Jonathan Proud

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Thu 21st: Walked at a very leisurely pace through heathland with giant lobelias and a superb view of Mawenzi peak. We had lunch just before reaching the saddle, where at last we had views of Kibo and Uhuru peak. It was bitterly cold crossing the saddle and there was an icy wind. Arrived at Kibo Hut late afternoon. The group was all in one room again with bunk beds side by side. Had dinner at about 5pm, then went to bed. Got up at 11pm for tea and biscuits.	The Saddle
	Fri 22nd: Set off at midnight in single file, plodding very slowly up the mountain. I wore six layers of clothing - thermal underwear, tee shirt, long sleeved sweat-shirt, pullover, fleece jacket and waterproof jacket. I was still cold and my gloved hands soon went numb. I wore a fleece hat but my face was exposed and got very cold. We stopped for tea at about 2am. I had to ask Tim to loosen the top of my water bottle as it was frozen up and my hands were too cold to grip.
Horombo Hut 3720m
We spent a long time zig-zagging up through the scree and scrambled over rocks for a few more hours, resting every few minutes. Reached Gillman's Point at about 6am. It was exhilarating to have got that far and after a few minutes rest I followed the group on the trek to Uhuru Peak (5895m). The views of the ice fields and the crater were spectacular and the walk long but not as steep as we had just experienced. There were a lot of people at the summit and we had to wait to get photographs in front of the notice.	The roof of Africa
	Returned to Gillman's Point, then with Dorothee, I slid down the scree slopes and walked back to Kibo Hut. Had soup and tea, then walked back across the saddle and moorland to Horombo, arriving about 4pm. Washed, then had tea and biscuits. Sat 23rd: It was a clear morning, so I got the last photos of the summit and we did a group photo-shoot. Walked down through the heathland, photographing the plants wherever possible.
Uhuru Peak 5895m
Saw monkeys in the forest around Maundi Crater and stopped for lunch at Mandara Hut. Walking back down through the forest, there were more monkeys on a fallen tree trunk and I photographed some of the rainforest flowers. Arrived at the park gate and signed out. A pick-up truck took us back to the Marangu Hotel for showers. Then we presented the porters and guides with their tips and had to shake hands with them all. We gave them beers in the hotel gardens and they sang the Kilimanjaro song which was very moving.	The group
	Had a large dinner then most of the group drank until the early hours. I had severe pain in my right lung and went to bed early. It was bad in the night but less severe by morning. Sun 24th: Set off after breakfast in the shuttle bus to Moshi where there was a one hour break and I bought Cokes at the 'Pretoria Inn', which was a scruffy little caf�. Went on to Arusha where we got packed sandwiches, with chips, from the hotel before continuing on to the border.
View of Uhuru Peak from Horombo Hut
The crossing was fairly rapid and we stopped at the souvenir market on the Kenyan side, where I bought a zebra batik. It was a long and tiring journey back to Nairobi airport. We found the transit restaurant and had an excellent group meal which I had not expected. It made a good end to an excellent holiday. The flight left on time at 22:25 for the 8 hour journey to London Gatwick.	Porter carries a rucksack
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