As you would be well aware, at the conception of our adventure we set ourselves several volunteering challenges. The first being to assist with a GAPS volunteer project in Kenya, the first port of call and where we were to eventually purchase and deck out our gorgeous Landcruiser, ‘Helga’, and the start of everything. You may remember that we initially discussed working with GAPS Australia on womens handicraft and micro finance business loans in Kenya. Fortunately this fell through, and we signed up to another GAPS program, the Brydges Centre orphanage located in Ngong Hills, just south of Nairobi.

Why fortunately? Because we have fallen in love with the orphanage, the staff working there, the sustainable projects they are undertaking, and more importantly we are head over heels for the children. Brydges Centre currently supports 150 children who are orphaned, destitute, abandoned, abused and street children. As well as small children, the centre supports around 40 youths each year through skills development programs. Their broad objective is to provide shelter, food, education, counseling and moral rehabilitation, health care and clothing and to provide support for childrens rights activities around the country. After spending a mere 6 weeks with the staff and children at Brydges we have developed a very close relationship. Helping develop their website (www.brydgescentre.net), teaching business classes in their skills programs, and providing advice on sponsorship and bridging the gap between this sponsorship and the people of Tasmania (through facilitating contact and encouraging friends and family to sponsor) we are now committed to helping Brydges become fully self sufficient in supporting their children. Over the past few years, Brydges Centre has had a dream to build an all encompassing home for all of their children and staff in the one location. Brydges currently has centres spread out around Kenya in places such as Ngong Town, Bungoma, and Dandora to name a few.

Recently, Brydges have been able to announce the purchase of their very own block of land and with it the realisation of the first stage of this dream! Building plans have already been completed, the five acres has been fenced to protect the property, and a toilet and temporary storage shed has been built. All that remains for the first phase to be completed is for trees to be planed around the fence and for a borehole (well) to be drilled. Stellar news!

But, they still need our help to be able to progress the building project further and for building of the school and dorms to begin. If you haven’t yet checked out the Brydges Centre website, please take a look here: www.brydgescentre.net, and click on the ‘Building Project’ link on the homepage. Brydges needs your help through volunteering and monetary donations to assist with FINALLY bringing all of their children together from across the country. Not only does this project provide longterm financial assistance through the collaboration of housing, teaching, and utilities, it also brings over 150 children together, back into one massive family. You can help through donating via the instructions on the Brydges website or sending us a message through this website. Also, if you are not yet sponsoring a child and are looking for any way you can help the children of Africa, Brydges Centre is desperately seeking child sponsorship. Every little bit goes a long way in Kenya, and everything we can do will help save another child’s life.

We have called her home for the last seven months and she has finally been passed onto her new owners, who are looking forward to her guiding them back up towards Kenya over the next few months. If there is one recommendation I could give to any overlander thinking of doing a similar adventure to what we have done going overland through Africa, it would be to buy a Toyota Landcruiser above any other 4×4. What is the reasoning behind it? Let me spell it out for you.

Toyota are the most common vehicle anywhere in Eastern and Southern Africa

You have the advantage with a Toyota. When times get tough (and I can guarantee that they will) not only are parts available in every country, at any time of day, bush mechanics can pull apart and repair almost any part on a Cruiser. The rival 4×4 on this continent is the Land Rover Defender, but no word of a lie, almost 95% of locals and travellers that we have met on our journey have voted Toyota.

Our experienced with broken roof racks, blown clutch cylinders, leaf suspension, and water pump failure all occurred in the middle of nowhere. Whether it was atop the Zomba plateau in Malawi, the desert savannah of the Serengeti, or the mountainous ranges of the Drakensberg the local mechanics have always had us up and running in a few hours, each time, every time.

Toyota’s hold their sale value

South Africa and Kenya are the two countries most recommended to purchase a 4×4 prior to your intrepid adventure through the ‘dark’ continent. Both countries have ample supply of vehicles of varying ages, quality, and price. Out of all of the vehicles we had the pleasure of test driving or inspecting the Toyotas (between the ages of 1980 and 1996) held their value at resale. With any purchase you will generally lose a small amount on its resale, especially if you include all of the gear you aquire during your trip, but for the most part your initial investment will be returned if you are able to advertise the resale and close a deal in either Kenya or South Africa.

