Roger and His Son Climbing Mount Kilimanjaro: A Lesson for Life

Please read Roger's reflection on his transformative trip:

"The trip was a metaphor for life for my eldest son turning 18-yrs of age, an adventure and a challenge all rolled into one. I wanted him to get comfortable with being uncomfortable and accept that just like in life, people and circumstances will always be providing with a revolving door of challenges, and it will be down to him to keep pushing forward and beyond to achieve his goals.

We reached the destination of the summit by making the final ascent on evening of 5th day via the brutal Gilmans Point but it’s all about the journey!  All the planning, the week-long sleeping in a tent, the ever-changing weather conditions, altitude, loss of appetite and clocking-up the kilometres. It's all part of the struggle and that is part of the journey which you really must enjoy, because the success of reaching the summit is short lived. Much like any successful moment – it is momentary. 

It was an exhilarating adventure being able to share this with my son and I really urge any parent to consider such experiences. In a period when our youth are complaining of mental wellbeing issues along with a social environment that is making them fragile, as a parent I believe it is vitally important to expose our teenagers to those very challenges that helps prepare them for what life will throw at them.      

Over above the challenge of Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa and Tanzania was the amazing cultural setting where the people demonstrate both the strength of character and the humbleness in equal quantity, whilst the wildlife of the Ngorongoro Crater provided natures ultimate wildlife beauty as we enjoyed a tented lodge manned by the famous Maasai tribe. It was an adventure and also, an unbreakable father and son bonding and memories that will last a lifetime.This was experiential hospitality, at the ultimate end of the scale!       

Thanks to #kilimanjaroexperts and @henrystedman for their outstanding professional trekking guide and support.  

Special thanks to Glenn Huskie for his tips and congrats for his climb earlier in the year!"

We'd like to share a few photos of this epic journey.