- 22 hours ago
In Botswana (S2E1), Ed tackles the Okavango Delta, facing floods, shifting water, and dangerous wildlife. During the rainy season, his camp is threatened by rising water. Trusting his instincts, Ed must negotiate survival with hippos, crocodiles, and other predators while securing food, water, and a safe refuge.
Watch Ed’s tactical moves in wetland survival: adapting to flooding, fishing in tricky terrain, and maintaining camp under pressure.
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Ed Stafford, Marooned with Ed Stafford, Naked and Marooned, Ed Stafford survival, Discovery Channel survival, Extreme survival documentary, Solo survival challenge, Bushcraft, Wilderness survival, Island survival, Jungle survival, Desert survival, Mountain survival, Rainforest challenge, Okavango Delta, Carpathian Mountains, Borneo jungle, Australia outback, Arizona desert, Survival skills, 10 day challenge
Watch Ed’s tactical moves in wetland survival: adapting to flooding, fishing in tricky terrain, and maintaining camp under pressure.
Thank you for supporting our channel
Ed Stafford, Marooned with Ed Stafford, Naked and Marooned, Ed Stafford survival, Discovery Channel survival, Extreme survival documentary, Solo survival challenge, Bushcraft, Wilderness survival, Island survival, Jungle survival, Desert survival, Mountain survival, Rainforest challenge, Okavango Delta, Carpathian Mountains, Borneo jungle, Australia outback, Arizona desert, Survival skills, 10 day challenge
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TravelTranscript
00:00This time on Maroon, I'm taking on the big game of Southern Africa.
00:08I've battled the local wildlife in a bid to stay off the menu.
00:14And I struggle to survive in one of my toughest challenges yet.
00:19This simple plant seems to have thorns coming out of it.
00:23I'm Ed Stafford.
00:24I've walked the length of the Amazon and survived on a desert island with only a camera to film my adventure.
00:32Now, I've set myself a new challenge to prove I can make it in some of the world's toughest environments.
00:40Oh my God.
00:42Using only what I find around me.
00:44Well, you had a kidney and a bit of a bit.
00:46I'll be left completely alone for ten days with nothing.
00:50Words cannot describe how I feel right now.
00:53No film crew, no food, no water.
00:57The sun is directly overhead. It's boiling hot.
00:59Not even a knife.
01:01Right, come on, Ed. Go ahead and move on.
01:03This time, it's about more than survival.
01:06I want to see if I can thrive.
01:08Yes!
01:08Anywhere.
01:18I'm heading into one of Africa's wildest places.
01:23I'm in Botswana, in the Okavango Delta.
01:27Here, a massive river system produces a wetland which can cover over 20,000 square kilometers.
01:36It's Africa's richest habitat, with more wild animals than I've ever seen.
01:40Many of them, potentially deadly.
01:43I want to prove to myself that I can live here long-term, using just what's around me.
01:52So local river Bushmen give me last-minute survival tips.
01:55And show me where the big cats hide.
01:59You walk on the ground, you can be at the top.
02:05I'm being dropped on an island surrounded by fast-flowing water.
02:08It's hemmed in by thick reeds and papyrus.
02:15And the only way on an off the island is on trails made by hippos.
02:19Once my smell wass over the landscape, I need to be on my guard.
02:26Here, I'm at the bottom of the food chain.
02:29I'll spend the next ten days, completely on my own, with just the equipment I need to film my adventure.
02:39I hear the sounds of the voices of the crudest buri now.
02:45I'm on an island in the middle of the Okavango Delta, in Botswana.
02:49And there's no fence around me.
02:54This is no game reserve.
02:56The big animals here make this environment especially dangerous.
03:01Plus, there are almost 20 venomous creatures that could take me down with just one bite.
03:07It looks like we have monkeys as well.
03:10In order to deter the animals, in order to keep myself safe at night, I need to get a fire going today, on day one.
03:18And if I can sleep by a fire tonight, then I'll be safer.
03:23Once night falls, I'll be especially vulnerable.
03:27The hippos will come up onto the island.
03:29And it's mating season.
03:31And I'm on my own.
