Paul Goldstein To Conquer Africa's Tallest Peak To Raise Funds for Endangered Bengal Tigers With 9ft Cuddly Toy On His Back

This has to be one of the wackiest ascents of Africa's highest peak ever.

Briton Paul Goldstein, 49, is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro for charity with a nine foot toy tiger which weighs 30lbs on his back.

And having agreed to take on two marathons in a week, this was not exactly what people were thinking when the 49-year-old, from Wimbledon, said he needed to paws for thought.Tough going: Paul Goldstein is preparing to summit Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania with a 30lb tiger on his back for charity

Paul has already completed the Brighton marathon on Sunday with the weighty passenger on his back, in an impressive six hours, and are now ascending Africa’s fearsome peak.

They then hope to take on the London marathon on Sunday, two days after scaling Kilimanjaro's 5,895m (19,341ft) summit.
Paul, a wildlife photographer and tour guide, stopped long enough to pose for a few pictures as he boarded a Kenya Airways flight from London Heathrow to Nairobiout on Monday - while having only just got his breath back after finishing the Brighton Marathon the previous evening.

Then the pair surveyed the impressive peak that awaited them.

This morning, when Paul last made contact, he was at around 4,260m (13,976ft).

He said: ‘Rain now turning to snow, this just a whole lot harder.’

Getting comfortable: The tiger and Paul Goldstein settle down on thhe Kenya Airways flight to Nairobi in preparation for the gruelling effort to come

Mounting up: People must have been giving Paul some quizzical looks as he arrives at Jomo Kenyatta, Nairobi with a tiger on his back

Paul, who was supported at the East Sussex event by his children Joshua, five and 18-month-old Lucas, said of his first marathon: ‘There was a fairly strong wind which added to the challenge of running with a nine foot tiger on my back.

‘At around three o'clock yesterday the tiger's roar had been reduced to a whimper. But six hours, a personal best, God knows where that came from.’

Paul has embarked on the week-long challenge to support a charity project to protect the Bengal tiger. 

He is hoping to raise more than £25,000 for the Friends of Conservation charity project in Bandhavgarh National Park, India.On the move: The enormity of what Paul is facing up to looms on the horizon as he strides off with the nine foot tiger on his back