- 4 hours ago
Pole to Pole with Will Smith - Season 1 - Episode 06: The Kalahari Desert
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:29Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
00:54Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
01:29Transcription by ESO. Translation by —
01:30I set out with a mission to go pole to pole and uncover the secrets at our planet's extremes.
01:38And I've discovered most from the people who live there.
01:42My ancestors drew over 4,000 rock paintings here. We are looking at images which are over 30,000 years
01:52old.
01:52That's magnificent.
01:56So now I've come to meet a group whose ancestors were around when woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers roamed
02:05the earth.
02:08So what do you see when you look at this?
02:11This is a picture of how the sand used to live. Over there on top, these are the animals we
02:17have lived with. Elephants, giraffes.
02:21This is a group of men dancing. A woman carrying a baby. And seeing these handprints, I feel connected to
02:28my ancestors.
02:29So this is the story of my people. That's what they've put up here for us, the younger generation, to
02:35come and witness this.
02:44The sand are the first inhabitants of Southern Africa. We are one of the oldest populations on the planet.
02:53The sand are pretty impressive. That's quite a life span.
03:00When I think about successful people, I picture Olympic athletes or entrepreneurs.
03:07But if endurance is your measure, the sand are some of the most successful people to ever walk the earth.
03:15I want to find out the secret to their success.
03:35On the penultimate trip of my pole-to-pole journey, I've come to Southern Africa, to one of the most
03:43extreme environments on earth.
03:47The Kalahari.
03:50So where exactly are we headed?
03:53We are heading to go and see the narrow sand.
03:56The original hunter-gatherers.
03:59Got it.
04:01How similar to how you grew up is what we're going to see?
04:07Exactly the same.
04:11I was born under a tree.
04:14I grew up well with my parents as a nomadic child, as a hunter-gatherer.
04:19We were on the move constantly, looking for food, foraging.
04:26Some days I went easy like a week with no proper food.
04:31We had pet scorpions when we were growing up.
04:34We used to make them fight.
04:37Living in Kalahari is hardcore.
04:40It's not for everyone.
04:43It seems like the desert would be a hard place to live, you know.
04:49It's not always easy.
04:50You have to really work hard for your food, and you have to save it if there's a need to.
04:56Yeah.
04:57As far as the eye could see, it's just barren.
05:04The Kalahari Desert means the great thirst, the waterless place.
05:10And that's about right.
05:13It just seems brutal to try to live there.
05:17Yeah, it seems very difficult, but the same people know the land.
05:24Yeah.
05:24So I'll teach you what to hunt, what to gather, and how to stay safe.
05:30Yeah.
05:31I'm setting a challenge that we only eat what we find in the bush today.
05:36All right.
05:36Only eat what we find.
05:39Yeah.
05:39Eat off the land.
05:41Yeah.
05:42If you are happy with that.
05:43I trust you.
05:45I don't cook.
05:47Never been hunting.
05:50I don't know what I would do if I had to, like, kill my food.
05:55We're just going to eat vegetables.
06:25We're just going to eat vegetables.
06:26Yeah.
06:36Okay.
06:37Oh, my.
06:37Oh, my.
06:39Jarama.
06:41Okay.
06:43That was the click.
07:01Will, Will Smith, nobody can say Will Smith?
07:14Will, there's different clans of the sand.
07:18These guys, they were the narrow, I am Bukakwe.
07:21Bukakwe.
07:22I want you to meet Kakao.
07:24Kakao.
07:25It's a pleasure for me to be here.
07:28From where I come from, this seems like a hard life.
07:33Does it feel like a hard way to live for everyone?
07:59Yeah, that's beautiful.
08:04I'm not a good person.
08:08We are all here.
08:13We are all here.
08:17We are all here.
08:19We are all here.
08:34If I had to learn how to survive out here, could you teach me?
08:42My hands?
08:49Yeah, yeah, it's very soft.
08:52It's funny, they ask to see my hands and feet.
08:57You know, that's not normally something I get asked to show.
