Friday 2nd March - Day 6

The last day on the hill had come - and the world is definitely a better place after a good nights sleep. My legs were quite stiff, but I got up quietly before the others and payed a visit to a very nice toilet and sink for a quick cold wash. The storm had blown through in the night and outside it was dry, but a little blustery. Our kit was still wet from the nightmare evening before, so I dragged everything outside to give the others space (still feeling guilty for leaving Mary in the toilet) and spread out my water proofs weighed down with rocks for them to dry in the wind.

Our wonderful home for our last night on the hill with kit drying outside!

The porters then arrived at our hut, which was at the top of the hill compared to our camp (what was left of it) at the bottom of the hill with wake up tea and washy water. I couldn't believe they'd made the effort to bring it all the way to us. I took a slow walk down the hill to where our tents were as we'd left our poles and a few other items (a bag of dirty clothes!) in the tent that we couldn't be bothered to pack in our rush to get somewhere dry. When I opened the tent I found a very happy porter in his sleeping bag. I offered him "wake up tea" which he thought was hysterical! I recovered our kit and wandered back to the hut. It was quite a long way and I can't believe that we tried to run up that hill in the darkness - there were rocks everywhere too! Furthermore, as the mess tent had been blown down in the night, they served us our breakfast on picnic benches on the Veranda of some of the very large huts - it was really very pleasant. 

When I was in our camp collecting our kit, Julius came and found me. He took my hand and wanted to say thank you so much for the $50 I had given him the day before. I told him it was nothing and it was to thank him for helping me as I didn't think I would have made it without him. He kept going on about how much it meant to him and that this money would really help him and his family. I didn't think much more of it until we were at breakfast and I was telling a few of the others about my conversation with Julius. Henry, who had been working in Tanzania for a month explained to me that $50 was a huge amount of money to these guys - in fact, it was the equivalent of 6 months education for one child. I had no idea and felt very humbled.

As dinner the evening before had been a bit of a write off - we had to use the short time we had at breakfast to sort out all of the collective tips. At our briefing in the hotel before we left, we'd been given a piece of paper which advised how the tips should be broken up. The recommended amount to be given by each of us was between $120 and $140. Mary took charge, collected the money and with a few of the others divided it up. The Chief Guide got the most (I think around $80), the mountain guides $60 each, the cook got about the same and then there were smaller amounts for everyone else. When we announced that the porters all got $30 each they were absolutely delighted and started applauding. It was so touching. We also gave out some special awards - there was extra money for the 2 guys who had to empty the chemical toilets and we also gave extra to the porters who joined us on the summit night. After we'd given out the tips it's traditional for the porters to sing a Kilimanjaro mountain song - it was great to hear. There is nothing quite like the sound of African singing - always makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I took a final few shots of Kilimanjaro - it was amazing to reflect on just how far we had walked the day before. What was even more amazing was that Kili was totally white having been covered again in snow during the storm that had brought rain and high winds to our camp. I couldn't have imagined what it would have been like if we had been attempting the summit in those conditions. We had been so lucky with the weather and I counted my blessings.

View of Kili from our Camp - we'd walked a really long way!

And, with the formalities done - it was time for our final day walking. It would be approximately 6 hours and we would descend to Marangu Gate at 1830m, nearly 2000m additional descent. I strapped up my toe, took some pain killers, made sure my socks weren't pulling on it and started walking! We quickly separated into two groups - a fast one and a sensible one. For some reason - I found myself in the fast one. I wanted off the hill as my foot was very sore, but the pace was something else. After a while, a bit like the second day I found myself on my own again between the two groups and it was great to have that feeling of space and wilderness around me. We walked passed lots of others who were also descending - and a few on their way up. Two of the most interesting were a pair of Japanese gentlemen. They were keen to chat - the first chap was 69 and the other was in his 70's. They'd made it to the summit - and here was me whinging about how hard it was!

I caught up with the faster group again and they all agreed we should slow down a bit and actually enjoy the walking. We went through shrubland where there were some amazing trees that only grow on Kili, and soon were back in the rainforest. Here we were treated to watching monkeys play in the trees above us - and it didn't rain at all - it was fantastic to stay dry!

My legs were getting very sore now, and I'd been aware that by keeping my sock loose in my boot, it had rucked up and I was going to have a pretty awesome blister on the side of my foot. But it was the last day and having had some pretty spectacular blisters in the past, it's always best just to keep moving or they get really sore. So, in the mid afternoon we finally reached Marangu gate - it was so good to be down - and reflect on the fact that I'd actually achieved a goal that I'd held for many many years. It was an amazing feeling. A friend called Kath, who I'd also met with George in Patagonia was meant to be on the trip with us, but unfortunately a serious injury just a few weeks before our trip meant she wasn't able to travel. She'd given each of us a laminated card with our names on it and the words, "Pain is temporary, but the glory is forever". Never a truer word spoken.

We went through the formalities of signing out at the gate and treating ourselves to a well earned bottle of coke from the shop. We relaxed in the sun, stretching out very sore and stiff legs and waited for the rest of our group to join us. I was able to return the favour of Coke back to Mary! The gate was a bit busy, so the guides said that they would collect our certificates and bring them to our hotel. Fortunately, the transfer to the hotel was very quick as we'd effectively walked back over the mountain to where our hotel was. Our bags had been left in the car park and we identified our own bags and watched to ensure they were loaded onto our bus. It was over!

After a short journey back to our hotel - up that very bumpy track again , we were greeted by the same staff and given our bags that we'd left behind....shampoo and a clean set of clothes - heaven! Priorities were very different - for some, it was time for the bar. For Mary and me, it was a shower/bath and maybe a little nap before joining the others for dinner. My feet were a mess, but nothing I'd not been through before. My first aid kit is always prepared for such eventualities. George and Paul were in the room next door - we all had a balcony overlooking the swimming pool and as dusk set I had a final glimpse of Kilimanjaro. George popped in for me to look at her foot - and I thought I had problems! George has always amazed me - she was born with a club foot and after surgery when she was a baby, she walks quite normally now.

However, the scar tissue on her heel and foot are quite severe and these areas always blister terribly for her. I am amazed that she was able to walk at all. I helped her dress it and we joined them downstairs to celebrate our engagements! (She did end up with several visits to her local hospital on return to keep changing the dressings on her foot!).

After a quick glug of champagne and being presented with our certificates I managed to get a decent mobile phone signal and talk to John. Such a relief and great to talk to him. My next call was to my Mum, to let her know that I was safe and well and also to tell her the other big news. I think she was as much in shock as I was - and just very relieved to hear that I was OK.

After that, we were really rather boring - we had dinner and just went to bed. Some of the others stayed up until midnight drinking and celebrating - where they had the energy for that is beyond me. Mary and I were tucked up by 9pm and out for the count.

Mary, George and me - Cheers!