Review of the Trip to summit Kilimanjaro

Mt Kilimanjaro is one of Africa's most magnificent sights, and at 5,895m it is her highest peak. Rising sheer from the savannah plains, this snowcapped mountain is an almost perfectly formed volcano that is not yet extinct.

On the 15th October I departed from the BIE Office in Manchester heading for a train that would take me to London, I met up with 3 friends from my local village, and then boarded an overnight flight to Nairobi.

By this stage the team was split into two smaller groups, which we would remain in for the rest of the trip.

Arriving at Kilimanjaro International Airport we taxied up to the front of the arrival building and walked in. No need for a transit bus here.

Immigration took a few minutes, and our bags were ready to load onto a waiting bus for the hour ride to the hotel we were staying at on the first night.

We arrived in Nairobi at 06:30 on Saturday the 16^th which was followed by a short flight to Kilimanjaro Airport. En route we got our first glimpse of the challenge ahead. At 19,340 ft or 5895 metres we were actually flying lower than the summit. Everyone on board the plane leaned over to the left to look at what we were destined to climb.