Day 2 – Machame Gate – Machame Camp (3000m)
Despite the early morning and the lack of sleep, both Grandad and I felt eager to make some progress towards our goal. My watch was indicating 6am and the sun was already starting to creep above the horizon and bake the already dry earth underneath the compound wall. Exotic birds were sat in the tree outside of the curtain-less window calling to each other using songs that put the birds back home to shame. Outside of the compound wall the streets were beginning to fill with locals, a vibrant mix of lifestyles amalgamated into one throng of activity: market traders bringing in wares from neighbouring tribes and farms, suited businessmen piled on to an already crowded bus headed for Moshi town centre, excited school children jostled and laughed as they walked along. One thing that struck me was the abundance of Coca-Cola branding, every building or bus seemed to be festooned with some form of signage or paraphernalia.
We hastily got up and enjoyed the last shower we would be getting for the next 8 days, packed the few possessions that had made it to Africa with us into our rucksacks and ventured downstairs to see what information we could glean regarding our missing equipment. It quickly became apparent that any hopes of seeing out main bags today had diminished away to zero, with only one KLM flight per day into JRO international not arriving until 22:00 that evening we were stuck for another day at least with no equipment. At around 730am the 4x4s that would carry us to the base of the mountain arrived, provisions and bags were loaded and we climbed up into the almost comically oversized off-road trucks. As we pulled out of the compound and joined the stream of traffic our guide began to brief us on what to expect for the coming day, it would seem a lot of the day would be spent checking documentation and permits along with selecting a team to act as our support when on the mountain.
After around an hour and a half the crude tarmac gave way to even more unforgiving dirt tracks and the comical size of our off-road trucks became a necessity, we passed through multiple villages and each time a score of children would chase behind shouting and waving, one thought that stuck with me was how happy people seemed (at least on the surface) despite the fact they led fairly basic lives with the decadence of our western world far out of reach for them. This continued for around another hour by which point my spine was almost completely smashed into dust by the savage road surface, after what seemed a lifetime we pulled into a checkpoint where a large crowd began to gather around our trucks. As we disembarked and headed over to the official to complete paperwork and passes for entry into the park, it was hard to ignore the multiple AK-47s and scoped rifles hanging on the back wall of the office which gave the impression this was not a place that suffered fools. As we stood in the sweltering heat we watched the official scrutinise our permits and passports before finally we were given the stamp followed by a nod and the next group were waved forward.
As we emerged into the stifling heat of the late morning we made our way to a grass bank to drink in the surroundings as we waited for our support team to get themselves organised and kitted up. I tried to work out the system in place for selecting a team but as far as I could tell it involved our guide climbing on to the roof of our truck and randomly selecting 5 or 6 men from the large crown clamouring around the wheels, I later discovered it was effectively a lottery and each morning hundreds of locals would make their way to the checkpoint in the hopes of being selected to assist a trek. Our 5 lucky winners were given orange baseball caps marking them as part of our team and after we had dealt with introductions we sat down to a simple lunch overlooking one of the most breath-taking panoramas, enjoying some chicken, rice, and a plantain to finish. Spirits were high as we all bundled back onto the trucks to continue our meander up into the forest.
Next and final stop was an hour or so later and our convoy trundled into Machame Gate where yet another checkpoint awaited us. No sooner had all of our equipment been unloaded from the trucks that they turned around and started back down the trail, our support team immediately began to organise the gear into manageable bundles and hoisted them onto their back and began the trek up through the forest. We meanwhile had to go through more admin including organising special transit up a supply trail for our main bags once they arrived that evening, with a bit of luck we would hopefully be reunited with fresh clothes to wear in the morning; as the intense heat and humidity was quickly making our now 2 day old clothes feel somewhat stale and smelly.
Once formalities had been dealt with we finally began our climb up into the forest, the sights and sounds were like something from a nature documentary, prehistoric roots crisscrossed the forest floor blanketed with multitude species of flowers and lichen that had decided to take up residence. High up in the canopy a network of branches provided a highway in the treetops, whilst birds flew higher still, striking across the sky silhouetted by the harsh midday sun. The distant cries of a dozen tropical creatures created a soundtrack like no other, our guide had informed us of the animals that lived in this part of the forest, including puma, various monkeys, parrots, and snakes but also that we would be extremely lucky to spot some of the rarer ones due to their elusive nature. Along the route we came across several parrots of striking colours, along with the odd monkey that were usually seen watching us inquisitively as we walked past.
Due to the lengthy process in the morning the days trek was kept fairly short and by early evening we climbed up a final bank and into the forest camp, the porters that had set off an hour or so before us had done a fantastic job securing us a prime location within the camp and the tents were set up ready for our arrival. We bundled in to the main tent where we would undergo the first of our many medical checks, once that was dealt with it was time for the main meal of the day; tonight’s menu consisted of rice along with various vegetables followed by a fruit salad fit for any buffet table, not only was the selection amazing but each piece was intricately cut to resemble something. Certainly not what any of us expected in a tent 3000m up.
Following dinner, we sat in the main tent and played cards and discussed the itinerary of days yet to come, for a brief hour or so the trip seemed to be back on track, all that remained was the uncertainty of our bags arriving the following morning, with heavy rain forecast for the following day it was becoming less of a nicety and more of a necessity that our bags arrived. The flight from Amsterdam should be touching down in JRO any moment and with a bit of luck our priority bags should be expedited up into the forest via a service road through the night and be waiting for us when we awoke…
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7 Summit Stories 