Three Men in a Raft: an Improbable Journey Down the Amazon

320 pages. cover worn, inside cover foxed, page edge and text tannedWhen Ben Kozel casually accepted a friend's invitation to raft down the Amazo n he was setting out on the adventure of a lifetime. It was a journey that would take him from the ultimate source of the Amazon high in the Andes to its mouth on the Atlantic coast of South America - a distance of over 7000 kilometres alon g the length of the world's wildest river. The journey from source to sea had on ly ever been completed by two expeditions, both of them assisted by first-class training, state-of-the-art equipment and major budgets. Ben, the Australian on t he team, Colin Angus from Canada and Scott Borthwick from South Africa - all in their mid-twenties - were attempting the epic journey with fifteen thousand Aust ralian dollars between them, some second-hand camping gear, a grand total of fiv e afternoons' training in whitewater rafting and a large dose of blind optimism. Five months later they arrived at the Atlantic Ocean, having survived some of t he planet's most dangerous whitewater, wild storms, disgusting tropical diseases , several hundred species of venomous insects and reptiles, not to mention being pursued and shot at by guerrillas from Peru's murderous Shining Path rebel move ment and mistaken by paramilitary police for drug smugglers. Three Men in a Raft is the account of their extraordinary journey. It's both a travel book and an a dventure story, laced with humour, danger and vivid description - unlikely, ende aring and enthralling.…