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John Harrison, Amazon canoe expeditioner, travel writer, broadcaster
After hitch-hiking from London to Cape Town before he was 21, John Harrison
never really shook off the travelling bug. After reading Latin American History
at university he became a tour guide, taking small groups to various
destinations in Latin America (and bringing most of them back), and between
tours undertaking expeditions of his own.
His seven expeditions to the Amazon since 1979 have explored some of the remotest tributaries and been hazardous adventures in the old style. Travelling by canoe, with just one companion and simple equipment, and with no radio or back-up in the event of an emergency ‘he escaped death I don’t know how many times when there was no hope of rescue,’ (Daily Telegraph).
He has written two books about his Amazon journeys, been filmed by National Geographic, written and presented several programmes for BBC Radio 4, and contributed to magazines and newspapers.
John has lectured for more than 25 years, and while all his lectures use a river journey by canoe as a theme, they are far more than just‘canoeing’ lectures. Adventure, wildlife, history, tribal peoples, environmental concerns, and a large dash of humour make for inspirational presentations that have entertained audiences as diverse as schools, motivational seminars, travel shows, lecture associations and luxury cruise ships.
Talks
The Yellowstone River
At 690 miles in length, the Yellowstone river is the longest undammed river in the lower 48 American states. With its source in Wyoming, it then flows north through Yellowstone Park, down Paradise Valley before taking a sharp turn east to flow through the prairies of eastern Montana to its confluence with the Missouri in North Dakota.
Apart from its beauty, its course also encapsulates most of the historical highs and lows of the history of the American West. John has canoed long sections of the Yellowstone river and spent many weeks in Yellowstone Park, and this lecture explores many aspects of the wonderful state of Montana, regarded by many as 'The last best place.' He discusses how Yellowstone Park manages to absorb 3 million visitors every year while still keeping the wild experience of the 'back country'. He's interviewed the Director of the park and rangers responsible for Grizzly bear management and the controversial reintroduction of the wolf.
On leaving the Park John tells of his adventures along the river valley. From 'Radon Therapy' in disused silver mines, to white water rafting, from ghost towns to dinosaur hunts, from the battle of Little Big Horn to the catch of the paddlefish for their caviar. He tells of visits to saddle-makers, boot makers, hat makers who make products that are still bought by people who ride horses for a living and not just recreation. He discusses the conflict between traditionalists and eco liberals. He tells of the multi-million dollar trout fishing industry and the threats to its future. He visits the abandoned cabins of the homesteaders who believed the stories spun by the railroad that eastern Montana would make wonderful agricultural land. All the romance and violence of the American West in one talk!
Adventures in Amazonia.
A graphic and humorous account of several expeditions through the remotest corners of the Amazon – to places where it’s still possible to travel for hundreds of miles and see no-one for months. John’s journeys took him past fearsome rapids and up little creeks clogged with fallen trees, into areas far from the depredations of man. 16 bouts of malaria, large worms burrowing into his flesh, getting lost, painful encounters with hornets, electric eels and huge herds of wild pigs, capsizing in rapids and one misguided attempt to carry the canoe over hills from one river to another, should have discouraged him from going back…….
Down the Niger to Timbuctu
A journey from the source of the Niger to the fabled city of Timbuctu, through Guinea and Mali. Not allowed free access to canoe through Guinea John trekked to the source in the Futa Djalon highlands, and then bought a leaky dugout in Mali and canoed 300 miles in temperatures that reached 48 degrees and frequent dust storms. He ended his four month trip in Timbuctu, disregarding advice from the authorities about travelling through an area where the Tuareg nomads were in conflict with the Malian government.
Across the Barrens: Great Slave Lake to Hudson Bay
A 600 mile canoe journey across the remotest area of the North American continent in the brief summer of the tundra. Through a pristine wilderness of dramatic scenery and magnificent wildlife. John describes the nervousness of sleeping in flimsy tents in grizzly country, their encounters with bears, wolves, caribou, musk-oxen, and less enjoyably, with unbelievable swarms of biting mosquitoes and blackfly, and the anxiety of canoeing through rapids with water so cold, that a capsize would probably have been fatal.
Doing the Douro: by canoe through Spain and Portugal
In 1999 John canoed the full length of the 530 mile river Duero through Spain and Portugal (where it becomes the Douro.) From the source in the Sierra de Urbion, through the arid plains of Castille, through gorges and (with great difficulty) over some huge hydroelectric dams, John and his companion paddled through famous wine regions, past towns and villages crammed with historical and architectural treasures, through the beautiful terraced hillsides of the Port wine producers down to the sea at Oporto. This journey became the subject of a 90 minute series on BBC Radio 4.
