I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within. ~ Lillian Smith
Our Volunteer Project
Following our summit of Kilimanjaro, we spent 4 days working in Babati, a town southwest of the mountain in coordination with the Livingstone Tanzania Trust. In March 2010, Livingstone Tanzania Trust was named a country winner for the Educating Africa Pan-African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education 2009. It’s a growing charity that works with an impoverished rural community, working to improve education and general quality of life. Our project with Livingstone during this adventure philanthropy expedition included building an environmentally sustainable kitchen and goat shed that will conserve school resources and the region’s dwindling forests.
Expedition Cost & Timeframe
The two-week expedition was $4,995. The price included all food and camp-style lodging during the seven-day Kilimanjaro climb and all transportation and lodging in Tanzania, including hotels near Babati. The price also included all meals, except two or three lunch/dinners during group free time.
The price did not include airfare to Tanzania or the cost of purchasing a travel/volunteer visa, roughly 100USD.
Arrival & Departure
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) was the nearest airport of arrival and departure for this expedition. Expedition members arrived at JRO on Saturday, July 31. (Flights from North America typically connect in Europe and arrive at JRO once every evening.) Regardless when people arrived, they were met at JRO and driven to our hotel in Moshi, a market town about 45 minutes east, for a good night’s rest.
Departures from Tanzania from JRO were booked no earlier than 3:30pm on Saturday, August 14, this ensured sufficient time for the drive that morning from Babati town. Some of our members stayed on in Tanzania for a few more days to experience a big-game safari (highly recommended).
Kilimanjaro II Expedition, August 2010
Summit Africa’s highest peak + Built a kitchen & goat shed for a school
Check out the best photos from this expedition!
Sunday, Aug. 1 to Saturday, Aug. 14
In August, Roadmonkey returned to Tanzania to lead its third small-group adventure philanthropy expedition to the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 19,343 feet Africa’s highest point. Following our 7-day climb and descent, we finished a 4-day, hands-on volunteer project, we worked with local community members to build an eco-friendly kitchen and a much-needed goat shed at a school in a small town southwest of the mountain.
Our non-profit partner for this project was the U.K.-based Livingstone Tanzania Trust.
Expedition Route & Itinerary
We climbed the Machame route, from Kilimanjaro’s southwest side, a 7-day climb that took us from rain forest to moorland to above the cloud layer to lunar-like rocky surfaces above 14,000 feet. The Machame route provided the opportunity to climb through or near the mountain’s Great Western Breach and spend an evening sleeping at very high altitude in the ice crater, just two hours’ hike from the summit. Camping in the ice crater, because of the campsite’s proximity to Uhuru Peak, allowed for a unique Kilimanjaro experience: a chance to summit twice, once at sunset and again in the morning, for sunrise.
The climb comprised of 6 days to ascend to Uhuru Peak and 1 day (a 24-hour period that included an overnight camp) to descend.
Lodging & Food
Upon arrival in Tanzania, expedition members experienced a single room at a superior hotel, for a bit of a soft landing. During our week on Mt. Kilimanjaro, we were sleeping in two-person tents. In the town of Babati, where we built a kitchen and goat shed for a local grade school, we had clean but basic hotel accommodations.
Our meals while on the mountain were prepared by the expedition cook and were hearty and quite tasty. Breakfasts were generally eggs and toast with sausages. Lunches and dinners were a combination of soups, vegetables and some meat dishes. Tea and coffee were readily available at our campsites. As needed, expedition members brought high-energy snack foods, crackers, or nutrition bars for the longer hiking days.
