September 24th 2011 – Asante Sana

Shower – Bar - Restaurant - Bar - Bed

2 minutes walking

We meet up with Leanne and Emma and head to the bar for a well deserved beer before the Gala Dinner.  Most of the team are already there and we joke that we don’t recognise anyone now they are clean and wearing something other than trekking trousers and boots; we are sure they are saying the same about us.  As we walk past Marvin is overheard to say “it’s like an Impulse advert” – we guess we don’t smell of dust and longdrops anymore, just that unfamiliar smell of soap and shampoo.

It would be rude not to order ourselves a bottle of Kilimanjaro beer and we begin the celebrations with our new friends.  A few beers and lots of photographs later we head to the restaurant for some food that’s been cooked in a real kitchen.

 

The starter is soup.  Really?  We’ve had soup as a starter for a week.  But there’s also real food; vegetables, red meat, chicken and chocolate mousse.  And wine. There’s also tea and coffee afterwards – with real milk – I miss the Nido already.

We are reminded we are in Africa when there’s a power cut.  It comes back on after 20 seconds or so, but where’s Foxy? We were sure he was in his seat when it all went dark....he was located at the bar a few minutes later.

After dinner David announces that we have heard from Marie Curie Head Office and they have confirmed that as a group we have raised in the region of £125,000, and its still rising.  This is the most a Kilimanjaro trek group has ever raised.  No one can quite believe it.  How could such a small amount of people have raised so much? This is an incredible amount and this charity is so close to all of our hearts; David’s announcement sets the tears off again as what we have achieved, not only on the mountain, but for Marie Curie sinks in.

David and Susan then hand out medals and certificates to all of the members of our team who reached a summit.  Not forgetting those that fell victim to the altitude, certificates and medals were also presented for their own individual achievements.  Including Kelvin for the best retrieval of sunglasses.

We are then joined by Moses and some of our guides – all suited and booted.  Moses is happy to sign all of our certificates as the Head Guide and it’s great that they have been able to join us on the last night of our adventure as they have played such a big part in it.

The Serious Fox Team have an announcement to make and step up to the front.  United in their green polo shirts (yes we know, chosen by Foxy and never will be he allowed to choose them again) they announce their new name – Team Tampon, and then proceed to demonstrate why.

The Serious Fox / Tampon Team

A few more speeches followed, all equally as emotional as the last.  As difficult as it was to convey the feeling of summit night, it’s equally difficult to convey the feeling of tonight.  Are we all glad it’s over?  Yes.  But at the same time we don’t want it to end.  We’ll all miss the feeling of camaraderie, we’ll miss shouting for the Nido, we’ll miss bed sliding and bed tea, we won’t miss the long drops; but most of all we’ll miss each other; friendships that were made in the blink of an eye but that will hopefully last a lifetime. Our new friends who we have shared so much with; laughter, tears, excitement, apprehension, nerves, pain and elation; our Kili Rafiki.

The day has finally arrived

We have trialled our Diamox (they were great!), said our goodbyes :( and squeezed our lives into our rucksacks.  We are ready to go.  Unusally we are ready to go early.

Thank you everyone for your support, you know you are, we couldn't do this without knowing you are behind us all the way.  

Please comment on posts on our blog while we are away, we may be able to pick them up and we are sure they will give us a boost (please be nice!!).

See you all on the other side!

Packing Hell

Where is it all going to go?  The travel company have provided us with a kit list which we have strictly followed - however with a 12kg weight limit imposed and the sleeping bag weighing in a 2kg we are having to be very ruthless with everything.  Bare essentials only.  How many packets of baby wipes do we really need?  How many times can we get away with wearing the same t-shirt more than once?  How many layers do we really need on summit night?  The thought of being on the mountain and really needing something that you've "culled" from your packing isn't a nice thought.  It's a slow process that we've learnt is best done in stages.  Round 1 was completed yesterday - Round 2 today ........

One week to go .....

Only one week to go before we finally depart for our Kilimanjaro Trek.  A year ago leaving for Tanzania and starting the challenge seemed a long way away and was just something we were going to do next year, now its finally here.

We both keep getting asked "are you nervous?"  The answer a few weeks ago was always "yes, lots"; then when the first of September hit I think we both had a mild panic attack and the phrase "crapping hell" was said rather a lot when we realised "the real September" had arrived.

Now however, with only 6 days to go until we board our Kenya Airways flight from Heathrow, we can't really describe how we are feeling.  Whether it's nerves, excitement, apprehension or fear that caused us both to suffer with a couple of bouts of insomnia and loss of appetite we're not sure.  One thing we do know is though is that now the time is drawing closer, we just want to go now.

We've had our jabs, got our visas, received our final itineraries, bought most of the stock from Boots, not drunk an alcoholic drink for what seems like ages (lots doubted we could do that!) and have met most of our fellow fundraisers and trekkers.  We have all of our kit, and yes we don't know where it is all going to go, but we have it and it will all fit in .. somehow.

I think we'll both agree that the most emotional and amazing part of our experience so far is raising £8,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  This provides 400 hours of nursing care to terminally ill cancer patients.  Thank you to everyone who has supported us and our fundraising efforts; everyone from those who attended or organised fundraising events, donated your hard earned cash, had your body parts waxed or sponsored a part of our bodies; you are all stars!

Thank you also to all of our families and friends who have supported us so far and who we know will be with us every step of the way.  To our Mum's who are nervous wrecks, to Lisa's Dad whose Bacon on Toast we will be thinking about when we need a bit of energy and all we have is a cereal bar, to Jim whose sleeping bags are keeping us warm at night, to Mel who will have the Pinot on ice for our return, to AJ and CPC who WILL miss us and Keith who wishes there was wifi on the mountain so Lyndsey can carry on working, and all of our other supporters.  Thank you all for having faith in us.

Everything is ready, we just have the small matter of climbing the 19,340 ft of the tallest freestanding mountain in the world and the facing the minus temperatures and prospect of Acute Mountain Sickness.  We may have got lost of various training trips, had our girly panic attacks about kit and leopards and laughed our way through the nerves,  but we are ready to go and we are confident we can do this, conquer this mountain and have an amazing adventure.  After all life begins at the end of your comfort zone...

Sleep sponsored by

Tearing a Strip or two off Adrian!

After months of promising to get his legs out for the guys and girls in the office, this afternoon Adrian finally emerged from his office in his shorts, to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care.  With strict instructions not to wax above the knee we set about with rather a lot of "Sensitive Skin" wax strips.  Putting a brave face on in front of the Finance Department and his wife and children, Adrian got through his ordeal without swearing, but losing quite a bit of perspiration along the way.  When asked what we were going to do with the now hairy wax strips it was suggested we recycle them and transplant the hair onto his head ... we opted for clinical waste.

Ready to get our own back!

Thanks for stepping up Adrian and enjoy your silky smooth legs!

Thank you Kirsten!! xx