so they could also enjoy their New Year's Eve celebration. The food was outstanding - we decided on the steak! We finished off our New Year's Eve night with sipping wine and lying in our hammocks looking out into the rainforest's night sky......it was so quiet......a New Year's Eve like no other!!! We toured the Daintree and ate at the Lync Haven again the day after New Year's - this time for the recommended chicken parmesean and my first choice; local fish.....mmmmmmm good! On New's Year Day, most things were closed, including the Rum Runners; the company that we wanted to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef with. So Vaughan sent us on a trail to a waterfall that is not known to the tourists, it is not marked and is a little difficult to do....hmmmm.....the physical part did not scare me, but the whole "unmarked trail" thing did make me nervous....Delia and I are not the best when it comes to directions, but hey, we were in for an adventure so we gave it a try. The days before it had rained quite a bit so the river leading up to the waterfall was high. This meant that instead of following the river all the way up, we had to bushwack a bit along the edge of the water. We walked half in the water and half along the shore, but after 2 1/2 hours up the river and getting into forest that got so thick we were afraid that we were going to get lost forever (even saw a wild pig and the vines were so thick that we kept getting caught), the river dried up and the bolders were getting very large, we we decided that maybe it was time to turn around. For those that know me, this is very difficult to do. I did a bit of, "lets just try around this one more bolder, maybe right around this next tree...", but when you couldn't hear a waterfall or even a stream of water, even I was skeptical - enough that I could be convinced to turn around. Although we did not make it to the waterfall, I did enjoy the walk - it was a true adventure through the rainforest and there was no one else around. When we got back to the Coral Seas we had to admit defeat to Vaughan. As I described our route and where we got to, he said that we were about 500m from the waterfall - he said just before you reach the waterfall the river goes underneath and the bolders are big and you can't hear the waterfall - he apologized for not telling us, but again, we still had fun - nothing that a good meal and a glass of wine cannot cure - ha! Vaughan offered us a Coral Trout that he caught for dinner. We barbequed it and it was great as you can imagine.

In the Daintree they were also known for their homemade ice cream - well, that's a "no brainer" - I had to try it. They were excellent, but I have to be honest; Sonia's (Delia's Mom's) is better! The last thing we did was to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef in Cape Tribulation. They picked us up and drove us to the beach, it was a 45 min boat ride and then it was 2 to 3 hours of diving and eating and enjoying the views from the reef. Delia and I did 2 dives. Okay, okay, okay....I will admit it......scuba was something that Delia wanted to do - not so much me. I love water, but I like to swim on top - I am not totally incapacitated by fear underwater, but it is not my favourite place. About 10 years ago, Delia and I took scuba lessons, but we did not do our open water, so for this trip, we did a beginner dive. It was a quick review of the regulator, equipment and general safety, then it was out into the water. We put on our equipment, headed out to the deck and climbed down the ladder. At this point, I thought I was going to die with fear. The tank was heavy, the vest was tight I couldn't breathe and don't even get me started with how silly I looked...just kidding - fashion was the last thing on my mind! I don't feel this way that often, but I did then and it was not a nice feeling. I did alot of self talk and of course did not say anything. I am not sure, but I think on the outside, I looked pretty calm - calm enough to not freak the instructor out anyways as he let me dive. So I got as far as falling into the water and hanging onto the ladder. Before we let go of the boat we had to successfully perform 3 skills from the 2nd rung of the ladder. Once we did this, we would progress down to the 3rd then the 4th rung, follow the rope down to the pail and once we gave the thumbs up, we would let go and start our dive......alot of time to turn around.....I was thinking! So here we were in the water, hanging onto the ladder. Delia was first to perform her skills and of course she was a pro - she was in her element. As I watched her do her skills it was at this point I thought....okay, this is it....I can't do this....I am just going to go back on the boat and snorkel....I know I am being silly, but I can't do this, but dammit, my stubborn personality just won't let me quit! So there was only one way to go......I was next......skill#1 - fill and clear mask - okay, that one was easy, skill#2 - regulator out of mouth, count to 3, regulator back in mouth, blow out to clear regulator - done....skill#3 - regulator out of mouth, let regulator float away - locate regulator, put regulator back in mouth and blow to clear....okay, cool, did that. It was now our decent - I felt like a primary school kid not wanting to let go of mom's hand on my first day of kindergarten, but once I did - it was fantastic. It was instant; my fear went away and I was swimming with the fish on the Great Barrier Reef with not a care in the world - I am not kidding - it was that fast! The unknown is always what causes fear most of the time! So now that I was a pro - ha - I was already to do a second dive. The instructor must have been impressed as on the second dive he gave me less weight on my belt as he thought I could regulate my breathing well enough to control my place in the water - NOT! The second dive was good, but a bit harder as I was constantly fighting to stay low. One time when the instructor was trying to show us something, I was waving my arms like a freak to keep myself down - hoping that he would figure it out, but they were too interested in whatever they were looking at - when I just couldn't stay down any longer - I started to float away when Delia pointed to me - he finally swam up, grabbed me and pulled me down. It was actually quite funny. After our 2 dives we were allowed another 30 min to snorkel before we had to go back to the boat and head for shore. The other nice thing about our diving trip was that because this was there last run out before the end of the season, there was only 15 of us - we had alot of attention. Our adventure did not end there. As they drove us back to our place in the van we saw the famous Cassowary bird. This bird is the largest land animal in Australia - yes, bigger than a kangaroo - that is one big ass bird! It is a difficult bird to see and some locals say that it took them 5 years before they saw one and some locals say they have never seen one - and we saw not only the Cassowary bird, but the adult male and the chick! Of course I did not have my camera, but I do have it in my memory!!! With only 5 days on the mainland, we definitely enjoyed every second. We headed back to Cairns for our flight to Hobart, Tasmania! Although I would not change a thing and we have enjoyed every second, it will be nice to stay in one place for a longer period of time! We are in Tasmania for 1 month!!!

