Off on an adventure - Kili Trails Festival

Thursday 6^th February

Air Tanzania flight from Dar left on time at 9pm. First stop, Zanzibar, then onto Kilimanjaro International Airport. Leaving the airport building, taxi drivers were quickly in my face offering rides, but I could see someone holding an ‘Air Tanzania Airport Shuttle’ sign and headed for that. I’d done my research and knew that I could pay 10,000/- (about £2.85*) for a shuttle rather than the $25 (about £18.30) that hotels charge for their taxi services.

(*Approximate exchange rate at time of writing: £1 = 3500/- (Tanzanian shillings))

Shuttle worked as hoped, taking me to the door of Snow View Hotel, where I’d booked myself in for the night. Google Maps had shown lots of accommodation options in Boma la Ng’ombe, which is where I needed to stay in order to get a bus the next day. I’d phoned a couple of them up that were close to the bus stand, Snow View and Happy Family Lodge, and decided to go with Snow View for no particular reason other than its location and the friendly voice on the phone. Their cheapest rooms were 50,000/-. I’m sure there would be cheaper places if you’re willing to shop around more, but Snow View was conveniently located on the main road, so it was easy to get dropped off there by the shuttle. I finally got to bed at midnight.

Friday 6^th February

Not sure about ‘Snow View’ – all I could see out of my window was roofs! Maybe a different side of the hotel and a higher floor would afford better views. My room felt warm – 27.2C at 8am (so said my handy little thermometer). After a slow start to the day with time to pray, read the Bible, stretch and have a shower, I headed downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast. They provided me with some hot water so I could make my porridge and they cooked me up an omelette. The only fruit available was watermelon. I wish this wasn’t so often the sole fruit option in hotels – it’s very high in fructose so it’s not a good option for me, and I don’t really like them anyhow! They couldn’t even rustle up a banana.

Packed up and walked round the corner of the hotel to the bus stand. Went to an MPesa (phone banking) agent to get some more cash out, trying to ignore all the bajaj (motorised rickshaw) drivers who wanted to persuade me I needed their services. One outright lied, telling me the bus stop for the bus I wanted was further down the road. It wasn’t. The hotel staff had told me to look for a Noah (a Toyota people carrier) for Sanya Juu. Found one in the middle of the bus stand, waited about 10 minutes for it to fill up so that ten of us were squished into seats for seven, and off we went. It took us about half an hour to get to Sanya Juu, costing 1500/-. I alighted to find another vehicle to take me to Madati, once again trying to ignore the people trying to offer me rides. We were packed like sardines for the half-an-hour or so ride as far as Engare Nairobi, at which point most people got off and I sat in luxury in the front seat for the last 5 minutes. Cost 2000/-. (In theory, I think there are daladalas or Noahs that would go all the way through to Madati, heading to West Kilimanjaro, but I couldn’t find any.)

This time I needed the services of a motorbike and was soon on the back of one heading to Simba Farm, for 2000/-. Took about 10 minutes – the wind in my face felt good as we headed off the tarmac and along the dirt road to Simba Farm, with fantastic views of the mountains off to my right.

I seemed to be one of the first to arrive at Simba Farm at about 11.30am. The event officially opened at 12 noon. I hovered around feeling lost, until someone rescued me, pointing me in the direction of the people in charge of the rented tents. My tent was up and ready for me, among many other identical Quechua (Decathlon) tents. I got my stuff in, noted my thermometer reading around 30C, but low humidity, took my bearings and soaked up the view across to Mount Meru. Awesome.

Once registration was open, I reported at the tent and got my wrist band, took a rest and then went to find some food. Finding low FODMAP food was a bit tricky, but options existed. As I stood dithering, the chef of the Chinese food stall came over to chat to me, which led to him rustling me up a delicious low-FODMAP Chinese meal! A colourful plate full of rice, stir-fried vegetables and chicken with a tasty sauce. 20,000/- for a plate of food. I plucked up courage to ask a couple of people if I could sit with them and enjoyed chatting. Over the course of the weekend I did that many times, asking people I’ve never met before if I could sit with them, and meeting people from all walks of life. There was a surprising number of Brits, as well as Americans, Canadians, German and more; many had come from Arusha, Moshi, Nairobi or Dar es Salaam. I also met one couple from Switzerland and another from Canada, just visiting Tanzania on holiday.