Note that at the moment South Africans cannot ‘legally’ import a vehicle (which means convert the foreign registration to South African) but individuals are more than willing to purchase and use on their farms or jump the Botswanian border and register it over there. An import duty of around ~20% is applicable there.

Toyota engines, especially older more hardy engines, will run for 1,000,000 kilometres

Although the 1 million figure is slightly metaphoric, the older Toyota engines are built strong, solid, and will run forever. With general maintenance and care the engine will need minimal work done in order to keep it in top condition. Our trip across Eastern and Southern Africa called on us to replace a few work parts such as front propshaft, wheel bearings, and similar items but after 15,000kms of African ‘roads’ it is to be expected. All of this, yet no work needed on the engine. Experience speaks for itself here.

So to sum it up, we will be handing Helga over to her new overland owners once the cash clears, and then we start the planning for our next adventure…

We flew into Africa a little apprehensive about a number of things that we expected to encounter during our trip across the sparse continent, but the number one concern (not quite fear, but awfully close) is crossing borders in Eastern Africa. The stories you hear online or in the news about corrupt border officials and the bribes that travelers pay for seemingly unnecessary ‘fees or permits’ worried us and even all of the research we undertook online and through friends couldn’t calm the feeling. Driving ‘Helga’, our ‘83 Landcruiser, is the unknown side of our trip and crossing the borders was one of the major concerns until we made it through the Kenyan to Uganda border in under an hour and a half.

In fact the first two borders that we have driven through Malaba from Kenya into Uganda, and Mutukula from Uganda into Tanzania have both come in at under an hour and a half each. When crossing from Kenya into Uganda you do not need a clearing agent. Dozens of men will come out of nowhere to help take your paperwork and get it sorted but DO NOT give anyone other than an official sitting as a desk your original paperwork. At the Kenyan border crossing into Uganda you need to go straight to immigration and have your passport stamped, then head to room one (1) where a customs official will issue your TIP or stamp your carnet  if you have one. We did not use a carnet and had to have a lengthy discussion with the officials about taking our Kenyan registered vehicle out of the country but you can read more about that in our previous posts. From customs you scoot down to the police room at the far end of the building and they check you out of the country again. The Ugandan side is much easier, with us already having our visa prepared in Nairobi, but if you are self-driving then you will need to visit immigration first and then down to a semi-official looking building with a boom gate and have your vehicle paperwork stamped and approved. Again, if you need a TIP then you need to pay in local Ugandan shillings (which we always recommend getting a reasonable amount before trying to enter the country) into a bank account upstairs. Make sure you get a receipt from the bank manager and then have that receipt stamped by the customs official downstairs again. Then, you are free to drive on into Uganda.

The same process applied to crossing from Mutukula in Uganda into Tanzania except we almost tried to run through the Tanzanian side of the border, accidently missing the immigration and customs buildings on the left as soon as you go through the second gate as the myriad of trucks blocks your view. Just be careful!

We stick to two simple rules and so far, touch wood, have not experienced any issues whatsoever. Our rules are as follows:

1. Try and cross the border early in the week, or mid week at the latest.
   This helps eliminate the possibility of bribes or the raising of visa prices, TIPs (Temporary Import Permits for your vehicle), or just blatant demands for cash, on the basis any corrupt officials needed money for the weekend. Obviously corrupt individuals can demand cash at any point in the week but from what we have read and heard from fellow travelers it just eliminates another avenue and will help get you through the border easier.
2. Cross the border as early in the morning as possible.
   Imagine the day of a border official or customs officer; starts work and after clearing a few trucks and a number of overlanders, he comes across an arrogant traveler who demands a speedy visa application and is generally an ass. What happens if after lunch the official runs into another of these troublesome travelers? His friendly or easy going attitude turns sour. If you can be one of the first overlanders to cross his border post in the morning then you boost your chances of catching a happy, willing to help official, making your crossing so much easier.

As we cross additional borders further south into both Malawi and Mozambique we will update this post with the events and issues (if any) of each border but if you apply the rules above they will help minimise the chance of corruption.

What an experience it has been purchasing a vehicle here in Kenya. Coming from Australia where rules and regulations are set, corruption is (almost) non-existent, and to an extent you can confidently rely on the estimated timeframes and communication of your chosen mechanic, Kenya is an epic struggle. From our efforts over the last six weeks in purchasing and preparing our 1983 Toyota Landcruiser for our five month self-drive adventure through to Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi and every country south, we have enough information to write a book! If you are planning a trip across Africa and are looking to purchase a vehicle in Kenya then we hope the information we have collected will save heartache, time and of course, hard earned money.

