Nile swim for global adventurer

Jason Lewis's round-the-world voyage began in London in 1994

A British adventurer is facing a swim across the River Nile on his bid to circumnavigate the globe using only human power.

Jason Lewis, 38, from Bridport, Dorset, is counting on the "local crocodiles feeling lazy" as he nears the end of his expedition, which began in 1994.

He has cycled through Ethiopia but was stuck in Addis Ababa for three weeks waiting for a visa.

He is now biking 1,708m (2,750km) across Sudan.

He said: "I need to swim the Nile at some point.

"So I am counting on the legendary Nile crocodiles - which apparently make Australian Salties look like bath toys - being too lazy in the heat of the day to bother with me."

Scorching temperatures

He set out on the African leg of his expedition in March, having completed a 1,900-mile (3,058km) pedal boat voyage across the Arabian Sea from Mumbai in India to Djibouti.

With temperatures of up to 47C (116.6F) - hot enough it burned to touch his bike - he has been sheltering from the daytime heat in narrow flood tunnels and riding at night.

He said he now faced "desert and scorching temperatures all the way to Europe" and anticipates having to drink up to 20 litres of water a day because of the heat.

His hopes of reaching the UK by this autumn rely on bureaucracy as much as his own determination - he is unsure whether he will get a permit to kayak across Lake Nasser to Egypt.

Mr Lewis has been travelling for 13 years using bikes, a pedal boat, rollerblades, kayaks, and swimming and walking.