Brit explorer becomes first person to travel the length of Amazon river

Ash Dykes, 33, from Wales, and his team battled sickness and hallucinations to complete their epic 600km voyage

British explorer Ash Dykes, aged 33, has made history by being the first to navigate the full length of an unmapped Amazon river. The intrepid Ash Dykes, hailing from St Asaph, Wales and presently residing in London, faced illness and suffered hallucinations throughout his extraordinary 37-day journey before triumphantly reaching the mouth of the Coppename River in Suriname, South America.

Together with his crew - Jacob Hudson, Dick Lock, and Matt Wallace - they continuously kayaked for a strenuous final 72 hours to complete their quest. Overcome by sleep deprivation, battling infections and malnutrition, the team experienced bizarre visions before eventually arriving at the Atlantic Ocean.

Their trailblazing adventure didn't just include tracing the source of the Coppename River but also marked them as the quickest to summit Suriname's highest peak, Julianatop.

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Ash, speaking publicly for the first time since concluding their 600km arduous expedition on Friday (4/10), conveyed: "To get to the finish line was very emotional for us all."

Furthermore, he reflected on the gruelling latter part of the journey: "Those last three days were some of the hardest. In three nights, we had under five hours of sleep. So we were extremely sleep-deprived and started to hallucinate."

He continued describing the extreme conditions: "It was very hard, very difficult, very hot. We were suffering with heat exhaustion. We were dehydrated."

Concluding his statement with a sentiment of awe, Ash said: "I don't think words will ever be able to express just how tough it was. To get over that finish line was just monumental, just unreal."

The Welshman embarked on this daring challenge starting on August 29, venturing into the heart of what was once a Dutch colony now blanketed by a staggering 93% forestation via helicopter.

He and his team embarked on an arduous six-day kayak journey upstream with a hefty 50kg supply load, enduring over 300 tick bites and ruthless attacks from army ants.

During their expedition, the group encountered the gigantic goliath tarantula the largest spider on the globe alongside serpents and fierce caimans.

Triumphantly locating the Copiname River's origin on September 3, they went on to scale the Julianatop mountain the subsequent day, setting a record time for the fastest team ascent.

Their most formidable challenge arose during the river trek from its headwater to the mouth via inflatable kayaks, as temperatures soared to nearly 40c.

Ash recounted: "We didn't see any other humans in 34 days. And we were using the sun to charge everything. We were starving, we were thirsty, we faced a lot."

"One of the boats popped because it was over 37c, a few days before finishing, which is the worst nightmare."

"That jeopardized the whole expedition and meant that we had to distribute all kit amongst the other three kayaks, and Jacob and Matt had to share paddling duties on one kayak."

"Matt also blacked out as he had a really nasty infection in his arm."

"He passed out for a good couple of minutes, and the whole evening was ruined then as he didn't have his energy back."

"Matt said he could just see things in the distance that he knew weren't there, like lights or dark grey objects."

"Jacob almost fainted maybe 5km before the finish, and Dick did pass out a few days before."

Ash recounted how the team had to get by on just 800 to 1000 calories a day, although they were burning through a staggering 6,000, leading to severe malnutrition.

Initially relying on a scant number of ration packs, the team resorted to living off piranha, stingray, and wolfish caught from the river, which then became their sustenance after cooking.

Each member of the group lost approximately 10kg in weight and had to contend with various serious injuries that threatened to cut their mission short on multiple occasions.

Describing one such incident, Ash revealed: "Matt checked his boots in the morning, but he forgot to check his gloves."

Detailing the hazards they faced, Ash added: "He got two nasty stings from the most venomous scorpion in Suriname, enough to evacuate most people."

The situation was critical, as Ash noted, saying, "We had to take that very seriously, and luckily he did start to recover, otherwise that would have been an instant evacuation."

Not spared himself, Ash suffered too: "I developed a really nasty infection on the lower part of my shin. Luckily that recovered and I went on antibiotics, but I had to squeeze out a lot of puss."

As a global ambassador for Free the Wild, Ash also disclosed that during their journey, they encountered a jaguar up close.

Although he was able to stay in touch with loved ones and document his experiences on social media through Globalsat and Viasat technology, Ash felt a disconnect from the world outside the expedition.

Ash reflected on the unique wildlife experience in the untouched wilderness: "Out here, because there's no human activity, the wildlife are all really curious."

He explained the behavioural patterns of the local fauna: "So the wildlife don't necessarily run away or hide. They watch on to see if you're a threat or not or to see if you are prey."

"A jaguar came to the river bank and stood there staring for at least two minutes which was unreal."

"But I really hope Suriname stays this way and allows the jungle to remain relatively untouched and for the wildlife to be left alone".

Ash, who already holds three world records from his expeditions in Mongolia, Madagascar and China, expressed his love for participating in 'world-first' adventures.

He further added: "I'd like to thank Free The Wild for sponsoring the expedition to Suriname, without whom I would not have been able to undertake this once-in-a-lifetime mission and succeed in our world record attempt."

"As an ambassador, I am very proud to be able to travel the world and experience wildlife as it was meant to be, instead of being scared, isolated and neglected behind glass and steel in captivity."