Episode 2 Down the Mighty River with Steve Backshall


Episode 2

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Look at this place! Simply breathtaking.

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Welcome to New Guinea, the world's largest jungle island.

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One of the most remote and unexplored parts of our world.

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It's very intimidating, potentially very dangerous.

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But also one of the most exciting places on the planet.

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Running from its mountainous heart, over 500km,

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through pristine wilderness,

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wild gorges and tropical jungle out to the sea...

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..is the mighty Baliem River.

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I was expecting it to be big...

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..but I wasn't expecting that.

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No-one's ever travelled the full length of this untamed river before.

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We've managed to turn a simple side trip into an absolute epic.

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I'm Steve Backshall. I'm a naturalist and an adventurer.

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It just looks like there should be dinosaurs everywhere.

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I want to explore the river and discover more about the remarkable

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variety of worlds through which it travels.

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Ow! Shoot!

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It's home to ancient tribes.

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'I want to see how they're coping with the modern world.'

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When they're in mourning,

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they will cut off their own fingers as a sign of grief.

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'I'll be searching for some of the world's scariest animals.'

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It was basically eating its way through the village.

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'And exploring a vast, uncharted, underground world.'

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Now, that is impressive!

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'But the Baliem is so inaccessible,

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'the only way to uncover its secrets is to travel its length from source

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'to sea...'

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We are committed now.

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'..by any means possible.

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'It could give us a unique insight into one of the last truly

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'wild places on earth.' Where the hell are you taking us, Aldo?

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-Oh, mate.

-'Or it could be a journey too far.'

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Jordy!

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'We are halfway through our five- week expedition into the heart

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'of New Guinea.'

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This bit's really slippy.

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'Expedition safety expert

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'Aldo Kane and I are scouting out the next section of our journey.

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'The toughest and most dangerous part of our trip...

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'the dreaded Lower Gorge.'

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This is very much the crux of the expedition.

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If we're going to be able to travel the Baliem from source to sea,

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this is the breaking point.

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'Our expedition has brought us to Papua,

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'a province of Indonesia that makes up the western half of New Guinea.

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'Our plan is to travel by boat from here to the sea.'

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The river drops down...

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..a vertical mile in the space of less than 100km.

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Oh, crap.

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That gives me the willies.

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'This was supposed to be the dry season, but we've had

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'unseasonal rains and we're worried the river will be in full flood.'

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This part, the gorge, just fills me with terror.

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'Our aim is to kayak the Baliem's Lower Gorge -

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'80km of death-defying white water.'

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Crashing down through impenetrable rainforest before it reaches

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South Gap, the end of the Gorge.

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From here, the river winds 200km through lowland jungle into the land

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of the Asmat, a tribe famous for their recent history of headhunting

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and cannibalism.

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Finally, our expedition will end at the Pacific Ocean.

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'We are hoping to meet remote and potentially hostile tribes

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'and to see some of the extraordinary wildlife

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'that lives along the banks of the isolated Lower Gorge.'

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I was expecting it to be big...

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..but I wasn't expecting that.

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That's impossible.

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Once you get further down into that gorge, for the next however,

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80-odd kilometres that it is, there's no way of getting out.

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You can see behind us where the gorge actually starts.

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And the rock walls come in, they get tighter and tighter,

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the river constricts and all of that volume of water is intensified.

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And so it is flowing at a steeper gradient with an increased volume

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and it is going to be even more challenging than this.

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If you paddle into that, you would definitely die.

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'It's clear we can't begin here.

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'We'll have to hop over this section and begin deep inside the Gorge.

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'Which means resorting to a helicopter.

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'It's a compromise to the pure expedition I wanted,

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'but with hundreds of kilometres of river left,

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'there's still plenty of exploration ahead.'

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Going down through here seems somewhere so extraordinary,

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so beautiful and thinking we can be the first people ever

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to come down here is mind-blowing.

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'We are scanning the banks for a place we can land

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'and finally start kayaking.'

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This section of the gorge we were going into before,

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no-one's ever attempted it.

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There is no decent map.

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'The river is one of the wildest, most potentially lethal on earth.

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'But we've got a world-class kayaking team led by New Zealander,

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'Jordy Searle.'

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Down here, I would say it's by far the most isolated I've ever been.

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'10km downstream, we finally find what we are looking for.'

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So from here on in, the water is epic, it's massive.

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But it looks doable.

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'Our team is four kayakers and a camera crew,

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'plus hundreds of kilos of camping and filming gear packed into two

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'inflatable rafts.

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'And now, we're on our own.'

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Row with nice big, positive strokes.

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'Our first paddle strokes on the Lower Gorge.

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'It's as exciting as it is daunting.'

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This river has so many different changing faces,

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even here in the gorge, it's changed completely.

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Now we're heading down into this fantastic gully.

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There are creepers and vines covering all the trees.

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It just looks like there should be dinosaurs everywhere.

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But instead of pterodactyls flying overhead,

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we have hornbills and parakeets.

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This is one of the most extraordinary places I've ever seen.

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'The rampaging river makes much of the gorge completely inaccessible.

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'The surrounding forests are doubtless filled with

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'unknown animals and remote tribes.

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'It's incredible to think we are the first outsiders ever to kayak here.

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'Maybe even to see this place.

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'But as we head around the next corner,

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'the river changes character.'

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This looks massive.

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'Ahead - the biggest rapid we've yet faced on the Baliem.

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'As the river carves its way down the canyon,

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'it hits a wall of limestone,

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'forcing it to turn right.

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'Getting trapped in that would be very bad indeed.'

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So this is it.

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This is bigger than anything I thought I'd be taking on

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on this river.

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And if I pick the right line, it'll be great.

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If I mess it up, it's going to be horrific.

