Adventure Diaries: Exploration, Survival & Travel Stories

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What happens when you walk for days through some of the most remote jungle on Earth — and stumble across a cave covered floor to ceiling in ancient drawings that no outsider has ever documented? In this Season 5 episode, Chris sits down with Joe Trevorrow, former Royal Navy sailor turned expedition guide with The Wild Tales — an indigenous-led adventure company operating deep in Guyana's interior — to unpack three extraordinary expeditions into barely explored territory.
Alongside the on-the-ground stories (rapids, sand flies, night terrors in hammocks, and jaguar tracks beside your sleeping spot), Joe shares how The Wild Tales partners with indigenous communities — the Wai Wai, Patamona, and others — to create sustainable tourism that preserves ancient sites and dying traditions. We discuss the complex tribal history of Guyana's nine indigenous nations, how a Tomb Raider game sparked a life-changing decision, and what the jungle teaches you when you stop fighting it.
Chapters:
00:00 A Hidden Cave in Guyana's Jungle
01:07 Meet Joe Trevorrow: Royal Navy to Rainforest
05:30 Joining the Navy and Travelling the World at 20
07:56 How a Tomb Raider Game Led to Guyana Expeditions
11:33 How Indigenous-Led Expedition Tourism Works
16:45 The River of Death: Paddling the Cassai Chi
20:09 Undocumented Petroglyphs Along the Riverbank
24:18 Welcome to Masakenari: The Most Remote Village
29:30 Tourism as a Lifeline: Keeping Traditions Alive
32:40 Don't Fight the Jungle: Lessons the Hard Way
35:21 Sitting Under the Milky Way on the River of Death
38:10 Night Terrors: The Scariest Night in the Jungle
40:12 Makarapan Mountain: 3.5 Billion Years Old
46:00 The Mystery Pots Nobody Can Explain
55:12 The Cave Expedition: 45km Through Patamona Territory
01:03:21 Ancient Drawings That Left Everyone Speechless
01:12:00 Conservation: Keeping Sites Secret vs Raising Awareness
01:17:49 Future Expeditions and What's Next for The Wild Tales
01:23:17 Pay It Forward and Call to Adventure
What You'll Learn
What the "River of Death" actually means — and the disease theory behind its name
How indigenous-led expedition tourism works (and why it matters)
Why two enormous pots were found near the summit of a 3.5 billion year old mountain — and nobody can explain how they got there
What it feels like to walk into an ancient cave and see drawings no outsider has recorded
The leadership lesson Joe learned — and why "Navy mode" doesn't work in the jungle
What The Wild Tales has planned for 2026–2027
Connect with Joe & The Wild Tales
Joe Trevorrow Instagram
The Wild Tales: https://www.thewildtales.com
Anders Anderson episode (S3): Adventure Diaries back cata
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Chris sits down with Brazilian conservation biologist Letícia Benavalli to talk about her work protecting jaguars in the Cerrado — one of the world's most biodiverse yet overlooked biomes. From growing up in São Paulo to founding the Pro Onça Institute, Letícia shares how a childhood fascination with nature led her to track some of the rarest cats on the planet, including melanistic (black) jaguars. She also opens up about the importance of community-led conservation, empowering women and young people in rural Brazil, and her ambition to create wildlife corridors connecting isolated jaguar populations across biomes.