5 Day Safari

After climbing Kilimanjaro, it was hard to think that anything could match it, but the safari was incredible - just a very different experience that's all! After our hot shower x2 (a few layers of dirt to get off *grin*) and comfy sleep, it was off for our 5 day safari. Our guide was Henry from Moshi and he was fabulous. Very quiet, but if you wanted to know anything, you just had to ask - he knew his animals, geography and history of Tanzania that's for sure. We were with another couple; Isa and Charlie. Although they were nice, it certainly was not like our group climbing up Kilimanjaro......I miss them =(

Over the 5 days we went to 3 National Parks; Lake Manyara, Serengetti for 2 days and then to Ngorogoro Crater (my personal favourite). The coolest thing and the thing that you keep having to remind yourself, is that the animals can roam anywhere; they are in their natural habitat, we are in the cage - nice change! The National Parks are protected, but depending on the time of year and the weather conditions, the animals can, and do roam from one National Park to the other, so you can actually see them in towns and fields as we drove through. When we were driving around, we were just part of their domain, they acted as natural as if we weren't there at all - as you will read, this is both good and bad for me; the predator and prey relationship, is all part of the animal world!

We were picked up from Springlands Hotel in the morning and we headed straight for Lake Manyara. We really had no idea what to expect or what to do, but that most likely we would be seeing animals of some sort *grin*! Before arriving at the National Park we stopped for our box lunch - not the best, but filled the spot - for the most part, I have low standards - as quoted from a good friend of mine that described her best friend; Ginnuess' eating habits, whatever starts with "F" and ends in "ood", I am okay with.........btw - her best friend was her dog - that's more than okay with me to be compared to a dog *grin*!!!! When we arrived at the park, there was the usual regulation crap...oops, was that my outside voice again - registration and payment to get into the park....ahhhhh...the government.....never too far away.....no matter where you are. Once Henry was back in the van, he flipped open the top (to accommodate the typical safari viewing) and headed into the wilderness - cool! Lake Manyara is approximately 1/3 the size of the Serengetti - small, but still very big (sorry, I don't have the exact facts with me - I will work on that). As you can imagine the first animal that we see - whatever it was - we were going to be excited.......and Baboons were it...."click, click, click, snap, snap, snap" of the cameras, like crazy - yes, I am such a tourist - ha!......big, small, families and loners......they were all there! Although for the most part the animals acted normal, the smaller animals were still understandably shy and skittish around the vehicle for the most part - we were big and fast - it was a threat - the bigger animals - not so much - they truly are the rule of the kingdom! Especially the lions - they were for the most part always sleeping and if anything at all, would give us the "Clint Eastwood" look...."Go ahead....make my day", but usually, just didn't care at all!

In all three parks; at different times of course, we did see the "Big Five" for the Tanzanian Parks; Lion, Black Rhino (only difference between black and white Rhino is not the colour, but the shape and size of their face - interesting - only black rhinos are seen in Tanzania), Elephant (Delia's favourite - I must admit they are impressive - if nothing, but for their size, but they are so darn cute too), Leopard (very difficult to see and we watched the leopard for awhile - cool) and the Buffalo. We also saw, and not limited to, cheettas, zebras, wildabeasts, hippos (again, smelly, but so darn cute), giraffes (my personal favourite - so graceful - something that I am not), jackels, hyennas (not so nice - bad hyennas!), many, many, many birds (flammingos, eagles, storkes (Abdmin), Black-Billed Corey Bustard, Lilac Breasted Roller, Ground Hum Billed, Falcons and others that I can't quite remember - I know pathetic), topi (Antelope), monkeys, more baboons, Gazels (Thomson and others), antelope, warthogs, dicy dick (the smallest antelope), E-Land Antelope, Orynx, Reback Antelope, Water Buck and really, a whole bunch more!!! We saw several of the Flat Top Acacia (trees), the ones that are iconic of the African safari as well as Kopjes (rock formations on the serengeti where the lions ususally hang out - good view of their prey). We also saw a lion eating a zebra - we did not see the actual hunt and kill, but the lion was panting and sitting by the zebra waiting to catch it's breath to eat - for some reason, I was okay with this. As Henry said, the lion and most cats will catch and suffocate the animal and wait until it dies before eating it - somehow this seems more humane. As opposed to in the Ngorogoro Crater we witnessed a hyenna hunt and kill a pregnant Wildabeast. I did find this very difficult to watch, but it was the "animal kingdom". No guns or other means of human intervention - just the natural, prey/predator relationship and the survival of the fittest. The hardest part is that the predator knows the weakest link and to watch from the sidelines it makes it sad. I am not a vegetarian, so I can't say that it is cruel, but I still found it hard - I always protect the underdog! Anyways, what happened (yes, I experienced it first hand - you will have to hear it), was the hyenna circled the herd and could pick out the weak...the pregnant female - 2 in 1 - and the chase was on. The herd attempted at all cost to protect all, but when it came down to it, they had to protect themselves so the weakest would enivitably be fighting on their own and hope for the unexpected - maybe, by some chance, they would get a break and be able to escape their own fate. In this case, not so much. What makes it worse is that the hyenna attacks the animals vital organs - impales the area and brings the animal down. Once down, the animal has no chance, but it is still very much alive, just no strength to fight. So instead of the hyenna waiting until the wildabeast dies...yes, that is right, the hyenna disembowels the animal - eats it from inside out - no wonder the hyenna gets a bad rap - they deserve it! They are awlful! As I write almost 2 months later it make me weep and wonder why life has to be so cruel. But even that, I am still not a vegetarian - if that did not do it - I am not sure anything will! What helped was the Henry remained calm. He did not rush to the site and get all excited and point as if watching a show, but rather he pointed out the chase and explained that this was all part of the life....and death in the Ngorogoro. Eventually the wildabeast did die and the process after that was much easier to watch. There were 2 hyennas, but there were no alliances - even though the wildabeast was too big for the one hyenna, they certainly were going to distract and fight off any interlopers until they were done. I say "they" as I have no idea if it was a female or male. The one hyenna took the fetus and took that for their own and the other hyenna stayed with the adult. Within minutes the scavengers started arriving - vultures, eagles, the second hyenna, etc - all trying to get their share. It was the shear savageness and gore that was incredible - the hyenna's whole body was covered in blood - they are a brutal type of animal. Well, it was an experience, but I truly had enough of that and I am sure more than enough for you - so on to the next!!! On a better note, we did witness a herd of zebras successfully fight off a hyenna that was attempting to kill a baby - yeah! "Hell hath no fury as a mother protecting her young".

