This year, British explorer Levison Wood will be the first to attempt to walk the entire length of the River Nile. Global Rescue is supporting the epic journey by Wood, who is also founder of expedition company Secret Compass. We spoke with Lev to learn more about what motivated him to undertake such a fascinating challenge.

How did you decide to undertake this journey?

I’ve always been passionate about Africa and have spent a lot of time there, especially in East Africa. In 2010, I drove the length of Africa and followed the course of the Nile in a 4×4. After some research I discovered that no one had ever completed the journey by foot. I wanted the biggest challenge of my life and found it.

Were you always interested in travel of this nature?

I have been travelling roughly since I left home at the age of 18. After university I hitchhiked overland from the U.K. to India and when I joined the army I took great pleasure in organizing challenging expeditions for my soldiers. It was a natural progression to lead expeditions professionally. 

What are your biggest concerns for the trip?

Safety is clearly an issue. There are dangers from the terrain, the environment, the wildlife and the people. But the biggest concern is simply being in remote areas for such an extended period of time.

Do you have advice for others considering such adventurous travels?

Make sure you know what you are doing. Build a reliable team and think about what can go wrong. But remember there is never a perfect solution; sometimes you just have to get on with it and see what happens.

Have you had any “close calls” in your prior travels during which a Global Rescue membership (for medical or security evacuation) would have been useful?

Quite a few, ranging from team members getting really ill on expeditions — I had a guy get malaria in the jungle of Sierra Leone once — to some tricky political situations. I’ve been held at gunpoint more times than I can remember. On one of my first travels I got stuck in Nepal in the middle of a coup d’etat. My passport was confiscated and I had to spend a week hiding in the hills whilst the country went into anarchy. Fortunately though I’ve not been seriously Ill or injured myself, despite a couple of very close calls involving road accidents in both Afghanistan and Sudan. Global rescue coverage would certainly have been helpful then if the worst had happened.

Once Walking the Nile is completed, are there other journeys you have on your list to accomplish?

The world is a big place and I’ll never stop travelling and exploring. I still want to visit Papua New Guinea, and much of South America is on my watch list.