A KAYAKER was launched from his boat by a giant crocodile in the Congo and never seen again.
Now, 16 years later, adventurer Ash Dykes is preparing to paddle 434 miles down the densest, most dangerous jungle known to man… on an inflatable.
Kicking off his “Project Six” series of six back-to-back extreme challenges, the 35-year-old will embark on Saturday, October 3 for the remote Sangha River with only a small team.
Dykes and his team will brave a month-long expedition down the Congo Basin’s remote Sangha River.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, Dykes revealed he was envious growing up of , Action Man, and Tomb Raider, of their seemingly endless list of qualifications and licences.
Dykes said: “I wanted to fly, jump out of planes, scuba-dive, and survive anything.
“I gained a fascination with the world, thinking, ‘There’s so much more beyond Old Colwyn in North . How can I get out there and see it?’”
Since then, without serious money, a higher education, or a military background, he has crossed Mongolia’s Gobi Desert unsupported and alone – dragging his own supplies.
He walked for five days sick with malaria in Madagascar, arriving at the doctors, who alerted him to the fact that if he had arrived a few hours later, he would have gone into a coma.
Landslides in the Alps. Held at gunpoint by a drunk military officer. Hunted by Tibetan Mastiffs.
Yet with all the danger awaiting him in the Congo Basin, Dykes INSISTS some of what he has already endured was way harder.
He said: “My previous were tougher in many ways.
“Pulling a trailer weighing the same as or a baby elephant across the Gobi Desert completely alone, with no insurance or evacuation plan for 78 days.
“If someone put a gun to my head and said I had to redo the Congo or Mongolia, I would do the Congo ten times over Mongolia, where I almost died.”
Dykes did admit that the disappearance of the man who was likely eaten by the croc was “scary”.
In 2010, South African adventurer Hendrik Coetzee was killed after being taken by a crocodile while kayaking on the Lukuga River in the Congo.
The 35-year-old explained: “He was a very experienced explorer in Africa, but he missed a CRITICAL detail.
“I’m all about working with the locals – their knowledge is final say.
“In his case, locals warned that because of the recent war between the Congo and Rwanda, over 1,500 bodies had been pushed into the river.
“The Nile crocodiles fed on those bodies, became natural man-eaters, grew familiar with human meat, and grew to nearly twice their normal size, losing their fear of humans.
“They warned him not to go down that river, but with his experience, he thought he would be fine, and then he was taken.”
Dykes is keeping his fingers crossed for the most amazing wildlife as they enter Dzanga-Dzanga National Park.
He said: “The Amazon is cupcakes in comparison.
“I would love to see a forest elephant and a silverback gorilla. I definitely don’t want to see a Nile crocodile.
“I’m on the fence about hippos. I’d love to see one, but on a luxury safari, not charging at our inflatable kayaks.
“The pros are you get to see some epic wildlife. The cons are if there’s too much epic wildlife, we’ll be on their menu.”
And there will be millions watching from home with Dykes now boasting more than two million followers on TikTok and Instagram .
While there was a lot of negative noise at first, Dykes revealed it has been better since they realised he’s “not just an influencer”.
He said: “Now people have a morbid fascination following along.”
And they will have plenty to watch with live streams, podcasts all the way along the deadly journey after being snubbed by British television.
Dykes’ fiancee and his family will also be watching anxiously from home.
He said: “It’s not my first rodeo. But they do understand accidents can happen.
“I mean, if a croc pops up, a croc pops up, you know, it’s nothing you can do.”
And if it all goes to plan, Dykes will be back in London before Halloween.
But only for a fortnight as he hopes to kick off Mission Two of Project Six in November.
Dykes said: “After the Congo, I have just two weeks in London to regain the roughly 10kg I expect to lose before heading to the second location.”
It is all top secret for the time being, but Dykes revealed that it will be in the Northern Hemisphere and it will be freezing.
Maybe even negative 15 degrees.