So, what first?
First and foremost, you need to be aware of your budget. It wasn’t long into our hunt for a vehicle before we realised our original figure of Ksh450,000 was unrealistic. If you are planning on crossing borders or even spending time travelling through western or northern Kenya then a decent 4×4 able to make the journey will set you back a minimum of between Ksh550,000 and Ksh800,000. We looked at Defenders and Landrovers for around Ksh500,000 (cheap because they hadn’t been driven for a year…) and they would have needed a LOT of work to make it out of Ngong Hills. To give you an idea we purchased ‘Helga’, an 1983 Toyota Landcruiser in top mechanical condition for around Ksh650,000. Be realistic with your budget and do a little research online with Google or second hand car dealers in Nairobi to get an accurate and current figure for the type of vehicle you are looking at purchasing.

What type of 4×4 should I be looking at purchasing?
Depending on the trip you need to be looking at different makes and models of vehicles. It always comes down to your budget, but for the backpacking style traveler, our recommendations have always been to purchase a Toyota wherever possible. Parts are available almost everywhere across eastern and southern Africa and most backyard mechanics can tinker and fix problems on older models. Landrover are also top quality, and they can also handle the harsh roads of Kenya. A number of mechanics in Ngong warned us against newer model Mitusbishis like Pajeros, because parts are increasingly scarce in comparison to Toyotas and you may find it difficult to source sound mechanical help, especially if any electronic or injection issues arise. If you are a budget traveler like we are and both budget and travel time cannot be compromised then we highly recommend looking at a Toyota 4×4. Check out the following websites with listings of overland vehicles for sale across Africa to get an idea of what is on offer:
1.    Africa 4×4 Café (Bundubasher): http://www.africa4×4cafe.com/
2.    Overlander Guide to Africa (Luangwablondes): http://www.luangwablondes.com/

Where do I find secondhand vehicles for sale?
Bundubasher had some great recommendations for noticeboards around the city and you can find these on the website. We coincidentally saw the car we ended up buying the first night we were in Nairobi, staying at Karen Camp, but later saw the car advertised on a noticeboard at the Karen Shopping Centre, towards the KCB bank at the rear of the building. Although Karen is known as a ‘mzungu’ (white person) area (and therefore the cars are more likely to be expensive – apparently), you may well pick up a bargain like we did.

Several car yards located along Ngong Road in and out of Karen (about half an hour south of Nairobi) have great buys and can give you a run down on the type of car you are looking for. Be prepared to pay a little extra through the yards though, especially if the locals see the ‘gold dust’ (a term of endearment used to describe our white skin apparently!) browsing alone. To try and get the best price and if you have made friends with a local or are staying in a youth hostel, it would be extremely beneficial if you could take a Kenyan with you when you go to negotiate prices on vehicles. That way you have a chance of fending off the heavy additions in price that may occur because of the ‘gold dust’. If you are not sure about whether you are being ripped off or not, checking local papers like the Daily Nation can help you confirm appropriate amounts.

You have found a few cars you like the sound of, now what?
For every car you are interested in as a potential purchase you MUST get a mechanic to give you an appraisal of what needs to be fixed or repaired. You should form as much of a relationship with your chosen mechanic as you can (grab a coffee, take him around to help you look for vehicles, or run off a personal recommendation) and explain to him the road trip you are planning. This will help the mechanic with what they should be looking for: suspension bushes, springs/leaf, engine mounts, wheels and hubs, all of which will make your trip that much more comfortable. Below is a list of work that we have completed on ‘Helga’, our Landcruiser and how much each cost to buy or replace. But remember that labour is on top of this, and as each mechanic’s charges vary:

•    Serviced and reconditioned radiator: Ksh2500
•    Front wheel bearings and oil seals: Ksh2600
•    Replacement joint kit and bushes: Ksh2000
•    Rear brake shoe relining: Ksh400
•    Full service (8lts oil, oil filter, fuel filter, fan belt, front brakes, 4 replacement battery terminals, hoses): Ksh5400
•    Replacement engine mount: Ksh1400
•    Front brake pads and replacement pipes: Ksh2400
•    Replaced all suspension bushes (24 pieces): Ksh4000
•    Repaired fuel sensor in tank: Ksh4500
•    Purchased a second spare wheel (new tyre/tube set and secondhand hub): Ksh19500
•    High-lift jack: Ksh7500
•    3 x Fuel jerry cans: Ksh6500
•    Solex door locks: Ksh1400
•    Tools, spare hoses, belts, containers and filters: Ksh12000
•    Regreasing of all wheel hubs and steering joints.

