Quokka's Christmas Stories - 2. Kilimanjaro

It took me four years to finally agree to return to our family home at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, but this time the whole family and friends would be joining me for this trip. Afya was thrilled when we telephoned her to let her know that we were all coming home for Christmas and that we would be bringing some friends with us.

Apart from Mum and Dad, who had returned to Australia permanently after many years away in Canada, there would also be Uncle Nate, my cousin Aaron, his boyfriend and my good friend Chris Harding and my boyfriend Will Hammond, plus Jacky Wimmera, who had never been out of South Australia, let alone the country, so he was a little worried about all of this air travel.

In the four years since I was last in Africa, the 4 Amigos as we were nicknames – Aaron, Chris, Will and myself, have been keeping busy with additional studies, with Aaron now having a Master's Degree in International Business Administration, Chris is now a Dr of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, plus he has an Honours Bachelor of Science (Animal Behaviour).

Will and I have completed additional studies with a Master’s in Environmental Health each, and all four of us now hold Dive Master qualifications, while we helped Jacky to do additional studies to gain a Bachelor of Science (Animal Biology). The Kuishi Project is going very well now, and is keeping all of us very busy,

Even my Dad works part-time assisting with the running of Kilimanjaro Distributions, with the sales and promotions of the Ten Fold Containers, and Uncle Nat was keeping very busy with his work in the Army, and it took some fast talking to get his superiors to allow him to take time off and to spend that time off overseas.

Not only was I working full-time with the Kuishi Project, but I am still a part-time reservist in the Army, who recently received a promotion to Staff Sergeant, and both Uncle Nat and I had to get special permission to leave the country, due to our high-security clearances.

With the troubles that I had in Johannesburg, South Africa, Dad had elected for us to travel a different route than we usually take, this time we would be making some additional stops. The first would be to Singapore, where we would be having a 12-hour layover, so we had booked accommodation so that we could get some sleep, and have a look around the city.

From there, we would travel to Bangkok, Thailand, where we would have just a 2 ½ hour layover, before boarding our next flight to Nairobi, Kenya. We would arrive just after 6 am local time. Once again we booked into accommodation, as we would be spending three days here, to explore some of the wonderful national parks and wildlife reserves.

In the capital of Nairobi, we checked out the Bomas of Kenya, which is an open-air museum, showing a traditional village, with arts and crafts, we also visited a Giraffe Centre, which is a conservation, education and research facility, as well as a nearby Elephant Nursery, that looks after orphaned baby elephants, which our Aussie visitors were amazed to see so close up.

The Nairobi Safari Park which is close to the city has a raised boardwalk, which allows visitors to see a variety of native animals, including lions, cheetahs, leopards and rhinos in a natural environment and up close. Away from the city, we went 120 kilometres to the north to check out the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservation Park, with proximity to the mountain, which is very impressive.

Our last flight for Kilimanjaro Airport was just a short flight, and we would be collected in my vehicle and a minibus, to fit all of us and our luggage. Although it was a long way to get to our Tanzanian home, we were able to have good rest breaks along the way and do some wonderful sightseeing, where Jacky was amazed at all the wonderful wildlife that he got to see.

This time Mum and Dad would be staying in the master suite, while Aaron and Chris would have one of the cottages out the back, Will and I would have the other one, and Uncle Nate and Jacky would have separate guest rooms in the main house.

“Impressive home you have here love. You are so lucky to have spent some of your childhood here,” Will said to me, as we settled into our cottage. “Yeah, I guess I am in a way, so much different than life back home in Adelaide that is for sure,” I responded.

We had a wonderful huge dinner put together by Afya and Jubali, and I could see that our guests who had never been to Africa before were saying how wonderful it was to be here. “Just wait until tomorrow, what you saw the last few days is just the start of your adventure,” Dad said to our guests, and I saw Mum and Uncle Nate nodding in agreement, as did I.

With just three more days before Christmas, at lunchtime the next day, after having a good sleep-in to recover from all the travelling, Mum and Dad announced that we were going on an overnight trip to Motamburu Kitendeni, on the north side of the mountain. “That is right near the border isn’t it?” I asked upon hearing this news, “That is correct, we are going to do a day hiking trip via the Rongai Gate and stay overnight at a local lodge,” Dad responded.

“Ok, I haven’t been through that route, but I hear that it is a lot different from the southern gates,” I replied. “What is all this about gates, where exactly are we going?” William asked, looking very confused, “Yes, more information please,” Chris and Aaron chorused together, which made me smile. “Rongi Gate is the most northern of seven entry gates to Mount Kilimanjaro, just south of the border with Kenya.

As Dad announced, we are doing a day trip part of the way up the mountain, which is probably a good idea, to get you guys acclimatised to the heights, as the higher you go the less air there is. Rongai is the least used entry gate, as it has fewer attractions to see on the way up, but you do see lots of coffee and banana plantations and also there is Lake Chala,” I replied.

“It is a 95-minute drive to get to the accommodation, so we will be leaving no later than 3 pm this afternoon, and I suggest we all pack clothes and supplies for two nights, including warm clothing as it can get quite cold up there,” Dad announced. “You know that Kilimanjaro consists of three peaks, Kibo which is the tallest is 5,895 metres above sea level, next is Mawenzi, which is 5,149 metres and Shira, which is 3,962 metres, and there are a total of five eco-climatic zones on the mountain,” Mum informed our guests.

“There are over 220 animals and 175 birds found in this National Park, and from the Rongai gate which is 2,364 metres above sea level, we will be walking to the appropriately named Simba Camp, at 2,600 metres before turning around and coming back down. It will take us about 3 hours to get up there, and we will have lunch up there to take in the view,” Dad informed us all.

When we arrived at our accommodations, with Jabali coming with us, we saw that there were 5 accommodation cabins, as well as the main building, which has the reception, bar, lounge, kitchen and restaurant. Over dinner that evening, Dad quizzed the staff about the property, which we learnt is 40 acres in area, and that there are 2 grounds staff, 3 restaurants, kitchen & bar staff and two admin staff, to run the whole property.

The following day, Dad, Uncle Nate and I took the lads up the mountain, with Jabali leading the way, since he has travelled this route several times already, with Mum electing to stay at the accommodations. When we arrived back, after a wonderful day on the slopes, I was happy to have gone part of the way up a different route, and the lads were still amazed that they had managed to climb so high up the mountain.

After a second night at the accommodation, we headed back to Marangu, where Nanny Afya was busy preparing all the food for Christmas Lunch the next day, which was a wonderful event. I was so happy to be back in Tanzania again, and I was wondering if I should make it my permanent home. I was about to finish my meal when I froze, with my fork halfway to my mouth, as I suddenly realised something.

“Look we have a frozen statue at the table,” William commented when he saw me, and I frowned, before putting my fork down and turning to Dad, in Swahili I asked Dad if we stayed at that place on the north side of the mountain, because the family is looking at buy it? “Yes nephew, your parents and I considered putting an offer on the place, but we decided to have a better look around at other options,” Uncle Nate replied in Swahili.

“Afya and Jabali discovered that it was for sale and went and stayed there one night before suggesting that it would be a good investment, as this house is a little too small for the number of guests that we have staying with us,” Mum said. “What on Earth are you all talking about in that language?” William asked, which had the four of us looking at him.

“We are sorry for doing that, but we had some family stuff to discuss, which is why I froze a moment ago, as I realised something that took place recently,” I said to William and the others in English, “We will let you know about it when the time is right. For now, let’s just enjoy our Christmas holiday at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro,” Dad added.