Just a bit of information on the parks - I love to hear people talk about history, but my memory is not that great unfortunately, so the information here is very limited. Serengetti was actually named Sergeti by the Maasi meaning, "endless plains" - also known as the "ocean of grass" and it truly was......land forever. But over time the European's mispronouncation of the park to Serengetti, stuck. The Maasi were granted freedom in the Serengetti Conservation Area to live and hunt; as an agreement between the government and the Maasi. As you can imagine, it would be difficult living for the Maasi as their cattle would be a pretty easy kill for some of the animals as well as their own lives were at risk, but they do a pretty amazing job at it. Lake Manyara was a result of a volcanic activity, but unlike the Ngorogoro Crater, the land did not sink. Although all the parks were beautiful and the animals were stunning, Ngorogoro Crater was outstanding and was my personal favourite. We drove from the top down to the bottom so we got a good view as we drove down. From the crater floor to the top it is 610m and the crater floor is 16 km x 19 km. The top of the crater is 2240 above sea level. Ngorogoro Crater was so lush and vast - I guess that is why it impressed me so much - it just looked prettier. The safest park for the animals is the Serengetti, but if there is no rain or food is scarse, the animals will travel to the Ngorogoro Crater where it is always lush. One reason that the animals don't stay in the Ngorogoro is that it is not as safe, they are more exposed to predators especially during birthing. We saw the s/e side of the Serengetti - the north side requires a special permit - not sure why other than I think that it is less travelled and more dangerous.

During our safari we stayed at the Highview Hotel for 2 nights and in a camp on the Serengetti for 2 nights. Both very nice, but the camp in the Serengetti was awesome. We were in tents, but the tents had beds, lights and in the back had a pit toliet and a makeshift shower. The staff would bring in the hot water in the morning and pore it into a bucket, rig the bucket above and using gravity - vola - shower. We had our meals in a kitchen tent and all the meals were outstanding. Other then our first box lunch - we had hot lunches. The breakfasts and dinners were also very good. We were actually on the Serengetti on Christmas Day - VERY COOL! As you can imagine, it didn't feel much like Christmas and it didn't bother me too much, but I did miss our family and friends. The only time that it really hit me hard was on Christmas eve night, Henry had Bing Crosby singing, "I'm dreaming of a White Christmas" on the radio - I did miss home then. On Christmas night the staff dressed up like Santa Clause and sang, "We wish you a Merry Christmas" - too funny!

On the last day, in the Ngorogoro we were getting in our last glimpses of the animals . We had thoroughly enjoyed our whole trip. The parks and animals were awesome and it really is an experience that we don't get in Canada - Africa is awesome! Getting near the end of the day, although we were happy with our experience, Delia was somewhat disappointed that we did not see an elephant up close. We did see serveral and they were awesome, but they were far away and we did not experience the massiveness of the animal close up........when all of a sudden, this huge, massive, grey moving wall walked past our vehicle - yeah, an elephant. It was so close that I could see it's eyes and toes. We were so close that I could not even get a picture as I had my zoom lense on and I could not zoom out enough - too funny! It was spectacular and well worth the wait! They are big, but so graceful - really! I mean I wouldn't want to be underneath their feet, but he was so quiet and looked so gentle. Ahhhh, perfection - we saw everything now!

Africa truly is an awesome continent and a place that I think everyone should experience. The beauty, the resources and the people. There are different cultures for sure that may be hard to understand, but I think as humans it is our responsibility to learn and know - ignorance is not an excuse! We headed back to Springlands Hotel to get ready to leave Africa and head to Austrailia - I am looking forward to our next experience, but I will miss Africa - definitely a place to come back to!!!

Asante Sana Mgumu

For some, the destination is reaching the peak, but for me, the destination is ALWAYS about the journey - I am not an "A to B" kinda' girl. I love the beginning, the end and everything else in the middle. From day 1 of our climb, Benjamin would always review our plan, ask if we had any questions or wishes for the day, we would ALWAYS travel as a team and we always went slowly - perfect -just the way I like it! But this all changed on our descent and it caught me off guard. Once we finished taking some pics at Stella Point we started our descent - although we were not incapacitated by altitude sickness (and we did see some - awlful sight), we did not look like a ray of sunshine either. At Stella Point we were happy, but the altitude did start to affect us more so we did not talk alot. As much as we wanted to enjoy the moment longer, we also wanted to start to go down and certainly Benjamin wanted us to get down. As our leader, our health and safety were his responsibility. So, we took a few more glances around and started to head down.

