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We awoke early on Friday
morning and finished our packing, stowing our safari gear in
separate bags to await our return from the trek. Allan arrived
during breakfast, we said goodbye to Paul, Sylvester, Lucas and the
camp staff, and we set off for the mountain. Allan explained
the route we would need to take from Sinya to the Londorossi Gate -
a circuitous one - then announced that he was sure there was a short
cut. This made for an interesting journey through a cultivated
area, during which Allan stopped once for
directions, and made a few false turns down farm roads that
turned into tiny paths. But there was indeed a short cut,
which saved a considerable amount of time and will benefit future
trekkers even more than it did us.
We ascended through cultivated forest, with patches of crops and
the occasional village, until we reached Londorossi and the check-in
station for the park. Allan paid the fees, we signed in, then
drove further up the road to the starting point for the trek, where
our team was waiting to greet us: our head guide, Raymond, our
assistant guide, Fredy, our cook, Ramisha, and our 13 porters.
We said farewell to Allan as the porters
set off along the trail ahead of us. The first day's trek
took us on a slow ascent through the rainforest past great trees
hung with vines, undergrowth of all sizes, and flowers including the
tiny red and orange Impatiens Kilimanjarii that only grows on the
mountain. There was evidence of large animals in the forest,
but we didn't see any, although we did catch sight of three
black-and-white Colobus monkeys swinging and jumping through the
canopy. The going was damp in parts but we had no rain at all
- very lucky.
After an hour or two of walking,
Raymond said we would soon be stopping for lunch. We rounded a
corner, and there was our lunch waiting for us - a magnificent
lunch, on a table, with a tablecloth, and chairs to sit on. In
the middle of the African rainforest! Hence the silly
grins.
Another couple of hours of walking and we
reached Forest Camp. Set in a grove of vast trees, the camp
was already set up when we arrived. We washed up, had tea and
popcorn, rested in our tents, then had a short walk up the trail
with Raymond before dinner.
We slept in individual tents. Greg
had a bad night this first night - woke up many times with a
headache. Could this be altitude sickness already, at less
than 9,000 feet? | 
Horne Kili
Trek 
