A MANUAL pump organ is not the usual sort of thing to take on holiday, especially if it's in a remote region of South America.

But that is exactly what retired Ringwood dentist David Daniels is doing when he sets off for Bolivia with Dorset explorer Col John Blashford-Snell and members of the British Scientific Exploration Society on June 21.

The pedal-powered organ is destined for Ojaki, a village deep in the Amazon jungle which has a brand new church, but no organ and no electricity.

With the aid of a boat and four-wheel-drive vehicle, the team will aim to put matters right.

Members will also provide a clean water supply thanks to the Just a Drop charity, plus medical and dental aid along the way.

Mr Daniels, 70, has his portable surgery all ready to go.

It consists of a case measuring 15in by 15in by 6in and containing forceps, local anaesthetic, syringes, needles and sterilising tablets, along with loo rolls for mopping.

But the main reason for the 40-strong SES team going to Bolivia is to carry out a study of an eight kilometre wide crater, which is thought to be about a metre deep.

From space it shows up as a dark green circle of land with its own eco-climate.

With the aid of Ojaki villagers, and overseen by geologists from the Bolivian Geological Institute Sergeotechmin, they will carry out an in-depth study of the geological make-up of the crater.

It is believed it could be the site of Earth's last big meteorite impact, between 5,000 and 30,000 years ago.

The meteorite would have been as big as a bus and caused an impact explosion which would have affected the whole of the Amazon Basin.

Because of the swampy nature, waterlogged matter would have fallen back into the crater, which would explain its shallow depth and the change in soil that makes it so visible from space.

Two previous expeditions have attempted to find out more but the challenging conditions have made it extremely difficult.

Mr Daniels and the team will have to put up with high humidity and temperatures and hordes of insects.

But his wife Helena is not worried.

"We've been married 41 years.

"He's a big, strong man and he hasn't got a heart problem," she said.