The Explorer
January/February 2004
News from the Bush!
Finally rain! Several weeks ago the Alamana Camp in The Ngaroi officially opened for the season despite an acute absence
of rain making the short grass plains a place that at first glance was devoid of any game whatsoever. Of course these
peripheral wildlife areas always retain an element of resident game whose hardiness is almost unbelievable yet seem to
weather even the toughest years of bad grazing.
Thankfully it only took a few days of thundershowers for the parched grasslands to turn into a myriad of lush greens irresistible to the multitude of migratory hoof stock already on the edges of The Ngaroi.
The rush of excitement as one is woken by the thundering hooves of a large herd of Zebra will never loose its thrill for me and the added excitement of sitting on the veranda of my tent and seeing this as the sun rose over Oldonyoi Lengai on a crisp January morning is about as good as it gets!
We've all been busy in many different directions with the season in full swing and with the never ending changes and up-grades to the camps requiring even more input from us all we have had a full work docket. Despite this over the past 4 weeks all three of Wildlife Explorer's main management team have found time to separately conquer Tanzania 's three highest mountains!
Kilimanjaro, Meru and Lengai Madness!
The 4 weeks after Christmas was unusual in as much as Godfrey climbed Oldonyoi Lengai, Marianne climbed Kilimanjaro and I climbed Mount Meru !
All three of us of course have had experience of each of the three mountains before but with opportunities cascading on each of us to hike the peaks over such a short period of time it seemed only sensible to don our walking boots and hit the trail!
Godfrey started the ascents by taking on Oldonyoi Lengai over Christmas with Mylene and Gian Marc. Mylene had hoped to descend by paraglider but weather and geographic conditions prevented that plan so the three of them ascended and descended the normal way.
Oldonyoi Lengai is Tanzania 's only active volcano and with daily movement of lava flows at the crater on the summit is one of the most exciting climbs we have in East Africa.
Oldonyoi Lengai is especially interesting as it is accessible from the Alamana Camp in The Ngaroi and do-able in one day with an especially early start to summit around day break.
Next up was Mount Meru and yours truly! Having last spent time on the slopes of Meru some 5 years ago it was with some
trepidation that at 04.30 we set off for the start point in the forest reserve south of the mountain rather than the
more well travelled route through the national park.
Accompanied by good friends Johnny Moses and Mike Peterson, the one day attempt to ascend, summit and return home was ambitious to the extreme and has now earned the name of suicide stupidity amongst other less easily published descriptions!
Mount Meru stands at a little over 15,000 feet and reputation wise in the Shadow of Kilimanjaro, unjustly so in my view as the normal route through Arusha National Park is not only breathtakingly scenic but also as exhilarating a final ascent along a knife edge ridge as one could ask for.
Our ascent through bamboo forests and alpine meadows soon gave way to the more dramatic grey volcanic rocks of the upper
slopes with dramatic ridges and valleys seemingly presenting themselves from nowhere. The vibrant colours of the many
different wildflowers, beautiful calls from Colobus monkeys, Trogons and Parrots all added to the experience lower down
whilst the drama of the rock formations on the upper slopes needed nothing more than a break in the clouds to take ones
breath away.
We had to content ourselves on the final stages with bad visibility however the exertion was sufficient notification that Meru had been climbed!
The ascent for me was the hardest with knees popping and seldom used muscles crying out in anguish however, on arrival home, luxuriating in a hot bath with a glass of Shiraz the pain was quickly overshadowed by the experience!
Marianne conquers Africa 's highest summit!
I have lived 2 hours away from Mount Kilimanjaro for the past 12 years, but could never bring myself to attempt to reach its peak - there was always something else to do on my holidays, like going to the beach! All this changed in January 2004 when both my husband and I were invited to Climb Africa's highest peak.
Not only the ascent would be guided by one of our closest friends and Tanzania's best mountain guide, but we were going to go via the Shira Route - this was too much to resist and we soon began excitedly to make plans for who was going to look after the kids during our absence, borrow clothes and boots, and go to the gym (well the one time we tried there was a power cut and all the machines were down - we jumped rope though!).
It takes 7 nights on the mountain to climb via the Shira Plateau Route. This slower and longer ascent allows the body to acclimatize slowly to the altitude, thus increasing by a wide margin the chances of success. Accommodation is in pristine private camps and not in crowded huts or campsites, which gives us the impression that we are all alone on the tallest freestanding mountain in the World. The last ascent night is spent inside the actual Kibo Crater in a private camp set on the crater floor itself, right next to icebergs, at 18500 feet. Apart from its stunning location, the position of the camp is only 2 hours hike to the summit the next day, which can be done at first light. This is not possible on any other route where climbers need to hike the best part of the night in order to reach the summit.
Our climb started on a Monday - the week before, a storm had hit Northern Tanzania, covering Kilimanjaro with abundant snow. It had been raining regularly and we had nightmares about slugging through rain at 16000 feet. But we were lucky. The weather was fantastic throughout.
After driving to the Western Park Gate of Londorossi, we walked for about 3 hours though undisturbed forest to our first camp, at 9000 feet. We were welcomed warmly by our porters - who seemed already surprised that we made it that far - and shown to our heavy duty tents. The set up is luxurious by mountain standards far exceeding any other outfitters on the mountain, with hot water to wash hands and face, hot drinks and snacks in the mess tent, and an array of different types of food at mealtimes, with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. I was already wondering if the altitude was going to make a dent in my usual big appetite (you will be happy to know that it didn't, I did not fail to eat heartily even at 18000 feet, much to my companion's dismay).
