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The Three Rivers of the Amazon, a book about the journey Tim Biggs took to become the first person in the world to paddle the three major tributaries of the Amazon River.

Book Review: Three Rivers of the Amazon – Tim Biggs

About the Author

The first thought for most people probably would be ‘”Who is Tim Biggs? I’ve never heard of him before.” Well you’d be forgiven for not having come across his name. Growing up in a rural area in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, Tim started kayaking at a young age. This was long before internet and the other wonderful inventions that have made learning about kayakers and their adventures on rivers so easy. Apart from his accomplishments on the tributaries of the Amazon, he has also represented South Africa internationally in long distance canoeing. Tim is a qualified geologist but changed his career to farming where he ran his own timber business for many years. He has since sold the business and now owns The Little Bigg Guest House in Pietermaritzburg which he runs with his wife, Margie. This guest house is very close to some of the best rivers in South Africa too. So if you’re in the area one can enjoy a cosy spot at very competitive rates and meet the man behind the book at the same time. Tim has four children.

Content

Tim Biggs is the only man to have kayaked the three major tributaries of the mighty Amazon River. This truly remarkable journey has now been recorded on paper for the first time in a hard cover format. The quest starts in 1981 on the Urubamba River, then in 1985 the Apurimac River is claimed and then finally in his fifties, leads the expedition of the Marañón River in 2004. The Amazon has over 1000 tributaries and 17 of these are over 1000km in length, but these are the three major tributaries of the largest river on earth and every bit as mighty.

From tiny rivulets to massive raging monsters, join Tim on his adventures told with absolute truth and humility. There is an interesting set of characters within the chapters and one soon learns that expeditions down cavernous gorges, with must run rapids, can push a person’s mettle. Conflict and infighting is as much a part of the journey as good parties, spectacular rapids and relaxing camp fires. The book tells a greater story than that of conquering these wild rivers and that is of the maelstrom that can sometimes inhabit the mind. With absolute honesty Tim describes the choices he had to face in life, both spiritually and religiously. Not many authors have the candid ability to do that and one soon finds oneself drawing comparisons to one’s own life and questions the reasons for kayaking and the way life can sometimes be led. The book is in many ways quite thought provoking and also very inspirational.

There are hundreds of photographs throughout the book, on every page, as well as interesting sketches and diagrams that Tim made during the expeditions. Humorous hand drawn pictures provide the reader with scenes of rapids and depict events frozen in time. Every caption is hand written, adding a great deal of character to the already personal feel one gets reading this masterpiece.

Apart from paddling in South America, the book also takes the reader on an expedition down the Limpopo River in South Africa, a testing and freezing cold source to sea mission down the Colville River in Alaska and an interesting jaunt by yacht.

Conclusion

This is a book about a life journey of one man; not only about rivers and kayaking. It will appeal to a wide audience and even my mother loved it, I’m sure you will too! Ant Stott describes the book as follows, “Cover to cover, every page almost turns itself!”

The Physical Book

The book itself comes in a hardcover format and is about A4 size but a little wider. There are over 300 pages and the pages themselves are thick and of a good quality. The print is larger than your average novel and this will appeal to those with ‘aged’ eyes and also makes for enjoyable, easy reading.

Extras

A DVD is available that includes some super footage from Tim’s journeys and is a must for anyone ordering the book. While it is a bit short, the price corresponds fairly to this and I would still recommend getting a copy to complete the package.

Websites

Order your copy right now and go to http://www.timbiggs.co.za/

Meet Tim in person and stay at his guest house http://www.safarinow.com/go/thelittlebigguesthouse/

For Playak,
Adrian Tregoning