Day 8 Millennium Huts (12,556ft) to Mweka Gate (5,358ft) – The end
Unsurprisingly I slept like a log, helped no doubt by the fact that I was absolutely shattered after summiting Kilimanjaro. We walked for thirteen hours yesterday, and we are now back in the land of trees and warmth and I was sleeping on soft flat dry soil as opposed to dusty gravel at a 45 degree angle and minus 5c. Having gone to bed at 6.30pm last night I was wide awake at 6am this morning for the final day of our magnificent Kilimanjaro adventure.
As I was up early I got some pictures around the camp and a nice one of Mount Meru poking out over the treeline in the early morning sun. I pack up my kit, sleeping bag and mat for the last time, looking forward to the soft bed that I will be sleeping in tonight. Physically I feel in pretty good shape after summiting Kilimanjaro yesterday and I am pleased with how the trip has gone as a whole. My health has been good, the six of us ‘clients’ started as strangers but really bonded together and formed a good supportive and friendly group which made the walking and the evenings a pleasure. Joshua and the other guys were good, professional and attentive guides. And apart from five minutes rain on the way in to Shira 1 the weather has been pretty well perfect. At breakfast it was so warm the condensation was raining down on us so Joshua got the guys together and they lifted the tent off over our heads, immediate al fresco dining!
After breakfast there is the ‘tipping ceremony’. It’s not compulsory to tip the crew but to be honest, we wouldn’t have got up the mountain without them and most clients, including myself are from the developed world earning a wage far in excess of the average wage of these guys so a few extra dollars in appreciation of their support over the last eight days seems only right. I was nominated to give a short speech by the others to the 28 guys who had got us up and down the mountain before we gave the tips out. I wrote down some thanks and what I could remember from Wainwright’s Soliloquy at the end of ‘Pennine way companion’ finishing with “we are better people for having climbed up your mountain, Mount Kilimanjaro.” And I genuinely meant, and believe it. After my mini speech we gave the tips out and I gave Gasper my ‘brother from another mother’ my icebreaker thermal top because I had noticed his was fraying at the edges with more holes than a Swiss cheese. I gave $20 to Goodness, for carrying my 15kg of extra ‘stuff’ on his head for eight days and never complaining. The boys finished it all off with a catchy little tune about Kilimanjaro which got us all dancing. I can only remember the words Kilimanjaro and Hakuna matata which as any Lion King fan will know means “ no worries”. So all that was left after this busy celebratory morning was the small matter of a seven and a half mile and 7,500ft drop in height to Mweka Gate and the finish line.
A steady pace was set by Gasper on what was a pretty rocky path dropping, at first through the heather-moorland climate zone surrounding the mountain and then into the lush forest section. About half way down, Gasper stopped, turned us all around and showed us, through a very photogenic gap in the trees the final view of Kilimanjaro, the mountain that has dominated our lives for the last eight days. It was a great sight with wisps of cloud hovering around the snow speckled mountain, its bulk still evident even though we were far away and the clear blue sky above contrasting with the greenery of the forest all around us. It took us four and a half hours to drop the seven and a half miles to Mweka Gate with a brief stop at Mweka Camp for some water on the way.
On the way down we were passed by a steady stream of porters, including our own team all racing down the mountain to get home. At Mweka Gate there was a farewell sign, the gate itself and the final ranger checkpoint where we all signed out for the final time in the ‘going down’ book. After signing out I used the ‘tourist toilet’ and saw my face in the mirror for the first time in eight days. Due to my careless lack of use of sunblock I was as red as a beetroot. Not a mistake I should make again.
I thanked the other five for their friendship and companionship over the last eight days, especially Dave who had to share a tent with me. We then took some pictures at the sign and again at the gate and with that, the walking and our fantastic Kilimanjaro adventure was over. It was a couple of hours drive back to the hotel where we celebrated with a hot shower, some Kilimanjaro beer and a lovely shared evening meal with Joshua and Richard who handed each of us our certificates for climbing up to ‘The Roof of Africa’.
For map and route of this walk click ‘learn more’ below
