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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

so this TR covers a trek up Mount Kilimanjaro + a few flights.
DXB-DAR (Dar es Salaam) on Emirates (77W)
DAR-JRO (Kilimanjaro international) on Fastjet (319)
ARK-ZNZ (Arusha-Zanzibar) on Air Excel (Let 410)
ZNZ-DAR on Precision Air (ATR 72)
DAR-DXB on Emirates (77W)
all in economy.

A little background. We had been planning this trip for months, a few colleagues from work (past and present) and my wife (R).
Why? Dont ask. Just something exciting and different, a change from the usual, lets leave it at that. Our group of 6 unfortunately got cut down to 4 because 2 people didnt get the days off.
We had booked the trek dates months ago and applied for leave after that, no other choice.

Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world. It has 3 peaks- Mawenzi, Kibo and Shira. We did a 6 day trek, 4.5 days up and 1.5 days down. Ill add a few pictures at the end ....

Start of the trip was our morning flight to DAR. not particularly long, less than 6 hours. Chose to fly Y because our friends were, thought about ditching them and sitting in front but decided against it Wink

DXB-DAR on EK725. Economy. 77W (2 class)
Flight wasn't full, on time and uneventful.
Parked at a remote bay (C stand) in DXB, I didn't mind I like the the view on the way.

Not the newest cabin but new enough.
Hot towel were handed out on boarding + menus.

Not all the seats had power ports, it was alternate.

Nice screen, good size. It had the headphone plug in front which I liked.
The headphone were packed and had the do not disturb + duty free stickers and stuff

The food was very good, I liked the tuna + corn in the salad. This was the mutton

I took the fish. It was interesting but I liked the mutton more. Tried the crackers and cheese + usual bread role.

Almost there

Almost, almost there Smile

They had the bridge in front but we got down the back and took the short bus ride to the terminal.
Tanzania has visa on arrival for most countries, India ... listening!!!
No special documents or pre clearances or passport pictures etc. to get .... all you need is your passport + yellow fever vaccination (you need that for most of Africa). You land, fill out 2 forms pay $50 and wait till they stick the visa in the passport. Whole process took a while almost 30 mins because it seemed 1/3 of the flight was getting it.

Now some drama. Our friends had 3 check-in bags and only 2 showed up. The one that was missing had their (and our) heavy winter jackets among other things. We were scheduled to fly to JRO 20 hours later and we needed those layers for the trek. Swissport handled lost luggage- they said it would come on tomorrows flight and they would put it on an evening flight to JRO. One catch- they wouldn't be able to drop it off at the hotel in Kili (over an hour from the airport) so we would have to organise that. They did say they would refund the taxi fare tho .....

Anyway that was a headache as you can imagine. We spent that evening in DAR and the next morning were set to fly to Kilimanjaro.

DAR-JRO on FN0151. Economy. a319 (single class)

Morning traffic is unpredictable so we left super early and got to the airport 2:15 mins before departure, too early to check in so why not breakfast? They had a restaurant on level 1 between arrivals and departures.

The restaurant.

Chair, anyone?

Check in and security was quick and basic. They had those big old fashioned weighing scales before the check in counters to weigh the bags.
Fastjet gives you 20kg of check in, with an option to pre booked another 20kg for $20. I prebooked 2 for the 4 of us just in case our hiking stuff tipped the scale.

The roots of a certain airline?

One of the airlines 3 Airbuses.

Looking back at the terminal

I guess that's 2/3 of the airline ....

It was a short flight, just an hour. No food/drink service unless i missed it.

That's their route network. They have/had plans of starting DAR-JNB in a few weeks (and I think they code share on JNB-CPT)

During descent, we see the peaks Kilimanjaro out the window. Pretty sure it was higher than us most of the flight.

Dust devils around the airport

The (tiny) finger of god.

Tarmac.

I love the arrivals area

7 days later, tired and dirty post trek it was time for Zanzibar. Our friends made their way to JRO to head back to BLR but we were ready for our 3 days of not doing anything. The easiest option was to fly out of JRO but I thought it would be more fun to fly out of Arusha airport.

ARK-ZNZ on Air Exel. Let L-410 Turbolet.
I had been to Nairobi Wilson airport years ago but don't remember much of it, this was the usual Africa tiny but busy airfield.

There was a car park, rather space for a few cars and buses.
A lot of tour groups from Europe, each bus = 1 aircraft I guess.

I wouldn't trust the flight information .... type of aircraft + registration Razz

spotters would love that

Check in was .... simple. Air Excel provided 15kg of check in baggage. I sent them an email requesting for a bit more so they upped it to 20kg at no charge. That was perfect, our bags were 20kg and we stuffed our backpacks with the rest.

Flight was around noon, so had time to grab a bite to eat. Small menu but nice food, had a pepper steak with fries + samosas.

They had the one biggish restaurant and another 2 coffee shops.

Pre-security and post security with the separating fence. Security check was 1 x-ray point.

