Welcome to week 4 of my #RwenzoriDiary

The series started here …

Let’s get the bad news out of the way: it’s not been a good week …. two weeks even… for training. Oh no. I was highly motivated for my Rwenzori trekking training until I was invited on a media trip to Tanzania. Bang! Self-discipline flew out of the window when I was offered mimosa (sparkling wine) for breakfast (second breakfast of the day I might add!) The seafood was too scrumptious to ignore and buffet is always my downfall. I have a whole book full of stories to tell you about our whistlestop tour of the Serena Hotels fantastic luxury properties in Tanzania, but first let me tell you about our flight from Entebbe aboard Precision Air’s inaugural flight to Dar es Salaam.

As you might remember from week one of my #RwenzoriDiary, I’m sharing two things: my training to climb one of the Rwenzori’s peaks and travel suggestions for the Rwenzoris. I’m part of the team tasked with rebranding and marketing the Rwenzoris – and wow, is there a lot I have to tell you about! Frankly, I’m pretty obsessed with mountains right now! It was therefore very exciting to fly past Mount Kilimanjaro last week. Here’s a peak out of my window…

In this short video clip, two points of mount Kilimanjaro are visible through the cloud: Uhuru Peak, 5895 metres and Mawenzi, 5149 metres. Kili comes up so often in our conversations about mountaineering and climbing tourism in East Africa. Kilimanjaro has over 50,000 climbers every year. Read the story of my friend Apollo’s Kilimanjaro trek.

Can the Rwenzoris beat that one day? Currently, of the 4,000 visitors to the Rwenzori Mountains National Park every year, just a few hundred climb to the highest point Margherita Peak. However, as my last few weeks research has revealed, climbing the Margherita is one small element of what this magnificent park has to offer.

Isn’t this scenery incredible? You don’t have to spend a week climbing the peaks of the Rwenzoris to see these giant Lobelia and other Botanical Big Game plants for yourself. Are you coming with me? 🙂

It was quite a tease for our Precision Air flight from Entebbe to Dar es Salaam to touch down on the tarmac at Kilimanjaro without me having a chance to spend a few days there getting to know the mountain and its tourists.

The recently relaunched Precision Air flight from Entebbe to Dar es Salaam stops briefly at Kilimanjaro International Airport. Pictured with me are aviation and tourism expert Professor Wolfgang, and travel journalists Solomon Oleny and Edgar Batte

One of the undoubted highlights of our trip to Tanzania was the aerial views of Mt Kilimanjaro mountain. Here’s my first view of it, taken a few years ago and forever etched in my mind.