A British explorer has become the first person ever to travel the length of an uncharted Amazon river.
Ash Dykes, 33, battled sickness and hallucinations to finish his epic 37-day trip by reaching the mouth of the Coppename River in Suriname, South America.
The extreme athlete and his teammates Jacob Hudson, Dick Lock and Matt Wallace, kayaked continuously for the final three days and nights to complete the mission.
And after suffering from sleep deprivation, infections and malnutrition, they saw strange visions before finally getting to the Atlantic Ocean.
During their epic adventure, they also found the source of the Coppename River and became the fastest group to ascend Suriname’s tallest mountain, Julianatop.
Ash Dykes, 33, battled sickness and hallucinations to finish his epic 37-day trip by reaching the mouth of the Coppename River in Suriname, South America
The extreme athlete and his teammates Jacob Hudson, Dick Lock and Matt Wallace, kayaked continuously for the final three days and nights to complete the mission
The incredible voyage saw the team complete 372 miles (600km) along the Coppename River in Suriname
Speaking for the first time since capping off the 372-mile (600km) voyage of discovery on Friday 4 October, Ash said: ‘To get to the finish line was very emotional for us all.
‘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.
‘It was very hard, very difficult, very hot. We were suffering with heat exhaustion. We were dehydrated.
‘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.’
Ash, 33, originally from St Asaph, Wales, but now living in London, headed into the centre of the ex-Dutch colony, which is 93 per cent forested, in a helicopter on August 29.
He and his team then spent the next six days fighting their way upstream in kayaks with 50kg of supplies – while being bitten by 300 ticks and vicious army ants.
The group also came across a terrifying goliath tarantula – the world’s largest spider – along with snakes and vicious alligators, called caiman.
Speaking for the first time since capping off the 372-mile (600km) voyage of discovery on Friday 4 October, Ash said: ‘To get to the finish line was very emotional for us all’
After suffering from sleep deprivation, infections and malnutrition, the team saw strange visions before finally getting to the Atlantic Ocean
They found the source of the Coppename River on September 3, before climbing nearby Julianatop mountain in the quickest ever time as a team the next day.
But their biggest test came during their waterborne voyage from the start of the river to its mouth in their inflatable kayaks – as temperatures rose close to 40°C.
Ash said: ‘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 37°C, 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.
Ash said the team had to survive on around 800 to 1,000 calories a day while burning through up to 6,000 – leaving them badly malnourished
Their biggest test came during their waterborne voyage from the start of the river to its mouth in their inflatable kayaks – as temperatures rose close to 40°C
‘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, light lights or dark grey objects.
‘Jacob almost fainted maybe 5km before the finish, and Dick did pass out a few days before.’
Ash said the team had to survive on around 800 to 1,000 calories a day while burning through up to 6,000 – leaving them badly malnourished.
They initially lived off a limited number of ration packs before catching piranha, stingray and wolfish from the river, which they cooked and ate.
He and the others lost around 10kg each in weight and also suffered a raft of nasty injuries, which almost ended their mission on a couple of occasions.
Ash went on: ‘Matt checked his boots in the morning, but he forgot to check his gloves.
‘He got two nasty stings from the most venomous scorpion in Suriname, enough to evacuate most people.
‘We had to take that very seriously, and luckily he did start to recover, otherwise that would have been an instant evacuation.
During the expedition, the group also came across several animals including a terrifying goliath tarantula – the world’s largest spider – along with snakes and vicious alligators, called caiman
They initially lived off a limited number of ration packs before catching piranha, stingray and wolfish from the river, which they cooked and ate
‘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.’
Ash, who is a global ambassador for the charity Free the Wild, said the team also came face to face with a jaguar during the expedition.
And although he managed to contact loved ones and share his journey on social media via Globalsat and Viasat technology, he felt detached from the outside world.
He said: ‘Out here, because there’s no human activity, the wildlife are all really curious.
‘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 has three previous world records following his expeditions in Mongolia, Madagascar and China – and said he loved taking part in ‘world-first’ adventures.
He 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.’