Later on in the afternoon, when things had cooled a bit, I went for a walk with amazing views across to Mount Meru. By the time I got back the festival ground was buzzing, tents had sprung up everywhere, music was playing and food vendors were busy. I made use of the shower block – good showers, hot (I almost scalded myself), and a few handy hooks in the corner of the cubicle to hang your stuff.

Picked up my running bib and took a look at the merchandise. Enjoyed a light tea, using up some of the bits and bobs I had with me, and buying a big banana to finish it off. I also bought a banana ready for the next morning, in case I wanted something to eat before the big run.

Music went on until quite late, but it wasn’t too bad, and I think many people had headed to bed early after long drives or night flights, trying to restore their energy before the next day’s races. With earplugs, I slept surprisingly well. The little mattress, pillow and sleeping bag were comfy. Head torch proved an essential part of my gear (annoyingly my little solar light seemed to have stopped working at some point on my travels).

Saturday 7^th February

Woken by music about 5am, but then snoozed again until announcements began about 6am. It was just getting light outside. 16.7C in my tent. Oatcakes, half a banana and some peanut butter for a light breakfast – I was glad I had some of my own food with me for times like this. Toilet. Off to the start line.

Can you see me? Purplish top, behind the tall Tanzanian.
(Photo credit: @kilitrails photo)

We set off on the dot at 6.45am. It was a lovely route, though I didn’t take in my surroundings very much as a lot of the time you needed to watch where you put your feet. Most of the trail had been well cleared, with the only bad place being where some pine trees had recently been chopped down so there were sticks and pinecones all over the trail, and I brushed past some kind of nettle that stung me and left my leg tingling for the rest of the day. But this was only a short section.

There were two food stations, with little sweet bananas, avocado, sesame seed snacks and water. There was also a third just-water station, but I missed that one as I got lost! The route was well marked with red ribbons and chalk on the ground at key turns, but somehow I missed one of these chalked turnings, staying on a wide track when I should have gone onto a narrow track and into the woods. I should have turned back as soon as I noticed the lack of red ribbons instead of assuming that just because I could see someone ahead of me and I was on a good track meant I was on the right path! Thankfully, I wasn’t the only one who missed the path, so we were able to take council and decide what to do, and we all got back with more than a half-marathon under our belts! I was very annoyed about how all of this slowed me down, as I went back and forth and tried phoning the check points (but not getting through) and looking for other runners, but on the plus side I ran the farthest I’ve ever run!

Our names were called out as we approached the finish line, and a few people were there cheering us in. We had the choice of a medal or a tree – I obviously chose the medal as I wouldn’t be able to take a tree on the plane, and anyhow, I’d rather have the medal! Hung around, congratulating and commiserating with others who had run and got lost! I’d run 14.77 miles (23.77km), so an extra 1.67 miles (2.67km).

Eventually headed to the showers (water less hot this time due to high volume of people using them, but I only had to wait 5 minutes to get in), bought a coffee and got a cup of hot water to mix up my porridge as my stomach didn’t feel like it wanted a big, cooked breakfast. Feeling hot and sticky, I think I’d had too much sun, I headed to my tent, which was far too warm, so then I went to find some shade to sit and be quiet, but it was still very warm! Finally headed for lunch, getting a delicious gluten-free wrap filled with salad and chicken, which they prepared specially for me to make it free from garlic. Cost 10,000/-

Chilled afternoon chatting, writing this blog, and then eating cake while getting to know someone who works with SIL Tanzania but who I’d never met as she lives in Arusha. I chose a brownie (decided it was time to just indulge, even though it was wheat) – sadly it wasn’t in the least bit brownie-like. Then it was the awards ceremony. To my surprise I got a prize for being third in my age category for ladies, despite the extra kilometres and stopping to figure out what to do! The prize was a locally made necklace and a sweet snack. Later I found you could scan a QR code that took you to a website where all the races and times could be found – I discovered that there were nine ladies in my age category, and that altogether I was 37^th out of 50 runners, and 10^th out of 26 ladies. I wanted to get an idea of what I might have achieved if I hadn’t gone wrong – I reckon that I would have saved about 15 minutes (about 10 for the extra distance and 5 for the dithering about what to do), which would have placed me about 20^th overall and the 3^rd lady. I have to admit, those calculations made me feel good!  I then joined the sunset stroll – a short walk to a viewpoint looking across to Mount Meru. Absolutely beautiful, with the skies first turning golden and then red.