Obviously, if there are many ways up, then there are many ways down. But for us there were two main options; to go down the same way we came - rocky and quite technical, or to take the ski route down - still very steep, but it is all scree (loose rock); so you can basically lean back and slide down on your heels. The later is the route that we would be doing. By this time, the sun was up and giving off significant heat so as we went down we started to strip off layers one by one. Although Benjamin did not speak to us, we got the signal from him to start to head down, with Athman in the lead. We were waiting for our "descent plan talk", but it never happened, but with us all not feeling 100% and at this time not really knowing any plan, we followed Athman without questions. To start the descent we walked slowly across the ridge a few hundred yards to get to the path, but once we got to the path - we started flying down......and I mean flying. Athman was a man of little words and did take the lead from Benjamin so whatever Benjamin said, he just followed the orders. So as we started our rather quick descent - back on our heals and sliding down, I initially enjoyed it. I thought..... hmmmm....this is kind of cool - after the hard climb up, we were taking an express route down. But after about 20 to 30 minutes, I started to get a little miffed. With no communication and us flying down the mountain, inevitably, the team got split up and I didn't like it at all! I thought eventually, we would stop and re-group, so I kept going, despite my dismay. But unfotunately, this pattern did not change. We continued our insane pace and our group got even further apart. So between me feeling bitter and having to watch my step; I was missing some amazing views and I was missing my peeps. To say the least, I was not impressed and I was getting a little mad. And those that know me - I can be alot of things and I certainly am not perfect, but it takes alot for me to get mad. I actually was more upset and sad then mad really, but I expressed my feelings by being grumpy! Mike, Delia and I did have a chance to chat briefly along the way, but all that came out was, "....what the heck is this all about, is Athman mad at us or what? This is a ridiculous pace...". But we all continued to descent without too many complaints - well, we didn't have a choice really - we didn't know the exact way down so we couldn't lose our leader.

The other thing that happened was that you have to remember that we started our summit at midnight and it was now 7 1/2 hours later - pretty hard treking with very little food - tired and hungry - definitely a grumpy Brenda! About an hour after the start of our descent, we stopped for a bite to eat, but when we started up again - it was back to the same 'ole thing - fast and separated. After the rest period, I came to terms with the fact that not everyone enjoys what I like, this is a once in a lifetime journey, so I better get over myself and start to enjoy it again - and this is exactly what I did. I took a long time getting down and for most of it I was by myself, but I enjoyed it! Once we got down, I was happy, but I was still a little gumpy - so I tried to exercise a little of what I learned as a kid, "if you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all." - I just needed a bit of time - that's all!

It took about 2 to 3 hours to get back down to Barafu Camp. From here, we rested for 1 to 2 hours, had a bite to eat and then we got ready to continue our descent down to Mekwa Camp - another 3 hour hike. Dominque came to greet us with a cool drink and gave us a quick congratulation smile which was nice, but I was still a little disappointed that Benjamin, Athman and the rest of our team again did not come chat with us and give us a plan, but I got over it - eventually. Once we re-started, again, it was back to super sonic speed. The grade was not as steep as it was to Barafu camp, but it was still constant down - easy on the cardiovascular system, but biomechanically harder on the toes & knees. I was still a little bitter as I really wanted to stay together and chat - I am all about conversing and enjoying the company!

Once we we got to Mweka Camp we set up and got ready for dinner. At dinner we were able to chat and banter back and forth of our experiences - what we felt, what we liked, etc. - ahhhhhh....back to our 'ole routine. While we were talking, it became known that we all felt the same way. We all wanted to hike down together to chat and enjoy the journey down together - we all admitted that we were "grumpy pants", but fortnately we all exercised the same childhood rules, so nothing was siad that might have been regretted later. We laughed about it and confirmed that although it was a little disappointing, it certainly did not affect our overall experience of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro - we all LOVED it and we loved our team and leaders! Part of the bitterness was the fact that we felt that we were being abandoned by our leaders - giving us the feeling that they felt that they did their job now - getting us to the top, so nothing else matters...."....we got these bloody tourist up to the summit, now lets get them down and get rid of them...: and part of the bitterness was just fatigue, altitude and hunger - all that can affect your personality as you know. Once we were all back together again, it was all good! Because it was so important to me, the next day, I did ask Benjamin why we descended that way. He indicated that he knew that we were in good shape, we did not have any major altitude issues and that he just wanted to get us down the mountain before we did. Benjamin told Athman to go as fast as he could. I expressed that it took us off guard as he was so good at communicating up to that point. I would have loved for him to ask us what we wanted to do as getting to the summit is not my goal - the destination to me is the whole journey. He did apologize and stated that for most people - the summit is the destination. He was happy that I did want to enjoy the journey down and the final day, Benjamin was back to his 'ole self; taking his time and showing us all the flora and fauna, chatting and laughing once again. It is all about communication isn't it?

Mweka camp was pretty and it was a good night - we all slept well. The next day we got up and had breakfast and started to say our good-byes. Once we started our last trek down, there was a good chance that we may not see the group again - it was a sad moment. When you spend that much time with a group and do the things we did; having to rely on each other, you develop a relationship that is hard to explain. By morning all the bitter feelings that we may have felt the day before were all forgotten. This experience has changed us all - in many ways! Just before we were ready to head out, our climbing team got together (all 19 of them) and started to sing the "Kili" song. It was fabulous - they have good voices!!! It was a great way to say good bye. We took a group shot and headed down our last 3 hours to the Mweka gate to go back to the hotel. We had an amazing last day - reminising, laughing and enjoying the last few views of Kilimanjaro.

