Benedict Allen
A pioneer of the “Video Diary”, Benedict filmed his own adventures without a film crew allowing millions of people to witness candid accounts of his perilous expeditions through inhospitable terrain for the first time.
Benedict’s approach has always been to immerse himself completely into remote communities and, to draw on the resources around him, to learn from the native people and achieve his goals by showing utter commitment to his final objective. Few Westerners have spent so long isolated in so many hostile natural environments. He has undergone a male initiation ceremony in New Guinea – where along with other initiates they were beaten every day for 6 weeks – the scars he still bears to this day - in order to be made a man “as strong as a crocodile”; with the help of Matses Indians he’s crossed the Amazon Basin, a journey of 5,600 miles taking almost eight months and during which he escaped being shot at by Columbian drug barons; he has lived with Aborigines in the Gibson Desert - arriving in Australia by canoe across the treacherous Torres Strait.
His Video Diary, RAIDERS OF THE LOST LAKE, gained the highest viewing figures in the history of the format; there followed his BBC TV series THE SKELETON COAST, the story of his arduous three and a half month walk with reluctant camels through the Namib Desert during which he shared his precious drinking water in order to see them safely to the journey’s end; and EDGE OF BLUE HEAVEN, showed his five month journey with horses and camels through Mongolia, during which they were attacked by bloodsucking flies that killed his horses and one of his camels – after six weeks and a 1,000 mile walk through the Gobi Desert he eventually emerged safely with his remaining camels.
He presented MOMBASA TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON, a film for the BBC’s prestigious Great Railway Journeys series; more recently THE BONES OF COLONEL FAWCETT, about his search for an explorer in the Mato Grosso, and a major BBC series from which came the book - LAST OF THE MEDICINE MEN, investigating shamans and witchdoctors around the world.
In ICEDOGS Benedict completed a 1000 mile dog trek through far Eastern Siberia and their worst winter in living memory. Enduring temperatures below minus 40 degrees Celsius and, not surprising, getting frostbite, Benedict built from scratch a tough team of loyal and reliable working dogs that did not desert him during his long hostile and often treacherous journey - a team on which his life came to depend. Despite the constant threat of falling through ice into the freezing Arctic water, Benedict and his team of Icedogs learned to trust each other sufficiently for him to be able to lead them unarmed and alone through wolf and polar bear territory to reach his objective – The Bering Strait.
Benedict was also the most successful of the celebrity presenters for the BBC’s series THE BIG READ. Having written it, he presented the case for "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman. Despite being one of the more obscure books it was the most successful of all of them, coming third out of 100, beating Harry Potter, outselling Lord of the Rings by 3.5 times.
Benedict writes a travel section for the Daily Mail and continues speaking at corporate events for major national and international blue chip companies, putting across his message of personal development and achievement through his fascinating recount of human endeavour of being able to cope with the challenging and changing circumstances he has faced during his many expeditions, to those companies looking to promote team building within and to motivate and inspire their own staff through the “jungles” of their everyday lives.
Benedict’s fascinating accounts of human endurance and achievements during his amazing adventures can be seen on television, heard through his many speaking engagements and read in his books:-
Mad White Giant (1985), Into the Crocodile Nest (1987), Hunting the Gugu (1989), Through Jaguar Eyes (1994), The Proving Grounds (1991), More Great Railway journeys (1996), The Skeleton Coast: A Journey Through the Namib Desert (1997), Edge of Blue Heaven: A Journey Through Mongolia (1998) and Last of the Medicine Men (2000). Early in 2003 Benedict completed editing an anthology, The Faber Book of Exploration.
Benedict’s approach has always been to immerse himself completely into remote communities and, to draw on the resources around him, to learn from the native people and achieve his goals by showing utter commitment to his final objective. Few Westerners have spent so long isolated in so many hostile natural environments. He has undergone a male initiation ceremony in New Guinea – where along with other initiates they were beaten every day for 6 weeks – the scars he still bears to this day - in order to be made a man “as strong as a crocodile”; with the help of Matses Indians he’s crossed the Amazon Basin, a journey of 5,600 miles taking almost eight months and during which he escaped being shot at by Columbian drug barons; he has lived with Aborigines in the Gibson Desert - arriving in Australia by canoe across the treacherous Torres Strait.
His Video Diary, RAIDERS OF THE LOST LAKE, gained the highest viewing figures in the history of the format; there followed his BBC TV series THE SKELETON COAST, the story of his arduous three and a half month walk with reluctant camels through the Namib Desert during which he shared his precious drinking water in order to see them safely to the journey’s end; and EDGE OF BLUE HEAVEN, showed his five month journey with horses and camels through Mongolia, during which they were attacked by bloodsucking flies that killed his horses and one of his camels – after six weeks and a 1,000 mile walk through the Gobi Desert he eventually emerged safely with his remaining camels.
He presented MOMBASA TO THE MOUNTAINS OF THE MOON, a film for the BBC’s prestigious Great Railway Journeys series; more recently THE BONES OF COLONEL FAWCETT, about his search for an explorer in the Mato Grosso, and a major BBC series from which came the book - LAST OF THE MEDICINE MEN, investigating shamans and witchdoctors around the world.
In ICEDOGS Benedict completed a 1000 mile dog trek through far Eastern Siberia and their worst winter in living memory. Enduring temperatures below minus 40 degrees Celsius and, not surprising, getting frostbite, Benedict built from scratch a tough team of loyal and reliable working dogs that did not desert him during his long hostile and often treacherous journey - a team on which his life came to depend. Despite the constant threat of falling through ice into the freezing Arctic water, Benedict and his team of Icedogs learned to trust each other sufficiently for him to be able to lead them unarmed and alone through wolf and polar bear territory to reach his objective – The Bering Strait.
Benedict was also the most successful of the celebrity presenters for the BBC’s series THE BIG READ. Having written it, he presented the case for "His Dark Materials" by Philip Pullman. Despite being one of the more obscure books it was the most successful of all of them, coming third out of 100, beating Harry Potter, outselling Lord of the Rings by 3.5 times.
Benedict writes a travel section for the Daily Mail and continues speaking at corporate events for major national and international blue chip companies, putting across his message of personal development and achievement through his fascinating recount of human endeavour of being able to cope with the challenging and changing circumstances he has faced during his many expeditions, to those companies looking to promote team building within and to motivate and inspire their own staff through the “jungles” of their everyday lives.
Benedict’s fascinating accounts of human endurance and achievements during his amazing adventures can be seen on television, heard through his many speaking engagements and read in his books:-
Mad White Giant (1985), Into the Crocodile Nest (1987), Hunting the Gugu (1989), Through Jaguar Eyes (1994), The Proving Grounds (1991), More Great Railway journeys (1996), The Skeleton Coast: A Journey Through the Namib Desert (1997), Edge of Blue Heaven: A Journey Through Mongolia (1998) and Last of the Medicine Men (2000). Early in 2003 Benedict completed editing an anthology, The Faber Book of Exploration.
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