03:34The bags I've got with me only contain my camera kit, a satellite phone, and a medical pack in case of absolute emergencies.
03:43Anything else I need, I'll have to find.
03:48There's quite an abundance of these bone fragments and skull fragments, which are going to be my cutting tools, aren't they?
03:58They are going to be my cutting tools.
03:59It's more like the jungle than Africa.
04:06In fact, it's less forgiving than the feet.
04:08I've never been in a forest which has got so many spikes and thorns.
04:11It's just unbelievable.
04:13Every single plant seems to have thorns coming out of it.
04:18It's a four-inch thorn.
04:23And they're all over the floor.
04:26I think you're in tatters already.
04:27I can't see anything here to protect my feet.
04:33But I can use papyrus to make myself a skirt.
04:38Papyrus is all next to the water.
04:39So in order to collect myself with the papyrus that I need, I need to venture onto the side there.
04:46I'll have to be careful.
04:48This is classic croc country.
04:51Crocs can grow up to three times my height and have one of the strongest bite forces in the world.
04:58They're lightning-fast stealth hunters leaping their own body length in a fraction of a second.
05:03So I won't hang around the water's edge any longer than I need to.
05:12Skirt done, I need to push on.
05:15It's nearly dark and I don't want to sleep here.
05:19Really need to find a camp suit.
05:22I need somewhere with safe access to drinking water and some defence against wild animals.
05:31Almost unworkable.
05:33On my bare feet.
05:37Some thorns on everything.
05:40With no shoes, every step is difficult.
05:45But eventually, I find somewhere suitable.
05:49I'm exhausted.
05:50I'm exhausted.
05:51I probably only walked a kilometre and a half.
05:55But that bag is heavy.
05:57And every step, I was having to clear a thorn from the bottom of my foot.
06:01You can see my bag dropped over there.
06:04I found an area which is nice and flat under a very, very dense tree.
06:09It's perfect.
06:11There's shade from the searing sun.
06:13Safe access to the river.
06:15And this tree will be easy enough to climb if anything attacks.
06:19But there's one more thing I need.
06:22And this tree will be easy enough to climb.
06:23Light yourself with fire red.
06:24Come on.
06:24Most wild animals will avoid fire.
06:27I have to get one started before nightfall.
06:29I think this is elephant.
06:31You look how fine those little vibres are.
06:34That's tender, isn't it?
06:37That's the heart of my tender bundle.
06:40In addition to the elephant's dung, I've got fistfuls of bone, bone dry palm leaves.
06:45Second guessing my every move.
06:47Is that dry enough?
06:49Is that too brittle?
06:50Because I need to get this fire going.
06:53It needs to work, and it needs to work within the next couple of hours.
06:58Using the bone fragment I've found, I can fashion a hand drill set in no time.
07:03The heat produced by rubbing two sticks together should create a burning ember, which I'll collect
07:16on a dry leaf.
07:21Okay, good number.
07:26I know from experience that this can take days to get right.
07:29But with only an hour of daylight, and animals all around, I don't have the luxury of time.
07:36This has to work.
07:48We have fire.
07:50After days.
07:52Ha, ha, ha!
07:54They love it when a plan comes together.
07:57Move the camera away.
07:59That means so much.
08:04That means so much.
08:05That flicker of orange.
08:07That warmth.
08:08Means that tonight, and it does get colder in Africa at night, I'm not going to be cold,
08:13but more importantly, animals are going to stay well clear of this.
08:18That was easy.
08:20That was the first attempt.
08:21That was bang, ember, in, tender bundle, flames.
08:26Flames.
08:32With wild animals around, I don't want to take any chances.
08:35So I split the fire into two, and I'll sleep between them for safety.
08:40It's too late to build a shelter today, but the rainy season hasn't arrived yet.
08:48And it's not the weather I'm worried about.
08:50I can hear hippos.
08:53With the reputation of being Africa's most dangerous animal, they can be vicious killers.
08:59And they sound close.
09:04I have no way of really protecting myself, at the moment.
09:08It's just a bed.
09:14Oh, crikey.
09:17Africa, though, you know?
