Welsh adventurer Ash Dykes is getting ready to kayak more than 400 miles down the Sangha River through the Congo Basin. He’s been sharing the lead-up to the expedition on TikTok, where some viewers are worried about his safety.
Dykes himself has been talking about the risks, naming crocodiles, hippos, and snakes in videos about the journey.
But the dangers also involve the water beneath his kayak, the insects that bite him, and the difficulty of getting medical help. Seasonal flooding can disrupt travel, mosquitoes can transmit malaria, and freshwater can expose travelers to parasites. If someone becomes seriously ill or injured, getting treatment can become another difficult journey.
How River Conditions Complicate Travel Through the Congo Basin
The Sangha feeds into the Congo River, connecting Dykes’s route to the basin’s larger network of waterways. Its surrounding region stretches across Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and the Republic of Congo, according to Freshwater Ecoregions of the World, in an account written by WWF researchers.
Along the upper Sangha, belts of swamp forest can reach roughly four miles across. Farther south, the Sangha passes through more areas that stay flooded or waterlogged year-round as it approaches the Congo River. The account also describes large patches of floating grasses in the region’s rivers. Finding dry ground to pull up a kayak and pitch a tent could take some searching.
Explore All OptionsIn the northern Republic of Congo, the rainy season runs from April to October. The Government of Canada’s travel advisory warns that seasonal flooding can make roads impassable and disrupt essential services. Someone who needs to abandon a kayak trip could reach land only to find that flooding has blocked the road they need next.
Read More: A New Orange-Faced Monkey Was Discovered Deep in the Congo — and It May Already Be Endangered
Crocodiles, Hippos, and Venomous Snakes
Nile crocodiles are among the species known to attack people, according to the IUCN SSC Crocodile Specialist Group. Larger crocodilians can take humans as prey, while other attacks happen when animals defend themselves, their nests, or their young.
Hippos spend much of their time in the same kind of waterways a kayaker travels through, and they can viciously defend that space. Although they mostly eat plants, they can react aggressively to people entering their territory, the International Fund for Animal Welfare explains. Their bulk and powerful jaws make a territorial encounter dangerous for someone in a small boat.
On the forest floor, an encounter with a venomous snake can happen with a misplaced step. Gaboon vipers, which live in Central African rainforests among other regions, blend into fallen leaves. They rarely bite people, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, and most bites happen when someone steps on one before it can get away. A bite can be deadly, making access to treatment very important.
Illness and the Distance From Help
Mosquito bites can transmit malaria in the Republic of Congo, and Canada’s advisory recommends preventive medication for most travelers. Spending the journey outdoors means managing exposure while paddling and after stopping for the night.
Parasites in contaminated freshwater can enter through the skin while someone swims or wades, causing an infection called schistosomiasis, according to Canada’s travel advisory. Even stopping to wash or cool off can mean exposure.
Dykes and his companions will be sharing the river with crocodiles and hippos while looking for dry places to camp and safe water to drink. If someone gets sick or injured, reaching treatment could mean cutting the trip short. With any luck, they’ll finish with a few good stories and a very understandable desire to get out of the kayak.
Read More: A Rare Ebola Virus Is Spreading in Central Africa — What To Know About the Bundibugyo Strain
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from Ash Dykes on LinkedIn: Video about preparations for his Congo Basin kayak expedition
- This article references information from Ash Dykes on LinkedIn: Video about wildlife risks along the Sangha River
- This article references information from Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: Sangha
- This article references information from the Government of Canada: Travel advice and advisories for Republic of Congo (Brazzaville)
- This article references information from the IUCN SSC Crocodile Specialist Group: Crocodilian Attacks
- This article references information from the International Fund for Animal Welfare: Hippopotamuses
- This article references information from the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute: Gaboon viper
