While walking around he talked about climbing Ol Doinyo Lengai. Our guide metioned that it is fairly easy and the view from up there is beautiful. During dinner the night before at the Maasai Giraffe campsite, we talked to a group of mountaineers from Austria who would go up the mountain that night.
Of course the idea of climbing Ol Doinyo Lengai started to play in my head immediately. We had so much fun on the Kili and it was so easy. Why not go for another summit.
After climbing the Kilimanjaro and cycling from Moshi to Mto wa Mbu, Franklin was ready for a day of nothing. Just relaxing and reading a book. But I cannot sit still for too long, so we decided to meet in the middle and go on a little adventure.
The idea: cycling from Lake Manyara to Lake Natron in one day. After asking around in the town if this was a feasible plan, we got the impression that we could make it, but that it would not be an easy ride.
After spending three days in Lamadai and Bunda, the area where the Serengeti Marathon takes place, we felt that it was really time again for a short cycling adventure. Franklin is a big fan of NomadMania and through this website he found out that the nearby island “Ukerewe” must be a hidden gem. Only 90km cycling! We were not sure if it would be gravel, mud, sand or tarmac, but it sounded like a fun ride!
We did it! Finished another marathon. And a very special one. But how… and with what kind of preparation, that is another topic. Some quotes from during and right after the race that describe the situation best:
“I said I was not going to walk this time… but now look at me!” – Josien
“Here babe, take a piece of banana but just keep running! Am proud of you!” – Franklin
We did not book the Kilimanjaro trekking before we arrived in Tanzania. We wanted to see what the weather would be like and of course get the best possible offer. Then actually the hotel connected us with Joseph, who gave us a great explanation about the different routes and possibilities. We had a good feeling and decided to go ahead with Joseph and the team.
When we arrived at Kilimanjaro Airport, we were super happy to see that the bikes arrived safely and were still in one piece. After trying three different cars, from which the drivers were 100% sure the bikes would fit, we found a van which could transport our bikes to the hotel. Of course after some additional negotiation of the price, because “this car had a way bigger engine than negotiated in the first place..”
Deciding what to pack when you will travel by bike is already very challenging, due to the limited amount of space and you have to carry everything you bring. All day, every day. On top of that the first destination will be Tanzania, where it will be very hot. But also, we plan to climb the Kilimanjaro where it can get down to -20 degrees.. so we need to be prepared for all types of weather.
We are going, it is really happening! Sunday the 11th we will fly to Kilimanjaro to start our 11-month adventure around the world. This is something we had on the horizon for quite a while. Because of Corona we moved the start date from June to October, and since it looks that the situation will not change for a while longer, we have decided to just go for it!