09:19Africa has just so many connotations about it.
09:24Big game.
09:26Hippo, elephant, lion, leopard.
09:31And they're all here.
09:33This is the biggest danger, the biggest risk that I've put myself through so far.
09:44I'm well down the food chain.
09:47My imagination's running wild.
09:50I hardly dare close my eyes.
09:53It'll take all my survival experience to keep calm and get me through my first night, alone in Africa.
10:03I adopt guerrilla tactics as the African wildlife starts to bite back.
10:13I've got neighbours and they're thugs.
10:19I'm Ed Stafford, and I've just survived my first night totally alone in the African bush.
10:25Noises all through the night, but something, like an antelope, trotted quite close, I'm sure, to me.
10:37It's a baboon.
10:38The local river bushman warned me baboons could attack.
10:43I'm a mistake for big baboon pig.
10:48Baboons come, you stand your ground, and you're aggressive, and you shoot them off.
10:54Make your friends with them is not a good idea.
10:57A full-grown baboon would be much stronger than me.
11:01Their canine teeth are longer than a lion's, and they'll take on anything in their territory.
11:06I need to lay down the law, and fast.
11:16It's not moved.
11:19Which I think is quite cheeky, actually.
11:23No respect for higher intelligence.
11:26I feel very nervous with them hanging around my camp.
11:36I need to drive them out.
11:40For the moment, I let them know who's boss around here.
11:44Eddie Sturfs.
11:47King of the baboons.
11:48One good thing about the baboons, though, is they've been dislodging mangosteen berries.
11:55You can see I've got a whole handful of quite large ones here.
11:59They're tiny, obviously, but they'll be good to graze.
12:04Mangosteen should be a reliable food source, but to show I can live here long-term, I'll need a lot more than just fruit.
12:11I'll have to leave the safety of my camp and fires, watching every step of the way as I explore the island for resources.
12:23Wow.
12:25That is beautiful.
12:27And look, it spills out onto this open.
12:30Almost golf course-like flat area.
12:35Ow.
12:36The grass is actually spikes.
12:46It's like green thorns in disguise as grass.
12:50And I can't walk out onto it in barefoot, full stop.
12:53Literally cannot.
12:54It's like walking on nails.
12:56I need something to protect my feet.
13:00And I came on, there was lots of fan palm.
13:02Now, fan palm has a really big, flat palm that I might be able to use as a sole to a shoe.
13:10I'm just going to essentially make a bit of flip-flops by cutting holes into the soles and then threading some straps through.
13:18I've stripped the bark from a strangler big tree using my bone fragment knife.
13:26That's the middle of the thong.
13:29I've never made shoes like this before.
13:32It's not as easy as it looks.
13:37Taking shape.
13:45It's going to be a bit like learning to walk again.
13:49But they're not bad, you know.
13:51There's a big overlap around the outside, but I think that will make them stronger.
13:55And I also think it will stop me getting thorns from the side.
13:58I'm now going out into the open area, which I've now got access to for the first time.
14:07It's like these shoes for a VIP pass.
14:10You've got the right shoes on, you can get in.
14:13If you've not got any shoes, you're not committing in.
14:16I'm no cobbler, and making my shoes took half a day.
14:22But now I can push on and look for more resources.
14:28And I'll make a somewhat grisly discovery.
14:30It's quite long gone.
14:37We found this earlier.
14:39When it had just died, I could potentially have used sinew and bone from it.
14:43But, um...
14:46It's stiff.
14:47And it stinks.
14:48It's an unsettling find.
14:53And what I stumble across next is even more worrying.
15:00This looks to me like cat scat.
15:04There could be cats on this island.
15:08It's not baboon.
15:09It's not antelope.
15:11If this is cat scat, it's most likely to be leopard.
15:15I had hoped they wouldn't be able to get to the island.
15:19But they are proficient swimmers.
15:21They stalk monkeys, baboons, and anything else they can take under cover of darkness.
15:27I need to be vigilant.
15:29It's almost the end of my second day, and I'm a long way from camp.
15:36I just saw a little bird.
15:39Where is it disappearing?
15:42It was a little grouse-like bird.
