Adventure with a purpose: The Cause: #trek4hunger2015 The Challenge: Mt Kilimanjaro Day 4 - The charity: Meals on Wheels South Africa

6th October 2015: Day 4 - Kikelewa Cave (3600) - Mawenzi Tarn Camp (4330m) Altitude: 3450m - 4335m)
Itinerary:
"a short but steep climb up grassy slopes offers superb views of this wilderness area. the vegetation zone ends shortly before we reach our next camp at Mawenzi Tarn spectacularly situated beneath the towering spires of Mawenzi. Spend the afternoon acclimatizing"

The one thing being 50 years old and having given birth to 3 children is that you are guaranteed a weak bladder. so I woke up just after 04h00 to make a dash for the loo - this was the sight that I was treated too - a magical sunrise over the Kenyan Plains from the mighty Kilimanjaro!

I have waited my entire life to see a sunrise just like this one - this is the sunrises that appear on all the adverts and posters for Africa and now finally I was witnessing my own Kenyan sunrise and she was really showing off !! WOW

It was breathtaking and as fast as I was taking photos so were the colours intensify and changing

The Rongai route is the only northern approach to Kilimanjaro

The Rongai route is a true wilderness experience in the early stages of the climb

Mt Kilimanjaro creating a ghost like appearance in the background

The Rongai route is a very tough final summit night from the north.

the early morning view from our tent

The sun was now up and time to move. Unusual linticular or lee wave clouds which look a lot like flying saucers had formed downwind of Kilimanjaro (the obstacle in this case) in the path of a strong air current downwind the mountain.

They are really interesting and unlike other clouds which will move with the wind these linticular clouds stay put. Air moves up and over a mountain and at the point where the air goes past the mountain top the linticular cloud forms and then the air evaporates on the side farther away from the Mountains.

breaking up camp after breakfast - we were getting a little tired now as the altitude started to play

the beautiful and vibrant sunrise sky was gone and we now had some interesting clouds forming with a brilliant blue sky in the back ground - snow clouds??

love the different hues of blues, lilacs and pinks left in the morning sky!

our friendly crow was back - I guess he could not wait for us to move so he could pick up any tasty morsels that may have been left behind.

The crows on Kilimanjaro are large and healthy!

Saimon one of our awesome guides!

Myself and Brent taking a break and drinking our mountain water!

today goal in the background!

our last pose as we leave for our overnight camp Tarn Camp!

the wild flowers are spectacular and every area heralds a fresh and new fragrance.

Brent and Jan still smiling!

the weather suddenly changes and mist starts to settle in and temperatures start to drop - Kili mountain weather is here!

such incredible views as temperatures drop and a light mist surrounds us. I love hiking in the cooler weather just not the rain.

Jana putting her stone on the cairn.

we now find some really interesting rock formations formed millions of years ago by volcanic activity.

on the skyline you can see all the cairns stacked up as monuments of people that have pasted through ahead of us.

time for a quick break, water, snacks and time for play!!

Brent taking a break

Cheryl having some fun between the cairns and breathing in that fresh mountain air

and now its my turn - as the mist starts to fill in the background and catch up to us

the view I discovered on the 'other side' when I went to the loo!! best loo view ever!

as the sun goes down and dew starts to form the scent from the flowers and bushes become stronger

the mist rolling in all directions now.

my favorite golden everlasting flowers

my trusty Llama bar on Kilimanjaro

we made our way towards Tarn Camp

you can just spot the two blue tent tops on the right of the picture, the green shrubs below were the pool of water will be found and in the center middle of the photo you can spot the cairns

Happy faces - our camp is in site and we can take our hiking boots off and rest!

the area is scattered with lava rocks

bad weather settling in

it was just so unexpected to find a lake at this altitude - I felt like I had just stepped in the set of Lord of the Rings!

When you see such beauty you can understand why Kilimanjaro is one of the most popular mountains in the world and roughly 30 000 people attempt to summit "Kili" annually.

it is interesting to mentioned that the average summit success rate across all combers and routes is 65%, remembering that summit success rate is heavily dependent on what route is climbed as the many routes vary considerably in terms of acclimatization profile and duration.

all along the embankment are messages and names created with the rocks lying around

the team tired and happy to be closer to the summit.

we had some popcorn and hot tea before a bit of a rest

I battle to take afternoon naps and welcomed a chance to climb a little on my own

there is less acclimatization opportunities on this route

B1 and B2

The Rongai is considered moderately difficult and comes highly recommend

close ups of ice starting to settle on the rock higher up!

there has been much talk about lady porters and we were very excited to see our first female porters and as we came through the final gate at the main Park gate these ladies were being interviewed. we ended up being part of the interview and we gave Brent the mic - he was a natural of course and wooed everyone!

the king of the hill!!

while everyone was taking a nap I went for a bit of a walk and climbed up the small hill behind the camp site. It was spectacular and I love spending time by myself and some quiet time was in order!

every direction offered different cloud formations and vegetation.

more names built in rock

mug shot just to prove I was here!!

someone else who needed some quiet time

love the cloud formations on this photo almost as if the heavens had split

I think he landed in the pot!

stunning evidence of lava flows

stunning rock incrustations

I was so excited I found this mommy and her little ones while I was climbing the small hill at the back of the Tarn camp

a baby 4 stripped mouse so Nunu!!

Camp life

we then went on a acclimatization climb and got a different view of the camp - it was really great as we had left out back packs behind and the freedom and no weight on the back was incredible