Once the appraisal is complete and a rough estimate is given on how much it will cost to fix, take it back to the owner and negotiate the price down. The seller should be willing to negotiate with you based on the work that needs doing (unless the price is already adjusted to include any potential work). If the seller really won’t budge on price, you’ll get a pretty good idea soon after communicating the mechanic’s recommendations and you can make a decision on whether or not to proceed with a sale.

The nightmare that is Kenyan paperwork and Government process…
Once we had finalised the finances, we needed to shift our focus to getting the registration certificate, known in Kenya as the ‘logbook’ into our name. An unexpected surprise was that it can take anywhere up to two month to finalise a transfer of ownership for a second hand vehicle. None of the research we’d done on the topic had brought this up. If you are on a tight time schedule, this is going to be one of the most influential processes standing in your way. Nepotism, it would seem however, is strong and kicking in Kenya and it’s not what you know, but who you know that might be able to speed up this process. Luckily for us (given we were short on time), we were able to have our logbook ‘pushed through’ by a ‘friend of a friend’ in just over 3 days. We recommend leaving longer than this though, because even when they say something is ready, it can ALWAYS take longer. We aren’t too sure what happened behind the scenes, or whether money was transferred between the two parties involved but the speediness of its return was very much appreciated by us. We would hate to think that we have supported corruption in Kenya, but when it comes down to you leaving the country in a matter of a week and the possibility of the log book taking two months, you’re left in a very sticky situation. Even better if you can build the buffer time into your trip, just in case – 8 days including the ‘3’ that they recommend is best. It’s funny though, almost any Kenyan you speak to (even our taxi driver) knows someone who can help. If you find yourself caught in a situation where paying someone to speed up the process is the only option, agree on a price beforehand. One thing we found quite difficult is that almost everyone will demand full payment upfront, and won’t do anything unless you do it, so it would be in your best interest to offer the individual a few extra shillings if they get the logbook back to you in the timeframe they give you. This will encourage them to get off ‘Kenyan-time’ and eliminate the risk of pushing your travels back even further.

What to expect with vehicle repairs and trip preparation.
Preparing our 4×4 for the long journey south took much longer than quoted and expected. Granted, Kenya was in the middle of electricity and water rationing but we picked an old and slow mechanic. His work was top quality but on a job that should have taken five days he took over two and a half weeks. Always insist on a realistic timeframe from your mechanic, ask them to call or text you updates every other day to make sure work is coming along as expected or that you are alerted of issues as soon as they come up.

After we collected our vehicle from the old turtle-paced mechanic we then needed to engage with several other workshops to complete work that his garage could not cater for, like radiator flushing, wheel alignment and the purchase of a new hub and wheel setup. Once you have a complete and accurate list of work to be completed from your mechanic have him list the parts you need to purchase or take him with you to a spare parts shop and buy the goods yourself, in person. Even though it is generalising, most Kenyan mechanics are opportunists and will bump prices up on each item, and I have yet to be proven otherwise! We found a great spares shop just outside of Karen, south of Nairobi, called Ashro Spares. Ask around for Motherland Centre, which is located behind a Shell service station just outside of Karen driving towards Nairobi. Ask for Ashro, tell him Ben and Kate sent you, and he will fix you up with everything you need from hoses and batteries to screws, nuts, bolts, and power inverters. Also make sure you pick yourself up a high-lift jack. These should be selling for around Ksh7,500 and will save your life if you need it along your trip.

Make sure you agree with your mechanic that they will give you all of the old parts that they remove or replace. Not only does this mean that you will have spare belts, hoses and suspension bushes, it will also ensure that they do the work that you are paying for. Be careful leaving your vehicle anywhere you aren’t comfortable as it is common knowledge that shifty spanner handlers can remove perfectly good parts and replace them with older, cheaper parts in order to make a quick buck.