Chapters
00:00 Tracking Melanistic Jaguars
04:43 From City Life to Conservation Biologist
07:10 The Cerrado: Saving Brazil's Biodiverse Savanna
14:47 Learnings from Oxford University & African Wild
22:53 Rare Black Jaguar Encounter in the Wild
27:07 Survival Story: Lost Alone in the Brazilian Jungle
36:38 Jaguar Hunting Threats & Landowner Conflicts
40:58 Pro Onça Institute: Conservation & Community Empowerment
47:02 Women Leadership in Ecotourism
1:00 Urban Jaguars in Brasília National Park
1:06 Rolex Explorers Club Grant & Future Goals
1:14 Call to Adventure: Climbing Brazil's Serra do Cipó

Guest Bio
Letícia Benavalli is a conservation biologist and founder of the Onça Institute (Instituto Onça), an NGO dedicated to jaguar conservation in Brazil's Cerrado and Atlantic Forest. She has worked across multiple Brazilian biomes — including the Pantanal, Caatinga, and Amazon — studying large carnivores and developing community-based conservation programmes. Letícia is a Rolex/Explorers Club grant recipient and a member of the IUCN's Wildlife Conservation and Protected Areas group. She presented her research at the Explorers Club in New York and is preparing a PhD focused on jaguar density, diet, and the genetics of melanistic jaguars in the Cerrado.

Key Topics Discussed
Growing up in São Paulo & finding conservation — How a city kid from Latin America's largest metropolis ended up dedicating her life to wildlife, sparked by a childhood visit to the zoo and a love of nature documentaries.
The Cerrado: Brazil's forgotten biome — Why this vast savanna is critically important for biodiversity but receives far less attention and protection than the Amazon or Pantanal.
Black jaguars and the Onça Institute — Letícia's face-to-face encounter with a wild melanistic jaguar, the rare genetics behind black colouration, and the founding mission of her NGO to connect isolated jaguar populations.
Community-led conservation & empowering women — Why conservation cannot succeed without involving local and rural communities, particularly women and young people, and how traditional knowledge strengthens scientific work.
The Rolex/Explorers Club grant & global ambitions — Winning the grant, presenti
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Ricardo Kaljouw is a Dutch adventurer and mountaineer from Flushing (Vlissingen) in Zeeland, Netherlands — a province that sits below sea level, making his obsession with the world's highest volcanoes all the more fitting. By day he works in military shipbuilding, constructing frigates for governments around the world. By adventure, he has just become the first person from the Benelux to complete the Volcanic 7 Summits — a challenge so rare that only around 68 people in the world have ever achieved it.
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: A Dangerous Encounter
01:28 – Welcome to The Adventure Diaries
01:50 – Meet Ricardo Kaljouw: Volcanic Seven Summits
04:35 – Growing Up Below Sea Level
06:39 – Navy Life: Battling Pirates in Somalia
09:13 – Inspiration: Climbing Kilimanjaro
12:16 – Inside the Crater: Virunga's Lava Lake
17:19 – Mount Damavand: Winter Climbing in Iran
23:41 – Mountaineering Lessons: Snow Blindness
28:04 – Papua New Guinea: Jungle Trekking Challenges
31:49 – Close Call: Mistaken for a Witch
33:07 – Survival Story: Stranded on Ojos del Salado
41:00 – Romance on the Peak: Pico de Orizaba
42:33 – Antarctica: The Ultimate Expedition
45:40 – Landing on the Frozen Continent
1:00:25 – Summiting Mount Sidley: A Historic Feat
1:13:26 – What's Next: The Volcanic Grand Slam
1:17:16 – Book Launch: A Million Steps on Lava
Key Topics Covered
Growing up in the flattest country on earth and joining a walking club as a kid
Serving in the Royal Dutch Navy, including an anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden in 2010
How a safari to Kenya and a first glimpse of Kilimanjaro sparked a lifelong obsession
The Virunga documentary that sent him to the Democratic Republic of Congo — and sleeping on the rim of Nyiragongo, home to the world's largest lava lake
Climbing Damavand (Iran) in winter and going snow blind on the descent
Surviving near-starvation and a machete encounter in the jungles of Papua New Guinea
Getting stranded alone at 6,600m on Ojos del Salado (Chile/Argentina) in whiteout conditions
Mount Elbrus (Russia, 2017) — his first experience on glaciers, roped teams and crampons
Carrying his proposal ring to the summit of Pico de Orizaba (Mexico) and the Aztec legend behind it
The full Antarctica chapter — flying to Union Glacier, a 1,000km internal flight to Mount Sidley, two weeks in a 10-metre safe zone, a guide evacuated with pulmonary oedema, and a last-gasp summit window in minus 42°C
Reflecting on what it means to finish a multi-year, multi-continent challenge
Lessons from the Mountains
You're only at 70% when you think you're at 100% — but know where the real limit is
The descent is where most accidents happen; the summit is only halfway
Always use your equipme
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What does it actually feel like to sleep alone in a West African rainforest — the noise, the insects, the pitch-dark uncertainty? In this Season 5 opener, Chris sits down with Jude Kriwald, adventure filmmaker and cyclist, to unpack Alone Across Gola — Jude’s solo ride across West Africa, including a remote jungle crossing in Liberia/Sierra Leone’s Gola region.
