Climbing Mt Meru - Tanzania.

Okay, so after a three day hike trekking through an array of different environments we had reached the last camp before the summit. It's a great mountain to climb, because the three day ascent moves through Savannah - home to a healthy amount of cheeky baboons, zebras and wildebeest; dense, misty jungle - home to some very curious monkeys; and finally zigzagging through some steep shrubland - home to a magnificent (and slightly daunting) view of the peak! Upon arrival, we were teased by the smell of chicken soup from the porter's quarters. There were 4 wooden buildings: staff quarters, a dormitory for hikers, a large, civilised dining building and a bathroom. As soon as we had quenched our thirsty mouths we were chaperoned off by our guides up the smaller of the two peaks of Mt Meru: to 'Little Meru' - with its peak of 3820m. This was to help acclimate to the altitude. It was to the delight of my aching body that this was an easy walk up; quite different to the ascent that waited..

Mt Meru - even though it's smaller than Kilimanjaro has a much more technical climb - and is arguably a lot harder than the steady ascent Kilimanjaro offers. So at 12am we were woken by our guides who seemed to find no compassion towards our exhausted bodies. Rightly so, we had 6 hours to get to the peak if we wanted to see the sunrise. No time for a sleep in. After hearing the game plan for the ascent, and a quick battery check, we were off.

Physically, the hike was tough - it was mainly steep inclines on loose volcanic rock. The view was confined to the few meters the torch lit up. Two guides led us around the top of a volcano and then further up. After a 4-5 hours or tough hiking, we began to hit very steep rock, which required some risky maneuvers to propel ourselves over them. The final 100m to the top took at least 30 minutes. But, 2km above the cloud level, at 4566m we had reached the top. We were rewarded with a spectacular view; the sun creeped up behind Kilimanjaro in the distance to create an unforgettable panorama of Tanzania that no photo gave justice to. We then descended with big smiles on our faces.

While hiking up in total darkness and stillness - I've never felt so at peace. There was something so therapeutic about hiking in the middle of Africa, in pitch black, underneath a canopy of bright stars; I felt so vulnerable and insignificant, but it was an unreal and raw experience and one i'll never forget. I'd recommend it to everyone.