Stage 3 — A canoe trip into the wild

We drive past a beautiful lagoon. The water is completely still, the trees and grasses are reflected on the surface. A look at the sky suggests that a severe thunderstorm is approaching. Our driver Armstrong thinks it won't be much longer. Aaron quickly unpacks the drone to take a few more shots. When the drone is in the air, birds of prey approach it. For them, the drone is an intruder in their territory and the birds try to attack them again and again. So that we don't hurt the birds, we decide to land the drone again. All of a sudden, we don't hear animal noises anymore, the dark clouds are right above us. We feel the first heavy drops of rain, it's time to pack everything up again. As soon as we have stored everything in Landi and the last door is closed, a heavy tropical shower pours down on us. The clay road is now just viscous sludge; the deep potholes are filled with cloudy water. Landi's wheels spin and we slide down the road. It throws us from left to right. Although Armstrong steers against it, the Landi turns so tight that we're constantly standing across the street. We feel very uneasy, no one makes a sound. All of a sudden, we get stuck in a deep pothole; the Landi doesn't move a millimeter anymore. All of us have the same thought right now: “Game over. We're stuck in the middle of the jungle and it rains heavily.” Armstrong takes the situation calmly, gets out and fixes the Landi's front axle. He carefully maneuvers us out of the pothole and continues slowly. Because of the excitement, we didn't even notice that the rain had stopped. The air is humid and the rain shower has created a fine haze over the jungle. The roads are firmer again, we breathe a sigh of relief.

We pack our backpacks and leave the completely filthy Landi behind us. Too bad, the old box has become very dear to our hearts. An overgrown trail leads us further into the deep jungle. The grasses and bushes rise up to the calves, metre-long lianas hang from the trees. We fight our way with machetes. The heavy backpacks press on our shoulders, we stumble across slippery roots that run all over the floor. In this thicket, we don't even see our hiking boots anymore and that scares us. Everyone knows where it is damp and dark, and there are certainly snakes and other animals lurking that you don't necessarily want to meet. We play out some horror scenarios in our heads. What do we do when someone of us is bitten by a poisonous snake? We don't even know how far away the nearest village is. Luckily we have Christian with us. He completed ranger training in South Africa some time ago. He knows best of all of us how to behave outdoors in an emergency. On our way through the jungle, we constantly see beautiful natural scenery, which are ideal for photo shoots.

We finally reach the big river and meet the guides there, who are waiting for us with dugout boats. They know the area very well, which is why they join us on our adventurous expedition. The fuselage is made from a single log. In addition, such boats can be up to five meters long. We put away our backpacks and start paddling. We're a bit too euphoric at first. The excitement makes us move a bit tight and almost capsize. At the last minute, we save ourselves and our luggage by shifting the weight to the other side. Over time, we'll get the hang of it and the boats glide beautifully across the water surface. It is hot and humid and the midday sun is beating down on us. Sweat runs down our faces. Rowing the canoes is very exhausting! In the evening, we reach the spectacular waterfall, which is impossible to overcome with our canoes. A few meters away, we see a sandbar and decide to dock there without further ado. The atmosphere this evening is magical. The bright red sun has almost set and enchants the surrounding area with a warm light. The calming sound of the waterfall and the beautiful sunset make this moment almost magical. We are overwhelmed by the beauty of the wild nature and let the evening end comfortably.