The Arinrinajo: Mount Kilimanjaro, Ebere Nkoro

Hey Guys!

So 1 of my goals for this year was to get people who love travelling to come talk about their experiences giving birth to “The Arinrinajo Project“. Every other month, I would be interviewing the “Ajalas” (we often refer to people who enjoy travelling as Ajalas) to hear about their experiences on The Arinrinajo Project. I hope this series inspires you to explore within and outside Nigeria. Having a bucket list is a fun and a great way to see more places, I encourage you to create one for yourself (You can add a bucket list app e.g. Google Keep, Trello, Pinterest).

This is the second interview in our series “The Arinrinajo Project“. We interviewed Andrew Fleming, British Diplomat in Nigeria (read about it here). If you have read my about page (here), you would know Mount Kilimanjaro is on my bucket list. However, after this interview with Ebere I am not so sure I want to do it.

Ebere is such a brave and adventurous person. She has conquered Ben Nevis Mountain in Scotland and now Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. I assume she is looking to conquering Mount Everest.

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa at 19,341 feet (5,895 meters) and the highest free standing mountain in the world. Almost every kind of ecological system is found on the mountain: cultivated land, rain forest, heath, moorland, alpine desert and an arctic summit.

Let’s kick-off the Interview!

Q: Give a brief background about yourself.

My name is Ebere and I’m constantly wanting to experience more of the world I live in. I believe there’s more to life than what my daily routine consists of,  and when I have the opportunity to explore outside of my immediate environment, I jump at it.

Q: Why did you choose to climb Mount Kilimanjaro? What was the inspiration behind the journey?

I’m on a journey to make fitness a lifestyle and in doing that I use an app called ‘Truppr’ to locate and connect with other fitness enthusiasts around me to take part in various fitness activities. In February of 2016, Truppr organized a trip to climb the Ben Nevis mountain in Scotland and I joined. After successfully getting to the Ben Nevis summit on that trip I was told there would be another to Kilimanjaro and I began to prepare for it.

Q: How did you get ready to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro?

I saved. And saved. And saved some more for it. It isn’t cheap,  especially for a Nigerian. I had to buy a lot of hiking gear and warm clothing as these are not regular to us with warm climate. I also have colleagues who have successfully  climbed and one of them told me that it was mostly a mind thing and partly physical also. I prepared by being active as much as I could. Weekly runs. Taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator. I didn’t particularly go on any workout routine or meal plan because I can be lazy like that,  but I stayed active. Did a 21km walk, ran various 5k’s in my area. I also researched online on what was needed so made a shopping list and bought necessary items over a period of time. Ticked them off one by one.

Q: How long did it take you to get to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro?

We hiked the mountain for 7 days. I didn’t get to Uhuru which is the summit but I got to Stella point which is about 100 metres from Uhuru. That was on the 6th day. I got hit by altitude sickness so I couldn’t go further.

Q: Do you need to give an arm and a leg money-wise to embark on this trip? 

It wasn’t a cheap trip for me. I had to save for it. It cost about $2500 which covered flight costs, accommodation, all meals during the trip, travel guides, porters to carry your luggage, medical equipment, all transfers within Tanzania. Basically everything except the clothes and gear you will wear.

Q: What was the experience like? The good, bad and downright ugly.