Monday 21st September, Shira Caves

Our cooks awoke the group with a cups of hot tea or coffee in the tents. The path has a rather energetic start after yesterday’s steady “bumble” up the track. But we quickly gain a rocky ridge and good views of the peaks at Shira and Meru. Our route crosses the ridge many times and we eventually encounter our first Senecio trees. Shortly after this we stop for lunch cooked by our porters who have walked ahead to prepare our meal.

The lunch stop also attracts the attention of the large white necked ravens who scavenge the area where we have stopped looking for food scraps.

From here the path winds its way slowly across the side of the hill before finally reaching Shira Plateau, at 3840m, and our campsite for the evening. This area of the mountain has many examples of obsidian, a shiny black rock formed by very rapid solidification of lava.

Just before we reached the campsite the weather changed suddenly and a few who “forgot” their waterproofs today got very wet. The campsite offers stunning views over the plains and after a spectacular thunderstorm cleared we enjoyed a meal and watched the views unfolding on the mountain.