Thank you for visiting my Kilimanjaro Trek fundraising page!

3 Oct Update:

I’m extremely pleased to report that I made it to the summit of Kilimanjaro. It was a pretty gruesome climb and much tougher than I (perhaps a bit naively) had anticipated but there is now a great sense of pride and RELIEF! Never to be repeated or recommended and all mountains are off the agenda for the time being!

Thank you to all who supported me, with kit, good wishes and sponsorship; it all proved vital and there is no doubt that not letting my sponsors down greatly helped me in those final few hours of the struggle to the top.

We went on to have a completely amazing safari afterwards and relished every moment of being clean, driven around and sleeping in proper beds! Tanzania is a beautiful and fascinating country and I would thoroughly recommend it (if not the mountain!) to all. It is however extremely poor (36% of the population live below the poverty line and life expectancy is a mere 45.2 years) so the valuable work carried out by charities such as the Tanzania Development Trust is crucial. The charity, its beneficiaries and I are deeply grateful for your support.

Original message:

I am planning to walk/hobble/crawl to Mount Kilimanjaro’s summit in September. It is a well trodden path and I will have all the back-up of an experienced walking company plus endless guides, porters, cooks etc but it is also the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, the highest point in Africa, constantly snow-capped and with a height of 5,895 metres/19,340 feet, requires a 5 night/6 day expedition.

I am funding the trip, including flights and all luxury canvas accommodation and related costs, which means all the money raised will go directly to the Tanzania Development Trust, a UK registered charity with the aim of “alleviating poverty in Tanzania through assistance with projects in health, water supply, education and community based self help activities."

Please help me support this excellent cause and give me that extra incentive to strive for the summit whilst I battle with the altitude, my (lack of) fitness and no doubt fatigue following 5 nights in a tent. Don't forget to add Gift Aid if you're a taxpayer so we can get a contribution from Darling/Brown. My very generous employer, BHP Billiton, will match all contributions to double the total pot.

Every single donation is hugely appreciated and it will help benefit those less fortunate than ourselves. For more information about the Tanzania Development Trust visit http://www.btsociety.org/pages/tdt/about.htm.

Thank you for your support.