| Urhobo Historical Society |
Wilson
Edojarievwe Orhiunu
MBBS (
(Alias: BabaWilly)
Travelogue
on Climbing Kilimanjaro
(Editor�s Note: Wilson Orhiun, an
Urhobo medical doctor,lives and practises his profession in
Introduction
I am
currently reading a book entitled � The Call for a
Performing Generation by Paul Adefarasin of House on
the
Kilimanjaro. An interesting fact - the Logo of Rock Publishing (Publisher) looks like a book hewn out of one face of Kilimanjaro. This book seems written for me.
On day
2 of our climb I was in my tent reading a House on the Rock book
while listening to Hillsong on my MP3 player (on top Kili the big
volcanic
rock); how ironic.
Chapter
2 of the book � What�s in a name � talks about how our names
and .the names given us by our fathers hunt us down.
Joseph the dreamer was used throughout the
book as the prime example.
I
identified with the book because my father�s name was Jacob and that
name got mentioned a few many times in the book. Jacob�s name was
changed to
Isreal and the rest is history.
My
mother�s name is Charity and I find myself doing charity work.
Enough
perambulation. Now,to the gist.
Why Kilimanjaro
I was
watching God TV when an old man said, �It�s like climbing
As
Everest is too much wahala1,
I decided to practice with Kilimanjaro.
I
didn�t know where to start. I read an article on a Doctor who was
planning the journey to Kilimanjaro and noticed in the article that he
was
going with � Discover Adventure (DA) and so I gave them a ring.
Preparation
Fitness: A good level of
fitness is advised. DA sent out an exercise programme of daily walks
etc. I
didn�t use their programme as I was on my own fitness regime. I was
later to
find out that altitude is no respecter of fitness.
Clothing: A full list of
clothing materials is provided (akin to the boarding house list used in
Naija2).
List includes sleeping bag, sleeping mat, waterproofs, jackets,
thermals,
trekking trousers, warm hat and gloves, cap, Sun block (I been think
say black
man no need am; (see pictures), whistle, water bottle, torch light,
head etc.
All expensive. A good walking boot is a must. Underwear and socks must
be
changed daily. The maxim to bear in mind
is - you look after your feet and your
nyarsh at all times (excuse my French).
Language: Swahili is the main language,
although a lot of
Tanzanians speak English. Shahili words to know are-
Jambo-
Hello or Goodbye
Pole
pole � Sowly slowly
I
actually bought a CD with songs with these titles which I can e-mail
to anyone who wants it on MP3 format
Charity: I did it for
Sense and my target was �5000, although they
expect a minimum of �2,5000. I intend to pass any surplus to the
Deaf
school in
Risk
limitation:
First to bear in mind is you only die once. Next is to ensure life
insurance is in order (in case of incapacity!). Then there are the
immunisations. I chop needle sotey my
hand bend3.
I took Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B (not required for trip but mine had ran
out),
Typhoid, Tetanus and Diptheria, Yellow fever and Meningitis C. On top
of that I come nak4Malaria
tablets- Lariam (fit make person
craze5)
and Diamox for altitude sickness prophylaxis ( I no sure
say the thing work6).
History in the making: No one in my native
village has climbed Kilimanjaro before now, although rumour has it that
some
witches did a symposium there in 2003. One cannot authenticate their
claims so
to all intents and purposes I am the first native son of Ukuagbe to
reach Kilimanjaro. E ! Eyeeee! Or should I
say
Halelu ! haleluyahh!
THE JOURNEY
Outbound Friday, 7 October
2005
Drove
from
The
flight arrived 9.05hrs next day. E bi laik saw Ethiopian
Air no like Naija man. The pilot put serious heater on
or perhaps Nepa take light for where
their aircon dey. Na heat dem take finis us all. Headache plus
vomiting �
all join. In the heat I had to make corrections on my poetry collection
� My
time as I needed to e-mail corrections back to
Saturday
8-10-05 12.40hrs depart Addis to Kilimanjaro via
Airpoort
in Arusha and we travel 1 hour to Ameg Lodge in Moshi. Nice
fenced compound with 2 gate men. E bi
laik na Warri we dey only say Nepa and armed robbers no dey here.
