Explorers Connect is a collective of explorers and adventurers, meeting for talks, socials and expeditions.

James Bayliss-Smith is a cameraman and filmmaker who has been shooting documentaries since 2005. Last year he travelled to Papua New Guinea for the BBC’s Natural History Unit to film a brutal ‘crocodile’ scarification ritual for the recent BBC2 series ‘Extraordinary Rituals’. The coming of age initiation involves the ritualised skin cutting of young men and women so that their skin has multiple scars resembling the skin of a crocodile. They believe that by undergoing this process they will gain the power of the crocodile and it is an important right of passage that not everyone can undertake.

In his talk James will tell the story of the shoot, which involved a four-day journey deep into the blackwater lakes region of the famous Sepik River. See exclusive photos and hear adventurous tales of what it’s like to witness one of the world’s most extraordinary rituals.

Tickets £6.60 via explorersconnect.com