8
view . summer 2010
to Canada and, at the urging of a friend, applied to the University of
Western Ontario’s masters program in journalism and was accepted.
He did a stint at CBC sports, helping create a couple of Road to the
Podium features for the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, and in the
summer of 2009 won the International Development Journalism
Award to work as a journalist in a developing country. Drawn by
the “budget safari packages” he had read about in Africa,
he chose Kenya.
During his time in Africa, Bull went on safari on the Masai
Mara Game Reserve, trekked mountain gorillas in Rwanda and
experienced an event-filled New Year’s Eve in Zanzibar when
someone broke up the party with tear gas.
In February 2009, two of his grandfathers died within 10 days
of each other: Bill Antliff of Alzheimer’s disease and Lorne Bull
of Parkinson’s. He decided to honour their memories by climbing
Africa’s two top peaks – Mounts Kilimanjaro and Kenya – and raise
funds for the Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s societies of Canada.
On February 12, 2010, after battling through blisters and leg
cramps, he made it to the summit of Mount Kenya. A month
later, Bull had to cut short his trek up Mount Kiliminjaro after
experiencing dizziness and nausea and problems in breathing and a
rapid heart rate.
On the advice of his guide, he turned back but only after
pushing himself to the 5,200-metre altitude mark. That was the
height of the tallest peak on Mount Kenya and he wanted to ensure
there was no other higher point other than what was above him on
Kilimanjaro.
Bull spoke about the experience in a keynote address for the
Parkinson’s Society of Canada back in his hometown, where he
was invited to ring the bell at the opening of the Toronto Stock
Exchange April 21. Since then, it’s been back to looking for new
adventures and reflecting on experiences like that riot involving the
al-Shabab rebels in Nairobi that claimed one life and injured others.
“It’s nice to be back where there’s not a legitimate threat of that
breaking out,” he says while sipping cappuccino at a downtown
Windsor cafe. “But then again, I dunno--”
“It’s not as exciting?” he is asked.
“Yeah,” Bull says with a laugh.
n
v
Steve Bull on Mount Kiliminjaro.