From start to finish, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro was an experience that we will remember for the rest of our lives for sure. I am sure that I have forgotten to write some things in our blog that we experienced or saw, but it is in our hearts forever! Delia and I could not have done it without our team and we are grateful! "Asante Sana Mgumu" - Thank-you Strongmen!

Climb Every Mountain....Not!

...and the journey continues.....Looking out the tent on the morning of day 5 - the sky was clear and perfect - not a cloud in sight - you could still see the moon; perfect against the blue sky - this was promising for our summit day. Day 5 was a short day to "base camp" - Karana Valley at 4200m to Barafu Camp at 4600m, so our guide; Benjamin, decided to make our wake up call 1 hour later. But being so close to the top, with the stunning views, Mike and I still were the last ones to get ready! In all fairness, Mike and I actually would always get our things ready before we took photos, but we would always leave our packs by camp - this meant getting the "whatif" signal from the team, then having to run back to camp to get our gear, and then take off. This morning, our photos were taken on the same track that we were headed out for that day - so our, oh so patient assistant guide; Athman and Delia, carried our things to us to keep us on time! We arrived at camp early again and had another amazing hot lunch! This day was all about fueling, hydrating & mentally preparing for our climb to the summit. As this is technically "base camp" we were able to chat with some hikers that had returned from there summit that morning. Even though there was just the 5 of us in our group, we got to know other climbers along the way , including the other team's crew....although I must say, our team and crew WERE the best *grin*! The last push to the summit is a tough climb given the terrain and the conditions, so Benjamin cautioned us to listen, but not to judge our own abilities or experience by what others said - hmmmm.....good advice. As I said before, Benjamin was a great leader for many reason, but what I liked most was his calmness and his patience. Over the 5 days, he quietly observed our behavious and abilities and knew each of our strengths and weaknesses. And even when we would get caught up in the moment and not always think or act appropriately, he gently brought us back on track without offending.

The plan, from the morning of Day 5, to the return to bottom of the mountain, was as follows: We would arrive at Barafu camp early, eat lunch, get our gear ready for our summit and relax. We would eat dinner by 5pm and receive our "strong briefing" (direct quote from Benjamin) of the summit plan by Benjamin. It was then off to bed for a wake up call at 11pm and to start our summit by 12am - ..."and we cannot be late..." - thank goodness it is was dark out - no potential "Kodak moments" to tempt Mike and I!  Over the days of climbing, the 5 of us would chat about what we had, what we think we needed and what we had to share...., (and to my Canadian followers, as in the Canadian Hockey Card world, "....got it...need it....trade it....").  This was really helpful as we did end up exchanging things to make sure we made it to the top. I know I keep saying it, but we had the most amazing team - we were not perfect, but we were perfect for each other - awe, how sweet!!!!!

At the summit we would stay for as long as we could, but it is not just reaching altitude that can cause problems, but also the length of time that you stay at altitude. So the plan was to stay around 15 min then to start to head down. We would head down back to Barafu Camp, have a little rest, eat lunch then head down to Mweka Camp which is at 3100m - a much safer altitude level. We would stay at this camp over night then head to Mweka gate and back to the hotel. As you will hear, it was as crazy as it sounds - 6 days up and 1 day down - ouch!!! You don't feel the altitude coming down, but your poor knees and toes - we are talking a fairly significant grade down - this wasn't a "Hanzel and Gretel" path - it is more of a black diamond ski slope - oops, was that my outside voice complaining...????? 

Now that is what the plan was and this is what we did:

Delia and I did not even need to wait for our wake up call at 11pm - at around 10:45pmish we were already starting to put on our insane amounts of layers on and pack our gear and water. We had 4 layers on the bottom, 5 layers on top including a down-filled vest, hat, headband and gloves.....I KNOW!!!......we were warm to say the least, but just exactly as you would think, we couldn't move. I thought it was hard getting out of the tent before - it was a bit of a push and pull kind of thing - Delia had to give me a little boot in the bum to get out and I gave the "1, 2, 3, heave" to pull Delia out*grin*! So now, successfully out of the tent, but completely exhausted from the effort of getting dressed and trying to maneuver with a million layers on, we contemplated how the heck we would be able to get up the mountain! Hot tea and bisquits were prepared for a light snack then it was the start of our summit by 12am.

......hmmmm.....Mike, Mike???? Where's Mike???......after we found Mike and made a few adjustments, it was off to the top of Africa by 12:10am! It is amazing how fast 1 hour of preparation time goes! Something else of our summit climb that is worth noting is that for the previous 5 days (and for our last day) we had a crew of 19 - that is guide, assistant guide, cook, assistant cook and 16 Mgumus, but for the summit it was the 5 of us, Benjamin, Athman and James. The only thing that was needed was water and cameras - no other gear was needed.  Our other team members stayed at Barafu camp and slept in our tents because believe it or not - there have been issues of stealing...at 4600m?????.......???? So we were told!  So the team would split up to ensure that there was someone in every tent looking out for our things. Really, they were probably all hanging out, drinking wisky, playing cards and laughing at us as we started to climb....."suckers"! Just kidding!