09:02Yeah, yeah, that's not, that's not, that's not good.
09:05Yeah, that's not good.
09:07They're like, oh, that's a useless foot.
09:19I don't do bare feet.
09:21I keep my socks on on the beach.
09:23He said, you gotta rub that in the sand.
09:27I'm not gonna make it.
09:29I'm not gonna make it.
09:30I have soft, non-survival feet.
09:33They're not Kalahari ready.
09:38But these are the only feet I got, so you're gonna have to teach me how to survive.
09:43So, Kakao, is there some, you know, beautiful secret about your way of life?
09:55All right, so I got, are we, are we ready to begin my education?
09:58Let's go, eh?
09:58All right, ah, I need my walking stick.
10:03Looking around, it's crazy.
10:07No cars, no phones, no tech developed in the last century.
10:13All right.
10:15We're heading into the bush to hunt dinner for a whole village with nothing but a couple of sticks.
10:23I just can't see how that's going to work.
10:38Ah, there we go.
10:40See?
10:41That's part of why I wouldn't be good out here, just a little bit too tall.
10:47Yeah.
10:48You descend a very short people, eh?
10:51Yeah.
10:55I've never been hunting.
10:57One time, I guess I was probably 22, and Quincy Jones took me fishing.
11:04I caught the fish.
11:06I was like, oh, wow, this is amazing.
11:09It goes down, and Quincy dropped a rock on it.
11:13I was like, oh, they're just walking through the bushes.
11:19Ah.
11:20Ah.
11:20Those things are sharp.
11:21This is how you use that.
11:23Will?
11:23Oh, that's like, ah, gotta use the stick to put it.
11:25Okay.
11:26I'm just, I'm not that dude.
11:29Ah.
11:31Yeah.
11:33It doesn't look like there's any food whatsoever out here.
11:38The Kalahari is a tough place to live.
11:41It is the largest unbroken stretch of sand on the planet.
11:46It becomes so hot, it can get up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
11:53The dust can be so strong that you can't even see the next person next to you.
11:58You can't even see.
12:00We need knowledge and experience and skills to know where to find food.
12:10There it goes.
12:11There it goes.
12:12There it goes.
12:14There it goes.
12:14There it goes.
12:14So, there are lots of tracks here.
12:16Lots of tracks that have been here.
12:20The sand is like a rose pepper to us.
12:24It tells us who walked here and how long ago.
12:28There it goes.
12:31There it goes.
12:32There it goes.
12:33There it goes.
12:36There it goes.
12:37This is my first hunt.
12:38So, I don't know exactly how to do this.
12:42You use the wind direction.
12:44Wind is top of the range.
12:46I saw, see, this one.
12:47Yeah.
12:47Yeah.
12:48Get that?
12:49Yes.
12:49So, which way the wind is blowing?
12:51Wind is going that way.
12:53You have to be downwind or the...
12:55Downwind.
12:55got it got it got it so that animal don't smell you got it you are you see a
12:59bone arrow which is you have to be like a 20 meter and you shoot
13:06hunting without modern weapons relies on stealth you can only get close enough if
13:12you are totally tuned with everything around you
13:22a cow is an excellent tracker
13:28so the government gets a little bit of a cat or going to go away when you could see
13:58Those are kudos, eh? A young male with three females.
14:11I'm still glad I have shoes on, though.
14:14This is a... this would be a rough hunt, with no shoes on it.
14:24The quieter you go, the better for your hunt.
14:43I saw us.
14:45You were making places.
14:49Oh...
14:49Yeah, you're making too much.
14:52He's looking over here.
14:54I messed it up.
14:55And Kakao looked at me like I was keeping us from eating.
15:03That kudu could have fed Kakao's whole family for a week.
15:08That's a scary prospect that there's no guarantee of food out here.
15:16Will, we are hunter-gatherer.
15:18We have to keep going until we find food.
15:23Yeah.
15:24My first lesson is life out here is tough.
15:30You need resilience, adaptability, and above all, persistence.