15:45This could well be my main source of food on the island.
15:49Small ground birds.
15:53It's a great find, but trapping them will have to wait.
15:57It's getting dark, and with the threat of prowling leopards,
16:01I need to get back to the safety of my fire.
16:03But tonight, leopards may not be my only problem.
16:15Yeah.
16:16Thunder and lightning is ominous.
16:20It's been flashing and booming away for about the last ten minutes.
16:26If that gets any closer,
16:27then I'm going to get wet, because I don't have a shelter.
16:34My luck's not in.
16:38It looks like the rainy season may be coming early.
16:42Please don't rain.
16:43Please don't rain.
16:44Please don't rain.
16:45If the rain puts my fire out now,
16:48I've got nothing to keep the wildlife at bay.
16:51It's raining.
16:52Right.
16:53Move the kit.
16:54Move the kit.
16:55Oh, cranky.
17:12Something very different about it this morning.
17:15The wind's up.
17:17The farm leaves are blowing.
17:19And, um,
17:20the monkeys and the baboons are agitated.
17:25They can tell something is about to happen.
17:31The rainy season could be on its way.
17:35So today's priority is making shelter for me and my fire.
17:42I have to have a fire going.
17:44It's like the number one golden rule here in Africa.
17:47At night, have a fire going.
17:49I think I'm going to get one of these big, long palms that's come down.
17:53Wedge it in between a couple of these.
17:56I make myself a lean-to shelter.
17:57A lean-to is a very basic shelter.
18:08It's simple to make, even with no proper tools and no rope.
18:13Yet it's very effective.
18:14I'm quite pleased with it already, actually.
18:23You know, not because it's amazing thatch.
18:26It's not as crude.
18:27But because it will work.
18:28It's enormous inside.
18:33It's like a TARDIS.
18:36Right.
18:37All I need to do now is build myself a cover for the fire.
18:41Because if that goes out, that will be a catastrophe.
18:44Just being a bit pushy at the moment, aren't they?
18:54You wouldn't want to be attacked by a baboon, would you?
18:57So I need to keep repelling them.
18:59Give an inch, they'll take a yard.
19:02Cheeky baboons.
19:06Baboons are a constant reminder of how dangerous it is out here.
19:09Building this shelter is energy-sapping work.
19:15But if it rains again, it will stop the fire going out, which is crucial.
19:21I'm now sorted.
19:23My fire's protected.
19:25It's day three now, and I'm pretty hungry.
19:28And as much as I'm settled in the fact that I've got fire,
19:32I've got shelter now,
19:33what I do need is to get some food.
19:39My best bet will be trapping the ground birds I saw on the far side of the island.
19:47Treebark makes great cordage, which I'll turn into snares.
19:50I think I'm taking this a little bit too far now.
20:12My initial quite crude snares have now developed
20:17into the most nice, fine little cordage.
20:22Really got the knack.
20:23You know when you have days when you haven't been out of the house
20:32and you feel like you're getting a bit stir-crazy?
20:36That's me today.
20:38I've just sat under the forest canopy all day, making my snares.
20:42I feel like I haven't got out, which is ridiculous,
20:45because I'm in the middle of Africa on my own.
20:48But for some bizarre reason, that's the feeling I've got today.
20:51It's like I've stayed at home, doing domesticated chores.
20:57Tomorrow, I need to set up my traps.
21:00I have to eat something more substantial than just fruit
21:02before I start to get weak.
21:10For the second night in a row, a storm's coming in,
21:13and it looks like a big one.
21:15It's starting to rain, so I've moved the fire into the fire shelter.
21:25Just as well, I built it, eh?
21:28This will test both my shelters.
21:30If this storm puts out my fire,
21:32I'll be at the mercy of every animal out there.
21:37Crikey.
21:38That's big, Ben.
21:39I'm Ed Stafford,
21:50and I've been surviving completely alone
21:52in the Okavango Delta for four days.
21:58Last night, the camp I built
22:00took a battering by tropical rains.
22:02The fire's still lit,
22:07and I'm dry.
22:11Success.