Okay, okay, I have to admit it, while we were waiting for Mike, Athman leaned over my pack and put is water bottle in my side pouch and said, "Is that okay?". Although I was a little surprised, I certainly did not mind AT all - everything that he had done so far for us and I knew would be doing for us - I could handle a bottle of water. But alas, this is not the Kili way - when we reached down to put the water bottle in, he was not asking if it was okay that he put his water bottle in there, but telling me that he would be carrying my pack for me - I resisted - a bit, but he insisted....what was a little girl to do? *grin*!!!!! As I realized after, James was carrying Sabrina's bag so I didn't feel so guilty.  To start with Delia, Mike and Jen all carried their own packs. but as we got close to the top, Benjamin grabbed Jen's bag too.  She started to get that, "...oh my gawd" look in her eyes that Benjamin recognized.  In the end, Delia and Mike were the only ones to carry their things from the bottom to top and back down again.

So with our millions of layers, headlamp on and camera around my neck, we were certainly ready to go. Benjamin lined us up, inches from each other and the instructions were...."keep close, look ahead, pole,pole and take time to enjoy the views". So all of us in tow - something like a kindergarten class trip, just minus the rope - we started to climb. I was warm, felt great and was so excited - it was such a cool feeling! Now, before I go much further, remember that we left at midnight....it is dark and cold and we were climbing up the steepest part....we had to stay focused!  I will try my best to express the emotion involved, but it really is hard unless you experience it yourself - especially with my non-existent journalism skills.

The obvious reason for leaving camp at midnight, is to reach the summit by sun rise and to allow us to enjoy the top for as long as possible. With Benjamin's assessment of our abilities based on the previous days - he was planning to get to Stella Point in 6 hours - sun rise! The route was basically switch back up from camp with the last part to the ridge on scree (lose rock). This would lead to Stella Point and then we would hike along the ridge for about 45 min to Uhuru Peak - the highest point!

As we climbed, we kept fairly quiet - at this point it was all about survival and getting to the top. The major altitude affects is over 5000m so regardless of how good we felt at the beginning, it was using common sense, listening to your body and keeping positive thoughts - mind over matter. Although we did not talk alot, we did look out for each other - getting water and making sure that everyone was warm enough, but that's about the extent of it. One step in front of the other, looking at the feet in front of us and taking small sips of water. For the first 20 to 30 minutes I have to admit that I had my head down for most of it - climbing the rocks and making sure that I did not trip, but after awhile, I would occassionally look over my shoulder, look up and see the stars and the lights of the city; Moshi below. The other thing that was kinda' cool, was that of course, we were not the only group going up - and the other thing that you could see is groups of lights bopping along beside, ahead and behind us. It was so dark that you could not see anything else. It wasn't far into the walk when it started to get really cold. I remember when Delia and I were planning our trip from TO, we read alot - what to bring, what to wear, what to expect, etc. There was one part in the equipment suggestions that said to bring a balaclava. Well, **grunt, grunt, grunt**, we are Canadians - we can take the cold - minus 15 degrees is nothing, "grunt, grunt, grunt" - we don't need no stinkin' balaclava!!! Well, we weren't really that cocky, but close. Well, with the unprepared comes the unexpected......Oh, it was minus 15 degrees alright, but one has to remember that you are climbing the side of a mountain that is completely exposed with a constant cold wind blowing hard against you - yeah, it was really cold. A balaclava would have been nice, but it certainly did not make or break our summit success - it was just a humbling experience that's all. Along the way we did stop as we had to make sure that we were still cognizant of acclimatizing properly (pole pole) and making sure that we stayed hydrated. It is over a 6 hour hike, so there was even a short pee break. Yeah, for once, I did not have to pee in the middle of the night, but the other 4 poor 'ole sods did. How do you pee on the side of the mountain you ask....?  Anyway you can - behind one of the large bolders preferably! I actually did not enjoy stopping. When we were climbing I kept an even pace and found it okay, but when we stopped - I am not sure if it was the obscene amounts of layers, the cold, muscle fatigue or any combination of the above, but everytime I would re-start my legs felt like I just ran a marathon. This would disappear after a minute of two, but still played on my mide - a very strange feeling actually.  Feeling the affects of the constant wind chill, the weird type of fatigue feeling in my legs and the heaviness in my chest were the only affects of the altitude that I experienced. But I do know Delia and Sabrina suffered severe head pain and a bit of nausea and Jen I think was more of fatigue with a bit of nausea.  Mike did not look like a rose garden, but I don't think suffered too badly - just cold, maybe a bit of fatigue.  I know looking back, we (all the climbers at Stella Point and at Uhuru Peak) looked like a sorry lot, but it was worth it!  The day after racing a marathon or an ironman, you can always tell the participants by the noticable "marathon shuffle".  A Kili climber is identified easily by the "face windburn peeling"!   

The climb was dark, cold and steep and as the wind blew across our faces, I played mental games to keep me going. Don't get me wrong, nothing would have stopped me, but there are times that it just doesn't feel nice and doubt did cross my mind. 

......I will stop here for a second....the unfortunate thing with this blog, is that they are my feelings and my experiences. I know some of the things Delia told me, but I am sure that she would remember different things and have a slightly different experience then me. Just keep that in mind as you read - just one woman's view...

