I arrived in Tanzania international airport at 09:30 on the 15th of January 2022. Had a brutal covid test on arrival which wasn’t the best welcome. It has to be said, it was a tense 15 minutes waiting for the result! It was then an hour drive to the hotel to meet the guys I was to spend the week with and prepare for the days ahead! The journey across was fascinating and highlighted the basic nature of such an amazing country, families were on the side of the roads looking after their yards and each village we went through seemed to have a bustling market. I saw children the same age as my son Sebastian (5) just running round the streets but also helping their parents farm or clean and it was very humbling.

Met some of the guys at the hotel before we had an official briefing and then a kit check for the week ahead.

I spent some time with Tom Geeson-Brown, the Norwich City Nutritionist, before I went. He highlighted the key to hydration, with this in mind I probably went to the toilet 8 times in the night! We set off early for a 3-hour trip to the start of the trek. On route we stopped at a petrol station where you could see the summit of Kilimanjaro for the first time, and you realised it was actually quite big! Bizarrely 2 guys with Newcastle United shirts were there and it made me realise the power and reach of football across the world. On route we saw elephants, giraffes and zebras in the wild which was quite a sight. Once at the foot of the mountain we had lunch and set off on a 3-hour trek to the camp we would be sleeping in. One guy kept stopping and taking videos and pictures and being the miserable bastard, I had to tell him to stop as it was doing my head in every 2 minutes! I mean who looks at all these pictures?! The walk was really slow due to adapting to the altitude, but I thought the pace was a joke to start with! Then I soon realised this is why it takes 5 days to climb up it! We got to camp after about 3 hours, I found the walk easy to be honest due to the pace and we would camp the night at around 2,800 metres. I was sharing a tent for the week with Colin who is a doctor from Canada, so very helpful in the event that I was going to keel over! No phone signal for 24 hours more or less which was a blow as I couldn’t get the football scores or message Zoe - first world problems I guess! That night we met the support team, some amazing guys from Tanzania, they are so strong, kind and proud of their jobs and countries and really can’t do enough for you.

Woke up and all my stuff was wet as it had rained all night and my stuff was against the tent, bit of a school boy error. Also, I’d left my bottle loose in my bag so it soaked all my gear! Didn’t sleep great as it was the first night in the tent. The walk today was easy, felt physically good and my hydration is in a good place. We walked up out of the jungle. The porters and guides are top class, they work so hard and I think understand true happiness, there’s a lot to be learnt for us from these guys.

Had a good sleep, felt much more organised and had managed to dry my gear. I woke up at 23:00 for the toilet and got the first sight of the top of the mountain under moonlight which was amazing. We walked to 4,000 metres today and slept at 3,500 metres so getting good exposure to altitude at this point and my body felt really good. Kept on top of the hydration and nutrition plan set out by Tom. I got pulled today by the Iranian guy about having a sharp tongue with the porters because I joke with them, I told him its my version of a hug and what he doesn’t see is when he’s in a tent I’m out chatting with them, making drinks and playing cards with them.  I suppose I have to accept not everyone can take my humour! Got to speak to Zoe and Sebastian on this day which was certainly a highlight so far! Missing them and Bow (my dog). Lauren has set up an Instagram account so was able to send the story so far, just glad she knows what she’s doing with it!

Had a really poor sleep as the wind and rain was bad all night and was smashing against the tent. Still felt good though. The walk was easy again today as relatively flat and really slow, I found the last uphill bit too slow and started to get cold and a little frustrated as people were starting to struggle at this point. This is all good learning though and I soon got my head round it and wanted to help and encourage others where possible. Trip has been an invaluable opportunity to talk to Ian Taylor who led the tour and has done Everest and a number of the top peaks. The bit after lunch was great as we travelled down over these big rocks, and I felt like a big kid again! Was a wet afternoon also which doesn’t help the moral!

Good sleep and woke up feeling really fresh, amazing views last night down this long valley and also up to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Did the Baranja wall today which was easy enough but really good fun as it was like being a kid in Mid Wales again! We got up to 4000 metres. Good phone signal so could bash out some work and also speak to Zoe. One person left today as they didn’t feel well, a shame but the correct decision I think. I think some people, and I understand wh,y underestimate how tough these things are and even just how hard camp life is. Was excited about the next day as that’s a blast up to high camp and then the start of the summit attempt. My appetite is still really good, breakfast is a highlight as its pancakes with Nutella!