HOT girl or BAD ... the agony of choice Wink

Some airside pics ..... I will admit I am very bad at this sort of aircraft identification. I had no idea what a L-410 was. I can tell a grand caravan from a grand caravan, that's about it. So looking at these small props I could barely make out what was what.

Our aircraft to ZNZ
Apparently the Let L-410 has a single engine ceiling of 4000' or something, which means if it lost an engine at Arusha or JRO it wouldn't stay in the air. This is what I heard, it's not technically sound information (unverified)
[edit ..... quick google + common sense says that's most probably rubbish]

One at a time boarding, like most small planes. Initially they were directing the guys/girls to different seats. Boys at the back girls in front etc for CG, luckily R and I got to sit together in the first seat.

Couldn't see much out the front, could just see the pilots shoulders. This was the front exit.

1:15 mins to ZNZ. Quick brief from the captain (flight time, smooth flight, life vest under your seat and destination Zanzibar so we knew it was the correct aircraft) and we were on our way.

Zanzibar isn't what I expected (not in a good or bad way, just different). It wasn't crowded at all which was surprising because it has a million hotels and surprisingly not cheap. A small 10 bedroom hotel in stone town will be upwards of $150 a night. They have a lot of resorts to the north and east, which are the secluded sandy beaches type. We decided to stay in the old city so we could walk around town etc.
3 days later, time to head back to DAR.

ZNZ-DAR on Precision Air (ATR 72)
ZNZ-DAR is a short short flight. Distance of 45nm, there are ferrys between the island and Dar es Salaam which takes less than 1.5 hours (by boat so you can imagine what the flight time is)
:17 mins from take off to touch down, probably my shortest flight.

Small nice terminal. They are building a new one tho. Will be sad to switch from this, gives the airport/city a nice feel if you know what I mean.

We had to pay a departure tax on the way out. That's about $10 a person. For this shack terminal

Impressive. For a Muslim majority population they can put up signs like this but in India we still bend the rules for religion. Face covred no problem. Turban beeps no problem. Kirpan/dagger allowed on board no problem
Rolling Eyes

It's time India provided separate areas for 'sensitive' pat downs or security checks so everyone is treated the same regardless of belief.

Post security.

Small airport, had 2 cafes and a duty free shop. The domestic and international was in the same holding area.

Our a/c to DAR

Mango 737

One of the few good looking 737 there is Laughing

The old terminal + new one under construction.

Like I said, short flight. 17 mins from take off to touchdown.

Didnt have time to check out the in-flight magazines

The initial plan was to take the EK flight back that evening but we decided to stay another day. We had friends in DAR so stayed with them again for a night.

Last flight, by now we were ready to go home!
DAR-DXB on Emirates (77W 2 class)
Got to the airport 1.5 hours before departure, thought we wouldn't make it because we got stuck in a huge traffic jam.
R and I had standby J tickets, but J was full so they asked (as is company policy) if we would take Y and obviously we said yes. It's not a super long flight, if we were coming back from SYD (or someplace far) we would consider waiting for another flight to get the J seat but on a 5.5 hour flight when you're waiting to get home its an easy decision.

It was the new 777 with the nicer screens. First time for me:)
A6-EGP. I know EGO is the 1000th 777, so is EGP the 1001th?

The screen was very impressive for an economy seat IMO. It was big + very good clarity. It had the usual power ports + a nice PSP type of controller.

Usual towel service + menus handed out + drink + nibbles.

I liked the food... again. Maybe Im easy to please but it was good. I took the Indian one, lamb korma.

Just another view of the screens.

All our flights were on time, only hitch was the missing suitcase on the 1st flight (which showed up I forgot to mention)

Here are some pics from the trip.

We didnt do this route tho, we did the Rongai route.

Camp site on day 2

Camp site on day 3

Plane crash wreckage.... sometime in 2008 I think?

Camp site on day 4

Coming down from Gillmans point

Zanzibar
View at the breakfast

Freddy Mercurys house. He was born here ..... didn't know that

One of the 2 traffic signals in the city Smile

Stone town market + streets

Street food. Zanzibar pizza is famous

On the way to prison island (changuu island)

The star of the island. The oldest tortoise was 189, born in 1820 something

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jbalonso777 · Posted: Thu Oct 03, 2013 10:40 pm Post subject:

Speaking of beautiful trip reports, here is another one!

-Remote bay boarding for a B777. Amazing experience!
-The EK cabin looks so..nice. Even if I have flown many times with them, it just looks so stunning every time I see it!
-Nigerian style food?! That is something new for me!
-Food, as usual, awesome. I think EK have the lead in best Y class meals Smile

-Awesome pictures from the tarmac of DAR!
-Arusha Airport looks like the NOFRA Area shops in BOM. Memories Rolling Eyes

-LOL HOT or BAD! Laughing

-That parking bay. It looks like a taxi stand of planes to me.
-Let L-410 looks interesting. Just like the Xian, I guess..
-There were 2 Mango B737s at the same time? And what is that bump in the second picture (rear of the B737 fuselage..?)
-EGP is not the 1001th, in fact its the 1010th. 1001th is with Air France.
-That is a PSP under the IFE screen. It is. Rolling Eyes

And an amazing set of pictures from the trip! Wow - I really want to do that trek too, (after North Korea). And yup, you visited a true legend's house: R.I.P, Freddie Mercury.

