Kiliwarriors

It would be remiss of me if I did not compliment Kiliwarriors on the excellent meals they provided. I had been warned by people who had done the climb at other times, that the food would be dodgy and to be very selective about which foods I ate because most people end up with stomach upsets due to inadequate food storage and preparation. Well I don't know who they climbed with but it obviously wasn't Kiliwarriors! Our meals were superb and we were constantly amazed at how they were able to prepare such excellent food...on a mountain, in a camp situation and over nine days! The food was always fresh and wholesome and there was plenty of it....in fact, we kept telling them to stop force feeding us!

Breakfast usually started with steaming hot porridge (which I don't eat - but Nick told me it was good) followed by toast or French toast ( Very YUMMY) and usually two other hot dishes such as bacon or sausage and scrambled or omelette style eggs. All this along with a variety of honey and jams, cereal and sliced fresh fruit, juice and a selection of hot drinks.

Lunch always started with a steaming hot soup (different each day) and at least two hot dishes, plus breads, cheese and fresh fruit.

Dinner again started with steaming hot soup (different each day) followed by at least three sometimes four hot dishes. And again, a selection of sliced fruits and cheese, then finished with hot drinks and some very yummy biscuits.

The hot dishes were varied and I can't recall all of them but we are talking the likes of rice or pasta or a potato dish with a variety of meat, tuna or vegetable sauces. We even had pepper steak one night and fried chicken and chips one night...amazing, how did they do that?

On the Western Breach night, when the effects of Altitude Sickness had taken my appetite, they served chips for the second time. I was beyond eating but our waiter coaxed me into eating just a few chips by reminding me that I was so impressed with the chef cooking them last time that I just had to try them again.

Choosing the right company to climb with can make or break your climb. In my case, I was very lucky in my choice of Kiliwarriors, they didn't only guide me to a successful climb of Kilimanjaro but they also made it a wonderful experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

From day one when I first emailed Carol and Eban of Kiliwarriors in their American based company, they were very helpful and supportive. Always providing heaps of information on the climb and details on what to expect plus answering my many questions with patience and clarity. Their website also has heaps of information on it and is easy to navigate.

A few nights before I left for my trip, Carol phoned me from America to go over everything I might need to know and to answer any of my last minute questions. We had already emailed each other so many times in preparation of my trip, that it seemed like I was chatting to an old friend. She gave me heaps of encouragement and told me she had no doubt I would make the summit.....and I did....Woohoo :)

Meeting Wilbert when I landed at Kilimanjaro airport and then the entire team a few days later, I was instantly completely at ease with them all and knew I was in safe hands.

Kiliwarriors are more than just a team of employees working together, they are a family bonded together by their close working environment and respect for each other. I took note that there was no favoritism or pulling of rank shown amongst them. Wilbert and Hosea were clearly in charge but they messed in along with all from the porter in charge of the portable toilet to the chef to the general porters and personal porters, all we're treated equally.

Hosea told me that as I have climbed to the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro with Kiliwarriors, I am now also a Kiliwarrior. I will wear that name with pride!

Kiliwarriors catalogue is headed;

There is a place

in Africa

where ordinary people go

to do something

extraordinary

KILIMANJARO

for me, this sums it up perfectly!

For me, I found that you embrace Kilimanjaro.  You don't try to conquer her.  You let her tell you what she wants of you and you follow her curves and go with her moods.  Pole Pole and with determination, you will get to her summit.

The support I received from the entire Kiliwarrior team was phenomenal. The reception each afternoon as we arrived in camp was so rewarding and made me feel very special, I could feel they all wanted me to make it to the top.

Hosea was my godsend and I am so grateful that he was our guide. I reckon he has to be the best on the mountain!!! He watched over me and without him, I may not have made the summit....I definitely would not have been standing on the descent without his constant help!

