Tanzania Archives • PASSPORT & PIXELS

passportandpixels 17th April 2017 Tanzania

Behind the scenes on a Tanzanian safari

Africa. The Serengeti. The Ngorongoro Crater. The names alone conjure up thrilling images of vast open plains, with hundreds of wildebeest peacefully grazing while a dignified herd of elephants cuts a ponderous path across the landscape. Or of nature, red in tooth and claw: a cheetah stalking noiselessly through swaying …

passportandpixels 21st January 2017 Photography

How to Take Great Photos of Markets

I’ve photographed markets from Cuba to Myanmar, and from Tanzania to Hungary, and I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of them. They are probably my favourite type of place to take photographs. Markets are so buzzing and vibrant, there’s so much going on, so much …

passportandpixels 14th January 2017 Tanzania

Ol Doinyo Lengai – Mountain of God

Most climbers travelling to Tanzania have only one target in mind: the towering summit of the six-kilometre high Mount Kilimanjaro. Ask them if they’re planning on scaling Ol Doinyo Lengai and odds are you’ll get a blank stare. Ol Donny-who?! But if you want a serious challenge, in …

passportandpixels 7th January 2017 Tanzania

The Unsung Heroes of Kilimanjaro

No one survives even a day on Kilimanjaro, let alone making it to the top, without a frankly embarrassing amount of support from an enormous team of guides and porters. It’s their job to carry your stuff, cook your meals, supply you with safe drinking water, put up your …

passportandpixels 14th December 2016 Kilimanjaro

The Only Kilimanjaro Packing List You Will Ever Need

In September 2016 I finally got round to ticking one of the top things off my bucket list – I climbed Kilimanjaro. I’m an organiser and planner by nature, so before I went I did a LOT of research to work out what to take – and you can read all…

passportandpixels 9th December 2016 Tanzania

How to climb Kilimanjaro in 10 steps

So your itchy feet have got the better of you and you’ve decided you want to climb Kilimanjaro? Excellent decision! But now you’ve got to actually organise and (eeek!) do the damn thing! Here’s how… (Disclaimer: it does take a few more than 10 steps to get to …

passportandpixels 2nd December 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 8 – Descent

This is the eighth and final part of my day-by-day account of what it was really like to climb the Lemosho Route on Mount Kilimanjaro. If you missed it, Day Seven is here. Unsurprisingly, I slept amazingly well the night after the summit – as did everyone. There’s nothing like …

passportandpixels 25th November 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 7 – The Summit

This is the seventh part of my day-by-day account of what it was really like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. If you missed it, Day Six is here. If you think it’s hard having to wake up at 4 am to catch a flight to go on holiday, imagine what it’…

passportandpixels 18th November 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 6 – To Base Camp

This is the sixth part of my day-by-day account of what it was really like to climb the Lemosho Route up Mount Kilimanjaro. If you missed it, Day Five is here. I woke well before the morning wake-up call on Day Six to a weird feeling in my face. I …

passportandpixels 11th November 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 5 – Barranco Wall

This is the fifth part of my day-by-day account of what it was really like to climb the Lemosho Route up Mount Kilimanjaro. If you missed it, here’s Day Four or start from the beginning with Day 1 – Getting Started. There had been a lot of speculation about the Barranco&…

passportandpixels 4th November 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 4 – Lava Tower

This is the fourth part of my day-by-day account of what it was really like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. If you missed it, Day Three is here. Today I’ll talk about the walk up to the Lava Tower. We were now almost halfway through the trip, and the altitude …

passportandpixels 28th October 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 3 – Shira Plateau

This is the third part of my day-by-day account of what it was really like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. If you missed it, Day Two is here. As dawn broke on day three, and with barely a cloud in the sky, we got our first proper look at where we …

passportandpixels 21st October 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 2 – The Forest

This is the second part of my day-by-day account of what it was really like to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. If you missed it, Day One is here. It’s not something that had occurred to me before starting, but the nights on the mountain are LOOOONG. The sun set at …

passportandpixels 14th October 2016 Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro – Day 1 – Getting Started

For several years I had talked occasionally about how ‘One Day’ I would climb Kilimanjaro. It was one of those challenges that sounded like it might be a Good Thing to do (in a totally bonkers-painful, crazy-yet-hopefully-rewarding kind of way) but for a long time looked like it would be …

passportandpixels 1st September 2016 Tanzania

Training and Packing for Kilimanjaro – Weeks 4 to 1

This is the second part of my account of how I trained, shopped, packed and prepared to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, doing the Lemosho Route with Exodus Travels*. Read the first part here. FOUR WEEKS TO GO I’m starting to get really nervous now. I keep waking up in the …

passportandpixels 29th July 2016 Tanzania

Packing and Training for Kilimanjaro – Weeks 9 to 5

In September I will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. At 5895m above sea level it’s the highest point in the African continent, and certainly WAY higher than anything I’ve ever scaled before. I’m not an experienced hiker: I live in London, which is pretty much entirely flat, and …

×