Mt. Meru questions, Tanzania

[ClimbAndSki]

We are hoping to climb Mt. Meru independantly in January, but have a couple logistical questions.

1) Is there a place to get a fuel bottle for a wisperlite style stove(or a canister for a canister stove) in Arusha or Moshi? I assume it is pretty easy to get kerosine to fill it.

2) Do the huts on Meru have sleeping pads, or should we bring those as well?

3) Is the road to Momella gate passable by any taxi, or do you need a 4 wheel drive?

4) Are you expected to provide food for your ranger, or do they eat their own food at the huts?

5) Do the huts fill up in january?

 

We are planning on carrying our own gear, so will not need porter/guide/cook, other than the mandated ranger.

 

Thanks!

[ClimbAndSki]

We didn't end up doing Meru because we caught the flu and were down for a couple days, but I did find the answers to some of my questions, if anyone else searches for this thread. The huts look like the do have foam mats, the road is passible by a taxi, we were quoted around $70 one way.

 

I did climb Kili by the Machame route and had a good experience. We used http://www.ahsantetours.com/ and I thought they were good, and are a kpac partner http://www.kiliporters.org/

[akhalteke]

Just a note. I don't think it is possible to truly do Meru totally independently. The guides/porters we had to take basically took our stuff up until it got a little steep and we were on our own. They, on the other hand, were still on the clock.

 

Maybe things have changed up there, but it is a big source of revenue (climbing) and Tanzania hates to lose out on one red nickel of it.

[ken4ord]

In my opinion it is too bad you did Kili instead of Mt. Meru. It is a much more scenic mountain than Kili. $70 for a taxi is rip off. You can hire a land cruiser or land rover for $100 a day, that mean do drive in the park and check out some of the critter and get dropped off at the base.

 

Sorry I haven't been on CC for ages and didn't see ur post till now.