There were two things Hosea repeatedly told me - he kept telling me that I was doing really well, this helped because I didn't want to think I was dragging the chain and delaying Nicks progress - and he often told me that I was a very strong woman,  I'm sure he was referring to my determination and not so much my physical strength.  His words encouraged me to keep on pushing onwards and upwards. He seemed to know instinctively when I needed to hear these two phrases and each time he said one or the other, it gave me the extra incentive to push on....Hosea is one very special guide!

He would also come alongside me and gently take hold of the pipe from my CamelBak and place it in my mouth - just like a parent reminding a child to drink!  So thoughtful all the way.

On the descent, Hosea said to me "now that you had made it to the summit of Kilimanjaro, you must go on and climb a HIGHER mountain". I told him that wasn't likely to happen and that I had probably just done the first and only mountain climb I would ever achieve. Hosea, as usual full of support, again encouraged me and told me "I will always remember you as a women of great strength and you must do another climb".

All the Kiliwarriors had difficulty with my name. It seems Ann is just not said In their vocabulary and as soon as I introduced myself as Ann, they would each refer to me as Anna. It didn't worry me at all and Anna became my new name. Until, Hosea accessed a Facebook entry from Hope (and I think a similar one from Sally) where they referred to me as Annie - this caught on quickly.

The internet connection spots on the mountain were in areas the "average climber" doesn't get to but Hosea would wander off each day and get to these spots to send and receive messages to Carol and get FB updates. One such entry from Hope was "Go Annie Go!" and this became a chant that Hosea and Shadrock would break into, now and again and they extended it to "Go Annie Go! Go Nick Go!" accompanied by lots of clapping. These outbursts of encouragement we're always well timed by them and gratefully receive by us...it always gave our spirits a lift and reminded me that my family and friends were in this with me.

Finally, I would like share with you a really touching email that I received from Carol of Kiliwarriors the day after I came off the mountain. I guess this really says it all and demonstrates that Kiliwarriors are not just a company to climb with, but a family who will embrace you...

Hello Ann –

YOU DID IT! I am so proud of you and your summit success. Congratulations!

We celebrate our 10th year of success on Kilimanjaro this year. And I must say you are one of our most determined clients ever. I admire your courage and “pluck.”

I will never forget your first correspondence to us. You said people close to you said it was a crazy idea for you to climb Kilimanjaro…especially considering your health challenges. I tell so many of our clients not to attempt Kilimanjaro unless you clearly hear that voice in your head and heart that says to you it’s something you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you must try....an undeniable strong desire in your heart that you will attempt it…no matter what! You clearly had the right mindset!

As is the case during every trek on the mountain for the past 10 years, if we are not on the mountain ourselves, Eben and I anxiously await updates from our team during every day of every trek for reassurance that all is going well. When it gets to day 7, the most difficult day of the 9 day trek, quite honestly, we don’t sleep or rest. We know at 10pm our time in the USA, you are getting ready for the most difficult part of the trek…breach day!

It was midnight in the USA, I knew you should be about 2/3 way through what we call the “danger zone.” And I began to think about your journey...your initial keen desire and determination when you signed up...fast forward to your work hardships about a month before the trip and confidence and focus slipping away a bit...and on the phone with you a few days before departure I sensed a quiet, perhaps somewhat cautious confidence...but determination returning...it was time to go! I had a very strong feeling based on your strength and fortitude during the first 6 days of your trek, that you would be just fine and attain your goal! In fact, last night I was getting giddy with excitement for you! As I was sitting here praying for your success, a poem I memorized as a child in primary school came to my mind and I realized how much this little poem was a reflection of you and your Kilimanjaro journey. I decided when I heard from Hosea that you reached the summit, to send you this little poem...a testament to what can be done when you put your mind and heart into something...and don't listen to the nay sayers! Here is the first verse…

It Couldn’t Be Done
By Edgar Guest

Somebody said that it couldn’t be done,
But, he with a chuckle replied
That "maybe it couldn’t," but he would be one
Who wouldn’t say so till he’d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.

Ann, as the poem says...you "tackled the thing!" It's now your time to sing Ann...SING!

Warm Regards,
Carol
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Carol Schoeman
Kiliwarrior Expeditions