Sabbatical Year

Kilimanjaro Barranco to Barafu Basecamp

Kilimanjaro Machame Route Day 4: Barranco camp to Barafu Base camp via Karanga camp

Day 4 of my journey on the Machame Route on Kilimanjaro takes me from Barranco camp at 3900 meters, to Barafu base camp at 4700 meters (via Karanga camp). Barafu camp is the final camp before climbers make their final trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Aside from summit night, day 4 was the most […]

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Kilimanjaro Lava Tower

Kilimanjaro Machame Route Day 3: Shira Camp to Barranco Camp via the Lava Tower

Day 3 is an acclimation-building day on Kilimanjaro as we ascend 800M from Shira Camp to the Lava Tower at 4600M, but then descend back down to 3950M at Barranco camp. Following the principle of climb high, sleep low.  The day starts at 6am, with our wash basins being delivered to our tent, packing and

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Machame Camp to Shira Camp

Kilimanjaro Machame Route Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp

Day 2 of my journey on Kilimanjaro’s Machame Route takes to Shira Camp situated at 3800M above sea-level.  The hike is a very short one today: just 5km, however we ascend nearly 800 meters in this short hike from 3050m at Machame Camp to 3800m at Shira Camp.  My alarm went off at 6:30am, and

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Kilimanjaro Machame Route

Kilimanjaro Machame Route Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp

Day 1 of my 6 day trek on the Kilimanjaro Machame route with Zara Tours commenced at Machame Gate – situated about 30KM from Moshi. The 11KM trek today gained about 1200m of elevation – from Machame gate which sits at 1640m to Machame camp which sits at 2840m. The slow-as-molasses “pole-pole” pace set by

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Preparing for Kilimanjaro

How to Prepare for Kilimanjaro: A Practical Guide to Climbing one of the World’s Seven Summits

Climbing Kilimanjaro has been on my bucket list for a while. Kilimanjaro is one of the World’s Seven Summits, and is the highest free-standing mountain in the world. As the highest mountain on the continent of Africa – it is also known as the “Ceiling of Africa.” As summiting Kilimanjaro does not require any technical

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Beyond a Basecamp for Kilimanjaro: Things to do in Moshi, Tanzania

Situated approximately 800 meters above sea-level, Moshi is the most popular basecamp for treks to summit the “Ceiling of Africa”: Mount Kilimanjaro. As a Mount Kilimanjaro trek is a big investment, it’s a good idea to arrive in Moshi a few days prior to when your trek is scheduled to commence in order to acclimatize

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end of the world camino finisterre

A Walk to the End of the World: the Camino Finisterre

The Camino Finisterre or Camino Fisterra or Camino to the “End of the World” is the only Camino that takes you away from Santiago de Compostela and towards the Atlantic Ocean. The Camino Finisterre takes you to the Cabo Fisterra – which for hundreds of years was regarded as the end of the known world

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Completing the Camino de Santiago

The Camino de Santiago Week 5: Completing the Pilgrimage. Triacastela to Santiago de Compostela

Week 5 marks the last leg of my journey to completing the French Route of the Camino de Santiago. As I walked through the last 100 or so kilometers of the route through beautiful Galician landscapes; I became increasingly reflective of my learnings from the journey the closer I got to my destination.  There’s a

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Camino de Santiago Injuries - O Cebreiro

The Camino de Santiago Week 4: Injuries, Legend, and Pastoral life.  Leon to Triacastela

Week 4 of my journey to Santiago takes me from Leon into the province of Galicia.  As the pilgrimage passes the 500KM mark of the Camino de Santiago; injuries are not uncommon.  I battle my own injuries this week and encounter many others who are also trying to overcome their bodily objections to the journey. 

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