CABBIES DONE KILI: Intrepid taxi drivers scale Mount Meru and Kilimanjaro back-to-back for charities

Image credit: Cabbies Do Kili

A group of fundraising London Cabbies have successfully completed their challenge to climb Mount Meru and Mount Kilimanjaro back-to-back.

There were two parts to the cabbies' ambitious fundraising challenge to raise money for the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children and an Orphanage in Tanzania.

Firstly, London Cab drivers Daren Parr and John Dillane flew to Tanzania with videographer Tim King to climb Mount Meru and were then joined by six more cab drivers who together attempted to climb Africa’s highest peak Kilimanjaro.

London Cab Driver Daren Parr, said: “Mount Meru was definitely more challenging than we expected. The weather during our ascent was atrocious. We had climbed Kilimanjaro in 2019 but Mount Meru was a different mountain. At one stage we were battered by torrential rain clinging on to chains with a deep drop at the side of us and I can honestly say I have never been so frightened in my whole life.”

Once the cabbies were back from summitting Meru, they enjoyed just one night in the luxury of a hotel bed before they set off on the weeklong trek up Kilimanjaro. Joining them on this climb were fellow cab drivers Lyndsey, Bob, Gary, Sarah, Stuart, and Stella.

Everyone suffered from altitude sickness but all bar one of the intrepid cabbies reached the summit with their professional guide Jonas and a team of twenty porters.

London Cab Driver John Dillane, said: “Having the rest of the team arrive gave our flagging bodies and spirits a huge lift as we set off on the six day Machame route to Uhuru peak. Any thoughts of acclimatisation gained by the Meru climb were dismissed on Kili summit night as my body reacted badly above 5,000 meters. The final two and a half hours were torturous as I struggled up like a boxer whose legs had gone.”

With the mission accomplished, Daren and John have returned to England and are back in their cabs, while their teammates have enjoyed a safari and a few days on the beach in Zanzibar.

Michael Son, Chairman of the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity For Children, said: “We are so proud of the Cabbies do Kilimanjaro team. They have raised much needed money for the special needs and disadvantaged children our charity supports, and we can’t thank them enough for choosing us.”

Money raised from the Cabbies Do Kilimanjaro 2022 challenge to climb Meru and Kilimanjaro will support the London Taxi Drivers’ Charity for Children and the Uhuru Orphanage in Tanzania.

Donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/fundraising/daren-parr1