WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE - Kylie Howarth Newsletter Excerpt

Kylie’s JUNGLE BUNGLE!

In 2009 I backpacked with my hubby (BF at the time) for six months on our way home to Perth after working in London for two years. During this once-in-a-lifetime trip we explored part of the Amazon Jungle in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, Ecuador.

The jungle was wild and exciting and the place that almost broke me!

During the day we travelled by canoe spotting monkeys, toucans, sloths, caiman (crocodiles) and even an ANACONDA SNAKE (whose body was as thick as a basketball!) One afternoon we were lucky enough to see pink river dolphins (surprisingly pugly, by which I mean pretty and kind of ugly), then fished for piranha (checkout those teeth!) before a sunset swim in the cola-coloured water (the very spot we’d caught piranha!) After dark, we trudged through knee-deep mud, spotting colouful poison dart frogs and a variety of gigantic spiders. That night we were told to sleep tight but warned of boa constrictors who often slid into our open-air room to snack on toilet bowl frogs! Lying in bed (too scared to sleep) I soon made the mistake of shining my torch at the ceiling … that’s when I discovered two TARANTULAS staring down at me! I quickly drew my knees to my chest, pulled my sleeping bag liner up over my head and tied a garbage bag knot in the top. I spent that long scary night scratching at bed bug bites and rocking back and forth hoping none of the sixteen hairy tarantula feet would lose their grip on the thatched ceiling above.

This unforgettable jungle adventure inspired many of the characters and scenes in my new graphic novel, Kev and Trev, Snot Scary Jungle Stories.

To read more about my jungle trip and other exciting happenings click here to download a copy of my newsletter here.

Kylie Howarth in the Amazon Jungle