Laura Bingham
Expedition leader for this world first attempt to canoe the entire Essequibo River is Laura Bingham. She is best known for cycling 7,000km unsupported across South America without touching any money. She has also sailed across the Atlantic and spent four years travelling the world. In 2017 Laura completed a more personal challenge – becoming a mum for the first time to baby Ranulph in June.
“I’ve just had a baby and want to show that a mother and father are both capable of caring for their baby whilst staying true to who they are. We both owe a lot to expeditions so by sharing parental responsibilities we can both continue to follow our dreams and keep adventuring. Whilst I’m away Ed’s on duty – and he’s really looking forward to it!”
Laura is MIRA (Medicine in Remote Areas) qualified and has undergone intensive canoe training in the run up to this expedition. You can visit her personal website here
Ness Knight
Ness is passionate about exploring her mental and physical limits in some of the world’s most remote locations. She is the first female to swim the River Thames from source to sea, and she also cycled 2,000 miles solo across the Namib Desert for a Red Bull documentary. Ness has also completed 15 marathons in 15 days.
“Having previously paddle boarded over 1,000 miles down the Missouri River I have grown to understand how immersive and unique a perspective you can gain when travelling by river. You can quietly glide past native wildlife without disturbing their behaviour. Also uncovering the stories and lives of the local people is a huge motivation for embarking on this expedition.”
Ness cycled through Bolivia with Laura Bingham with no money, in doing so the pair have formed a strong bond and have learnt how to both push and support one another.
You can visit her personal website here
Pip Stewart
Pip is passionate about travel, exploration and increasing the profile of women in the adventure world. Pip is a firm believer that connecting with people and the great outdoors is good for the soul.
Pip has cycled halfway around the world – 10,000 miles from Kuala Lumpur to London. Most recently, she cycled the Transamazonian highway, a 4000km journey through the Amazon. The series ‘Transamazonica’ has been on CBC in Canada, TVB in China and is due for release on Al Jazeera and Fox International later this year.
“Having spent time in the Amazon documenting how deforestation impacts the indigenous communities I know what a magical place the jungle is. For me, what appeals is going with the flow of the river, feeling the rhythms of nature, the physical challenge, learning new skills and overcoming the ‘Oh God, can I do this?’. Human willpower is a phenomenal thing, and I can’t think of anyone better to take this on with than Laura and Ness.”
Pip has produced political and travel multimedia stories for The Telegraph, Forbes, the BBC, & CNN amongst others.
You can visit her personal website here
Running the Essequibo 