The next two days took us through the stunning Shira Plateau, a World Heritage Site: we took our time walking through the forest and spotting various species of birds and plants, as well as through the upper heath zone. From there we had the first daunting good views of the Western Breach, which was the way by which we were going to climb.
Day 4 showed a more radical change of habitat, the alpine zone. We hiked 6 hours that day an our camp had been set up at 14300 feet, next to the Lava Tower, a 300 foot high volcanic lava plug which juts out of the side of the mountain.
The next day was an easy-ish 2 hours hike - we were keeping our strength for the two next days which promised to be the hardest. Still we camped at 16000 feet and had a small snow fall, it was hard to imagine that we were in Africa. The total hiking time on day 7 was over 6 hours, but we climbed slowly and steadily up to the crater floor. Half-way up the rock face we found our lunch laid out for us in between a few boulders by Happymac, our cook. In addition to feeding us in every situation possible, he wore tennis shoes all the way though - a true hero.
In spite of the hard climb that day, we arrived relatively fresh on the crater floor, and decided to take a look at the inner crater and the ash pit. Little did we know it would take another hour to reach, and we were already exhausted. To top it all a harsh wind and snow was blowing in our faces: we were not happy and a mutiny was brewing among the ranks! We softened up when our camp came to view, snuggled up next to magnificient glaciers. Dinner was swift that night, everyone feeling the biting cold, and the altitude to a small degree. The next morning however we were all ready for the summit, and took off at 06.30 am amid cheers from our porters and crew. We reached the highest peak in Africa by 08.00 am, and it was an amazing feeling. We were on our own and the views were stunning - it was a very emotional moment for all of us 'first timers'.
The walk down the mountain via the Mweka Route, although long, was not unpleasant, especially as we could talk away without gasping for breath. It was not before lunchtime that we met other climbers - we had spent 7 days on this famous mountain and had not met another soul! Our last night in Camp was spent congratulating ourselves and toasting our success.
A very memorable adventure.
Community Conservation
An interesting part of my work these days is with the communities that allow Wildlife Explorer exclusive use of some of the most beautiful and game rich areas in Northern Tanzania.
Our agreements with the communities have been forged over more than 13 years and rely as much on personal mutual respect as they do on the official legal contracts between company and community, something that thankfully potential interlopers find almost impossible to emulate.
Negotiation between us and the village government involves many lengthy meetings on a time scale that would infuriate other Captains of Commerce but which to Godfrey and I merely adds to the colour of the experience!
Recently we have been involved in the process of renewal of The Ngaroi contract, which has seen Godfrey and I journeying backwards and forwards to Arash in the Loliondo district, close to the borders of The Ngaroi.
These journeys seldom follow the same path each time and are used more as exploratory safaris to eek out even more information on the areas between Arusha and The Ngaroi. As anyone will know I love to run with gazelles across the open plains and use every opportunity to explore new corners of our paradise!
The village meetings themselves seldom follow a set time frame and never conform to what would be considered a regular format!
Arrival at the meeting place, which when we first started working with Arash was under a large fig tree in the village center, is heralded by the Masai elders leaning their walking sticks and rungus against the neighbouring trees in a gesture of respect to the other community members whilst the younger warriors do the same with their spears, burying them in the soil with a resounding thud!
Anyone in the community has a right to voice their opinion in open meetings so the process of decision making can be lengthy but certainly not boring! Members of the community stumbling into the meetings under the influence of honeybeer, a particularly potent and, I have to say, delicious brew, are gently escorted away with a lot of laughter!
The utilisation of The Ngaroi by Wildlife Explorer has always been about exclusivity and the delicate balance of providing benefits to the community in a responsible fashion.
Arash always appreciated our efforts to protect the delicate grasslands which provide valuable grazing for the community herds and the wildlife as well as our commitment to community development, so the renewal of our contract was embraced unanimously, allowing our guests to continue to enjoy the exclusivity that only Wildlife Explorer can boast.
At the final meeting Godfrey and I and several of the elders were invited to sample the first roasted meats prepared in the acaia smoke of a slow burning fire. The liver was produced with much glee roasted gently on an acacia twig along with a gourd of liquid that I still have not identified! We were all handed chunks of rare liver which left trails of bloody juice on our chins and which I have to admit was delicious!
As I mentioned before - a colourful experience!
With continued development at The Ngaroi including Horseback Safaris, increased Walking routes and The Rift Valley Experience it is always good to know that the community supports us 100%.
News from Olerai
Well again I am sat in my tent at The Alamana Camp at The Ngaroi whilst all around me the sounds of an African Dawn
herald yet another day in paradise! The plains are green and camp is full of animals both of the grass eating variety
and meat eating type!
Last evening around the camp-fire over cocktails a pride of Lions serenaded our gin and tonics whilst the al fresco supper had sound effects from the resident Rock Hyraxes on the kopje at the back of the lounge tent spooked by a wandering wild cat interested in making the squealing creatures into an h'ourderve!
Back at Olerai, Hannah is in the midst of her mock IGCSE exams, Jamie rode her horse to school for the first time and Hunter, having reached the tender age of 3 years old last weekend, whiles away his free time playing in the boat with the purple engine now permanently moored by his climbing frame!
Jo continues to be as beautiful as ever and hopefully will be my valentine!
With warm wishes,
Gary & Jo.
