Today our Orlando Kilimanjaro Team slept in after a long flight. We organized gear and got ready for our upcoming climb. After lunch we explored the area and visited an orphanage where the beautiful children of this area touched our hearts. Please visit tupendanechildren.org.
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Kel Rossiter led our Summit Climb teams to the top of Mount Rainier this morning. Their views spanned out to Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and other peaks in the Cascade Mountains. Both teams began their descent after 8:15 a.m.
Congratulations Summit Climb Teams!
Jambo! This is Seth checking in. I finally received my luggage and can now begin to send reports from the mountain. I have to thank the wonderful staff at the Dik Dik hotel for getting my bag delivered to 12,500' on Kilimanjaro.
The group is all doing really well. We have had two excellent days on the trek so far. Our camp tonight is at the Shira Plateau which gives us a wonderful view of the summit. The weather has been just fine as well. We had a few drops of rain yesterday but we had already arrived in camp when that started. Everyone is climbing strong. I'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Jambo from Africa everyone!
We have had an exciting last two days as we made our way to Tarangire National Park, known for their abundance of elephants, in fact, they have more elephants per square kilometer than any other place on earth.
Yesterday we spent about four hours driving through the park, which is mostly a savannah with a river running through it. We saw hundreds of elephants, zebra, wildebeest, Impala, Élan and plenty of other wildlife too.
We spent the night out in the African bush in a remote tented camp called Kikoti that overlooks Tarangire Park. We arrived to watch the beautiful sunset one last time and then enjoyed yet another wonderful meal.
Today we finished our safari with our drive back through Tarangire where we had hoped to see a leopard or cheetah, but sadly it wasn't to be. We have all enjoyed our last few days here in Africa and everyone is looking forward to getting back to the Dik Dik Hotel for one last shower before heading to the airport.
Missing all of our families and most of our friends ;)
Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy crew
Kilimanjaro...Kilimanjaro!!! Team Orlando is in full effect!! The entire team flew together to Tanzania and we just finished a great dinner. I am going to let you know why I love guiding here in Africa...The People!
It has been two years since my last trip here and as soon as I arrived I was welcomed with the kindest smiles and warmest hugs. Our local staff are like family to me and it's so nice to see how lovely they treat our teams.
We are so happy to be here!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
At 7:10 a.m. RMI Guide Brent Okita radioed from the top of Columbia Crest, the highest point in Washington! There were 30 – 35 mph winds this morning and nice weather. The cloud deck is below Camp Muir. The teams will spend some time on the summit before starting their descent.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and his Expeditions Skills Seminar - Emmons will be traveling back to Rainier Base Camp later today.
Hello once again everyone
This was a marvelous day as we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, considered by some to be the 8th wonder of the world. We started early with hopes of catching more of the elusive wildlife.
Today we saw more Zebras, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, gazelles than anyone expected, in fact at such close range that we could almost touch them. We also saw plenty of hyenas, ostrich, Impala, hippos and got very close to a few lions, which was a highlight for everyone and even managed to spot a Rhino off in the distance. Needless to say it was a wonderful day of well deserved safari.
We then wrapped up the day with a visit to a working Maasai village. The Maasai are the local nomadic people that have inhabited this area for more than a thousand years and still try to exist with their same way of life.
Finally we returned to the amazing Plantation lodge to relax and enjoy another wonderful meal.
All is well!
RMI Guide Casey Grom
7:05 a.m. PT
Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs, and Zeb Blais called in after their successful Mount Rainier summit! The teams ascended the Disappointment Cleaver Route in chilly temperatures, winds about 30 mph, and clear skies. Their ascent took 5 ½ hours.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
Update 10:33 a.m. PT
Pete Van Deventer called from the Mount Rainier summit! At 10:20 a.m. the Expedition Skills Seminar team reached the top via the Emmons Glacier Route. They will spend some time taking in the summit views before descending back to Camp Schurman. We look forward to congratulating them in person tomorrow when they descend off the mountain.
I'm actually going to be very honest and open myself up a little here... but I'm actually sad that my adventures in Russia are coming to an end. It was another incredible season on Elbrus and as usual it is the best way to finish the adventure here in St. Petersburg!! Our team spent the day touring this incredible city and yes...We were all on a boat this evening touring the Venice of The North!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Today was our first day of safari and we headed to Lake Manyara National Park. It took a little over 2 hours to get there as we drove through Arusha and then the vast rural savannah of Tanzania. It's situated at the base of the eastern Great Rift Escarpment, and is home the the famous tree climbing lions, over 450 different birds, huge troops of baboons, hippos, and most of the other African animals.
It's been rather dry this year and unfortunately we didn't see the famous lions, but we did see plenty of other wildlife up close.
After spending a couple of hours of safari we made our way to the wonderful Plantation Lodge where we've been enjoying being spoiled and just finished another fantastic meal.
Everyone is doing great and are excited to see what tomorrow brings as we head to Ngorongoro Crater.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Love the updates! So excited for all of you! Have a fantastic time and be safe! Xo
Posted by: Jamie on 8/8/2015 at 7:08 am
Dale and team, wishing you all the very best! How you are ELL having fun and taking it in!!
To the young folks. Take care of Mr Dale!!!
Posted by: Ken nason on 8/7/2015 at 3:58 pm
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