'It was dodgy there for a while lads' - Limerick's Dermot Whelan reaches Africa's highest peak

IRISH mental health advocate Dermot Whelan has reached Africa's highest peak on Mount Kilimanjaro. 

The former Today FM presenter posted about the achievement to over 100,000 followers on his personal Instagram page on Tuesday, stating, "It happened!" 

He can be seen sitting triumphantly in front of a sign on the mountain's peak, which reads: "Congratulations, you are now at Uhuru Peak Tanzania 5895M/1984FT. Africa's highest point, world's highest free standing mountain. One of the world's largest volcanoes. World heritage wonder of Africa." 

Whelan amused fans by posting a picture of him doing the famous crane kick move from the popular 1980s movie The Karate Kid.  

He captioned the picture - which was taken prior to reaching Kilimanjaro's peak - with, "My karate kid moment." 

Whelan and his fellow adventurers reportedly climbed to the peak at midnight. 

In a series of videos posted to his Instagram Stories, Whelan - who appeared to be climbing in darkness - said, "I realise now this looks like the Blair Witch Project. 

"This is Stella Point, the penultimate point, it's like junction 14 on the M17 heading to to Dublin. It's like 'We're not there yet but we're getting there'. A lot of people think this is the end but then someone says there's another hour and a half to go. We all hit our own walls. A lot of people are saying it's the toughest thing they've ever done. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dermot Whelan (@dermotwhelanofficial)

"We were giggling about the hikes we did in Wicklow training because it just doesn't... nothing prepares you for that ice, snow, vertical climb but anyway we're here and now we push on to the end." 

At the peak, Whelan said, "Well, we did it, we got to the top. It was dodgy there for a while lads. Without a doubt it's the hardest thing I've ever done, it was unbelievably tough but we're all in good spirits and everyone is getting their picture taken. We did it, we got to the top of the world's tallest freestanding mountain.

"I'm absolutely knackered, now we've got to walk down!"