A Year 11 student from The Armidale School has returned from a life-changing adventure after climbing Africa’s highest mountain.
Isabelle Coddington reached the summit of Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro last month as part of a group of 31 students from schools across 11 countries involved in the international Round Square organisation.
At 5,895 metres above sea level, Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest peak and the world’s tallest free-standing mountain.
After two days of preparation, Coddington and the group embarked on an eight-day trek, gradually acclimatising to the altitude by climbing higher during the day before returning to lower camps to sleep.
The journey offered spectacular views, sunrises, sunsets, constellations and shooting stars, but also tested the students physically and mentally.
“Throughout the climb, we experienced both the physical and mental challenges, with one of the boys having to go down on the sixth day, just the day before reaching the summit. This rattled many of the other people as we all saw how quickly and awful altitude sickness can come,” Coddington said.
The remaining students continued towards the summit, completing a gruelling 15-hour final climb overnight.
“Although this was a setback, the rest of us got there after a difficult climb on the final night. Reaching the summit was an unforgettable moment, with some crying of happiness and lots of hugs to go around as it was such a huge achievement,” she said.
After completing the descent in less than 36 hours, the group capped off the experience with a safari through the Serengeti.
“There were giraffes, elephants, zebras, water buffalo, lions, a warthog and many other cool animals. Looking back, it took a while to sink in what a big achievement it was, and how it will be something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
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