What spares should you carry on your trip?
The following spare parts should always be carried on any long cross-country trip in Africa:
•    2 x Spare wheels. This is a must, regardless of the distances or route you are taking. The chances of more than one puncture are extremely high and there is no guarantee that you will be able to find a replacement tyre.
•    Top and bottom radiator hoses.
•    Fan belt and air conditioning belts.
•    Spare radiator fan if you can find one. This was recommended to us by another traveler who had broken his enroute to Kenya and took days to find a replacement.
•    Fuel filter, air filter and oil filter. Especially with diesel engines and while driving through Africa it is recommended to change filters every 5,000kms, or stretch it up to 7,500kms if you haven’t taken the extreme routes.

For an extensive list of what you should be carrying for your vehicle, camping, and everything else 4×4 related check out Bundubashers website listed above. He has great advice on what to carry and what to be prepared for throughout the continent.

Insurance, Carnets, Temporary Import Permits (TIPs) and COMESA… it is all so confusing!
Before we landed in Kenya we were so confused about what happens after we purchase a 4×4 and then most of all how do we get it out of the country! Having passed our first border a week ago we can now safely spills the beans on the entire process and hopefully clear up the misconceptions about crossing borders with vehicles and what is and isn’t necessary.

The first thing you need to do once you have a vehicle, the mechanic has fixed everything up, and you are ready to drive the wild streets of Kenya, is to get third party insurance. The only reason you need this is to make the car roadworthy. If you ever needed to claim an accident you would have almost zero chance of getting any compensation so just go with a cheap, third party provider such as CIC from the Automobile Association of Kenya. To cover us for five months we paid around Ksh3,800 so keep this figure as an indicator although it may go up or down slightly depending on the economic climate. You might be asking why we bought insurance for five months when we are only in Kenya for less than two. The reason is that every time you cross a border in eastern and southern Africa you need to pay an import duty or import insurance for your vehicle. What we highly recommend is buying COMESA third party insurance, which is an extension of your local Kenyan insurance and the COMESA covers every import cost for countries in eastern and southern Africa. This means you are much less susceptible to bribes on each border when having to pay for local import insurance. Because COMESA is an extension of your local insurance you need to be covered in Kenya (or the country you are purchasing the vehicle in) for the entire time of your journey. For us, we are traveling south for five months, so our local Kenyan third party insurance and our COMESA extension both needed to cover for five months. Both of these can be organised in one day at your closest Automobiles Association of Kenya (AA) office. There is one is Westlands shopping centre and another in Hurlingham (we were closest to this office and Philip was very helpful) and combined should come in under Ksh10,000.

Another big question is whether someone needs to purchase a Carnet or not. We didn’t buy one. They can be expensive and ARE NOT necessary. The purpose of a carnet is so that you are proving to the border officials that you will not leave the vehicle in another country and that you are not exporting/importing vehicles. Basically a right of passage into each country. What we have found out through our investigating is that as long as you can prove to the border officials that you intend of leaving the country that you are traveling into and will not be returning through the same border with your vehicle in the distant future, you can get through without spending what can be thousands of Australian dollars on a carnet. All you need to purchase on each border is a Temporary Import Permit (TIPs) which for Uganda was only Ush43,000 and equates to around US$22.

Bottom line is that you do not need to purchase a carnet when driving a Kenyan registered vehicle, south towards South Africa.

Officially, we were asked to leave our logbook at the border but you can work around it with patience, time, and a smooth tongue with the customs officer on duty. To get across borders without leaving your original logbook as you will most likely not be coming back through that border and don’t want to leave the only proof you have that shows you are the vehicle owner, you will need two photocopies of your logbook (for each border), patience, and a good explanation of how you can prove your journey. We used photocopies of our flight information out of Johannesburg and crossing the border from Malaba into Uganda only took us an hour and a half. Watch out for ‘clearance agents’ that will hassle you and try and get you to hand over the car’s documentation. Only handover documents to customs officers in their office and never let them leave your sight. If you are doing the same crossing into Uganda from Malaba, head straight to the Immigration window, then to Customs at window one, then right down to the police window to have them stamp you out.

Special thanks to everyone that helped us with the process of buying our Toyota Landcruiser here in Kenya and for all of the priceless information and advice on traveling across the continent. In particular we would like to thank Enzo (Bundubasher) at http://www.africa4×4cafe.com/.

Safe travels and if you have any questions at all please feel free to drop us a comment or an email and we will do our best to help out!