22:14I want to prove to myself
22:16that if I needed to,
22:17I could live here long term.
22:21But I've hardly eaten since I arrived.
22:26If I'm going to succeed,
22:28I need to push on with my plan to catch food.
22:31My row of snares looks rather like
22:34this sort of gallows
22:35with people ready to die.
22:37Well, hopefully the little grouse
22:38like birds ready to die,
22:40but I don't mean to be quite so sinister,
22:42but I'm hungry.
22:44If I catch a bird,
22:45that'll be the start of me thriving here.
22:49But hunger isn't my only worry.
22:54This is the freshest hippopotamus
22:57spraying that I've seen.
22:59Full stop ever.
23:01This was last night.
23:03That is utterly extraordinary.
23:05If I zoom in
23:06on my camera bag over there,
23:09that's how far away I am from camp.
23:12Hippos flick their scat around
23:14with their tail to mark their territory.
23:17Chances are,
23:18it's not going to have come through the bushes.
23:20It came along here,
23:21so it came within
23:22five metres of my camp.
23:24Adult hippos took the scales of two tonnes.
23:29With huge canine teeth,
23:32they are believed to be Africa's most dangerous animal.
23:35If I'd been up and about,
23:39if I'd been walking
23:40just five metres away,
23:43five metres away
23:44from my fire and my shelter,
23:47then I would have been putting myself in danger.
23:48Because it's mating season,
23:50by all accounts,
23:52I stumble across a hippo in the dark,
23:54walking around,
23:56and then they're very dangerous.
23:59Crikey.
24:00That's her little warning shot at,
24:02isn't it?
24:02With hippos this close,
24:06I need to stay alert.
24:09But the African sun is sapping my strength
24:12and my concentration.
24:14I need food.
24:20I've just spotted
24:21a bit of a carcass there.
24:26A find like this
24:28could prove invaluable.
24:32I don't know whether it's a bush buck.
24:35It's just medium-sized antelope.
24:38And these
24:39horns will be very useful for me.
24:44Good little morning find.
24:46That...
24:47That is going to make
24:50an amazing digging stick.
24:56I'm heading back
24:57to where I saw the birds yesterday.
25:02There's a bird on the floor.
25:05It's too far away to come.
25:08As I'm walking around here,
25:10there's just hundreds of bird prints.
25:12These traps are going in today.
25:15The mechanics of this trap are simple.
25:18A bent sapling
25:19acts as a spring
25:20and a noose is attached
25:21to the end of that.
25:23Twigs in the ground
25:24keep the noose open
25:25around a finely balanced trigger stick
25:27with a nugget of bait
25:29on the end.
25:31The bird literally
25:31just has to
25:32poke his head over the top
25:34get the nugget inside
25:36and
25:37it'll release the
25:38the noose will tighten
25:40and then it'll spring up into the air.
25:45One trap set.
25:48That's a step in the right direction
25:49and you've got the trap set.
25:51Right.
25:52Race back.
25:53Put your shoes on again.
25:55Race back over the prickly grass.
25:56I'm craving meat.
25:59I want to maximise
26:00my chance of catching something.
26:02So over the next couple of days
26:03I focus on making traps.
26:06Third trap set.
26:10The lack of tools
26:11makes it a frustratingly slow process.
26:16I'm back in camp
26:17just as the sun's about to hit their eyes.
26:19Three trap set.
26:21It just takes so long.
26:22It's unbelievable
26:24how long it takes.
26:26Traps are essential
26:32for long-term survival
26:33but they need time to work.
26:36They're constantly
26:37there
26:39ready to trap bird
26:40which is perfect isn't it?
26:43That leaves me free
26:44to look for something
26:45to eat right now
26:46and there's at least
26:48half the island
26:49I haven't tapped for food.
26:52There's fruit bites
26:52in the tree above me
26:54right up there
26:57in the canopy.
27:00Quite big fruit bats
27:01aren't they?
27:03Reaching desperation
27:04stakes isn't it
27:04when
27:05my first thought
27:07on seeing a fruit bat
27:07is
27:08how would I kill
27:09and eat that?
27:10How would I kill
27:14and eat that?
