Ascending South America

In September 2018 we plan the Ascend of South America Expedition, we will travel through four countries: Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Brazil. Our team will journey 6500 km from the Delta of the Paraná River in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Manaus the heart of the Amazon river in inflatable boats, and capture as much of the unique natural landscape, flora and fauna as possible. 

RIBEX and Andy Leemann, a Swiss boating expert and expedition leader who travelled the Amazon, Orinoco, Mekong, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Zambezi and many more rivers on previous expeditions, will organize this journey in South America together with his partners, the Indian producer and camera man Apal Singh, the German Filmmaker and producer Klaus Kranewitter, and Douglas Trent In charge of logistics and Instituto Sustentar, our NGO Partner.

“Our aim is to improve awareness, to showcase the potential of the region for tourism and to emphasize the need to preserve the unique biodiversity along the riverbanks. The expedition wants to bring a deeper knowledge and understanding of the whole region, its culture, natural beauty and diversity to a broader public.

A steady influx of tourists would secure income and thus help to achieve a sustainable development – environmental aspects and the protection of nature would be of utmost importance in this context. This trip unites experts on every terrain. Filmmakers, producers, hosts and adventurers come together on this epic journey.

Our idea is to bring travel journalism to a whole new level and find possibilities that are yet undiscovered. This is more than entertainment – it will serve educational purposes too. Therefore, we aim to collaborate with schools, universities and other educational facilities around the globe. We want to bring the jungle into the classroom.”

Live. ~ Andy Leemann

Partnership with:

Douglas Trent

In charge of logistics and Instituto Sustentar, our NGO Partner. Douglas has been working in Brazil and the Pantanal for 37 years, and from 2005 he has been registering jaguars, giant river otters, and doing bird counts on a 350km stretch of the Paraguay River, from Cáceres south to Pacu Gordo. Douglas has registered 72 different jaguars and have more photos to analyse from this year’s cats and otters.

He is part of the IUCN Species Conservation Commission.

AB Inflatables

AB Inflatables and Ivor Heyer have been our Partners on many Expeditions. All of our aluminium inflatable boats are built using a cutting-edge, powder-coating pretreatment process that is chrome-free. This new eco-friendly technology maximizes corrosion protection and ensures superior coating adherence to the aluminium hull.

“
Most material would not have survived, much less continued to perform well, after a couple of weeks of travelling with this expedition. It is important to be well equipped.” said Andy Leemann, Expedition leader.
“The three ABI 14 Alu Super-light rigid inflatable boats withstood bumps from the river’s regular currents, rapids and sand banks. For almost two months, they carried 1.5 tons of equipment and supplies as well as a team of up to 14 people.”

Instituto Sustentar NGO


Instituto Sustentar is a non-profit organization based in Minas Gerais, Brazil, with special OSCIP (Civil Society Organization in the Public Interest) status for transparency. It has the goals of creating, planning and executing sustainable development projects in cities and in rural communities, with a focus on environmental protection and social inclusion. They offer solutions to corporate and business problems tied in with economic development.
 Their methodology combine social management with environmental projects, aiming at tangible results in improving the quality of life of local people living near territories where our customers and partners are working. This policy creates a good public business image, necessary today in the modern market.

Enrico Pallazzo

A society for good entertainment. In 2012 Klaus Kranewitter, Tobias Klose and Philipp Walulis remembered this legend and decided to revive the spirit of Enrico Pallazzo: Since then, they have been designing entertainment formats in their company, which, according to the makers, are far too rare to see.
 Klaus Kranewitter is a RIBEX team member and has been on many Expeditions with us.
 This trip unites experts on every terrain. Filmmakers, producers, hosts and adventurers come together on this epic journey. Our idea is to bring travel journalism to a whole new level and find possibilities that are yet undiscovered. Modern film equipment got so light that we will be able to take shots in places so remote that blockbuster-logistics would have been necessary just a few years ago. Breathtaking documentaries on linear television are just the beginning.
 Our main goal is to create output that lets the user have an influence on what’s happening on set. State-of-the-art satellite communication will enable the viewer to follow the trip live on social media and landing pages. Furthermore, it will make live QAs possible. Just imagine a Facebook Live feed from the middle of the jungle. This is more than entertainment – it will serve educational purposes too. Therefore, we aim to collaborate with schools, universities and other educational facilities around the globe. We want to bring the jungle into the classroom. Live. End of the World Expedition 2016: In the Company of Dolphins produced by Klaus Kranewitter and ApalSingh. https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=jJxzoTBgHtk

Hardcraft S.A.

Boat dealership in San Fernando, Buenos Aires
. Gustavo Fernández and his team are the driving force to matriculate the AB Inflatables boats and engines. This company makes the impossible possible.

ORCA® Tank

Pennel & Flipo, through its ORCA® range, designs, produces and distributes high-tech fabrics. To protect man, machine and the environment, Pennel & Flipo has designed and developed the complex structure of ORCA® engineered fabrics. Thanks to their specific elastomeric formulations combined with the implementation of high-tech textiles, our ORCA® engineered fabrics meet the expectations of diverse industries.