Out of Africa

Simon Botley catches up with two local adventurers who climbed to the top of Africa...

Jack Roberts, a professional golfer for the Mid-Wales Golf Academy, and Kat Morgan, from Guilsfield, successfully completed their eight-day trek to the summit of the world’s highest free standing mountain - Kilimanjaro.

Jack from Maesbrook, near Oswestry, said upon their return: “It was a great experience and I’m really pleased to have been able to tick something so ambitious off my bucket list! The most surreal part for me was how quickly the landscape and temperatures around us changed.

“We went from rainforest to glacier and 30 degrees Celsius to -10 in the space of 4,000 metres. I got a headache at around 5,200 metres, which was an effect of the high altitude, but there was never any point when I felt as though I wasn’t going to be able to make it to the top.”

That top is a dizzying 5,895 metres above sea level, a challenge that the pair took on in order to raise money for Lingden Davies Cancer Research. The current total stands at £2,672 with any donations still being gratefully received. People can do so by visiting: https://www.justgiving.com/JackandKat.

Kat has previously raised over £16,000 for the charity, and works for Consensus International in Oswestry.

She said: “The highlight was definitely reaching Uhuru Point at the top of the mountain. It was just after sunrise and it was beautifully clear and sunny and made all of the effort worthwhile. I’d just like to say thank you so much to everybody who has taken the time to sponsor us so far. We really appreciate it and the money is going to a really good cause.”

Picture provided by Kat Morgan