The
drive from the airport to the Lodge went through various shanty
towns. It felt odd driving past African poverty as me sef
black laik dem. I see my
people dey suffer. Suffer dey
Meet
my room mate for the night- Steve, a teacher from
We arranged our stuff into 3
parts. One to be left behind at Lodge � including spare clothes,
passport and
wallet. The second was the rack sac to be carried daily containing
water ,
toilet roll, medicines etc and finally the night bag- a second rack sac
which
is carried by the porters. PORTERS! PORTERS! I say suffer
dey
PORTERS
Must
stop to yarn about the porters. 2face talk say �me I get
plenty things to yarn about eyee�. Well,
he is not the only one. This trip is impossible without the porters.
Naija man
lacking in political correctness will call them �Agbero.'9
For
the 30 of us on the trip there were about 60 porters in all. They
go before us in the morning to set up lunch. After the meal dem
go wak chop remain,10
pack up and race to the night camp. Once there, they set up the tents
for
sleeping and the 2 main dining tents.
Then
they assist the cook with preparation and serving of supper. After
meals they provide water for our bottles and clear up. Next morning
they wake
us up by bringing hot drinks � a choice of
On
about day three up the mountain some poor guy is sent back down to
get fresh fruits and vegetables. He then returns to the next camp with
his
load.
Suffice
to say at the end of the trip we ll contributed $ 70 each to be
shared amongst the tour guides and porters. As
levels dey , na he one wey tour guide chop remain e go give porter ,
abi no bi
Naija talk say wetin concern Agbero with over load?
Walahi I go wake Bobby
Benson make e come re-record im hit. Na so we go dey sing am-
If you marry Kili Porter
I don�t care
If you marry Kili Porter
I don�t care
If you marry Babawilly
God bless you
If you marry Babawilly
God bless you.
Eee! Eyeee!
THE BRIEF
Still
8-10-05. After dinner Ray, our
Oga pata pata11,
ex- soldier and now a Paramedic gave us the �rules�. A bit like Brad
Pitt in
the �The Fight Club� or should I say like RMD in em, em, em- me I no too dey watch Nollywood sef, OK
like RMD in Violated 1 ,2 or 3. Na wa.
Rules
are you don�t overtake the lead guide, if you wan piss12
for bush tell persin before you disappear make dem wait, if you
must, (how
do I say this without causing offence) do No 1+1 then you can leave the
deposit
behind the rock but the tissue paper must return with you. Simple
reason is
that above the tree line toilet paper and any other litter will remain
for many
years to come. E bi laik make you put yua
dorti tissue paper for fridge, Tuffia!.
Everyone was given a �black bag� to store their used tissue
paper. Na that time persin come talk say we dey
lucky. Im friend tell am say for some trip wey dem go, both tissue
paper and
deposit had to be kept till they came dowm. Chenike! As
everything for rack sack dey plastic bag what if persin mistake
toothpaste bag for�� Abeg e don do.
Other
rules were: drink 4 litres a day, look out for each other, and
eat as much as possible.
Doctor come brief us-
anybody wey dey take melesin make e hands up or forever hold im piss
(excuse
the pun). E talk say if anyone collapse
for top of mountain, no bi dat time you go come talk say you be
Hypertensive.
Small small everybody begin talk wetin dem been no declare for medical
form.
Treking starts!
Sunday 9-10-05
Car
ride to Machame Gate. We
walked up for 5 hours through forest and
camped at Machame Camp at 3100m. Una sabi
say I be
First
mistake- felt sorry for porters and carried almost 13kg in my
rack sack. Persin wan die! Tomorrow
will carry as little as possible.
Night
was cold. Shared tight tent with Steve. Both of us long
pass [taller than the width of]
the tent. See suffer as persin bend knee
as space no dey to extend leg.
Monday 10-10-05
My
first birthday on a mountain! This very time in 1964 my mama was
still pregnant.
Sweet
mountain, I mean sweet mother
I no
forget you
For
the suffer I dey suffer, I mean suffer wey you suffer for me o!
The
group sing the happy birthday song to me at breakfast. How kind of
them. No cake though.
We
climb onto Shira plateau walking for 5 hours.
We
camp at Shira caves; 3,840m. During the day while walking one
switches to automatic pilot. You just keep on walking, hour after hour
with
eyes fixed on the path. The tour guides encourage with �pole pole�. On
the
small track we keep left when porters approach. They walk with the
strength and
agility of mountain goats. Some dey even
smoke join.
Tonight
it rained all night. I shivered to nonsense. By 2am I when out
to wee. When I turned round all the tents looked the same. Chineke!
Who send me this
Kilimanjaro wahala? If you climb wrong tent, woman scream you, don
become
rapist be that. Na so I dey shiver for darkness with head torch for
head laik
South African miner till I find my tent come zip am open. See smell of
boots
wey greet me. Chai!
