Kilimanjaro: Hahn & Team Mweka Gate to the Dik Dik
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Our climb finished with an easy and pleasant trip from 10,000 ft to the 6,000 ft trailhead this morning. We all counted ourselves lucky to have blue skies over our breakfast table... One more lucky day, it seemed. After breakfast, the entire staff gathered and sang the Kilimanjaro Jambo song -with feeling and gusto. The team members then shook hands with each and every man, expressing gratitude for a bunch of jobs well-done. We knew that our "luck" and success on the climb... and our enjoyment of it, came in large part from the efforts of these dedicated professionals. We set out down the heavily forested trail at about 8:30 AM and had made it to the Mweka Gate -the finish, in under three hours.
After signing out of the National Park, we crowded into our great expedition truck/bus and started down through the banana and coffee plantations. We cruised through the outskirts of Moshi and then hit the road west toward Arusha. Mid-drive, the staff had arranged a picnic for us at a roadside eatery. We relaxed and sipped a few cool beverages with our lunch and then clambered back into the big green adventure vehicle. Our homecoming at the Dik Dik Hotel was the occasion for a few more great songs and dances and then we headed off to our rooms for a relaxed afternoon of showers, gear sorting, napping and catching up with communications.
The evening was time for a fine victory dinner. We ate, we celebrated, we talked about the upcoming safari. We'll set out first thing tomorrow for a few more Tanzanian national parks. Our only trouble is that we are getting very spoiled... our expectations are sky high.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
×
