Entries By mark tucker
Very comfortable night out in the bush. Not until sunrise when the bird alarms went off did anything but a lullaby come from our surroundings. A couple hours of game driving brought us out of the park but not before some lions, elephant, giraffe to name just a few bid us farewell. Fpur of the team stayed for one more night at
Balloon Camp while the rest of us are back at Arumeru Lodge getting ready for a transfer to the airport. Another fine expedition is now in the books.
Thanks for following!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
It was a little tough leaving the Plantation Lodge this morning, but it was time to Safari on! We made our way to
Tarangire National Park making a couple of short stops along the way. Treasures from a far off land were acquired and a stop at a local tribal village made for an interesting cultural experience for the day. We enjoyed singing and dancing and a demo of how rubbing sticks together to make a fire. A quick tour of the mud hay and cow dung hut they call home then off to the park for more game viewing. The park is a series of parallel rivers, shallow valleys and broad savanna. Also boasting that it has more elephants per square kilometer than any place on earth. It didn't disappoint us with plenty of other animals as usual. We are tucked into our new lodge inside the park call Balloon Camp. The camp has screened-in rooms out deep in the bush allowing Africa to envelope your every fiber.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Today we visited the famous
Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is home for more than 25,000 animals that reside here year round. We stared seeing the 25,000 with the not too elusive herd animals. We saw seemingly hundreds and then thousands before we knew it! Soon enough the world of big cats became the focus. A couple of nice sightings of large meat eaters got the team's attention. Many hyenas, jackals, ostrich, plus countless other huge birds brought us to our spot by a hippo lake for lunch.
Just after lunch we observed a small pride of lion trying to take down two different Cape buffalo. The second one ended up against our Land Cruiser. And in the battle our vehicle was charged and dented by the bullet proof horned skull of the Cape buffalo. A mark of bush life not many wear. While our vehicle bears the scars of this battle, we were unscathed.
We are back at the fantastic Plantation Lodge for the night. Tomorrow we will venture to Tarangire National Park for more game viewing.
RMI Guide
Mark Tucker and team
Packing a Toyota Land Cruiser modified for life in safari was a far cry from stuffing a backpack this morning. That's not to say we aren't missing our tent life and mountain staff but this will have to do for now. We climbed in the Land Cruisers just after 8:00 AM and the left Arumeru River Lodge -- our home away from home. We headed northwest to visit the beautiful
Lake Manyara National Park. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 300 bird species. We managed to see wildebeest, Cape buffalo, lots of baboon, and a herd of elephants from close up. It was a nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife in Tanzania.
Everyone's eyes opened wide when we arrived at The Plantation Lodge and saw the perfectly cared for gardens, luxurious rooms and friendly staff. This will do just fine for the next couple of days while we explore the nearby parks.
RMI Guide
Mark Tucker
Camp was all up and getting organized at about six this morning. It always amazes me how well the body responds to solid rest. The dramatic difference between last night and this morning was a welcomed one for sure. Everybody showed up smiling to breakfast and enjoyed a delicious imported cake that was carried up the hill in celebration of the 30th wedding anniversary of two of our team. The date was actually yesterday, one heck of away of commemorating, congrats Rhonda and Robin! Before leaving camp we held our goodbye ceremony with our mountain staff. We tipped them, which is merely normal practice when 52 men have worked their tails off to help you accomplish your dreams. Packs were shouldered one last time for the 4,000 ft and three hour descent to the
Kilimanjaro National Park gate. After checking out with the park service we left the mountain with the summit in our heart and a certificate in our hands. A couple hour drive brought us back to the lodge where it all started. Cleaned up, fed and repacked for safari tomorrow has us all giddy and excited with what's has happened and what lay ahead.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
July 22, 2019
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 19,340'
BIGGGGGGG DAY!
We are all now at 10,000' after reaching the summit of
Kilimanjaro at 19,340'. Some of us are a bit more tired than others. I guess it's to be expected. We woke at 11:30 pm, powered down some porridge, hot drinks and started the climb at 12:40 AM. There were headlights well up the mountain side already, which was a pretty thing to see. A bit of a moon allowed us to travel without headlights, at times which was very enjoyable. A bit more than seven hours put us all on top. Conditions up and down were perfect, a bit cold but that's to be expected at these elevations. It was a true test of endurance for most of the crew.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
July 21, 2019
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 15,000'
A few clouds to the morning but after another nutritious breakfast we set out toward
High Camp. We marched up the broad tilted plateau concentrating on efficient techniques in walking and breathing. Things steepened just a bit as we came to the final ridge. We all were feeling strong as we arrived in Barafu our High Camp at 15,000'. We enjoyed a great lunch and held a meeting about strategy for the summit bid. We are busy packing up for an early dinner, bed by 6 pm and wake up around midnight. The team is in great shape and can't wait to get started.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
July 20, 2019
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 13,030'
After a breezy start to last night the wind stop and a million stars made for an great view. Same clear skies this morning affording the glaciers and ice fields hanging at impossible angles overhead. We started a bit later giving some extra rest and a chance for some of the other teams to get ahead of us on the main challenge for the day- right out of camp the
Barranco Wall. Most of it feels like steep hiking but a few places require the use of hands to help us ascend. After pulling through one set of ledgers to another, making for great photos, we were on top. A few more hours of hiking some and then some downhill had us here at our next camp, Karanga. This camp is a couple hundred feet higher than last camp. A beautiful spot that overlooks the valley it is named after. The team is in great shape and high spirits.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
July 19, 2019
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 13,030'
Another sparkling and clear start to the day. Mt. Meru, our 15,000ft neighbor to the west, stood out like an island in the sea of clouds that cover anywhere below 10,000ft. Great views above of the summit as well. Our usual large fresh breakfast then off we went up a nice smooth gentle but steady ascent to the famous
Lava Tower outcropping situated at 15,000ft. Snacks and a lot of breathing then down we went. Two thousand feet lower has us tucked into another beautiful camp called Barranco. The team is a bit tired after what ended up being about an eight-hour day. All is well and looking forward to dinner.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
July 18, 2019
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 12,500'
The team had a very nice day here on
Kilimanjaro, waking to beautiful clear skies and hiking in sunshine all day. We started with a 6:30 wake up and packing before moving into our dining tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, scrambled eggs, toast, bacon fresh fruit and even fresh dark roast Tanzanian coffee.
We hit the trail around 9 am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail with incredible views of Kili above. After about five hours we reached our next camp that sits on the Shira Plateau, which is one of the three dormant volcanoes that make up Kili.
A lot of wet soggy cloths and gear is now bone dry, getting us back into great shape for our next few days on the trail.
All is well at 12,500'.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
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Absolutely amazing Safari photos. Have a safe trip home everybody! May God be with you!
Posted by: Tami Reitinger on 7/25/2019 at 8:31 pm
Safe travels to all on your expedition. I look forward to joining the roof of Africa club with you hopefully next season.
Posted by: Jory on 7/25/2019 at 3:52 pm
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