27:17There's life
27:17everywhere
27:18but it's all
27:20out of reach.
27:21It's gone down here.
27:25But where there's fruit bats
27:26there should be fruit.
27:28I'm not going to be
27:29fussy about eating
27:30their leftovers.
27:31It's got
27:34it's got a little maggot
27:37can you see that?
27:41That's a fig.
27:43Maggot eating or not
27:44that is a fig.
27:47There can be hardly
27:49any calories in this
27:50but the more I look
27:52the more I should find.
27:57Wow.
27:58This is a hippo highway.
28:00That is extraordinary.
28:02It looks like a river.
28:04Hippos obviously
28:05don't have the ability
28:05to move their legs
28:06other than
28:07straight forward
28:08so you've got
28:09two sets of legs
28:10side by side
28:11just wearing
28:13the ground away
28:13with their huge weight.
28:17I've got to be
28:18super alert.
28:19It's a well used track.
28:24Okay and it opens up
28:26to water
28:28and then papyrus.
28:30The papyrus
28:33is a potential
28:34death trap.
28:36It's the perfect
28:37hiding place
28:38for hippos
28:38and crocs.
28:42But I need at least
28:43three litres of water
28:44a day
28:45and I have to
28:46take the risk.
28:48It's a really weird noise.
28:50Hang on.
28:50I don't know what that is.
28:57A feeding frenzy
28:58or something
28:59I do not know.
29:01I can't go into this
29:02water
29:02absolutely no way.
29:05It's got to be fish
29:06it's got to be
29:06just big fish
29:07but the whole
29:08of that channel
29:09was just
29:09swarming.
29:12They're just
29:13moving up
29:13into the distance now.
29:14I've never seen
29:18anything like that
29:18and with crocs
29:20in the water
29:21and that amount
29:22of fish
29:24swimming around
29:24there's not a chance
29:26I would go in there.
29:28It's so frustrating
29:29being surrounded
29:30by food
29:30I can't get at.
29:32I am proper
29:41whacked now.
29:45I'm getting
29:46more and more tired.
29:48Lethargy is creeping
29:49in definitely.
29:59That was such a cold night.
30:00It's really
30:01really really cold.
30:03Really cold.
30:04Right I'm going to go
30:05and check my traps now.
30:07Let's hope
30:08that you've got
30:08a little bit
30:09of weight in there.
30:13This trap's still set.
30:18The cord has snapped.
30:20That's annoying.
30:22Last one here
30:23is still set as well.
30:27I thought
30:27catching animals
30:28in Africa
30:29would be simple.
30:30But it's tougher
30:32than I ever imagined.
30:35I'm over halfway
30:36through my challenge now
30:37but eating only fruit
30:39I can't pretend
30:40I'm doing any more
30:41than just surviving.
30:42my shoe strap
30:47is snapped.
30:48This is not going to last
30:49much longer.
30:52The last thing
30:53I want to do
30:54is spend precious time
30:55and energy
30:56repairing my shoes.
30:59I can't live
31:00without these shoes.
31:01Cannot move around
31:02without these shoes.
31:07It's time to change
31:08my tactics.
31:09It just doesn't make sense
31:11covering the same ground
31:12again and again
31:12and again.
31:13If I cover different ground
31:14I'm more likely
31:15to come across
31:16something that might
31:16be able to help me.
31:17I can't give up.
31:22Hunger's really
31:23starting to bite.
31:25My body's craving
31:27protein
31:28and something much
31:29higher in calories
31:30than fruit.
31:31What I've just found
31:36I don't want to go
31:37too close
31:37at the moment
31:38is a bee's nest
31:42and where there's
31:43a bee's nest
31:44there's honey
31:45and I am starving.
31:49I can just reach
31:49my arm in.
31:52It would be madness
31:53to do it now.
31:54I'm tempted.
31:55I'm so hungry.
31:56It would be madness
31:57to do it now though.
31:58Under threat
32:01African bees
32:02form large swarms.
32:04They can sting
32:05in huge numbers
32:06and their stings
32:08can kill.
32:13I can't
32:13I can't just
32:15put my hand in
32:15as it is.
