Keep yourself entertained between Adventure Breaks with our book and film recommendations! This page may have affiliate links which will direct you to the relevant product. These are adventure and survival stories that we think will entertain and inspire you. Welcome to the Adventure Book (and Film) Club!
September 2020: Canoeing the Congo by Phil Harwood
You can find a copy of Canoeing the Congo here.
"Don't worry mum, I won't do it by myself, that would be suicide."
Two years later, Phil Harwood was on a plane to Zambia to attempt to canoe the Congo - alone.
At almost 3,000 miles, The Congo River is the eighth longest in the world. It's also the deepest, with a flow rate second only to the Amazon, discharging an incredible 42,000meters cubed per second.
Phil is an ex-marine, attempting to travel from the river's true source in the highland of Zambia through war-torn Central Africa. With no outside help, he faced swamps, waterfalls, man-eating crocodiles, hippos, aggressive snakes and spiders’ webs the size of houses. He collapsed from malaria, and was arrested, intimidated and chased. On one stretch, known as ‘The Abattoir’ for its history of cannibalism and reputation for criminal activity, the four brothers he hired as bodyguards were asked by locals, ‘Why haven’t you cut his throat yet?’
However, it's easy to focus on the scary and intimidating 'headlines'. Phil also received tremendous hospitality from proud and brave people long forgotten or ignored by the Western world, especially friendly riverside fishermen who helped wherever they could on this five-month journey.
You can find Canoeing the Congo here.
Other Resources:
Discover last month's book, here;
Learn to build natural shelters and make fire in the woods with our Bushcraft Weekend;
Read these 5 tips for sleeping warm outdoors;
Watch this short film on How to Run 100 miles!;
Sample a variety of cheeses on our Yorkshire 3 Peaks weekend;
Know someone getting married? Check out these stag or hen events;
Watch this video on what to pack for your first wild camping trip;
Here are our recommended hiking boots.
Say hello to your fellow adventurers on The Adventure Forum;
Try stand-up paddle boarding on our Windermere Weekend;
Join the mailing list for news on adventures.
See other adventure book recommendations.