And Here We Go…

We started the day by saying goodbye to the sweet staff of Weru Weru River Lodge. Such a warm and welcoming ambiance is hard to leave when you do not know what is coming next. Maybe one day we will return and stay longer.

From the lodge, we were driven to Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park. This park is one of seven in Tanzania and on this trip, we will be visiting four of them. The entrance is impressive as you’ll see in the picture below. Inside, there is a registration area where our guide had us sign in and the paid the park entrance. While he was getting the finance part completed, Jim and I were able to walk around the entrance area and take pictures plus learn about the park itself.

The park was declared a game reserve in 1910 and a forest reserve in 1921. However, there was activity in the park prior to these dates as the first Tanzanian African who conquered the summit was Yohane Lauwo. He did this as a guide for the first European to conquer the summit. The park was officially named Mt. Kilimanjaro National Park in 1973. Hiking is only allowed in the park with a guide.

After our tickets were sorted out, we began our hike. The weather was nice with it being overcast most of the way plus the temperature was cooler. Perfect weather for hiking! The trail was diverse in terrain with some sections being dirt while others had fairly large rocks packed together like cobblestones. Along the way, our guide Denis pointed out some vegetation like blackberry bushes, banana trees and one used for nail polish. We also got lucky and saw several monkeys hanging out on some trees.

Our goal was to reach the Mandara Hut which is the first area on the trail which hikers going to the peak get to sleepover. This section takes about three hours to hike and halfway up there is a picnic area. We stopped for lunch there and got more fuel for the next section which definitely had more steepness. In total, we ascended over 2700 feet to Mandara, where we took another 15 minute break before descending to our starting point. Although tiring, we both felt it was very doable and were happy to have included this hike on our itinerary.

After completing our hike, we were driven to our next accommodation at the Pazuri Inn in Arusha, Tanzania. It took four hours to get there due to some sections of the road not being paved and heavy traffic. Needless to say, it was a LONG day. However, our accommodation was beautiful – spacious room, fantastic shower and comfy bed. The grounds were beautifully landscaped, and the dining room was spacious and decorated to instill calmness as you dine. We would definitely want to stay here again if we came back.

Tomorrow, we’re starting our safari in Tarangire National Park. 💜