Connect with Jude 
Book Jude For Your Next Event:  https://JudeKriwald.com/Speaking 
Follow On Insta: https://www.instagram.com/judekriwald
Need Mentoring?  AdventureMentor.org 
Alongside the on-the-ground stories (heat, hydration, kit failures, and a few genuinely sketchy moments), Jude shares a thoughtful take on neurodivergence (autism + ADHD), why “analogue adventures” matter, and how we can build a life that’s more honest to who we are.
What You’ll Learn
What jungle nights are really like — and why the soundscape is unforgettable
How Jude manages risk when travelling solo (and what satellite SOS can’t solve)
Why ADHD/autism traits can be powerful outdoors: hyperfocus, pattern-spotting, rapid problem-solving
The “stepping stone” approach to confidence and route planning
Why rest days aren’t optional on long bike trips
Chapters:
00:00 Exploring the Unknown: A Journey into the African Rainforest
01:45 The Call of Adventure: Jude's Formative Years
06:49 The First Big Expedition: Cycling to India
11:58 Navigating Life's Gaps: The Lost Decade
17:34 Harnessing Neurodivergence: ADHD and Autism as Superpowers
22:45 Adventure Mentoring: Leveling the Playing Field
28:26 West Africa: A New Frontier for Exploration
29:44 Exploring the Unknown: Journey to West Africa
31:19 First Night in the Jungle: A Personal Experience
34:59 Planning and Preparation: The Adventurer's Mindset
36:30 Camping and Rest: Balancing Adventure and Recovery
38:05 The Trusty Bike: A Companion on the Journey
41:29 Hydration and Health: Navigating the Jungle's Challenges
43:46 Self-Reliance and Communication: The Importance of Preparedness
47:16 Cultural Interactions: Bridging the Gap
51:19 Understanding Poverty: A Lesson in Empathy
54:29 The Gola Rainforest: An Adventurer's Discovery
57:25 Navigating the Unknown: The Adventure of Exploration
58:37 The Art of Filmmaking: A Journey into Storytelling
01:02:54 Reflections on Courage: The Impact of Adventure
01:05:31 Creating a Platform: The Power of Sharing Stories
01:08:14 Paying It Forward: Supporting Future Adventurers
01:12:25 Embracing Analog Adventures: A Call to Disconnect
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Listen Now: AdventureDiaries.com/Story
Reaching the North Pole wasn’t just about distance—it was about whose work could survive the ice. For over 20 years, Matthew Henson led expeditions where others failed, mastering indigenous travel and keeping teams alive through the harshest conditions on Earth. Yet when history was written, his role was reduced to the margins. 
This is the story of how polar exploration actually functioned, and why recognition followed authority rather than effort.
Listen to the full immersive story of Matthew Henson in our premiere episode of the Adventure Diaries Exploration series.
👉 Listen now: AdventureDiaries.com/Story
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The Adventure Diaries Podcast also covers a broad spectrum OF topics withIN the fields of Adventure, Exploration, Micro-adventure, Survival, Mental Resilience, Conservation, Scotland, Hiking, Solo Travel, Cycling, Nature, Storytelling, Mountaineering