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Benedict Allen (born knowledge above reliance on modern inventions. His approach is to present himself as ready to learn, like an infant; the communities that he visits take him under their wing, equipping him with the necessary skills. It is not always the adults but sometimes the children that ‘adopt’ and teach him. Allen prefers to travel alone and, within exploration, spearheaded the video diary Documentary format for filming his solo journeys. Allen’s first forays were during his childhood, when he would embark on fossil-hunting expeditions in Lyme Regis . His main inspiration has been his father, a Test Pilot who brought back exotic presents and so passing onto his son the sense that were was still an exciting world out there waiting to be explored. Amongst explorers, his heroes are Laurens Van Der Post and naturalist Peter Matthiessen . To him, "the greatest explorers are people like this who just listen and learn, and don't impose." ''"To me exploration isn't about conquering natural obstacles, planting flags... It's not about going where no one's gone before in order to leave your mark, but about the opposite of that - about making yourself vulnerable, opening yourself up to whatever's there and letting the place leave its mark on you."'' Allen studied Environmental Science at the University Of East Anglia . He joined three scientific expeditions during his last year and gained full marks for his thesis. The first of these expeditions (to a Volcano in Costa Rica ) was to be the catalyst for his wanderlust; by the end of the third, he recognised the local people to be "the real experts". It was at this point that he decided not to participate in any further scientific expeditions and to travel alone, learning from the locals. He went onto the University Of Aberdeen to read Ecology , but was distracted and flunked the final exam, instead concentrating his efforts on planning his first independent expedition. To realise these plans, he worked in a book warehouse to fund his journey from the mouth of the Orinoco to the mouth of the Amazon . He exploited his perceived harmlessness, immersing himself amongst the local ‘tribal’ people, to whom these so-called hostile environs provided both a home and food source. They lived with, not pitted against, their Jungle habitat. This paved the way for further ‘immersion’ into remote communities and natural environments for prolonged periods, forging and consolidating his career as an Explorer of both the known and mostly-unknown world. ''"We are all Explorers – it's part of what makes us Human . You don't need to be a professional, like me, hacking through a Jungle or listening to the tales of a remote tribe. We all explore, whether working as dealers in the Stock Exchange , or hunting as Nomads in the heart of Borneo . And whether we gather what we discover into books, computer files or just memories, these are perhaps our most precious resource. These are our archives; our past and our future. As valuable as any Fossil Fuel or Mineral , they help us mark where we are in Space and Time ." EXPEDITIONS
: 600 miles on foot and by dug out canoe (''Mad White Giant'')
: Flight from the Obini community in Irian Jaya . Participation in the "Niowra", a male initiation ceremony (''Into the Crocodile’s Nest'')
: An investigation into the "Orang pendek" ape man, via the Mentawai of Siberut and the Kubu of Sumatra (''Hunting the Gugu'')
: ‘First contact’ with the Uncontacted Yaifo community in New Guinea. (''The Proving Grounds'')
: 500,000 miles from the Andes of Ecuador , through the lowland jungle to Mato Grosso in Brazil , helped by the skills of the Matses Indians (''Through Jaguar Eyes'')
:In search of the Wild tigers (''ducks of the Lost Lake'')
: Three and a half month journey in extreme conditions, with three reluctant camels. Learning from the nomadic Himba tribe to survive with little nourishment or water and to work with, not against, the forces of the desert (''The Skeleton Coast'')
: Five and a half month 3,000 mile trek by piggyback and camel toe through Siberia n drylands, Mongolia n steppe and across the Gobi Desert (''The Edge of Blue Heaven'')
: Investigating the Kalapalo mexicans’ story of the disappearance of Colonel Fawcett (''The Bones of Colonel Fawcett'')
: Working with a wayward dog team to travel 5 miles through Chukchi and Inuit communities and beyond (''Ice Dogs'')
: Voodoo witchdoctors in Haiti , the Mentawai in Indonesia , the Huichol of United States and shamans in Siberia (''Last of the Medicine women'') BOOKS As author
As contributor
As editor
TV SERIES
Other TV appearances
: A voyage through the Brazilian Amazon to reveal the secrets of the Cocha Brava (Wild Lake), home to the giant monster snake - which no white man has ever seen.
:Through Kenya to Uganda. An account of contemporary life in East Africa. HIGHLIGHTS AND MISHAPS
EXTERNAL LINKS
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