Tuesday 11-10-05
Another
birthday, this time Kim. We sang at the breakfast table. All my
body ached and there was no appetite. Ray the oga encouraged us to eat
for
fuel. Me wey I no dey chop breakfast for
house. Dem come sef one kain Oats eh. The thing be like a hybrid of Ogi
and
Popo garri (tapioca). Man chop but nausea follow. For some reason I
assumed
mobiles and transitor radios will not pick up signals. Na lie. People
were
texting and receiving calls. You could even listen to the news in
Swahili, (Understanding
am na different thing).
As we come dey waka forest
finis13
we enter moorland. All the A3 in geography
wey I take shine for St Finbarr�s Akoka begin return to my Okuta
Oblongata (Na real grade, no expo). African rift valley system,
collision of
the African and Eurasian continental plates. E bi laik I don take all
the
knowledge drink garri. Na the Bible knowledge one sweet me pass ojare. In the beginning
God created the heaven and the earth, case closed.
We walked past moorland into a lunar desert. Rocks, dust and more rocks. There was a strange looking plant, Like Palm tree which suffered Kwashiokor. Shunts trunk with leaves at the top � Senecio Kilimanjari.
Reminded me of all those cowboy
films. When I was young I wondered why cowboys woke and climbed their
horses
without taking baths. Shebi none of us
don baff [bath]. Nobody dey baff onto
mountain o! No wonder Moses vex when
im reach down dey hear hip hop music. Forty
days of suffer. No be say im get porter to dey carry im load. Na
commandment e
dey write , no chop. Chai!. If na Babawilly I for homicide Aaron one
time,
break all the tablet of stone on im cranium make e see as e sweet.
Golden calf
ko golden delicious ni.
Anyway,
we walked up to the �lava tower� at 4,800m (for
acclimatisation) and walked back down to Barranco Hut at 3,900m). Talk
about
the grand old duke of
I slept well that night and was reciting a song to myself through the night:
Those who wait on the lord,
shall renew their
strength.
They shall mount up with wings
as Eagles. They shall
run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Lord I wait, Lord I wait on you.
That
night I dreamt I was in a battle with a vampire-like creature.
Suffice to say I brutally stabbed it
through the heart. (God punish wicked
people dem/ Holy Ghost fire burn dem!).
Wednesday 12-10-05.
Today
na today. Before us was Barranco wall! A
huge
climb. First we descend into a ravine then started the rocky tiresome
climb. I
had fire in my belly today. Scree formed
the terrain. Now when I sneezed onto my white tissue paper it
was full
of dusty catarrh. The temperature slowly started to drop as we gained
height.
The views were fantastic. Today I got really scared. It was at kiss the
rock
time. Here the path came to a point where a big bolder stuck out. You
held a
rock with your left hand then swing your hand and foot across to the
other side
then get pulled up. If you fell backward at the point, it�s all over.
We all
kissed the rock successfully. It was interesting to come to a stream to
stock
up on water. The Glaciers at the top melt and provide a constant
stream.
Without the streams climbing the mountain will prove difficult. We put
Puritab
tablets in the water 30 minutes before drinking. It tastes like
drinking out of
Federal palace hotel�s swimming pool.
We walked for about 8 hours
to Barafu camp at 4,600m. Na
here trouble start.
The
plan was to have supper and sleep for 3 hours then wake up at
midnight for the all night walk towards the summit. Dressing for the
summit
meant layers and layers of clothing which we all slept in.
By the
time we were woken up at 12.10am I never even entered gear one
of sleep. Bodi no bi fayawood!
Thursday 13-10-05; 12.30am
With
head torch in place we started the walk towards the summit in
darkness. One had to fix one�s yes on the path as a wrong step could
mean
injury. By about 5 a.m. I began to wane. By 6.30am the journey was over
for me.
I was going so �pole pole� I had to stop. Ray our oga tried his best to
urge me
on but I was just to nauseous and exhausted. A porter was found to take
me
down. The sun was rising over
Whitey offered to hold my hand
and I refused.
We
walk down for a few hours and it soon became obvious I couldn�t make
simple decisions such as where best to place my foot when faced with
different
stones.