The whole climb was amazing, but I will just tell you the 4 main things that I remember on this specific day - the summit climb. I remember the constant wind and cold that blew across the mountain - I mean constant. My body was warm, but my face was freezing - not a damaging, health risk freezing, but a cold that instilled a bit of doubt - made you think that..."man, if it gets any colder I don't know if I can go on.." - the kind of cold that made you feel that if you stopped you would freeze solid. The second thing I remember was the feeling in my chest. About 2 hours into the climb, my chest felt really heavy - a suffocating type of heavy. I did have my camera case strap around my neck and across my chest, but I really don't think that had anything to do with it. I took small breaths and I do remember putting my hands under my camera strap to releive some of that tightness in my chest, but when I did that, I would feel the pressure change to my back around my kidneys - again, a very strange feeling. The third thing I remember was temporary doubt.  Most of fear and doubt comes from the unknown and on this summit climb we were hiking in the dark. Not having ever climbed the mountain before - the terrain was unknown and being dark, you never knew how far you were or what was coming next - you found out when you got to it. I did know; however, no matter how far we climbed and how close we were to the summit, I knew in 6 hours the sun was going to rise and this was going to instantly make me feel better and give me the hope and confidence I needed to ensure that I would indeed make it to the top. So at times; especially when it was really cold, I started to count in my head. Something like, ".....4 more hours to sun rise, 4 more hours to sun rise, 4 more hours to sun rise...", repeating it in my head to the rhythm of my steps. It is a trick I use in ironman races too, to keep the negative thougths out of my head until I can get re-focused. I did this on and off, but I do remember with 3 hours to go, I truly wondered if I could make it. I knew I would not quit, but I had that feeling where I wanted to soon - somewhat of a depressing thought actually. So, I kept counting to get those negative thoughts out of my mind and this is when the 4th thing happened to me that I remember. Somewhere between my counting episodes and the moments of looking in awe at the stars behind me and remembering how grateful I should be to actually be climbing; it happened! In my head, I was thinking, "....hmmmm.....well, I can't be sure, but I think that it is getting close to the 6 hour mark.". At this moment is when I lifted my head to look back at the stars, and to my left; which is the way I always looked (the safest way for me to avoid tripping and not falling off the edge), and there I saw it. It was, this enormous - I mean astronomical sized glazier - sparkling in the sun rays that were rising behind me. It was so close that I felt I could touch it, it was so huge I felt a sense of inferiority and it was so beautiful I was awestruck. I have seen beautiful things before, but because it was so big and beautiful and because I have never seen anything like it before; certainly not that close and not at the top of a mountain, but mostly because of the sun's image relecting on the glacier, it was the hope that I needed to get my butt up that mountain - it will be a time that I will remember forever! Even now as I write, I get chills! It was at that instant that I knew I could make it. Even though I could feel the altitude - I felt the rest was a piece of cake and unfortunately, the acutal summit was a little bit anti-climatic. I was more emotional seeing Redman's Glazier then getting to Uhuru Peak - funny eh? It was here though that I experienced another thing that I didn't think that I would - I could care less if I took even 1 photo. Before we left TO and the whole way up the mountain, I had all these ideas of what pictures & videos we could take at the top of the mountain, but when I got there....not so much. I had absolutely no desire. Of course I did take some shots eventually, but no amazing shots that's for sure. But even now - I don't care - I did it and that is what I will remember. I did see the sun rise - clear sky, nothing obscuring the view and the mountian and glazier in front - WOW!!! It was so beautiful. When I looked at the sun rise - I looked down to see where we came from and it was so cool - I climbed the mountain - I climbed Kilimanjaro - yeah! We all continued up to Stella Point and as we reached the ridge we all hugged - it was a crazy emotional time for us all. As we climbed each had our own doubts and tough times for sure (nausea, headaches and cold) for all 5 of us to be successful - it was pretty special. We stopped at Stella Point briefly, but because of the altitude, we wanted to keep going. It was another 45 minutes to Uhuru Peak along the ridge. However, it was deceively harder than it looked. Of course we still had to go up and at that point, man, you felt it! We finally reached the sign and took our momento pics. As I waited for the rest to get their pictures I did remember one picture that I wanted to take. I wanted a picture of me jumping, kicking my heels up. So, I mustered up some energy from somewhere asked Mike to just put the camera on sport and keep his finger down on the shutter from the time I left the ground until the time I came back down. We tried twice, but my hands got cut off a bit in the pictures, but I just could not do it a third time to get it perfect. I felt the altitude, but I also had all those silly layers on - it was hard!!! I have to say, as much as I loved the experience and am thrilled to have done it - a long time dream of mine, it did not entice me to want to climb more mountains. It is crazy! Altitude does crazy things to your body that you have no control over. Climbing mountains has very little to do with fitness, but more mental, desire and taking it slow! 

From here we headed back down to Stella Point, took a few photos and then it was our start of our big descent. What goes up, must come down! 

There is Frost on the Pumpkin......

