After another restless night we were woken at 6:30.  Because of the altitude everything seems that little bit harder and it took us all about 20 minutes to get up and dressed.  My wash consisted of a wipe over with wet wipes, brushing my teeth using my tropical flavoured water and rubbing deodorant into my armpits – that’s it!

Each night I have got James to boil water for me, which I have to drink the next day.  To purify it I add Iodine tablets and ‘Energy Effervescence’ tablets which have a tropical taste to them.  The water is pure and the tablets taste fine but it is not nice when you use it when brushing your teeth.

I had another huge breakfast with the same food as yesterday, except that the bread was a bit staler.

James has developed an amusing habit of clicking his fingers at us so we pass our plates to him quickly.  Not everyone likes it but I can see the humorous side of it.

After another visit to the toilet we started our trekking just after 8am.  I decided to use my trekking poles today as our walk was hard and we were due to rise to 4,400m.

My hands and neck were sunburnt so I walked with a scarf on and used some more factor 60 sunblock.

The terrain was now very rocky and I was glad to be using my poles as I slipped and skidded my way up the mountain.  The scenery was breathtaking and the only way to describe it was like it was part of the set for ‘Planet of the Apes’.

About an hour into the trek we stopped off at Zebra Rock which is an unusually black and white striped rock in the desert.  I was feeling good and was really enjoying today’s acclimatisation trek.

Eventually we reached the ‘Saddle’ which was a ridge between Uhuru and Mawenzi Peaks.  We got our first clear glimpse of both peaks and also the path we would be taking to the summit.  We could even see Kibo Huts where we will be staying (albeit briefly) tomorrow afternoon.  The view was stunning and it will live with me forever.  Caroline told me that the one time she had been to the peak she was right at the back of the group helping a lady with altitude sickness. When she crawled over Gillmans Point she saw all the men crying and all the women asleep!

We made our way back to Horombo Huts at quite a pace as we were all practising our ‘Scree Skiing’.  In fact, we only had one stop and were back at the huts at 1pm.  I was pleased that I had made it to the Saddle without any problems at all.  My knees did take a beating on the descent though.

For lunch at Horombo Huts we were treated to chips, beans and coffee.  It was the best chips I have ever had and everyone woofed their lunch down.

The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, updating my diary, visiting the toilet and resting in preparation for tomorrow.  I did make a trek out to see a stream running nearby in an idyllic spot and spent some time sitting there trying to take everything in.  There were a lot of White Necked Ravens too which added to the occasion.

For tea we had another huge helping of spaghetti, beef, green beans and soup.  James made pancakes for everyone too.  He made special egg free pancakes for me and it really touched me.  Over the last couple of days we had really bonded and were in a photo together at Zebra Rock.

After tea we had a meeting about tomorrow’s trek and then played cards until about 8pm.  We were all tired and were in our beds after some stargazing at 8:30.

Tomorrow is the ‘biggee’ as we climb to Kibo Huts and then at 11pm start our attempt on the summit.  A good night’s sleep would be the best preparation for tomorrow.

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