THOMASVILLE- Thomasville resident Lindsey Ramaekers just returned from the trip of a lifetime. She spent a little over a week in Tanzania, hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro with 12 newfound friends during an outing with Beyond Adventures. Ramaekers had been planning this trip since she signed up in 2019.

“I had friends who had climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro before and I had just heard great things,” she said. “I had always heard it was a life changing experience.”

However, due to COVID-19 the trip had to be rescheduled. When the time finally arrived nearly four years later, Ramaekers couldn’t have been more ready.

“It kept getting pushed back, so I was just really excited when it finally came time. We flew to Tanzania and spent a full day preparing and meeting the team that’s based in Africa,” she said. “We spent the next six days hiking. It was from Sunday-Monday.”

Ramaekers said the trip is not considered a “technical climb,” so it’s really accessible to anyone who loves the outdoors. She said she didn’t do much preparation beyond a few short walks and runs around her neighborhood.

“If you’re somewhat fit, you’re able to do it,” she said. “The biggest thing that stops people is the altitude. It’s just hiking; you’re not scaling the mountain or anything like that.”

Several teenagers were in the group of 12, along with Ramaekers’ brother, who is just 15.

Their mother also joined them on the outdoors adventure.

“My whole family just loves the mountains,” Ramaekers said. “We grew up going to Colorado a lot, so we loved being outdoors and the chance to camp.”

Ramaekers said her brother did great on the hike.

“We were trying to keep up with him the whole time,” she said.

While the days were long, they were filled with beautiful scenery and conversations designed to get to know group members better.

Ramaekers explained most days would begin between 6:30-7 a.m., when the group would be woken up for breakfast. They would then pack up and start on their hike for the day. The hike would sometimes be a shorter 4-5 hour day, while other days would extend 7-9 hours.

“We would have lunch halfway through and then eventually end at our campsite,” Ramaekers said. “We couldn’t shower obviously, but we would wash up for dinner.”

After washing up, the hikers would enjoy group dinners and spend time in conversation before getting a good night’s rest.

Getting to know her group and team members was one of Ramaekers’ favorite parts of the journey.

“Going into the trip, I thought reaching the summit would be the best part, but in hindsight the team that got us there were such incredible people,” she said. “I truly could not have done it without them.”

The team’s unwavering support and encouragement was one of the driving factors that helped Ramaekers continue her hike, when she felt like she couldn’t continue walking any longer.

“It was five and a half days up the mountain and one and a half days down,” she said. “Saturday was the day we summited the peak, so we left at 1 a.m. and summited at 8:30 that morning and then started back down, before going the rest of the way on Sunday,” she said.

Once the group concluded their hike, most opted to enjoy an add-on safari adventure in the Serengeti.

There, Ramaekers saw giraffes, lions, cheetahs, leopards, elephants, antelope and monkeys.

“We saw a two-day old baby elephant and it was so cute,” she said. “The elephants were definitely some of my favorites; we got to see them move in a herd.”

Additionally, Ramaekers had the privilege of seeing lion cubs.

While Ramaekers won’t be traveling back to Tanzania again any time soon, she said she thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would love to eventually hike the mountain again. She is also open to trying to hike to Mt. Everest’s base camp.

Ramaekers highly encourages anyone who is interested in outdoor experiences to give Beyond Adventures trips a try.

“It’s more than worth it,” she said. “You will not regret it. The experience as a whole, whether you reach the top or not, is truly life changing just from the people you meet to the relationships you build.”

Ramaekers said she learned a lot about herself during this experience, including that she is stronger than she once thought and that as people, “we are more alike than different.”

Those interested in experiencing their own life-changing journey, can visit beyondadventures.co