An elephant grazes at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in the Amboseli national park, southern Kenya, November 12, 2006.
Image by: Finbarr O'Reilly / REUTERS
Image by: Finbarr O'Reilly / REUTERS
"I have no words. I salute her‚" Tsholofelo Molefe said of her sister Tebogo Molefe who was part of the Trek4Mandela expedition.
Tsholofelo is one of the family members who were at the OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg on Wednesday to welcome their loved ones home to South Africa‚ after their mission was overshadowed by the death of racing driver Gugu Zulu.
She said she learnt of Zulu's death through a family Whatsapp group on Monday.
"It's an unfortunate situation. It can hit anyone."
Zulu described having flu-like symptoms in his final post on Facebook on Saturday. The next day‚ Sunday‚ he was walking on the mountain to get acclimatised to the altitude. Hours later‚ he had developed complications and was receiving medical treatment‚ but died on Monday. He had experienced “problems breathing”‚ according to the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Tebogo Molefe‚ the Industrial Development Corporation’s head of CSI‚ was part of a group of 42 climbers that flew out from OR Tambo in mid-July to take part in the 2016 Trek4Mandela Challenge.
The team‚ in honour of International Nelson Mandela Day‚ were climbing to raise funds to buy sanitary towels for impoverished rural girls. The team was led by an experienced mountaineer‚ Sibusiso Vilane.
Tsholofelo Molefe told TMG Digital that she spoke to her sister‚ who managed to summit the mountain‚ for the first time on Tuesday because she had lost her phone in Tanzania.
"She told me she was fine.
"I told her that if you can do it‚ my sister‚ I will too. She is not the adventurous type."
