Exploring with ... BENEDICT ALLEN

Prior to his talk at Wanderlust’s Papua New Guinea Evening, the explorer discusses crocodile scars, being the last of a generation and why the golden days yet lie ahead…

Where do you think explorers fit into the modern world?

The era of the ‘classic explorer’ is gone. I was lucky to be a part of that last generation who could just disappear for six months; those other worlds have shrunk down now. But the word ‘explorer’ needs to be redefined, as it’s something we all do. The world has never been more accessible – and not just to those with the skills or money. It’s an intriguing time when anyone can go off and discover the world around them.

How did you get your start?

My dad was a test pilot, so I was probably a bit like him, wanting to push myself. Seeing him fly a Vulcan bomber over the back garden and looking up, I thought it was possible to be something a little bit different. I struggled for money, though, and didn’t want to ride on the backs of locals through sponsorship. But I saw that local people didn’t have any cash either, and thought that if I could live with, say, the people in the Orinoco Delta, then I could learn from them the skills to carry on. It became my philosophy and, perhaps, a more valid way of exploring. For these people, the forest, desert or Arctic is their home; it gives shelter, medicine and food, and if I could learn from them, I’m exploring on their terms.

Was this how you first arrived in Papua New Guinea (PNG)?

Yes, it was at the beginning, when staying with locals changed from financial solution to a philosophy. I lived with a family on the Sepik River and underwent the brutal initiation ceremony to become a man – a crocodile as they call it.

Did you know about the rites?

It was a secret ceremony – in those days especially. I knew about the scarring [participants have their flesh cut to resemble crocodile skin], but no one knew about the beatings. I was beaten four or five times a day for six weeks. I was only 24 and eager to give everything a go, and I was grateful they let me take part in something central to their beliefs.

You must know PNG well.

It’s so big. You can spot birds of paradise in the highlands; canoe the Sepik River, seeing its riverine wildlife and the cults that emulate it; and even walk the Kokoda Trail, the line of retreat taken by the Australians during the Pacific War. It has 850 languages and terrain that varies from swamps to cloud forests and jade seas.

Do you revisit your old haunts?

After the ceremony, I went back time and again. But it was hard, mentally. Both there and back home, I was an oddity. But that’s what I’m doing now: seeing how these places have changed and thanking those who helped me. I went last year to PNG to see the Yaifo people, who were wonderful to me as a young man, taking me over the Central Range. I was amazed to find their forest and culture was mostly intact. Last year was the worst for global deforestation – football pitchsized areas were cleared every second – so I was buoyed by that, despite getting malaria, dengue fever and having to be extracted.

Yes, I recall it made the news.

Coming out of the forest I ran into a war between two ethnic groups. I made it to a missionary station but my radio had been smashed up. Still, it does fascinate me that when it goes wrong, it is always the outside world, not the people I trust – the locals – who upset things. I’ve been shot at by Pablo Escobar’s gang while paddling the Putumayo in Colombia and chased by goldminers with knives. But it’s always outsiders.

When it goes wrong, do you feel you have to justify what you do?

It goes back to the first question. The golden days of exploration are ahead because the world has never needed more investigation, more interpretation, more solutions than now. We’re facing huge habitat loss, extinction and global warming. All of this needs to be sorted out by explorers. And since it’s a more democratic age, we’re all involved now.