32:16They'll swarm out
32:17sting my face.
32:19I need to smoke
32:20them out
32:20which means
32:21I need to be prepared
32:22for this.
32:24I need to come back
32:24tomorrow morning.
32:26That would be
32:27a good idea
32:27wouldn't it?
32:28Tomorrow morning
32:29come back here
32:30light a fire
32:31directly underneath
32:32that
32:33and smoke them
32:34out.
32:36That would be
32:36amazing.
32:38Honey.
32:40Honey.
32:43It's a risk
32:44I normally
32:45wouldn't take
32:45but I'm starving
32:47and I can't let
32:48so many calories
32:49go begging.
32:50just pulled that
33:03out of my foot
33:04which is now
33:06bleeding.
33:09A bit of a disaster
33:10considering how far
33:11away from home
33:12I am.
33:13My shoe's broken.
33:14I've done four
33:17hours solid walking
33:17but I've still got
33:19probably an hour
33:21left at least
33:21to get back
33:23so they need to
33:24last.
33:25They're hanging on
33:26by their threads.
33:32There's a hippo.
33:36There's a hippo
33:37right behind me.
33:44Just grazing in the
33:45middle of the day.
33:46That was incredible.
33:52That was breathtaking.
33:54It's just
33:55sped off
33:55into the bushes.
33:59I didn't think
34:00they'd be on this
34:01island
34:01during the day.
34:04Ow.
34:05I can't run fast
34:07because
34:07I'm in the middle
34:09of a field of thorns
34:10and my feet
34:11don't work.
34:14If it had charged
34:15me my broken
34:16shoes would have
34:17been useless
34:17and I would have
34:20struggled to escape
34:21on the sharp
34:22thorny grass.
34:24I need to be
34:25slightly wary
34:25don't I
34:26as I'm going
34:26back to base camp
34:27because it's only
34:28gone into the
34:29forest there
34:30and my base camp
34:31is in here.
34:36I'm using
34:37quite apprehensive
34:38as to what I'm
34:38going to find
34:39at my camp.
34:43No,
34:43it's all
34:44as I left it.
34:45If I'm honest
34:53with myself
34:54I've rarely felt
34:55quite so on edge.
34:57Africa is filled
34:58with dangers.
35:07There's a hippo.
35:08There's a hippo.
35:08there's a hippo here.
35:28It might come.
35:31Oh,
35:32might come.
35:34I'm Ed Stafford
35:41and I'm battling
35:43the extremes
35:43of Africa's
35:44Okavango Delta.
35:45Oh,
35:46my God.
35:53There's a hippo here.
35:55It might come.
35:58By the looks of it,
35:59this one and a half
36:00metre tall,
36:01fully grown adult
36:02has been in quite
36:03a few scrapes.
36:05I just climbed up
36:06the tree.
36:07that's what scared
36:08that's extraordinary.
36:12You see all the scratches
36:13on its back?
36:17Crikey.
36:17I just shot
36:18straight up this tree.
36:21Unbelievable.
36:24It's going into the water.
36:25I found out
36:30where the hippo
36:30goes into the water
36:31in my camp.
36:36I don't really know
36:37what to say.
36:38Good Lord.
36:40I was up this
36:41escape route tree
36:42faster than
36:43I'd wrap up
36:43a drain pipe.
36:50A hippo
36:51in my camp.
36:52He even came
36:53and smelt
36:54the edge of the fire.
36:56This is me
36:57finding my feet
36:58with Africa.
36:58This is me
36:59being sensible
37:01initially
37:02but realising
37:03that
37:04if you come
37:06across a hippo
37:07in the middle
37:08of the day,
37:09if you're not
37:10annoying him,
37:11if you're not
37:11causing a threat,
37:12if you're not
37:13between him and water,
37:14if you're not
37:14causing him to panic,
37:18I'd be surprised
37:19if you had a problem.
37:21Says the man
37:22who climbs a tree
37:24very quickly.
37:25very fast indeed.
37:29That was a close call
37:30but I can't let it
37:32distract me
37:32from the task at hand.
37:34I need food.