15:38The sand have lived here over 100,000 years.
15:42In that time, this place has changed enormously.
15:46There has been volcanic eruptions, heavy droughts, giant earthquakes, and enormous sea-level changes.
15:56But the sand have stayed and adapted to every single pressure they had.
16:05It's endurance on a whole new level.
16:11Will, in nature, you have to earn your food.
16:14It's not always easy, but we always find something if you know where to look.
16:19Okay.
16:20Yes.
16:20Alright, I'mma tune in a little bit.
16:22Help me see the secrets.
16:24First, we have to learn how you put your feet on the ground.
16:29Humans have been touching the ground with bare feet for millions of years.
16:34It's important to be barefoot.
16:36You get connected to nature.
16:37Mm, got it.
16:39Okay.
16:41It wasn't hard enough.
16:45I just want a pan that hit back.
16:46Oh, I want to get up.
16:55Just want a pan нулю.
17:00Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:02Yeah, yeah.
17:06foot i can feel what's moving a half mile from here that's a very powerful idea now we all have
17:16feet but for the sand they're not just a way to move but a precision tool to sense the world
17:25around
17:25them almost like plugging into the earth to feel what's happening more effectively
17:46these guinea fall tracks they're still very fresh nearly up headed that direction
17:58all right so they need to snatch that out so hold on sorry let me see so i was looking
18:13now it was interesting because she was like sizing me up to see if i would be any help at
18:20all
18:35that woman walked up and got that thing out of there so fast it was the african equivalent of
18:42move out the way boy you don't know what you're doing so i did and she handled it thank god
18:49so kakao what are you making i have no idea how that's going to work you don't just put a
19:07trap
19:07anywhere yeah yeah you have to see and what they are digging and you use that as the bait yeah
19:15yes wow there's such intricate knowledge and understanding i remember doing a lot of this
19:23growing up i made my first trap when i was about five years old my father was my mentor
19:42since her father is not for today or tomorrow it's for the future passing knowledge to the younger
19:51generations is is key my great grandmother used to say bought sense is better than that you borrow
20:00meaning the things that you learn through actual experience that kind of
20:07knowledge is really powerful and the comforts of the city have kind of broken
20:13that basic simplicity in the the transfer of knowledge in the modern world
20:26people think success is having all those fast cars and big houses but in Kakao's world success means
20:35understanding the environment it's more about knowledge teaching the youngsters passing on
20:42the knowledge to them they're going to set traps all around here we can come and check the traps in
20:52the afternoon just in case one of the traps has caught something that's amazing yeah if it was
20:59up to me we wouldn't be eating tonight yeah trying to trying to get some food is all this is
21:15an all-day
21:19gig it's like an oven out here right now at least the bird will already be cooked if we catch
21:25it
21:34yeah definitely he can see my lips were all dry oh can I help with that sorry I'll put the
21:44dig out
21:44yeah all right if you are not resourceful to able to store water in the Kalahari you're going to die
21:56water is gold in the Kalahari it can be up to eight months without rain when the rains come
22:07the water is soaked up by the Kalahari sands animals can track over 300 miles in search of a drink
22:17but we have the secrets to overcome this we throw water in the ostrich eggshell and buried for later
22:26wow that's fantastic the hardest problem solved with the most ingenious simple solution I've never seen
22:39anything like that before one that probably worked just as well a hundred thousand years ago as it does
22:46today that's amazing that's amazing that's amazing
23:15that's fantastic this is will be our meal to be your meal tonight eh wow yeah like that that counts
23:22as like a good score for today that's a very good score that makes me happy that also makes me
23:29happy
23:29it's an achievement you we have got something to eat that's enough for how many people depends on our
23:36numbers everyone should have a piece but at least we have a meal to share all right we for you
23:45to survive as a
23:47hunter-gatherer you have to share what you have with one another as a child there was times where I
23:55was
23:55very hungry and I was very thirsty there was also times when I thought we are going to die you
