The First Few Days

Well, we’re in Moshi, Tanzania in the final stages of packing and preparation for the start of our Kilimanjaro climb tomorrow – so we thought it timely to provide a bit of an update on the first few days of our trip – which in some senses have flown by though when thinking about what we’ve seen so far, our departure from Melbourne feels like so long ago…

Our transit was broken up by a 20 hour stop-over in Doha, Qatar – so we took the opportunity to see a few sights.  Doha itself was an absolute maze of construction and development – with much of it in preparation for the 2022 World Cup– interspersed with beautiful Islamic architecture.  It was difficult to get around – partly because of the heat (some 38 degrees) while we were wearing full-length dress and partly because of how scared we were of crossing the road – pedestrian walkways and lights were scarce and the Doha driving was an experience unto itself!  We did manage to experience amazing food at the Souq Waqif (Gold Market) and venture to the Villagio Shopping Centre– which was like stepping into Vegas – complete with ice skating rink and rollercoasters.  One of my favourite moments from our time in Doha was the 5am taxi ride to the airport when the streets were filled with people out for morning prayer as the sun was rising – a spectacular sight.

Between the Doha stop-over and some last minute re-routing of our plane from Nairobi to Dar Es Salaam, we had all but convinced ourselves that our bags would not arrive in Moshi at the same time as us.  Fortunately we were wrong - our arrival into Moshi could not have gone more smoothly and our bags were some of the first to come onto the carousel.  We were met at the airport by Moses from Hidden Valley Safaris (the company we are doing the Kilimanjaro climb with) who brought us into Moshi.  We had booked our first two nights in Moshi independently from Hidden Valley Safaris – partly due to the cost but also because the accommodation used by Hidden Valley is a way out of Moshi’s centre and we wanted to give ourselves some time to get to know the place a little.  We are both so pleased with this decision as our time in Moshi gave us some wonderful insight into the place – and what a place it is!

Our friends and family who have been to Africa before have told us there’s nothing quite like it – we completely agree, though can’t even begin to describe it and won't try here as we won’t begin to do it justice.   This place is an absolute whirlwind….

During our walks around Moshi yesterday morning, we came across the office of the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project, who provide training and advocacy for porters and loan basic climbing equipment. It was quite distressing to hear about the conditions some climbing companies place on porters.  KPAP’s push for particular employment conditions for porters seems to be a sensitive and political topic – made all the more complex by the fact that KPAP is an initiative of a USA-based non-governmental organisation, advocating for conditions within Tanzanian-run businesses.  Nonetheless, our visit to KPAP provided us with greater awareness of the conditions of porters on Kilimanjaro climbs and some practical things we, as climbers, can do and look out for in relation to the treatment of the men who are working as porters on our climb.   

It appears that, apart from the Kilimanjaro Climb, Moshi tourist activities are mainly comprised of day trips to coffee and banana plantations or local waterfalls, and the Moshi streets are filled with tour guides touting their business – some of whom are connected to a tourist office, some working independently and others who seem to jump behind the desk of any office in town, with a small payment to a office manager.  One of the most admirably persistent such guides was a young man called Abuje – to whom we stated that we were not interested in a tours but invited him to have a drink with us instead.  Abuje is a bright young man with such a gift for storytelling and shared with us stories of his upbringing, life with his girlfriend Barbara and one-year old son Hillsun, and his work establishing an out of school hours program for kids in his township next to a rice field a few kilometres outside of Moshi.  Alick and I agreed to go with Abuje that afternoon to see the work that he was doing there – and the afternoon truly was an unforgettable experience.  The out-of-hours program was not actually on (someone had forgotten to turn up with the keys?) but it was such an amazing opportunity to see the community, meet Barbara and Hillsun and spend some time with the gorgeous kids who had turned up to attend the program.   The program Abuje has been involved in is called the Kilimanjaro Youth Skills and Talent Centre and the project sponsors (I think they’re from Germany?) have set up a website at www.kystc.com.

This was also really the first place we've been to where we have felt it appropriate to take photos (the kids loved the camera!). The first picture is of Abuje and Hillsun.

Getting home from Abuje’s community proved somewhat difficult, however thanks to Abuje’s assistance it did mean that Alick and I got the opportunity experience our first Dala Dala (local mini-bus)!

This morning we checked out of our Hotel in the centre of Moshi and have moved to the resort booked through Hidden Valley – Sal Salinero.  It is a different world from the Moshi we have been in – it is absolutely vast with beautifully manicured gardens, swimming pool and more space in our hotel room than we know what to do with.  We were warned by many friends and family to be prepared for the African culture shock, yet as strange as it sounds, it feels like that culture shock has only really hit us since being at Sal Salinero and seeing the direct contrast from where we have been over the last few days and just how out of reach our lifestyle is for so many, sending many thoughts and conflicts churning in both our heads at the moment….

This evening we met the other four travellers in our climbing group and received our pre-departure briefing from Manneseh, the Hidden Valley Safari Director - who has assured us that the climb should be very relaxing (?!)…we’ll see.  The nerves about the climb are certainly kicking in for both of us about now.  We are travelling with another Australian, two women from the States, a Colombian man and there is also a 7^th group member arriving before the morning.

And on that note, we’d best head to bed and get some sleep before day one of the climb starts!   Last night the clouds cleared enough for us to get a view of the top - so this is where we'll be from tomorrow.