37:36If I can get honey
37:37from the hive I found,
37:39I'll be a huge step
37:40closer to proving
37:41I could live here
37:42long term.
37:44But African bees
37:45can kill
37:45so I'm going to use
37:47one of my camera
37:48cleaning cloths
37:49to protect my head.
37:50that's going to make
37:51an amazing protection
37:53from the bees,
37:54isn't it?
37:59Next morning,
38:00there's no denying
38:01I'm nervous
38:01about tackling
38:02the bees.
38:04I hope that
38:06with a burning ember
38:07from camp
38:07I can smoke them
38:08out from the hive.
38:12So it's not quite
38:13over the horizon
38:14there.
38:16It's just perfect
38:17because I want
38:17to hit the bees
38:18before they get
38:19active.
38:19smoke from the fire
38:38should calm them
38:39down.
38:40So I'm putting
38:40on wet leaves.
38:45I've just got to do
38:46this all night.
38:47Calm this task,
38:47just do it.
38:49Just do it.
39:19I'm getting out of here.
39:34I got my honey.
39:49I'm not going back
39:50there.
39:52But I got
39:52my morning's honey.
39:56The honey is waxy
39:58and old,
39:59but it's still
39:59nutritious.
40:02Happy days.
40:02That's such a relief.
40:08The bees will
40:09restock their
40:09honeycomb quickly,
40:11which means I can
40:11raid their hive
40:12again and again.
40:16And my luck
40:17doesn't stop there.
40:20Look at that.
40:22A vast handful
40:23of nuts.
40:25Oh, yeah.
40:27Proper lump
40:27of nut come out.
40:30That is such a good
40:31thing.
40:35With nuts and honey
40:36providing vital
40:37sugar and protein,
40:38I'm a long way
40:40towards thriving here.
40:44I have water,
40:45fire, food,
40:47and shelter.
40:48It's beginning to feel
40:50like home.
40:50And I just
40:54plonked his
40:56bottom down
40:57on the branch
40:57and sat down.
41:01I haven't really
41:05got the energy
41:06anymore to
41:07roar at the
41:07balloon.
41:10You can come
41:11round whenever
41:11you like,
41:11mate.
41:12I'm confident
41:18that with time
41:19my traps would
41:20work,
41:21but I don't
41:22need them now.
41:24Tonight is my
41:25last night in the
41:26Okavango Delta.
41:30You look like
41:31you've been in the
41:32bush for ten days.
41:36Africa's got an
41:36energy, hasn't it?
41:37Africa has definitely
41:38got an energy when
41:39you walk out across
41:40that open plain.
41:42The sun's beating
41:43down on you.
41:44Living alongside
41:45these animals,
41:47you can't help
41:48but start to
41:49think and feel
41:51and live like
41:51them.
41:52I've just been
41:53literally living
41:54on the floor,
41:56protected by my
41:57fire,
41:59eating berries.
42:01I've been living
42:01like an animal
42:02for the last ten
42:03days.
42:05And I can do it,
42:06absolutely,
42:07and it's been a
42:07privilege.
42:08It's been a
42:08privilege above
42:10many of the
42:11experiences I've
42:12had in my life.
42:14I won't miss this
42:15forest floor,
42:16it has to be said,
42:17and I won't miss
42:17this buggrass out
42:18on the plain,
42:19and I won't miss
42:20my pair of shoes.
42:22Crikey, I will not
42:23miss those shoes.
42:26And to leave it
42:27and go back to
42:27the normal world,
42:30I like saying
42:31goodbye to a very,
42:33very special
42:33experience.
42:35Very special.
42:36morning.
42:54It's time to get home.
42:58It's time to get home.
42:59My time on this island
43:08has been life-changing,
43:10but there are some
43:12home comforts I've
43:13really missed.
43:14Nice bath, I think,
43:16would be nice.
43:17It was touch and go
43:18at times, and I didn't
43:20achieve all I set out
43:21to.
43:21But the Okavango Delta
43:27has taught me some
43:28invaluable skills.
43:30I look forward to using
43:32them on my next big
43:34adventure.
43:34video.
43:36.
43:37.
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