Kilimanjaro: Mweka camp to Mweka village (7)

Today I woke up with a big smile :D

Yesterday was a pretty though day, but it was all worth it.
Standing on the top of the Kilimanjaro was truly a very intense and wonderful feeling.

We had to wake up today at 5 am. No time to let the muscles rest.
We still had a 4 hour walk to do towards the Mweka gate. We take a different route down than the Machame route that we have been following for the past days.
At 6 am we started to walk towards the end point of the journey.

The route was leading us through a beautiful part of the rain forest. Going from rocky landscapes to the colorful rain forest is a nice experience.
As soon as we were under the treeline the whole trail turned green. We heard many birds sing and the mosquitoes were back again.

After a few hours walking we could hear monkeys shout. When we looked up there was a big group jumping through the treetops. There were at least 40 Blue monkeys.
A little further we could see the Collobus monkeys. They have enormous white tails. That makes it easy to spot them.

Suddenly the rain forest ends and we pass by a big gate. I notice that there are cars up here and there is even a bar. This was such a weird moment. I mean, after a few days in the wilderness it feels a bit weird to be thrown back into the civilization. 

We had to pass by the office of the local ranger to register our self so that they know we arrived save and sound. Soon a driver would pick us up and bring us back to the city.
After saying goodbye to the crew we took a last look at the mountain and drove again to the busy city of Moshi.

Living in the wild is always a great experience. Coming back to the civilization feels always a bit weird in the beginning.
A cold shower washed the dust from my skin that had been building up for the last days.
How does a normal toilet work again?

I can’t believe that the expedition is already over. Time has been flying by the past week.
I’ve seen the most beautiful far sights and stunning pieces of nature. Walked through the rain forest and ice fields. Seen some cool animals. Made a bunch of new friends. And stood on the top of the largest free standing mountain in the world.
Mission accomplished!

In the evening we went out for dinner and some beers to celebrate.
The next days will be about relaxing and getting some rest.
Well, relaxing…, I already planed a safari for tomorrow and have to leave at 6.30 am. Nah, no need to rest, thinking about the past week provides me with enough energy :)

So that’s it for this trip.
On to the next one!




Check out the essentials to know about a trip to the Killimanjaro on our website: Backpack on Track, Kilimajaro
And have a look on the video bellow to get a impression of the journey to the summit.