Looking forward to more from you!
Regards
Jish
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sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

What a lovely trip report, with some stunning pictures, both of aviation, and the sights! Thanks Sir, for taking the time to share all this with us.
I guess you must have had me and one of those in mind when posting the pics and information about power-ports and of course, the full-course...food. I personally like the AI position of the power-ports: slightly uncomfortable to plug in, being under the seat level, but less disturbing due to fellow passenger walking over it, rather than having to take it out every time someone needs to cross you. The AI B788s now have one per seat in Y, a good advance over the two-for-a-set-of-three-seats in the B777s.
The EK interior shots look quite good - the planes look well-maintained, and the food, looks as yummy and nice, as usual. Another part that stands out in your trip reports is the exotic airports at exotic places! You also have a superb eye for detail: I loved the chair one. The Indigo aviation DC-3: does this bird fly? Looks like it! The dust devil pictures were nice, though it would not have felt nice to be near one. The shots of so many Cessna Grand Caravans close to each other was superb. And you got a ride in a real exotic plane...the Let-410! I would really like to know how the interiors were - were they the usual old Warsaw Pact stubby interiors, or had they been renovated? How does the plane handle? I am sure you would have a completely different perspective on this, since yours is a front office chair, as opposed to our armchairs! The ice creams stocks in our refrigerators depleted quit a bit right now -though it is close to midnight. Your food pictures were superb, and the tarmac ones - I must have gone over them at least three times each.
Thanks once again, and to reiterate what Jishnu said, yes, we look forward to more from you!
Cheers, Sumantra.

ameya · Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 3:22 am Post subject:

SUper nice ! Loved the reading and the pics very much.... But just one question ? Why are there so many turboprops at that damn small airport ?

Do they all head along with you or they go all over africa from there ?

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Excellent TR and superb pictures .. thanks for sharing!!!

abhigopal · Member Joined: 01 May 2008 Posts: 172

Super Stuff. Sounds like a trip I want to do in the future Smile

Theairplaneguy4ever · Posted: Fri Oct 04, 2013 3:50 pm Post subject:

Absolutely brilliant TR there! I am super jealous now!

It's great that you got to try a new set of airlines as well.

Karan69 · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 1334

Awesome TR Mate,

feels nice to read about places little explored by others, both from a travel perspective and from an aviators perspctive

really liked your pics

If i am not mistaken EGP is the first aircraft to get the all new ICE, as i was on EGO and altough the ICE was excellent it was definetly without a "psp"

Food and Entertainment on Emirates as always has been their strong points

Keep em coming

Karan

Optimus.Prime · Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2013 8:08 pm Post subject:

Stealthpilot,

Im back to reading TRs after a looooong time. And this was a great way to start right back up - Brilliant, crisp one.

Just a few questions;
1)Doesn't EK do 'J' for you?
2)That Let-410 SECeiling sounds dangerous. Pax are Sitting (Flying) ducks?
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sabya99 · Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2013 4:34 am Post subject:

Top of mount Kilimanjaro is the only snow capped area in whole African continent.
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stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Thanks everyone for the comments

PAL@YWG · Posted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 11:16 pm Post subject:

Great destinations and a superb TR with nice Pictures.

In a short span of time you have treated us with some exotic locations, rare airlines...our TRs look pale as compared to yours.. Very Happy

Zanzibar & Freddy Mercury: A pilgrimage for millions of his fans! Wish I could visit one day! Just for information: Freddy's parents were Parsi. That's the closest we could go in terms of claiming a Pop/Rock superstar of Indian origin! Next one may be Tanita Tikaram.

Let-410: is it smaller compared to BEH (that's the smallest aircraft I have flown so far)?

Thanks again!
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Nimish · Posted: Fri Oct 11, 2013 6:30 pm Post subject:

Superb TR and loved the pics - thanks for posting Nikhil!

I guess the staff at EK are really lucky - the network is unimaginable. Just today I read that EK is starting service to CKY (Conakry [Conakry Intl (G'bessia Intl)], GN) - I had to do a search to figure out where this city/country was Embarassed

.
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We miss you Nalini!

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

PAL@YWG · Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 6:59 am Post subject:

rutvij · Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:51 am Post subject:

Gem of a TR of pretty exotic locations! And beautifully woven around an arduous trek that has some really breathtaking landscapes and terrain. Zanzibar looks fantastic and worth doing after a couple of reports, from you and iflytb20. Thanks for sharing, Stealthpilot, amidst busy flying schedule I presume.

Would really want to do one of such treks, having scaled a few difficult peaks in the Sahyadris. This itinerary has lot of pointers to archive.