THE STORY

In the year 2000 I returned again to make a film following the routes of early explorers who came to this remote part of South America. This time I intended not only to climb Roraima again, but to traverse its summit to reach the northern prow that I had seen from below 29 years earlier.

Flying in a small aircraft over the Tepuis gives one a sense of their enormous scale. In order to reach the area requires several hours of flight over luxuriant tropical forest intersected by the meandering courses of many rivers. Then, in the hazy distance, one sees the Tepuis as indistinct rectangular blocks on the horizon. Approaching more closely, the size of the perpendicular walls defies imagination, rising thousands of feet out of the forest, their tops often shrouded by clouds.

KUKENAAM from Roraima

To have reached such a remote place as Mount Roraima in the nineteenth century must have been a huge undertaking, but expedition followed expedition in an attempt to climb the mysterious plateau, that promised strange and exotic discoveries. The journey in those days took several months to accomplish by canoe and on foot, and the explorers had to carry everything they needed for their long trek. Many turned back before reaching their goal as food supplies dwindled, and others were driven back because of losses through accidents, disease or snakebite. Local Indians feared the mountain, claiming that evil and mischievous spirits lurked there. Those who did make it to Roraima were unable to find any obvious route up the precipitous cliffs to the summit. As each expedition failed, the speculation of what might exist on the ancient plateau became ever more tantalizing.

The long journeys would start from the coast, navigating upstream along the rivers, using them as highways to pass through the unbroken forest. As they glided silently through the water, propelled only by wooden paddles, they would have encountered some of the exotic wildlife only to be found in tropical South America. Many of the animals may never have seen humans before, so were unafraid. As the travellers penetrated further and further into the interior, the landscape began to change. Waterfalls and rapids blocked their path and the need to portage their canoes became more frequent. Some of the shallow river beds were composed of a brilliant red jasper, so the tumbling cascades were aflame with colour. Finally, it became impractical to continue by river, and they were forced to take to the forest on foot, laboriously cutting a trail by compass bearing. JASPER Rock Water Fall