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Covering a tiny distance on the map from our entry into Brazil at Goiania to the edge of Wauja territory took a full 2 days of driving.

The reserve is a massive 10,000 square mile area in the middle of Mato Grosso state, exclusively set aside for 14 separate indigenous tribes who've inhabited the upper Xingu river area for 1000 years.

Watching mile after mile of green cattle fields scattered with pockets of forest pass by really brought home how vast the country is.

However, once we'd taken to the air from the frontier town of Canarana all signs of human imprint on the forest gradually diminished until, on crossing into the Xingu Indigenous Reserve even the roads disappeared to be replaced by unending forest.

It was a fascinating privilege getting to know the Wauja and seeing their way of life.

When not out hunting or fishing there was almost constant dancing chanting or body painting happening outside the men's hut.

The villagers were constantly vigilant to protect us from the dangers of their environment whether that was removing tarantulas from the hut where we ate meals or chasing off a deadly coral snake from the water we were standing in by the lakeside.

The people were so polite that often in the evenings as we were translating the day's footage from Wauja to Portuguese and then to English they would be reluctant to tell us when someone was mocking the athletes' canoeing efforts for fear of offending us.

To film the race itself we had to turn some leaky metal boats into stable filming platforms – there was no way of filming from the banks as the jungle was so impenetrable along the course that it even blocked our radio signals.

Once we'd fixed the leaks, the locals' knowledge and experience of using materials found from the forest was vital in building outriggers to make the boats stable enough to film from and roofs to protect the crew and equipment from baking sun and the frequent tropical downpours.

We then added the outboard motors we'd brought so the cameras could move swiftly between the frontrunners and stragglers in the race.

I spent the race at the finish line filming with the women, children and elders, enjoying the excitement and endless speculation about which Wauja and which of the westerners was going to round the final bend first.

I feel amazingly lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such interesting and friendly people who were so welcoming to both to us and especially to the athletes.

Chris O'Donnell, Production Co-ordinator

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