All is well here at 10,000ft Machame Camp, Camp 1, on Kilimanjaro. We left the Arumeru Lodge this morning and enjoyed the views of the local community and lots of farms growing bananas, coffee and corn. The flanks of Kilimanjaro provide very fertile grounds for all of these great crops. After a couple hour drive we arrived at the Kilimanjaro Nation Park gate. We registered our team and paid our entrance fee to the Park Staff and with permit in hand, we loaded our packs and began our climb. We had a steady ascent of 4,000ft and in just less than five hours arrived at our first camp in fine form. Perfect conditions in the cloud forest made for an enjoyable climb. We all settled in to our tents and discussed camp life and our prperations for tomorrow's ascent. Dinner is now complete and we are certain to enjoy many more great meals thanks to our wonderful chef and staff. Everyone is returning to their tents as we are still adjusting to our new time zone and catching up on a bit of jet lag. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Jambo - The team is all here. We arrived throughout the day and are now gathered at the beautiful Arumeru River Lodge. After our drive from the airport we had a quick dinner then everyone retired to their rooms to recover from the flights and get sleep. Today, after a very nice breakfast, we had a great team meeting with personal introductions and discussion of the plan for the next few days followed by a check that everyone has the essential gear for our climb of Kilimanjaro. We spent the remainder of the day packing and relaxing here at this beautiful lodge. Some monkeys, lizards, small gazelle roam the property, it's like being in Africa. We are being well taken care of here at by this gracious and kind staff. We even had a birth party to top it off - HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN! All is well in this part of the world, RMI Guide Mark Tucker