Trek day 3: acclimatisation day at Horombo huts, 3,720m

The basis of today was to spend some time acclimatising before the push tomorrow. But we could not spend all day in camp where the only entertainment is counting the White neck Ravens and discussing each others medical problems. So we headed up to Zebra rocks, an extraordinary rock feature formed from a combination of volcanic and glacial action. But there was an ulterior motive. Firstly, we had to cross the 4,000m level that Wayne marked with a line across the path, assisted by Phil's GPS and George's magic watch. This proved to us that we could reach such heights.  A further 120m ascent revealed the saddle between Kibo and Mwenzi and the track up to Kibo huts, our destination for tomorrow at 4,703m. Psychologically this was a cunning plan as it motivated us for the ascent over the next two days. Wayne, our trek leader from UK Outdoor Pursuits, gave us impromptu geology briefings which brought the landscape to life. He also gave us instruction on how to walk properly to conserve energy (heels always below shoulders)and how to walk with hiking poles. For most of us this immediately improved our performance. Back at camp for lunch and a surprise for me, a birthday cake with candles. These were specifically brought up by porters from Marangu gate thanks to Wayne's organisation after a tip off presumably from one of the team. Thanks guys. It was a fantastic gesture. Wayne also treated us to a quiz. Brian of Britain it was not: the first question was what was the occupation of Stan Ogden of Coronation Street? (See tomorrow's blog for the answer).  The evening meal had only one focus: the events of tomorrow and was relieved by Mike's Tommy Cooper jokes which rendered the whole table a jibbering wreck: just the antidote to bowel stories. Thanks Mike. After the meal Wayne took us outside to witness a rare sighting, the Milky Way, which is only clearly visible above 4,000m. Some of you may have been following our videos, accessible from the www.teamshootingstar.co.uk website but due to power problems we are having difficulty uploading these at the moment. We would just like to say hello to a couple of families from Shooting Star: young Sade and her mum Mary. Also for Chloë and her sister, Holly; we are still hoping to capture on video the kili  dance!