Kempinski Zanzibar
The Zamani Zanzibar Kempinski Hotel is offering a 7×5 promotion! Stay 7 nights and pay for only 5 nights November 1 – December 18, 2008.
Kempinski is a world-class luxury resort located on the northeast part of Zanzibar Island. Amenities include:
Prices start at $445/room/night half board.
Categories: Tanzania
Tanzania:
A Combination of Geology, Culture, Nature
By
Theresa Daus-Weber
From the thin air of 19, 340-foot Uhuru Peak on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro through the crater of the Great Rift Valley, the Serengeti’s exotic wildlife, and the shelter for Moshi street children, visiting Tanzania was as enlightening as it was memorable. Sunrise on the Roof of Africa on August 1, 2008 was definitely the trip’s highlight.
Since participating in the2006 Mexican volcanoes climb that included the summit of Orizaba (18,700 feet), the third highest point in North America, I wanted to participate in another mountain trip offered by Marshall Ulrich, a Seven Summitter and an ultrarunning friend for the last 20 years.
With the motivation to find the elevation where I am affected by altitude and the desire to see exotic Africa, I was the first to sign up for Marshall’s next Team Stray Dogs Kilimanjaro climb that included a five-day safari to three of Tanzania’s stunning wildlife parks.
Team Stray Dog at the summit of Kilimanjaro
Going to Africa
Arriving in Tanzania at the Kilimanjaro Airport in Moshi, a small international city with a population of about 150,000 and it seemed about an equivalent number of cell phone company bill boards, I was surprised at the developed aspects of the airport. I erroneously expected chaos, broken infrastructure, a cacophony of languages all framed in sweltering humidity. Baggage claim was streamlined since I had no baggage to claim. I learned that missing climbers’ luggage at the Kilimanjaro airport is routine and arrives in a day or two just in time to pack mountaineering gear for the trek.
An efficient European manufactured van drove us from the airport through the quite dark night to the tour company’s hotel. The low-pressure shower and mosquito netting over the bed was welcomed and the equatorial landscaping was lovely. Mt Kilimanjaro information, maps, paintings, climbing and safari tourist guests throughout the hotel telling stories of their Tanzanian adventures and safari jeeps packed in the hotel’s small parking lot raised the excitement for the mountain that allowed only a brief view through the clouds.
The tour company liaison, Phillip, Anderson our guide, and Seni the assistant guide, conducted a professional, informative, efficient meeting explaining what we needed to know about the trip and set our departure time for the next morning.
The Roof of Africa
After an hour drive in the van crammed with the six Stray Dogs 35-pound “porter bag” packed with our sleeping bag, pad, and mountain clothing that porters would carry on their heads throughout the trek, we arrived at the Machame Gate (6,000’) of the Kilimanjaro National Park. The paved drive out of Moshi to the gate turned to a dirt road surrounded by lush coffee and banana plantations edged with brilliant equatorial decorative plants and flowers. Many of these robust plants I recognized on a small-scale as the houseplants in our American homes.
The permitting process to enter the park was long due to the large number of tourists and their touring companies who were also obtaining permits that day. In all there were 350 tourists and supporting porters, cooks, and guides surrounding us on the trails daily and at each of the camps through our week on the mountain. Trekking Kilimanjaro during high season is not a private experience and while the government has made strides in managing tourism on the mountain, the impact of the high number of trekkers and their supporting touring companies is sadly evident.
When permitting was completed Team Stray Dogs started the 13,340-foot ascent of Mt Kilimanjaro from the rain forest filled with blue monkeys and lush vegetation that covered the trail with a living canopy. Surprisingly the rain forest was not muddy and we encountered no rain on our way to the first night’s camp at 10,200 feet.
For the 5 days of the trek to Barafu Camp at 15,100 feet we hiked short distances averaging 7 miles at a very slow pace intended to acclimate trekkers. At midnight of summit day, we woke fully rested since each of the day’s short hikes preceding summit day provided us 9 to 10 hours of rest. We hoisted our packs full of gear we would need to summit that we packed the evening before began climbing in temperate, no wind conditions under a clear starlit sky.
Feeling at ease and strong on the dark, high trail but anxiously wondering the outcome of the attempt, I resigned to the group’s pace that would cause us to miss sunrise on the summit. I filled the time by assisting the guides with the hikers affected by altitude and being grateful that the climb continued to be easy for me and that the weather continued to e so pleasant. Slightly before 6:00 am we reached Stella Point on the crater at 18,600 feet to view the gorgeous sunrise. Shortly after the spectacular sunrise I joyfully summitted Uhuru Peak surveying the world from the Roof of Africa and was thankful for the circumstance of a successful summit.
Descending from the summit we stopped at Barafu Camp to pack gear that we left 10 hours before and descended to the muddy rain forest camp. While it was good to leave the muddy camp and head to the shower in our Moshi hotel I was sad to leave magnificent Mount Kilimanjaro. After breakfast on our last day we presented gifts to porters that we brought from home and mountaineering gear that we used during our trek. In gratitude the porters danced to their soulful and simultaneously proud and enthusiastic a cappella Kilimanjaro and Mawenzi Song.
Good-bye, Kilimanjaro, and thank you—very much.
