Entries from Kilimanjaro
Jambo from Kilimanjaro-
We are checking in from Camp One, Machame Camp at 9,800' and everyone is doing great.
We woke early this morning and had a nice breakfast at the Dik Dik. We loaded the vehicle and after a quick stop at the open air meat market we reached the Machame Entrance Gate at 6,000'. After some photos and the fun began as we started on the trail. Being a cloud forest it held true for most of the climb but now here at 10,000' the skies are clear and beautiful. We have clear views of the summit and associated glaciers and life is good here in the very comfortable dinning tent.
Have a nice day,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
It's all coming together now. We made our final preparations today here in the town of Usa River Tanzania, located at the base of the tallest mountain on this continent. Myself and eight hearty souls are taking on the challenge of climbing Kilimanjaro starting tomorrow. It will be tough to leave the luxury of our lodge but the team is fired up for the adventure ahead. A very nice group of folk have started to bond here in the lowlands and and a tight nit team is just a few days and thousands of feet uphill.
Early tomorrow morning we will leave for the trail head and start our climb to the "Roof of Africa".
Stay tuned,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hi Everyone,
I am Taylor’s mom. I hope you all have an amazing experience. I’ll be thinking about all of you, but mostly about Taylor. Be safe and have fun!
Odette
Posted by: Odette Hankins on 7/11/2016 at 3:51 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Well, we are closing out another great day on safari. The main difference today is that we are all going home instead of staying in a hotel.
It's been a marvelous trip made exceptional with a very successful Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari. We had great animal viewing everyday and today we were up close with more elephants, giraffes and two female lions. It's just been non stop action for almost two weeks.
We will be having one last meal together before leaving for the airport in about an hour and a half. Then it's a long set of flights for everyone on our way back to the US.
Both of my Kilimanjaro climbs and safaris have been really special which is 100% due to the fun folks that joined RMI, and to the Dik Dik staff that goes way above what you could expect out of an in-country outfitter.
Thanks everyone!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hey there. This is Seth calling in from Kikoti Camp way on the far side of Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. We are on the last part of our trip here. Today on safari was great with lots of elephants very close to the car and plenty of other stuff to see in Tarangire. Weather was really clear today. No rain insight for us that's for sure. About 90 degrees in Tarangire and totally clear skies almost all day long. We're going to all meet up for dinner around 7:00 for our first evening celebration as a team. Tomorrow we'll get up fairly early to head back into the city of Arusha back to the Dik Dik Hotel. We'll have one more dinner together tomorrow night before we all head to the airport to be on the same flight out on KLM at about 10:00 tomorrow night. Closing in our last day of the trip. It's been great. Not sure if everybody wants to leave but we are getting back to the USA. I'll check in when we are heading out to the airport from the Dik Dik Hotel.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls in from Kikoti Camp, Tarangire National Park.
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We are wrapping up day two of our safari and its been really great! We all got up early and were out the door just after 7 a.m. It was a quick drive to the entrance of Ngorongoro Conservation Area and after checking in with the rangers we made our way up to an overlook on the crater rim. There wasn't a cloud in the sky so the view was amazing.
Before dropping to the bottom of the crater we stopped at a Maasai village where we were welcomed with a dance and a song and then took a tour of their boma (enclosed group of huts).
Once we got down to the crater floor things started a little slow but after an hour we spotted the first of five Rhinos. They were progressively closer to the road as we encountered them. The rhinos were great but we still hadn't seen any lions. That changed rather quickly as the day continued. We spotted a lone female who was up and moving within 50 yards of the cars. Then we drive up on four other females lying in the road! As we pulled up one of them even moved under our car to get some shade. That's about as close as you can get!
Everyone has amazing pictures and videos to take home now and we still have two more days of safari!
What will we see tomorrow? We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and team
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello! We have started the safari with a real treat. After being in Lake Manyara National Park for about 20 minutes we had a herd of elephants walk right in between our two cars. Enjoy the close-up video below.
They are really amazing animals and our group was really happy to see the giant pachyderms up close. We'll continue on our game drive for another hour or so before heading to the Plantation Lodge for the evening.
Tomorrow we will head to Ngorongoro Crater and visit a Maasai Village. I'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello from the Dik Dik Hotel. We are all off the mountain and enjoying a fun evening recounting our adventure.
We awoke early this morning and were treated to a pancake breakfast with fresh fruit and coffee. After that we had a really fun closing ceremony with the Dik Dik staff.
There was a small matter of a three-hour hike to the park gate but it was enjoyable and there was no rain!
We were all pretty happy to get a hot shower after a week of camping and now everyone is looking forward to sleeping on a bed!
Tomorrow we start our safari at Lake Manyara and we will be staying at the Plantation Lodge. I'll check in again from there.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hi this is Seth checking in from our last camp on Kilimanjaro. We are all down from the summit safe and sound.
We had a great climb that started off with a pretty good snow storm for Tanzania and ended with clear skies on top. Everyone made it to Uhuru Peak as well which was great. That makes 100% success for my two trips this season.
After the summit we had sunny skies back to high camp where we had a late breakfast and a brief rest. Following that we made our way down the notoriously steep Mweka descent trail to our final camp.
Of course we had a few rain showers get to us on the way down. That has just been the nature of Kili this season but we are all dry in our tents and planning on an early dinner.
Tomorrow we will head out in the morning and expect to be back at the Dik Dik hotel by early afternoon. Our safari starts the next morning!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls in from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
On The Map
Congratulations, Seth and climbers. Clean sweep to start the year!! Have a great safari.
Posted by: Derek Fuller on 1/31/2016 at 10:46 am
Congrats team and Seth!
Posted by: Mike Riley on 1/31/2016 at 10:24 am
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Jambo! We have just pulled into High Camp. Our tent sites are on the low side of camp so I'm calling the elevation 14,900'. The group did great again today. We have all been moving as one cohesive unit which will make the climb tonight go really smooth.
Our weather has taken a turn for the better with a clear night last night and an absolutely perfect morning. The team got a great view of the upper slopes of Kili at breakfast this morning and it looked so good they said, "If it was a President it would be Baber-ham Lincoln."
They really thought that joke was funny, I think it's the altitude kicking in.
We are up here with plenty of time to rest, fuel up and prepare for the long climb to the summit tonight. The next time I check in will be from up top so wish us luck!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Good afternoon from Kilimanjaro. The group is all doing good after a really strong showing on the trail today. We are at Karanga Valley which sits at 13,100ft and is our last camp before high camp.
We tackled the Barranco Wall this morning and had a pretty smooth ascent up the steep slopes. We climbed it in exactly 1.5 hours which is what we were aiming for. When we were about 2/3 of the way up we could look back down on last night's camp which looked like a camp for ants. The rest of the way felt like a dance off with a bunch of ups and downs.
Everyone agreed that this was the most picturesque day so far.
We're all relaxing now before dinner and tomorrow we head up to Barafu Camp at 15,000ft. I'll check back in from there.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
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Glad to hear things are going well. I am certain that the views are breathtaking and that the climb is strenuous but exhilarating. My best to all of you!
Odette Hankins
Taylor’s mom in Cleveland, Ohio
Posted by: Odette Hankins on 7/13/2016 at 7:33 am
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