It was meant to be a challenging adventure, deep into the rainforest of Suriname.

And for Glandore woman Rachel Gotto, the trip to the South American country turned into a truly memorable one, in more ways than one.

Grief and crisis coach Rachel and her partner Malcolm enjoy challenging trips to far-flung locations.

This year they set their sights on Suriname with its rich flora and fauna and around 95% of its land covered in tropical rainforest.

‘The idea of spending time deep in the jungle without TV or computers really appealed to us,’ Rachel explained.

After doing their travel research, Malcolm and Rachel packed their backpacks and went into the unknown, starting their adventure in Suriname’s capital, Paramaribo.

The first leg of their journey took them along the windy Saramacca River.

With the help of an experienced local guide, the pair encountered stunning, often untouched natural beauty on eight-hour kayak trips.

A satellite phone was their only means of communication.

‘We would sling our hammocks somewhere at night at the edge of the jungle on the side of the river. We slept under mosquito nets and had porridge for breakfast,’ described Rachel.

‘Every morning we would repack, tie our equipment into our kayaks and go back on to the water.’

With the sound of macaw parrots, monkeys and cicadas in the background, the trip continued in temperatures at a humid 35C-plus. 

The couple drank about four litres of filtered river water per day to stay hydrated.

Their diet consisted mainly of oats, rice, lentils and with the occasional fish dish for protein, mainly catfish and piranha. And one evening an unexpected guest arrived for dinner.

‘We were sitting on the rock as the dark was coming. We had a torch and the next thing I saw was two bright eyes staring back at me. It was a fair-size caiman who had come out of the river because he could smell the fish and came looking for his share,’ Rachel recounted.

Apart from swarms of mosquitos, the explorers also encountered electric eels, howler monkeys, piranhas and a bushmaster snake on their river expedition.

‘We were incredibly cautious. Being on the river was phenomenal,’ said Rachel, even after her kayak got stuck in the middle of a stream of rapids at one point and the guide’s kayak overturned.

‘In this kind of environment you are very aware of what’s happening around you. You just keep paddling and you can’t lose your kit. Everything is about navigating the environment.’

At the end of the river journey, a 4x4 jeep took Rachel and Malcolm eight hours on a dirt road back to Paramaribo.

In the city, they boarded a bush plane. Their next stop: as part of a small travel group they flew into a remote part of the rainforest to visit an indigenous tribe. 

The Amerindian Surinamese tribe gave them a tour of the forest and shared some secrets about indigenous medicine, in primary forest among trees that had grown for hundreds of years.

The pair soon settled into life with the tribe and shared their experience, including a staple diet of rice and beans, with no sign of processed foods anywhere.

But on the third evening in the rainforest, Rachel became acutely unwell.

At 5am with extreme pain in her abdomen, she woke her partner saying she knew she was in trouble.

A heavy monsoon rain had started and there was a ban on bush planes flying anywhere for 24 hours. 

As luck would have it, a young Dutch doctor from their travel group was able to help.

The sum total of medical equipment were two bottles of saline solution, a hypodermic needle and some paracetamol.

The doctor told her she needed urgent medical attention, or she could die.

‘I was in agony and it was very frightening,’ recalled Rachel.

‘The conversation we had was very sobering. I knew then how serious it was and at the same time I was very calm.’ 

The tribe managed to get in touch with a chopper pilot who was willing to fly into the forest, even in the severe thunderstorm and rain.

Eventually, Rachel was bundled into a helicopter and airlifted to Paramaribo where a taxi took her to hospital.

On arrival, Rachel had emergency surgery to remove her appendix. It was a tough, transformative experience that helped her finetune her coping skills, she says in hindsight.

‘One of the things that stayed with me is the sheer amount of people who showed up to help, people who had never met me. In your hour of need or in desperation it’s those small gestures that make such a difference,’ she says.

‘I remember as I was being bundled into that tiny helicopter, somebody saying Bless you, you’re going to be okay.’