Conquering Kili By Kym Allen

I have been lucky enough to have some awesome travelling experiences. It all started with Kokoda, and has included skiing Japan and France, cruising in Turkey, running with the bulls, discovering some of the world’s top cities, and of course partying on SE Asian beaches. But I wanted something more... Something Special... Something Adventurous. Looking back now, I cannot really remember why or how I decided upon it, but I decided to embark on a climb of Mount Kilimanjaro. At 5898 meters above sea level, Kili is the highest free standing mountain in the world. It is so high, that despite being basically on the equator, is capped in ice. However, you don't need to be a mountain climber to get to the top. You just need a good attitude, good guides and small amount of luck.

When I put feelers out to friends and family, I was not sure what response I would get. But I was pleased when my mate Drago and also my Dad agreed to sign on. Then I went into shock when my 58 year old Mum said she wanted to come along. I was wrapped, but told he she needed to get training pronto.

As it turned out, all four of us made it to the summit at dawn on a freezing morning in February 2011. I have never seen anything as inspiring as my mum continuing her push to the top while she was obviously struggling with the lack of oxygen, freezing temperatures, and gradient we had to fight up. I shed a couple of tears as we stood atop the mountain and admired the sun rising over the endless African plane.


in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

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