Climbing Tales #8 celebrating 60 on top of the Rock

Climbing Tales
This series celebrates Ayers Rock climbing experiences posted online.

#8 My unforgettable 60th-birthday journey

Motti Verses at the summit - "It was an experience of a lifetime."

Climbing Ayers Rock is a bucket list item for so many visitors to Australia's desert heart. Israeli writer Motti Verses is Head of Public Relations for Hilton hotels in Israel – Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem and Hilton Tel Aviv. His life affirming tale of climbing Ayers Rock recently published in the Jerusalem Post.

Motti Writes:

"I’ve always believed that when people enter a new decade of their lives, they should do something meaningful to celebrate this important milestone. When I turned 40 and then 50, I organized extraordinary social events to which I invited all my friends.

But as I got closer to 60, my mind began turning in a new direction.

It became clear to me that I wanted to take an unforgettable journey somewhere in the world. Of all the places I’d learned about, I chose Australia."

"It took me two-and-a-quarter hours to reach the top.
I was exhausted and completely out of breath. A young Australian bloke in a brown cowboy hat agreed to photograph me with my Israeli flag at the small lookout point with the sign at the top of the mountain. I think I was the happiest person in the world.
I sat on a slab of cold stone for about 20 minutes, explaining to some curious Australian hikers how and why I’d decided to come here. It was absolutely surreal to be telling them all about the political situation in the Middle East as we sat on top of Uluru, looking out at the breathtaking view as the wind whistled in our ears. I felt an unfamiliar happiness. I had achieved my goal at the start of the seventh decade of my life – I had done it."

For Motti's full story click on the link above.

Comments

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