Day 3: Rise and Shine.......6 am was our usual time to start our day - served our hot tea and then our warm water for washing...hmmmmm...are we climbing Mt Kilimanjaro or are we in a 5 star resort.......as I unfold my body out of our tent, making sure to keep my bum down so not to get caught in the zipper of the vestibule and with the music of my creaking bones, stepping into the brisk air - ah yes, I am camping. But with the breath-taking views that came with the package, I will not complain. Day 3 and day 4 were all about acclimatization - pole, pole!!! We hiked from the New Shira Camp at 3840m to Barranco Camp at 3900m. Okay, slow is one thing, but 60m..????....that's a little too slow, isn't it. Ahhhh, but wait, not everything is as it seems, Daniel Son......On this day, we hiked 10 km, travelling from the western to the southern slopes of Kilimanjaro and hiked to an altitude of 4530 at Lava Tower, before decending back down to 3900m at Barranco Camp. This is done this way for a couple of reasons - one to give our bodies a chance to acclimatize and also, well, simply put, this is the way the path goes =) This day was good, and made us more grateful that we chose the 7 day climb because at around the 4000m point, Delia was starting to experience a bit of altitude sickness (really bad headache and a bit of nausea). She did not want to take any chances, so she took some altitude sickness medication that our Travel Doctor prescribed. A combination of going down a bit in altitude and the medication - it worked like a charm. I did not find day 3 as hard as day 2, but it was cold - especially when we stopped for lunch - I didn't even want to eat - now that is cold ha! This was my first brief moment of doubt, but I have been through enough to know - even the bad stuff doesn't last forever - suck it up buttercup! Day 1,2 & 3 we had box lunches. They were made for us in the morning and given to us to eat at our leisure during our hike. On Day 4,5 &6 we had hot lunches as we were at camp. The box lunches were still good - hard boiled eggs, chicken, bun, orange, peanuts and ndizzi (very small banana) - ahhh, but the hot lunches....mmmmmmm good! Each camp I was always impressed with the views and was quite happy for it to stay the same, but it just got better each day. At Barranco Hut the sites were of southern slopes of Kibo - absolutely gorgeous as well as the Western Breach and the Heim Glacier. The great thing about the Machame Route is that you actually see almost every angle of Kilimanjaro. The ironic thing is that the only side that you don't see on the Machame Route is the north/eastern side & this is the side that is most photographed. So in technically, all we have to do is to buy a postcard of Kili and Delia and I will have seen the entire mountain from all angles - cool!

Every night gets a little colder - duh, no kidding - and when we woke up on Day 4, Delia peeked her head out and confirmed, yes, there was frost on the pumpkin. There was a heavy frost - almost ice on our big orange tent! Cold is okay, but it made it hard when I would have to get up and go pee around 2 am - that's it - no more drinking past 5pm - I don't care if I have to stay hydrated!!! It really was not that bad getting up - the air was still, the stars were so beautiful and it was alot better getting up and going pee then to lay awake all night thinking about it - I learned that the first night! One other routine that I did was picture taking. Before I left TO for our trip, I contemplated whether to take my big camera or not. It wasn't a hard decision really, as I love pictures and this was a trip of a life time for us. So lugging this thing around, I was determined to get the "perfect picture". When we would arrive at camp the views were unbelievable, but often the sun was in the least favourable position. This is not a big deal when you are a good photographer, but for a pathetic wannabee like me - I had to wait for the perfect conditions - which were often in the morning. So every morning I would get up and take some photos. Unfortunately, I only have a little bit of knowledge when it comes to photography and my patience are not that condusive to great pictures - alas, I made a friend! Our teammate; Mike, equally loved pictures and with his anal personality - ooops, I mean, his inate attention to detail - yeah, that's what I mean (all in fun Mike!!!), I was able to capture some pretty cool photos. Whether they look good or not is another thing, but it was fun. Given our love for photography and the time it took to make the photos JUST right, Mike and I tended to be the last ones ready and got a "friendly kick in the but" most mornings!

Day 4 was from Barranco Hut to Karanga Valley Camp. This was another acclimatization day going from 3900m to 4200m. It was a shorter day which allowed us to get to camp early and we had our first hot lunch - it tasted so good. With a shorter day, it allowed for more cards and "tom-foolery". At cards, I was my usual self - bitter when I am losing and gloat when I am winning - I just do it for fun and to get the reaction, and Mike took the bait everytime! An aside note here, for people that do this route in 6 days - this is the camp that is missed. Although it is doable, it is so much easier on your body to give it that much needed rest and time to acclimatize before the final push to the summit on day 6. And really - you are climbing Mt Kilimanjaro - do you really want to rush it???! Knowing how our bodies felt and what we had to do - the 5 of us were grateful that we had the 7 days. Karanga Valley Camp is the last campsite to get water so any necessary water needed for the next camp had to be carried twice the distance. Knowing this, it was agreed by our team that we would use the least amount of water possible - this meant really - water to drink and to cook and certainaly we did not need our washing water for the morning. If you could see the heights and the steepness of the grade that the mgumu's had to take the water - you wouldn't even want to drink or eat. Crazy! For my canoeing friends just think of an 80% elevation grade/10 km portage - if I had to do it, I would be eating freeze dried chicken noodle soup for every meal with minimal water - okay, maybe I would eat just dried noodles - ha! Seriously, the grade was at times - straight up - how they balanced all the stuff - I am not sure, but they did! On this day, once we reached Karanga Valley camp, Sabrina, Delia and I walked an optional hike with Benjamin - basically, the first part of our hike that we would be doing on day 5 -the next morning. This part took us to a level, where we not only saw Kibo, but saw our final "base camp" and the path that we would be taking to the summit. The only part that we did not see from this point was Uhuru Peak (the highest point). This was hidden just behind Rebmann's Glazier. It was a great moment actually, as there was just the 4 of us, we sat quietly and admired Kibo and looked at the path that we would be taking the next night to accomplish our dream....very cool feeling - it both excited me and scared me - just a little - as it is always the unknown that is feared! Huddled again in our tents after dinner and cards, we wanted to get as good as sleep as we could to prepare us for the next day - it was a big day for us. Common during our climb up the mountain were clear nights and mornings with amazing stars, moon and also the lights of Moshi with the clouds rolling in around 10 am - this is the reason for the summit plan - summit in the morning to get the views! The moon was a sliver for the 5th night and summit night, which made the stars seem even brighter! Trying to keep calm so I could sleep (just like waiting for Christmas morning to arrive as a kid), I snuggled into my sleeping bag and kept positive thoughts - our day to summit is tomorrow - 1 day that I have been waiting to do for over 20 years - can't wait!