Charlie Walker had wanted to visit the remote highlands of Papua New Guinea for many years. Having travelled over 50,000 miles by human power, he relished the prospect of his most challenging journey yet in some of the world's least explored terrain.

The journey pushed him more than he could have imagined and nearly cost him his life on more than one occasion. Challenges en-route included dense virgin rainforest, monsoon rains, tribal violence, whitewater rapids and crocodiles.

The journey was a physical challenge as the only available means of travel in one of the world's last true wildernesses is human-powered. The real interest of the journey, however, was the fascinating peoples and cultures encountered along the way.

Formerly a journalist on a national paper, Charlie now works full time as an adventurer, writer and speaker. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, recipient of the Transglobe Expedition Trust 'Mad but Marvellous' grant, and has spoken to festivals, conferences, schools and travel clubs in several countries. His work has featured in a range of publications including: The Times, the Daily Express, Wanderlust, Travelmag, Travel Africa and Sidetracked.

For more Charlie and his adventures take a look at his website.

Ready for the off - with an audience

Quite hilly!

With some locals

Forest bridge

A bit like Scotland?