Introduction

Myself and Charlotte, a good friend from Wales, decided to climb Kilimanjaro via the Machame Route in October. I had always intended to go, and was delighted to find out that Charlotte had holiday days to burn, and was eager to climb this also, so we started making plans. Good news is she has walked at higher altitudes having walked the Inca Trail, so I got some personal insight into what to expect!

We organised this through an small group adventure holiday company called Explore Worldwide. The trip consisted of the trek up Kili and also a half day Safari afterwards to chill out and relax after all our exertions.

We trawled through the net to find out what specific gear and training would be required for this trip, and made plans to get in shape for the big event over the upcoming few months. Living in Cork, about an hour from the McGillycuddy's Reeks in Kerry, I spent manys a weekend down there, while Charlotte had Snowdonia to ramble in.

This is a personal account of our preparations, training and experiences both before, during and after the event.

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