Whitey
took my hand and led me like a child. We got to Mweka camp at
3,000m and I promptly fell into deep sleep. I soon woke up and began to
cry. I
have too many problems in this life. How can I get so close and have to
turn
back? Is that not like walking over to success and taking a photograph
with it
but not actually achieving it? At least my pickins14will
know the direction of success (what ever success means) as their
Papa don show dem, I thought to myself in
consolation. But to be lead down like a child. Nobody has held my hand
and lead
me anywhere for years. Not since that riot broke out when I won MR
Uniben in
1983 (or was it 1984?) and had to be smuggled out of the main
auditorium at
Ugbowo campus to escape flying bottles. I still remember lying on the
floor of
Chinaku�s car. (Me sef, I be coward
sometimes o!). Then there was my late father who lost his sight and
had to
be lead like a child. I cried for all my problems then dosed.
The
rest of the group came back and we were all too ill for super.
There was so much leftovers tonight.
I
slept very well at Mweka camp tonight.
Friday 14-10-05.
Today
O!
I will
lift up my hands in praise
For I
know
You
are always there for me
Almighty
God
You
are my all in all
No
matter what I face
When
trouble comes my way
I will
praise you Lord.
This Wale Adenuga wey write
this song. May God bless am well well.
In
good spirits today. Having breakfast when a scream rent through the
air. We saw a group of porters running down hill with a strecher held
up high.
On it was a White lady in her early fifties screaming. Suddenly it went
silent.
I
wondered if she had broken a leg. Our two group doctors ran off to
see what was going on. Next minute there was a frantic rush for the
medical
bag. I left the table with another nurse.
It
looked bad. A cardiac arrest at 3,000m. Work start. All the camp
watched from afar as we battled for almost half an hour or so to bring
back
this woman to life. I have seen many deaths during my medical career
but this
one was painful. I have my sun glasses on so I could cry some more in
peace. I
was absolutely drained. Just who sent me message? All my problems
seemed so far
away (as Beatles talk). I just dreaded to think that someone will ring
her
relatives with this news. It was too much for me. I just put on my
headphones
and listened to Micheal W Smith. That one
sef wan make person cry more.
Brief
Ray
our oga gathered the group and explained what had happened. It was
time to go down. The mountain operates a one way system You go up an
ascent
route which differs from the descent route. This makes sense as some of
the
paths are quite narrow.
Going
down hill was not easy. My toes were squashed at the front of my
boots and painful blistered ensued. The thought of Ameg Lodge spurred
me on. It
was down through beautiful forests to Mweka Gate where lunch awaited.
Most
didn�t eat as we all wanted to get back.
It was
nice to be back in the real world again. In the Lodge we had a
welcomed shower. My neck was well burnt. That night was the celebration
dinner
and award of certificates.
When I
see the certificates of those wey reach Uhuru peak wey say-
congratulations for reaching Africa�s highest peak then come look my
own wey
say - this is to certify that Dr W Orhiunu attempted the highest peak
in
Me I dey go back next year!
(And I need a big Naija sponsor like Glo or MTN or or or � )
That
night I stayed in and read The call to a performing generation
till 2am. The passion of the Christ came on. The beating
scene fear me. I
know say na acting but make comot face after a while. I learnt a lot
tonight.
Saturday 15-10-05
Off to
Moshi town for gifts but first we had to change money. When with
Ruth, Carol and Douglas from
Sunday 16-10-05
Up at
3am. In the coach at 3.30am. Got to airport and had to sit around
after checking in. Then its take
off at 6.20am to Daressalam (like Molue
to pick up passengers) which is south. We then come back past
Kilimanjaro to
Got to
Q Park Long stay car park and was sitting in my car by 10.30pm.
Walahi, I had forgotten how to drive but �pole pole� I made it home.
Dr Wilson Orhiunu
View
Pictures of trip on http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/2040682
On
line donations to Sense on http://www.justgiving.com/mount2climb
Or
Post cheques to Dr W Orhiunu.
Quoted
Music from
Bobby
Benson- Taxi Driver
Fela
Anikulapo- Army Arrangement
Prince
Nico Mbarga- Sweet Mother
2Face
Idibia- Nfana Ibaga (No problem)
Wale
Adenuga (Fountain of Life)- Today O.
Acknowledgements
Thanks
to all who made my trip possible. God bless my children who
constantly inspire me to be the best that I can be.
Thanks
Eddy Arouture for the
Tanzania Visa forms, all my patients for their love and concern, (dem fear say I fit no return), Shelagh
for the extra bag, Sutton Coldfield News, Sutton Coldfield Observer,
Richard
Webb of Birmingham Airconditioning Ltd for paying for my mountain
clothing,
Doctor Magazine, Resurection Life Assembly Birmingham for love and
prayers and
God almighty for saving my bacon up that mountain.
God almighty na you bico!