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We wouldn’t call ourselves mountain climbers. Sure, we love the outdoors and cannot get enough of nature, but climbing to the summit of a mountain almost 5000m above sea level is not something we do everyday. Researching the big mountains in Africa we came upon both Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, and Mt Kenya here in the heart of central Kenya. Until recently we had decided to attempt a climb on both mountains but a last minute decision (and the prospect of seeing the mountain gorillas in Uganda) has meant that we will spend our mountaineering time only on Mt Kenya. Not only being much cheaper than its big brother, coming in at around US$520 per person (almost half that of the cheapest Mt Kilimanjaro trek we could find) every traveler we have talked to has told us that Mt Kenya is more difficult to climb, less travelled, and much more beautiful as a mountain to admire during your ascent and on the way back down.

The mountain sits just under the equator and is protected within the Mt Kenya National Park, which is tagged as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is around 620km square in size. Even though the highest point, Batian, sits at 5199m above sea level, it can only be reached by technical climbers and is not an option for less experienced hikers. We aimed for Pt Lenana which still reigns 4985m high and is most popular among those coming to the Mt Kenya National Park.

We were put in contact with Chris from Africa Big Mountains (contact us for details if you are thinking of making the trip) by the GAPS Country Coordinator here in Kenya and began planning our mission which was to head up the Chogoria route to the summit of Pt Lenana, and then walk out of the mountain via the Mackinders Valley along the Sirimon route. It was here at Chris’s house/office that we first met our guides; John and Ciuri, who were responsible for helping us tackle the mountain.

Our beat up Landrover drove us from Chogoria town half way along the entry road to the park. It was here, in the middle of an amazing bamboo forest that we climbed out and started our short trek up to the Chogoria gate where we would camp down for the night. The mist was thick and the air cold once we finally fell asleep for our first night on the mountain. While we slept in our own tent, John #1, Ciuri, John #2, Patrick, and Joseph all slept together in the kitchen tent, utilizing the heat from the burner to stay warm. After a scrumptious breakfast of eggs, toast, and tea we ascended slowly for 7kms through the pockets of forest that covered the mountain. Keeping a keen eye out for wild elephants and the resident leopard that calls these trees home, we packed down for lunch at an altitude of 3200m at the Roadhead. Cars occasionally drive this far up, normally owned by the Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) who are the national protectors of all animals throughout Kenya. It was here that we spent our day acclimatising and readying our bodies for the intense climbing that was to occur over the coming two days. While our trusty porters and cook setup camp and started the boilers for dinner, John and Ciuri (our guides) led us to the famous Gates waterfall and the infamous poachers den, used as a makeshift camp for the handful of poachers that scour Mt Kenya for buffalo and wild game that they kill and drag back down to civilization. The KWS are equipped with mammoth guns and, whether it is official or not, given authority to shoot on sight any suspected poachers that are caught with their hands dirty. John and Ciuri told us a story of one guide group, no longer than two years ago, that had been forced at gunpoint to carry the poacher’s bags, equipment, and catch down out of the reserve. Scary to think that this is actually reality and that the campfire just to our left, still smoldering slightly, was used recently.

Making it back to camp, Ben and the men trudged off into the mist and collected sticks for the night’s fire, and shortly after dinner both of us passed out playing Uno and Gin Rummy in our tent. The early rise the following morning was becoming second nature and after munching down some weetabix and egg our porters and chef bolted ahead of us  in true Kenyan style, eager to reach our next camp and start prep for our final days ascent up to the summit. John and Ciuri helped us pack our bags (small in comparison to the ones they were carrying for us!) and the four of us started the hike towards Mintos camp. The 7kms of mountain are stunning. We caught a glimpse of Lake Ellis which we had missed checking out in person the day earlier due to the intense wet weather that had engulfed the mountain only days earlier and the heavy mist that had settled on our camp. As we climbed over the first peak our eyes settled on the Gorgeous Valley (or Gorgeous Gorge) which was surrounded by stunning, rugged mountain caps and sheer rock cliffs. The valley twisted and turned for 15kms up into the mouth of Lake Michaelson which trickled down into the valley, eventually joining further down with Gates falls. We ate our picnic lunch here, atop the sheer cliffs, looking down and sheltering ourselves from the wind gusts that threatened to push us towards the edge. As we started a mild descent towards our next camp it was amazing at how the scenery changes so dramatically. From rainforest just a day earlier to the jagged mountain edges just experienced, and then into what can only be described as a scene from the moon. Arid and flat, the only things that seemed to survive this high were small shrubs, rocks, and a metal Kenyan water gauge. And as we pulled ourselves, wheezing and exhausted from the altitude, up over the final ledge we made it to Mintos camp.

