My story:

Reaching the top of Kilimanjaro was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. The first 3 days we hiked around 4 hours each day, gradually edging closer to the mighty peak of Kilimanjaro towering above us. By the 4th day at 4700m above sea level, the altitude was notable. There were times when I woke up gasping for breath and even the smallest physical exertion like tying my shoe laces was a challenge. After hiking 6 hrs and a short rest, at midnight of the 5th August in the dark we began our final ascent. Wearing 5 layers of clothes with only my eyes and nose exposed to the -10C , donning a head torch and walking ‘pole pole’ (slowly in Swahili) we worked our way up the switchback of loose scree. With every step forward I slipped half a step back. It took every ounce of determination I possessed to just keep putting one step in front of another for 6 very long hours. After nearly passing out and feeling nauseous most of the way up, we reached Gilman’s Point, 5681m just in time to see the most breathtaking sun rise over Mawenzi – the other summit of Kilimanjaro. Thinking Uhuru Peak can’t be too far away now, we continued our ascent only to realise the last 200m in height would take us over 2 hours, such was the speed of walking we were capable of.

Standing at Uhuru Peak, 5895m, and being able to see the curvature of the earth, I truly felt as though was I on top of the world. At first there was no celebrating, only needing to sit down to recover, but gradually it started to sink in that we had made it! Holding the NZ and Irish flags (in honour of the 2 Irishmen killed in the Feb quake, 1 of whom was a music student of mine) at the summit, I felt a huge sense of pride and gratitude that I’d been given this opportunity to represent my city. Close to tears, I remember thinking, ‘this is for you Christchurch, if we can climb this mountain, then we can get through any challenge life throws at us.’ Climbing Kili was an extreme endurance test that 12 Kiwis were willing to go through as a sign of their solidarity with the people of Christchurch. I hope that this gesture provides Cantabrians with a new hope for the future and also the strength to keep on ‘pole pole’.

To see our Kilimanjaro climb caught on video - check out the video below.