“Kaiak II”

In 2010 Ben Stookesberry, Brazilian Pedro Oliva, and I faced some of the most difficult whitewater in central Brazil. Thanks to Pedro, images from the trip were produced into a television series for a Brazilian network. To capture 13 episodes, we covered thousands of kilometers through the great diversity of the southern Amazon Basin, and met many challenges, but are back again! This year, we depart from Manaus along the most voluminous river on earth, the Amazon, north to the tri-border region with Brazil, Venezuela, and Guiana.

Here, we will visit the mystical Highlands of Guiana, spanning much of Venezuela, Guiana, and the northern state of Roraima in Brazil. It is home to the impressive tepui mountains and some of the worlds most spectacular waterfalls. These tabletop mountains rise one over the other, like giant steps, with escarpments hundreds to thousands of feet tall, rain-fed waterfalls pouring over their edges: the perfect conditions to find big, runnable waterfalls.

This year, Ben, Pedro, and I will travel through the mystical tepui lands and people of the region, filming all along the way to capture the adventure, awareness, and our unique obstacles. We will be joined by a new Brazilian team member Andressa, a champion Hawaiian canoeist. The adventure begins the last week of February when the whole team meets in Manaus to start the trip north. This will be the second season of “Kaiak”, and promises to be even better than the first.

Would you watch? Wait for the next update after we pack up to hit the road and river.