Mintos sits at an altitude of 4200m and it is here that the majority of AMS kicks in for climbers who have scaled the mountain too quickly. Due to our slow and steady pace we both felt fine, tired from the days walking and having to focus on breathing deeper and consistently due to the altitude, but nothing more was felt than a mild pressure around our foreheads. It is cold this high up. The wind has a constant chill no matter how bright the sun is. If you are thinking of climbing Mt Kenya then you definitely need to bring multiple thermal tops, windproof/weatherproof jacket, thermals leggings, merino fleece, as well as cooler apparel for climbing the lower altitudes. While we waiting for dinnertime to roll around we took a look around camp, at the stagnant lakes that are definitely not for your drinking bottle unless you have boiled AND iodized the hell out of it. One thing that you must see when you make it to Mintos is the Temple. A flat, rocky mounting top that sits just above the camp teeters out to a sheer drop of 200m, straight down into the tip of Gorgeous Valley and Lake Michaelson. Mind blowing. Ciuri pointed out a wreckage still sitting on a cliff opposite the Temple that was a fatal helicopter crash two years ago and one of the two bodies is yet to be recovered from the lake. It isn’t surprising that impacts with the mountain happen up here as the mist that engulfs us each morning is thick and constant.

Our final night before attempting to climb to the summit of Pt Lenana was spent huddled together in our tent, wearing four layers of clothing while attempting to sleep in our -5 degree sleeping bags. It is damn cold at 4200m. 2:30AM rolled on and we were up before our wake up call, ready for a quick snack of gingernut biscuits and chai before we started our slow and steady climb. Our goal was to reach the peak just in time for sunrise.

As we walked slowly up the mountain in the pitch black darkness with only our head-torches to guide us, a group of climbers (who had left an hour after us this morning) overtook us. They had been basically running up the mountain ahead of their guide over the previous three days and fatigue and possible AMS was starting to take its toll on their entire group which numbered around 10 climbers. It wasn’t long until we trekked by them again, all resting on the rocky path, tired and exhausted. As we hauled ourselves up the final 100m high rock face, both hands gripping the slope in order to stay balanced and not tumble down into the dark abyss below, we reached the peak with a mass of both elation and a light headed feeling of achievement! We had made it to 4985m, and although the wind was an icy subzero temperature the views above the clouds and into the gorgeous sunrise were unimaginable.

Only staying on the summit for 15 minutes at most, we took on the 300m gravel drop down into Shiptons camp on the other side of the mountain, where we took tea and ate an incredible breakfast, filled our water bottles and began our 14km walk out through the stunning Mackinders Valley to Old Moses camp. Our final night was spent in a well deserved bunk house and after walking out through the Sirimon gate on our fifth day, we said goodbye to our amazing climbing team; John, Ciuri, John, Joseph and Patrick, but not before we all celebrated with a few Tusker lagers back in the bustling town of Narok.

What an epic five days!

Recommendations for climbing Mt Kenya:

1. Take enough snacks for the extent of your trek. Nuts, muesli bars and small chocolate bars pack enough energy to help you make the summit.
2. The water is not safe to drink at a number of camps such as Mintos. Make sure you either boil your water and then filter it, or take enough iodine tablets to kill off any nasties.
3. As a general rule you will be drinking 2-3 litres per person, per day on the mountain. Even though it is cold at altitude, make sure you still drink a large amount of water as it helps fight off altitude sickness and keep your body flushed.
4. Bring warm, wind proof, and weather proof clothes. We took 2 x thermal tops, a set of thermal bottoms, fleece jumper, singlet, 2 x t-shirts, waterproof trousers, hiking shoes, explorer socks, and a waterproof and windproof jacket. Also a beanie and good waterproof gloves are a must.
5. Pay a little extra and take advantage of an acclimatisation day. Extra time at altitude increases your chances of making it to the top feeling fine and being able to enjoy the experience. Climbing too quickly can severely affect some climbers with AMS.
6. Shop around for a good deal, but remember: if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is! We paid around US$520 per person for a 5 day Chogoria (up) to Sirimon (down) route, which, after talking with other climbers during our trek is our recommendation for anyone wanting to tackle the mountain.