'We moved to the Amazon rainforest for a new life - but now we've been deported'
A family who left the UK to take their children to the Amazon rainforest have been forced to find a new destination after they were denied a visa.
Greg Dickens and his partner Guen Bradbury, from Longstanton, Cambridgeshire, jetted off to Guyana with their young children Talpha, 6, Martes, 4, and one-year-old Lutra back in April for an 'exciting' trip of a lifetime.
The trained vets had planned to spend 15 months journeying through the rainforest and sending their children to rural schools along the way, in a bid to give them a tropical taste of life very different to back home.
But they have now been sent packing after the family "failed to navigate the Guyanese bureaucracy" and were refused an extension on their visa, forcing them to cut the trip dramatically short on "pain of imprisonment".
The family were enjoying a thrilling journey through the rainforest - but are now being forced to leave due to visa problems (Greg Dickens)
They are hoping to take their kids' adventure 'intercontinental' and have spoken to schools in Tanzania (Getty Images)Following the setback, the family have exclusively told the Mirror that they are hoping to go to Africa to provide their children a fresh experience of childhood on another continent - and had already been in contact with primary schools in "Tanzania, Malawi, Belize and a few other places".
Couple with three young kids to swap UK for jungle life in Amazonian adventure
The family had begun their South American adventure in Guyana's sweltering capital of Georgetown, before flying out to the remote town of Lethem, where they embarked on a survival boot camp designed to prepare them for hostile conditions in the jungle.
They then set off to tackle the depths of the rainforest as family, where within days they encountered "poison dart frogs, piranhas, caimans, whip scorpions" and a "rat the size of a dog".
The family embarked on a memorable journey down the tropical Essequibo River in a boat they brought from Britain (Greg Dickens)A few uncomfortable nights followed, including one evening where their camp was invaded by no less than eight different species of ant, while at other times they were forced to cover their ankles to avoid bites from hungry snakes.
But there were also many moments of joy spent braving the wild habitat, such as precious family time spent watching river otters and eating "massive piranhas for dinner".
A memorable journey down the tropical Essequibo River from Surama to Rock Landing was spent in a re-assembled boat Greg had brought in his luggage all the way from Britain, and the family enjoyed incredible views over the rainforest canopy when they climbed to the top of a hill with baby in tow.
Before long they found themselves in the fine hospitality of Yupukari village, where the kids learnt lessons with local children at the village school and the parents gave a talk on sugar.
Snakes were just one of the many creatures the trained vet couple encountered in South America (Greg Dickens)Greg described it as a "great time" for all the family, but the trip came to an unexpected and premature end when they encountered visa issues with Guyanan authorities that left them at risk of detention.
An unforeseen hospital trip then caused them to miss their flight out to Tanzania, and the next one available was after their visa in Guyana expired - forcing the family to think quickly in order to salvage their year of adventure.
For the time being, they are heading to the jungle 1500 miles north in Panama to continue their family's voyage into the wild and unknown, where no doubt there will be plenty more extraordinary sights for their children to see.
But a trip over to Africa still remains within their sights, as the dad joked: "Our how-do-the-South-Americans-raise kids tour is going intercontinental"
Dad taking tiny kids to live in Amazon for 15 months has 'horribly unusual' fear
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