I chose Chinese again for dinner. Full plate of the same food as last time. Chatted with yet more new people from the UK, one who works remotely for the NHS! Another works with UNICEF and another with the embassy. I’ve met people working for the UN, teachers, someone in the coffee industry, someone with a gin business, people working in various aspects of agriculture, someone involved in reforestation…and so the list goes one. Fascinating to hear what has brought people to East Africa.

Sunday 8th February

Didn’t sleep so well, but once I’d stuck my head out the tent I felt awake and ready to get going. Decided to go for a good breakfast first before heading off for a walk. This time I chose Simba Farm’s breakfast buffet – particularly delicious was the granola, with some fresh raspberries, pineapple and banana.

My walk had two goals – one was to find out where I had gone wrong on the half-marathon and the other was to enjoy the sights and sounds that I’d only partially taken in while running the day before. I enjoyed pausing to take in the views, to look at the trees in the forest, to listen to the birdsong, to take phots and generally enjoy the variety and beauty all around. I saw signs that elephants had passed by – fresh dung and trees broken down. I saw some baboons and heard their loud bark. I saw a large bird of prey gliding effortlessly through the sky. I found where I went wrong – the turn had been marked with the usual white chalk dust, but as it was onto a small path off a much wider track it was quite easy to miss.

Beautiful views and natural forests

After a shower, I was hungry. One of the vendors was selling burgers and chips. The burgers were laced with onion and garlic, so not a good option for me, but you could have bacon and cheese on your burger, so I took advantage of that option and asked if I could have cheesy chips with bacon. They thought it a strange request, but played along, and I officially declare it was a delicious combo, washed down with some carrot & orange juice. After hearing my rave review, they said they’d consider adding it to their menu! Cost – 12,000/- I followed this with a homemade granola slice (5000/-), which was very tasty, and a banana.

All weekend I had been cheekily asking around if anyone had a space in their car to give me a lift at least partway back to the airport, but I’d had no luck – everyone’s cars were full of people and equipment. As the final awards ceremony progressed (with an amazing Tanzanian man achieving a record-breaking 75km in a race that involved running as many 5km loops as possible in 6 hours), the skies blackened, and as they finished there was a rumble of thunder. If I couldn’t get a lift, I’d need to get a motorbike to come and pick me up (i.e. do the reverse of how I came), and if it rained that would not be fun. I made one final attempt to ask for a lift from a couple I hadn’t spoken with before, and they said they had space! Within 5 minutes I was at their Land Cruiser with my bags, and my relief at getting a lift increased as we drove through heavy rain and some flooded sections of road! They dropped me off at the end of the airport road, where I was easily able to get a motorbike to take me along the long, straight road (cost 5000/-). It was hot and dry, and I looked forward to getting into an air-conditioned building, though I was not looking forward to the over-eight hour wait I would have for my 11.30pm flight. However, it turns out that despite Kilimanjaro Airport being an ‘international’ airport, it’s very small and once inside there was nothing but a short line of check-in desks and a few rows of chairs – you couldn’t even buy a bottle of water. The airport staff advised me to go to Jambo Coffee Shop, which was at the far edge of the car park. It’s an open sided café, but despite the breeze it felt hot (my thermometer showed 32C at 4pm). There were comfy chairs and a reasonable menu, including some nice fresh juice options. I spent my afternoon there – as it wasn’t too busy I didn’t feel bad for hogging a table for several hours with just a bottle of water and a juice. I later removed myself to some tables outside the café so that I could eat my own snacky food for tea. My only mistake was not putting mosquito repellent on before it got dark.

Plane was delayed, and then when we boarded there was a problem with the air con, so we continued to wait. Finally arrived in Dar about 3am. Luggage seemed slow in coming, but amazingly mine was the first to appear on the belt. Taxi for Transit Airport B&B was waiting for me, and I finally collapsed in bed at 4am.

Monday 9^th February

More hours sitting around at an airport before finally boarding my flight to Mbeya and heading home. I spent more time travelling than I did at the festival itself, but despite that… what a fab weekend! A few days later received an email from the event organisers with links to photos, race results and more. The whole thing was very well organised – a big thank you to the whole team, especially Brett.

Visit Kilitrails.com for more information.