Fundraiser’s mountain trek
A CHARITY fundraiser has completed a week long climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro after making headlines for signing up to the trek thinking it was in Wales.
Nikki Barnett, from Whitestone, Nuneaton, told the Telegraph last month that she couldn’t pronounce the mountain’s name and assumed it must have been Welsh. Her mistake tickled the nation and Nikki’s story was soon covered by The Sun, Metro and Daily Mail.
Not only did the extra publicity push the trekker over her £10,000 fundraising target, it even got her and her daughter Leanne, who took on the challenge with her, recognised in the airport toilets by an American couple who read their story online.
51-year-old Nikki did not back down upon realising her mistake and has now completed the slog to the top of the world’s highest free-standing mountain, but said she will consider taking some geography lessons before embarking on another adventure.
The pair joined a team of 13 other volunteers who raised more than £60,000 for Myton Hospices, where Nikki’s sister and Leanne’s nan both spent their last days.
Nikki said she thought her sister Jill, who died of breast cancer aged 41, would have loved the challenge.
“She was on my shoulder the whole way up the mountain,” Nikki said. “When Jill was diagnosed with cancer she never complained, so how could I? She was my inspiration.”
The team started their trek from Moshi in Tanzania, a small town at the bottom of the 5,895m tall mountain.
“The day before the trek we were having our briefing from the doctor and that was when it reality hit us. I don’t think any of us had realised how serious altitude sickness could be,” Nikki said.
The group walked for around five or six hours each day and camped at designated points along the way.
One team member had to pull out for health reasons on the third day, but that night everybody was handed a letter from their loved ones back home.
Nikki, who received a letter from her son Ryan, said: “It was so emotional, it was like being on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! Morale was so low at that point that it gave us all the push we needed.”
Despite the tricky terrain, freezing temperatures and constant nausea, the team made it to the summit after starting their final leg at midnight on day seven.
Despite calls from her friends and family to take on the Everest base camp next, Nikki says she’s done with climbing for the time being.
“It’s not something I’ll be rushing to do again, and I think I’ll take some geography lessons before my next challenge!”
Beccy Richards, a representative of Myton, who joined the team on their trek, said the money raised will support families across Coventry and Warwickshire. She said: “Before the challenge of Kilimanjaro itself, the team took on their own challenge in fundraising for The Myton Hospices. They have so far raised more than £63,500 as a group and the donations are still coming in!”