TV presenter's Amazon

TV presenter’s Amazon

Helen Skelton hopes to become the first woman to kayak down the Amazon River. 4

Helen Skelton is a 26-year-old TV presenter of Blue Peter, a BBC programme for young people. She has never been afraid of a challenge. Last year she became the second woman to complete the 78-mile Ultra Marathon in Namibia, running the three consecutive marathons in 23 hours and 50 minutes. But when Blue Peter decided to do something to raise money for the charity Sports Relief (which sponsors projects in the UK and abroad) Skelton said that she wanted an even bigger challenge. So they suggested that she kayak 3,200 kilometres down the Amazon from Nauta in Peru to Almeirim in Brazil.

This is a very risky trip. There are no roads, no towns, only rainforest and the river (which is sometimes more than 40 kilometres wide and infested with crocodiles). If she falls ill, it will take around 11 hours to fly her to a hospital.