Africa XIX: Mired!

Rolling in to refuel and resupply.


On the road again...


Taking a pee by the bushes...


The cracked and parched ground.


We got stuck in the mud!


Trying the lever the vehicle out of the mud (we failed)


We got dragged out of the mud thanks to kind passer-bys!


Happy group-shot after our little (mis-)adventure.


Giraffe taking a rest on the grass.


The true giants of the land.


Elephant family.

Africa XVII: Ngorongoro Crater

Ngorongoro crater. a volcanic caldera with Africa's highest density of mammalian predators...


Random herds bursting across the roads - a common sight.


Cuddly zebras.


Fellow crater explorers.


Scratchy zebra.


Zebra crossing!


Colourful birdy.


Gigantic grazing elephant.


"Hmmm what should we do with those pesky humans that keep staring at us..."


Taking a break by the lake.


Crane?


Nikon's new poster girl.

Africa XI: Onward to the Safari!

After the most exhausting climb up Kilimanjaro, it was time to relax at the safari!


A view of the gigantic Ngorongoro Crater, which we will descent into few days later.


Groupshot! Note the sunburned faces...


A storm sweeps through the crater..


Donkey.


A panoramic view of Olduvai Gorge.


This is where supposedly some of the oldest human remains where uncovered.

Africa X: Descent

Uhuru Peak (5895m) - Mweka (3100m) - Mweka Gate (1980m)
Hiking time: 7 - 8h to descend to Mweka, 3h to Mweka Gate


Our whole platoon..


Our main guide, Robert with his colourful hat (he has dreadlocks underneath)


Jerry, another of our guides


Sunburned face.

Africa VII: Barranco Camp - Barafu Camp

Day 4: Barranco camp (3950m)- Barafu camp (4550m). Hiking time: 7h



Woke up with the clouds beneath our feet..



Our campsite, backed by snowy rocks.



Climbing the steep Barranco wall (also known as the "Breakfast wall")



We had to climb on all fours.



Real rock climbing. Without ropes/harnesses.



A long drop to the bottom. (Those tiny colourful dots in the background are our porters..)



The porters overtaking us yet again..



Group shot!



All grey and brown, where even plant-life starts giving up.



The barren landscape.



Taking a rest above the clouds.



Finally reaching the last camp before the final summit attempt.



Welcome to Barafu. Where the wind and the cold threaten to tear you apart.



Our yellow tent. With the mountain's most awesome toilets in the background.

Africa VI: Shira Camp - Barranco Camp

Day 3: Shira (3840 m) - Lava Tower (4630 m) - Barranco camp (3950 m). Hiking time: 7 hours


Woke up in the freezing morning to take photos of the stars...


And as you can see, it was well worth it..


The snow capped peaks against the starry sky.


The magical moment before the sun rose.


And the sky just kept changing colours..


This is probably the only toilet in the world set against such a majestic backdrop.


Where the sky and the ground met..


And we continue to climb... and climb.. and climb...


Cool dude.


Our porters overtaking us. (Even though we set off hours earlier..)


Man on the Moon?

This was probably the most tortuous part of the climb. I was probably having the worst headache of my life. It was just incapacitating. It reached its zenith at lunchtime and I threw away most of my uneaten food. While my friends continued up to Lava Tower, I had to make my way straight back to the next campsite. And the rain did nothing to lift our morale. We were all wet, cold and miserable by the time we reached the next camp...