After the Summit: Orphanages and Safari
Before leaving for Africa I received donations from my employer, TeleTech, for the two orphanages that are sponsored by our travel company’s charity, Charities Within Reach. After climbing Kilimanjaro, we visited the TunaHAKI orphanage in Moshi that houses orphans and street children. At TunaHAKI the kids are taught acrobatics as a skill to make money when they are older. While Swahili is the first language of the orphanage’s school age residents, they readily understood and spoke English as they accepted school supplies and candy that we distributed.
Guide Laurie Bagley (left) and Theresa Daus-Weber distribute school supplies at TunaHAKI orphanage in Moshi.
The Stray Dogs Kilimanjaro trip included a fantastic 5-day safari. The itinerary efficiently included a comprehensive tour of three locations combining rare geological features, authentic Maasai culture and villages, and rich animal life. From Lake Manyara’s rare tree lions lounging in a stately African Acacia tree within 20 feet of the open top Land Cruiser, to being surrounded by the herds of grazing zebra, giraffes, elephants, and wildebeest we catch glimpses of lion cubs hidden in the grass and the cheetah mother and cub within 20 yards of the Land Cruiser. The lone lion whose full mane and head looked more enormous moving past our vehicle than it appears on National Geographic TV broadcasts. Our safari included a visit to Olduvai Gorge where Drs. Louise and Mary Leakey conducted their pioneering anthropological studies of human origins. Our last safari day took us to Ngorongoro Crater with the hope of seeing one of only 18 remaining black rhinoceros living in the crater. These rare creatures are highly protected by law enforcement watching the 26-mile wide crater from the rim through telescopes.
Observations of Tanzania
The 2-week trip offered an opportunity to observe aspects of Tanzania. Here are some observations that linger with me.
About the Author
A resident of the mountains in Colorado, Theresa is a Leadville Trail 100 champion and has completed that high-altitude ultra 11 times among the 130 ultras she finished throughout the world. Theresa has summitted many of Colorado’s 54 14,000-foot peaks.
Categories: Tanzania
I recently talked to someone who was bragging about paying $1000 for a 6-day Machame trek. The climbing team had 22 guides and porters for the 4 clients. Yes, that seems like a great deal to the client, but let’s take a closer look.
Just for national park fees per the Tanzania National Parks website, the fees into the Kilimanjaro National Park are
Assuming the staff of 22 included 1 guide, 1 cook, and 20 porters, the total national park fees for the entire climbing group of staff and clients comes to $3930.
The clients paid $1000 each, so $4000 total. That leaves $70 total to cover food, transportation, salaries, lodging before and after the climb, and all equipment.
I realize that it is not uncommon to pay (bribe) someone at the Kilimanjaro park gate to reduce the national park fees for a climbing group, so maybe my total fee calculation is a little high. However, I am still a little skeptical about how much the staff actually received in salaries from the outfitter. I would also question whether the staff of 22 was with the climbers the entire trek, or if many of them just showed up at tipping time.
The Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) states “Porters can be severely underpaid and many climb Kilimanjaro without adequate clothing, footwear, or equipment. Like climbers, porters can suffer from altitude sickness and hypothermia.”
I also agree with KPAP when they say “Those who have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro know that the porters are the heart and soul of your trek. Without their hard work and strength we would not be able to fully experience the magnificence of Kili. But the truth is porters are often impoverished Tanzanians who depend on this labor-intensive employment in order to feed themselves and their families.”
I just ask that people booking a Kilimanjaro trek look closely at how much they are paying for a trek versus what they are getting and not turn a blind eye to the treatment of Kilimanjaro porters.
Categories: Kilimanjaro · Tanzania
Categories: Peru
10. You can live without a Starbuck’s within 3 blocks of you.
9. You don’t want to travel where Paris Hilton vacations.
8. You think blue toilet paper is “neat”.
7. You love exploring new places and learning about other cultures.
6. You want to see the Southern Cross in the sky in your lifetime.
5. A good price for a great experience is just what you are looking for.
4. The sound of lions outside your tent at night, the sound of Buddhist monks chanting, the sound of Quechua children singing to you is all music to your ears.
3. You like quick, personal, and expert service when booking a once in a lifetime trip.
2. Giving back to the community where you visit makes you feel good.
1. You just LOVE to travel, and we are just 1 click away!
Categories: News
If you have searched for a Galapagos cruise for the Christmas or New Year holidays and found them all to be booked up, we can help! There is still space available on the Princess of the Galapagos December 23, 2008 through January 6, 2009, or we can book an 8-day island hopping tour. Now is the time to book your Christmas Galapagos cruise and your New Years Galapagos cruise!
Prices:
Itinerary:
Princess of the Galapagos
Instead of a live aboard ship, you can “island hop” to the different islands while staying at hotels on land. There are daily departures, and this is a great option if the cruises are full or if you prefer not to live on a boat for a week.
The 8-day itinerary includes San Cristobal, Lobos, Santa Cruz, and Isabela Islands. You will see sea lions, boobies, frigate birds, iguanas, Galapagos turtles, volcanoes, the Charles Darwin Station, and so much more. There will also be time to enjoy the beach and snorkel with rays, seals, and beautiful fish.
Pricing:
Categories: Galapagos
