THERE was a buzz of excitement in the auditorium as kids and adults of all ages settled into their seats for a talk by famous explorer Benedict Allen.

The adventurer has survived Arctic winds, scorching deserts, dense rainforests, and desolate far-away lands.

On Tuesday, he braved the streets of Swindon to visit the Arts Centre for a lively talk about his return to Papa New Guinea to find birds of paradise and reunite with a tribe he first encountered decades ago.

The idea for the journey had come from a chat with BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner, who had told Benedict how he’d always wanted to see the birds but felt that he couldn’t now that he was wheelchair-bound.

Benedict had seen the birds before 30 years ago and offered to help Frank fulfil his lifelong dream.

Their travels were filmed for the BBC TV series ‘Birds of Paradise: The Ultimate Quest.’

When he first visited Papa New Guinea, he became the first person to meet the Niaowra tribe and took part in their gruelling initiation ceremony in which he was scarred, beaten, stripped naked and smeared in clay.

Despite the rather harrowing subject matter, his recollections of the experience are fairly jovial and his enthusiastic joking and gesticulating often had the audience in hysterics.

His return trip was less painful but no less difficult as they were informed by their guide that if they dropped Frank once while they were helping him across the treacherous terrain, it would be “game over” and they would have to return home.

He also described how “the emotional shock” of going back to a tribe who don’t have a word for ‘goodbye’.

“It was incredibly moving to be welcomed back by the same people I’d been through hell with and it was a privilege to be remembered 30 years on.”

He marvelled at the birds of paradise and at the optimism of his travelling partner.

“There’s something surreal and otherworldly about them and it was so exciting to me as I could see the joy in Frank as we searched for them, he remained so positive despite being in pain.”

“In the end it wasn’t about the birds or how much we suffered, it was about how you view life.

“Frank saw every day as a bonus... that was full of potential.”

Benedict wrote about his first meeting with the Niaowra in ‘Into the Crocodile’s Nest’.