The Itinerary.............................

Well now it's confirmed that we will be taking the Rongai route up Kilimanjaro. A 10 day adventure with a 5 day climb... Oh Yes!!!!

We have booked with World's Apart Travel who are well established in organising this type of trip.. and the itinerary was arrange by Tailormade Explore.

We will fly London to Kenya, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International Airport then internally to Kilimanjaro Airport.

Having been a seasoned traveler I am more concerned about travelling with Kenya Airways and then using a local airline for internal travel than I am about the challenges of the adventure. I mean compared to the most advanced western countries you wonder how well their checks and balances are, how well their crews are trained, how modern and comfortable their fleet of planes are and how well maintained their planes are.....

Our Itinerary :

Fri 18 Jun Depart London -
Sat 19 Jun Kilimanjaro to Moshi Park View Inn
Sun 20 Jun Moshi to Kilimanjaro - 7 day Rongai route Wild camping on Kilimanjaro
Mon 21 Jun Kilimanjaro - 7 day Rongai route Wild camping on Kilimanjaro
Tue 22 Jun Kilimanjaro - 7 day Rongai route Wild camping on Kilimanjaro
Wed 23 Jun Kilimanjaro - 7 day Rongai route Wild camping on Kilimanjaro
Thu 24 Jun Kilimanjaro - 7 day Rongai route Wild camping on Kilimanjaro
Fri 25 Jun Kilimanjaro - 7 day Rongai route Wild camping on Kilimanjaro
Sat 26 Jun Kilimanjaro - 7 day Rongai route to Moshi Park View Inn
Sun 27 Jun Depart Moshi -


After arriving at Kilimanjaro Airport we will be met and transferred to our hotel in Moshi, a drive of approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour. This could be standing up in the back of a 4X4 pick-up.. so I will have to remember to keep my balance and hang on to my kidneys in between taking some photos of the amazing scenery I hope to experience.

The small town of Moshi sits at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro and provides a convenient gateway for mountain trekkers with expeditions usually starting and ending here.

The mountain offers a good source of income to the locals as many are employed as guides, porters and cooks. Home to the local Chagga and Masai tribes, Moshi is also renowned for its fine coffee production and as I just love coffee, I must make a note to Parve...." bring loads of coffee back..."

In Moshi we will be staying at the Park View Inn. See pictures above...

The hotel is in the centre of Moshi, and the "mid-range property" offers spacious and simple (possibly basic) rooms, a good sized swimming pool and a central lounge and dining area. The views of the mountain from here are supposed to be spectacular... particularly at sunset and sunrise.

I suspect we will barely have time to do anything bar savour some cold beers, but I am sure the bed and shower will be a welcome treat and the place will look like a seven star retreat on our way back from the mountain on our last day....

The Turf Cutting...........

Two weeks ago our good friend Arun Bajaj(MD Radio XL) officially started the development of the new Lench's Trust Sheltered Housing project with the

Turf Cutting Ceremony

You can see from the 3D Plan that this is quite an ambitious undertaking and the development will look fabulous when completed. Some lucky elderly citizens will be able to enjoy a very high standard of support as a result of our efforts. So like Arun, dig deep into your hearts ( and pockets lol ) to help us reach the target sum of £50K for this charity trek...

Thank you so much to our sponsors and supporters

Today five days after the Just Giving page went live and 131 days to go to the climb we have raised online £1000 (2% of target ). Well done to all of our supporters and sponsors .........

I do hope you don't mind being mentioned but you are all stars and I would like to acknowledge that :-

Paul Dawson ;Andrew Fournier ; Martineau ;Ed Wall ;Helen Newbury ;Lee Cartwright ;Sue Wright ;Tim Sewell;Alison White;Stephen Vaughan ( whopper tnx);Martin Woodward;Waterloo Housing ( whopper tnx),Paul Dawson, Andrew Fournier,Dal Banwait ,Jasbir Khela ,Christine Kenrick ,Kurien Korah

Ants in your pants !!!!!

It’s funny how you can know someone for so long and yet know so little about them. So…. Today I was giving my friend Vinod a lift into town. Now I have worked with Vinod for over 10 years and boy is he a character… going on 59 years he has a deep guttural voice that you develop after years of smoking, hard drinking and grafting and a laid back attitude of someone who has seen it all. He works hard and at times can be infuriatingly irritating, but he is one of those guys who will watch your back in a tight corner and they are rare. We have been in a few jams in the past and for all his faults … he is a good friend. He has deep age lines or more like deep furrows hahaha…. and a face full of character and well I was going to say wisdom , but I will settle for experience of life… anyway what is the point of all this ranting you are asking yourselves…? Well I was telling him how I planned to climb Mount Kilimanjaro for charity and well… that got him going about his past…. Apparently he was bought up in Tanzania as a kid and often went past the mountain on his travels. When he grew up he became a truck driver and use to haul loads to and from locations surrounding the mountains. Although he never went up the mountain himself he did say the views were magnificent and there was always snow at the top.. Then he started giving me tips for the journey….” Make sure you take two hats, and two pairs of gloves .. inner and outer”. He said good boots are a must ( as if I did not know). “During the day it will be nice and warm but after seven in the evening it gets cold so wrap up “ All except when you reach the peaks then “it will freeze your B………..ks off” . But my ears really pricked up when he told me about the ants. He said make sure you wear your socks high up and wrapped about your trouser legs, because apparently if you step in a nest of ants they are going to go straight up the inside of your leg and you are going to be hopping mad.. ewwwwwwwww…… and to top it all the bloody things bite…. Point noted Vinod an thanks mate.. will add it to my checklist. Anyway it turns out that Vinod was also a boxer when he was in Tanzania and use to compete regularly and then when he came to the UK he became a mechanic after eventually settling on becoming a HGV driver… Wow!!! I warmed to Vinod even more after our little trip but he can still be ranting pain in the arse !!! lol

Huray.....Finally you can make donations and sponsor us online !!!

We finally set up our Just Giving page for the charity - Lench's Trust – yesterday. It took a while to get it organised but thanks to Jean-Luc's perseverance we did it. I was surprised to learn how much they charge for this service, it all adds up and I would have hoped that as the amount we raise increases they would cut their commission, but hey I suppose it is what it is……. But on the bright side they do claim back the income tax relief from donations and hide all the wiring and hassle involved in collating payments. So I would urge all of our supporters to link on to the site to make a donation to this worthy cause … come on be the first …..

Alternatively send your donations to The Lench’s Trust Directly making your cheques payable to the Lench’s Trust and put my name – Parveen- on the back with the note Kilimanjaro Trek … Remember it is for a worthy cause so please give generously…