The Legal Stuff
By booking a climb with Team Kilimanjaro, while we hope you will thoroughly enjoy the convenience of having to deal with only one small, tight-knit team, nonetheless, because of the way pertinent laws apply differently in each country, a number of different legal entities are involved:
History of "Team Kilimanjaro"
Team Kilimanjaro was originally started as a sole tradership in the UK in June 2004, four years after John first speed-climbed Kilimanjaro from the park gate to the summit in under 13 hours. For the first few months of operations TK relied on subcontracting the services of a local, long-established, Arusha-based trekking operation to provide Kilimanjaro guiding services to John's clients.
It quickly became clear, however, that using this operational model it would not be possible to deliver services in line with John's expectations on behalf of his climbers. The following year John therefore returned to Tanzania to sponsor a new trekking operation and to recruit, train and coordinate the members of staff employed by this locally incorporated company himself, and to provide his own expedition equipment for the expeditions operated by this new local team.
Arien Lifestyle Limited
With the growth in the size of the operation and the necessity to obtain access to more efficient banking services, Team Kilimanjaro, the brand that was established in 2004, was eventually no longer operated as a sole tradership. Arien Lifestyle Limited (named after John's firstborn child who first summited Kilimanjaro at the age of just 9 years) was therefore established as a limited company, incorporated in the UK with company number 11217578 and VAT number GB 288975812 - retaining the original brand / trading name of "Team Kilimanjaro".
VAT - Since the place of delivery of service (East Africa) that clients purchase is outside the United Kingdom and the EU member states (see VAT Notice 700, paragraph 22.4.3), no VAT is chargeable on the services purchased, and Arien Lifestyle Limited is required only to charge VAT on their coordinating services billed to the local Arusha-based company, Kilimanjaro Team Limited.
With Arien Lifestyle Limited being based in the UK climbers benefit from competitive UK banking conditions, and may pay for their climb or safari by bank transfer in any of the following currencies, without having to pay any commission or forex costs, and Arien will ensure that the price you pay reflects the live Interbank rates applicable on the day you are invoiced for the payment:
- Pounds Sterling - GBP
- United States Dollars - USD
- Euros - EUR
- Australian Dollars - AUD
- Canadian Dollars - CAD
- South African Rands - ZAR
Our Suppliers
When booking a climb with Team Kilimanjaro, we in turn subcontract the services of Kilimanjaro Team Limited, a locally-incorporated company based in Arusha, Tanzania, who in turn obtains the services of accommodation and transport providers, licensed mountain guides, cooks, porters and safari guides.
Our expedition coordinators will commonly refer to our suppliers collectively and Arien Lifestyle Limited corporately as "we", or "Team Kilimanjaro", even though the aforementioned organisations exist as separate and distinct legal entities with different owners, directors and shareholders.
Package Holidays
Arien Lifestyle Limited are not travel agents or Air Traffic Organisers, and do not sell package holidays. Clients of "Team Kilimanjaro" are required to obtain their own flights. They may either book their own hotels or have these booked by the local supplier, Kilimanjaro Team Limited.
A superb bag for Kilimanjaro. While only 25 litres is strictly necessary, the extra 10 litres is massively useful for stowing warm gear when the sun is up and we're descending from the summit.
This is a bag of superb quality and is ideal for climbers who want to do extended, multi-day treks during their training phase.
While substantially inferior to the more robust, larger Ortlieb dry bag that is preferred by soldiers encountering hostile conditions, if you’re not planning more adventures after Kilimanjaro, this bag ought to suffice to keep your stuff dry within your holdall or rucksack while you climb Kilimanjaro with us.
If your pre-expedition Kilimanjaro training has consisted of cardiovascular exercises primarily, such as running, cycling and swimming and you do not intend to use weight when training in the hills to simulate the fatigue of high altitude, then you don’t really need a large capacity rucksack.
Many rucksacks have a built-in rainproof cover sewn into the lid or the base of the bag. If you use a decent rucksack liner it’s not essential to use a rucksack cover, however, it is nonetheless advised as it is advantageous to ensure that your rucksack remains reasonably dry so that it does not become frozen and brittle at night when the temperature drops below zero.