Jambo All,

Hope you are well?

We are back from and we did it – we made it to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro!

This was despite Claire leaving her passport in the car, our plane from Heathrow being cancelled and our plane from to Kilimanjaro being cancelled, Craig losing his luggage and Claire getting altitude sickness on Valentines Day and being rushed down the mountain! …character building I think…

Also on Valentines Day Craig proposed with a beautiful ring and we all had a toast at 6.30am with our plastic mugs of tea! Not sure if it was the proposal or the altitude which made Claire feel sick J. Only joking – it was a lovely surprise and we are both very excited and making plans straight away to set a date ASAP.

The trek – it was the most amazing experience we have ever had, it was about a thousand times better than we had anticipated. The food was fantastic – better than Claire gets in the with all her allergies – and this was carried and cooked on the side of a mountain!

The trekking itself wasn’t as hard as we feared, it was the altitude that was tough and not knowing how you would react to it. Constantly looking for signs!

The trek leader, porters, and guides were so helpful and made us feel so welcome, we learnt a lot from them about their way of life and the laid back and positive attitude they have to everything.

Luckily we had a brilliant team and we made some good friends which I am sure we will keep in touch with.  We all bonded quickly during our delayed travelling and as half of the luggage was left in – sharing things with each other.

Of course Claire took lots of photos and she is sorting through them now to get the best ones into a book – so if you want to see them let me know.

Many thanks to everyone who has supported us in raising vital funds for VSO.

Claire-Marie Jones and Craig Handford

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page for the trek I'm doing up Kilimanjaro in February 2010.

Kilimanjaro is the largest freestanding mountain in the world and the highest point on the African continent at 5,895m - just the 4,900m higher than Snowdon.........

Whilst I'm climbing Kilimanjaro for pleasure and paying the full cost of the trek myself, there is also a serious side to this challenge. I’ve committed to participate in a fundraising challenge for Volunteer Services Overseas, an international development charity. This charity places volunteers where they are needed to share skills with local people to help them become self-sustaining.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the Voluntary Service Overseas and if you're a UK taxpayer, JustGiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please dig deep and support my chosen charity now.

Craig