Helmsley Arts Centre

the arts for everyone in Ryedale

7.30pm

John Harrison: Adventures In Amazonia

“He escaped death I don’t know how many times in places where there was no hope of rescue”
Daily Telegraph

John Harrison has made seven canoe expeditions to Amazonia since 1979. With no back-up or radio for emergencies he has explored some of the remotest tributaries – places where it’s still possible to travel for hundreds of miles and see no one for months.

Told with much humour and anecdote, this illustrated talk describes risky adventures in the old style, with simple equipment, one companion, no sponsorship, encounters with wildlife, mishaps (16 bouts of malaria, capsizing in rapids, worms burrowing into the flesh) and also considers serious issues like deforestation, the activities of gold prospectors, the trade of endangered species and the fate of native forest people.

Above all, John will leave the audience with a sense of awe at the majesty of virgin rainforest and the beauty of the teeming life that it supports.

Tickets: £8 / Concs £7

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