24:01know
24:01because there's nothing Kalahari taught the same to be cooperative to be caring to one another
24:15when you take everything away all of the modern comforts and you you get down to the basics of human
24:24survival things just get really simple and really clear how much we actually need each other it's not different in
24:36New York you know you
24:38need each other just as much it just feels like you don't
24:44yeah all for one and one for all is a is a real idea in the Kalahari
24:54as many pieces of chicken and and turkey that I've eat I've never seen this process before
25:09mm-hmm
25:11wow
25:19yeah I'm a city boy I can see that right now
25:23you know I think I would be in charge of entertainment
25:28if y'all go hunt you know y'all can prepare the food
25:35oh man
25:43I got some matches in my bag
25:49oh
25:54I'm going to take time is that
26:01yeah
26:02all right hold up
26:04hold up
26:09oh
26:10oh
26:10oh
26:15the tip broke off
26:17all right
26:17oh
26:18okay all right you got it you got it
26:19you got it
26:22oh look at this look at home oh there you go
26:26we're not gonna fight yet because of me yeah
26:32there it is there it is
26:38wow that's just an ember in there
26:45that's fantastic come on man come on come on
27:00I am in awe of Kakao's ability to just conjure life in this landscape wow we walked into the bush
27:11holding nothing but a few sticks and by the end of the day we were cooking a full dinner
27:19survival is not about the possessions you own it's about what you know there's a self-reliance that develops where
27:29you really know you can make it no matter what you know one of the reasons they're the longest surviving
27:37group on earth is because of that resilience
27:43it's such a different way to live and one that's barely left a mark on the planet for all of
27:50those years
27:51that was a new kind of revelation for me
28:00I grew up in this lifestyle
28:04you find food and you survive
28:06mm-hmm you see your family you see your grandkids you teach them how to survive
28:13and
28:13and
28:14and
28:14and
28:14and
28:17but the truth is
28:20hunter-gatherer populations are in dramatic decline across the world
28:24this could be the last generation of sand to still live in the kalahari
28:34the
28:36this is a
28:39this is a
28:47the
28:48this is a
28:57this is a
29:05this changes are happening so fast that my younger brothers they did not get the
29:10last beat of the raw hunter-gatherer lifestyle I had
29:41now I live in a town I'm a man that causes two worlds I start to give up my origin
29:54I can see
29:55myself remembering the best moments I've had my parents I thought they were poor but as a grown
30:12up I just sit and realize they were able to give us food and give us protection without having nothing
30:25now I realize my parents were rich of knowledge
30:43you know you're going to come to me they come to you guys that's too much Cheers
30:56to leave you don't need many things you have to judge between your wants and your needs it's really
31:05nice to sit and watch the same people and the love they share with the little they have it'd be
31:13a real
31:13tragedy if the cave paintings were all that remained of this you know as life moves forward
31:25and things change and progress is inevitable you know the question is how do we maintain the
31:36knowledge and wisdom of the ages we're not going to go back to being hunter-gatherers that's amazing
31:51but spending time with the sand made me think again about the history we tell ourselves thank you thank
31:59you the Egyptians built towering pyramids the Romans laid the foundations for great cities and our modern
32:13machines mean we can now reach beyond the sky but alongside that there is also a deep history of people
32:24successfully living with our planet rather than trying to conquer it those of us who live in concrete
32:36jungles what is the idea that we're missing humans are not separate from nature we are nature that is the
32:47secret of all the sand
32:56bring it in
33:07now this is a real moment
33:12so
33:22so
33:22so
33:22so
33:22so
33:22so
33:46North Florida, just the hell of us.
33:48The ambition of the entire journey is gigantic.
33:54That was a big one.
33:59This could be a breakthrough for climate change.
34:02How can you not be all in?
34:04There's no way this is a good idea.
34:08Come on, Will. Come on, Will.
34:10If somebody offered me that script as a movie,
34:14I'd be like, come on, man. Come on, really?
34:16Three, two, one.
34:20Descend at the Met, David.
34:21Go.
34:22Go.
34:24Go.
Comments