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I've got this zing of adrenaline, I'm just...

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..shaking, my hands are kind of...

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going.

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Barney, Steve, me.

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'Kayaker Barney Young is going first to pick the route.

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'Jordy and I will follow.'

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On his tail, Steve.

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'Barney's paddling straight into the middle of the river, trying to keep

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'the small gravel island on his left...

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'..to give him a fighting chance of keeping clear of smashing

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'into that wall.

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'He makes it, but I've been caught out and I'm heading

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'completely off course.'

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Dammit!

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'Jordy steps in.'

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Big line.

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-Right.

-Watch your speed.

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Yeah.

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We power back into the main current, paddling frantically,

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'trying to avoid the horror of the wall.

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'But the colossal volume of water hurtles me towards the rock,

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'threatening to crush me, then suck me down into the whirlpool.'

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HE SCREAMS

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Paddle, paddle, paddle!

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'The wave hits me side-on.

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'I'm capsized.

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'Battling to roll back up.'

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Paddle, paddle, paddle!

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Yes!

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Paddle. All the way to Barney.

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'There's no let-up.

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'I still have to get across the river to Barney.'

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Steve, paddle. Lean forward and paddle.

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'If I don't make it, I could end up being swept downstream into the next

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'set of rapids.'

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Aghh!

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Holy crap!

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Aghh!

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Oh, my God.

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-Oh, my God.

-Bro, I'm not going to lie,

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I thought you were going to swim in there, man.

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I'm going to remember that for the rest of my life.

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I've just taken the biggest hit of adrenaline.

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My entire body is shaking.

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There was a moment there where I hit that wave,

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bouncing back off the wall and it flipped me instantly.

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I was under water thinking, "Do not come out of your boat here."

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To be pinned against that wall with all this water,

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you wouldn't stand a chance.

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'It was a close call.

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'Now it's the turn of the rafts carrying the camera team

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'and all our gear to brave the rapids.

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'They need to follow our route and keep well away from the wall.

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'Flipping here would be disastrous.

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'The first raft just misses the wall.

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'But the second one hits it head-on...

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'..before flushing them clear, battered and shaking.'

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'The rapids are endless.

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'An island midstream is a chance to regroup.'

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This actually isn't supposed to be an island,

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we are supposed to be joined up with the river bank here,

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but because the flow is so high, there's a river flowing both sides of it.

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There's a stump that should be on dry land

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and is completely overwhelmed.

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'Barney's pushing ahead to scout the next bend

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'and what lies beyond it.'

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So far, we've managed to handle everything the river has thrown at us.

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But you just never know what's around the next corner.

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'And his radio report brings bad news.'

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-WALKIE TALKIE:

-All pumping to the centre and then it just looks

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like it drops off the face of this earth.

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'Up ahead is the wildest white water any of us have ever seen.'

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That's horrific.

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This river is just not going to give it up easy.

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Totally un-paddleable, not a chance of getting down that.

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The river just drops into a huge maelstrom of like big holes,

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big crashing waves, dwarfing anything we've seen so far.

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And if one small mistake is made in here, there's no way to recover,

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you're going straight into that next section.

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'Once again, we've hit a section that we can't kayak.

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'We are trapped.

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'But flood levels like this do at least give an insight into the

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'river's destructive power.'

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It could just take away these mountainsides.

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And that of course is what's created the Baliem Gorge.

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'The sheer force of the water tumbles rocks downstream,

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'grinding away at the bedrock, scouring out the river camp.

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'It's erosion at its most powerful.'

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When it's in full flood,

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it has the power to move along boulders that are the size of cars.

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'It's a mighty, yet sobering spectacle.

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'Dusk is starting to fall.

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'We are exhausted, beaten and bruised.

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'Decisions on what to do next will have to wait until tomorrow.'

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'At night, the jungle comes alive.'

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The animal life here in New Guinea

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is very much Australasian.

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Until the last ice age,

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New Guinea and Australia would have been linked up and there would have

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been land bridges allowing animals to move freely.

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'That was over 10,000 years ago,

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'but the forests of Papua are still home to marsupials,

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'wallabies and kangaroos.

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'Though here, they live up in the trees.

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'There are also giant, flightless cassowaries

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'and of course, reptiles.'

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It is an absolute little beauty.

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It's a water dragon.

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They are a kind of agamid lizard.

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In some kinds of lizards like this, the tail can be used as a weapon,

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lashed from side to side and these spines could be used as a sort of

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lacerating protective tool.

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Despite the fact he has a fairly menacing appearance,

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he is totally and utterly harmless to us.

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They can move surprisingly fast over the land. Living this close

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to the water gives them a great defence against predators.

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Anything that comes up, they can just leap into the water.

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When they swim, these legs come back to lie along the base of the tail

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like that and the tail is whipped side to side using the musculature

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here to give them propulsion.

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So these particular lizards are found all the way through New Guinea

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and down into the north of Australia.

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And they are conclusive proof of the fact that the two land masses were,

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as recently as the last ice age, joined together.

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He is absolutely fantastic.

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And the tail goes on forever.

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Look at that!

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So I have just aimed him away from camp and I'm sure he'll scamper off.

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THUNDER ROLLS AND RAINDROPS PATTER

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It has been raining for six solid hours, quite heavily.

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The river's come up by another metre.

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-Maybe more.

-And not only can't we continue downstream,

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we can't get out of here either.

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What was solid, some of the craziest white water in the world...

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..has got bigger and crazier.

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So we are stuck.

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'The bad weather means we can't call for a helicopter,

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'so for the next day at least, we are trapped here.

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'But it does mean I get a chance to have a proper look around.'

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I have to say, this is one of the prettiest patches of forest

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I've ever spent any time in.

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All these splashes of colour, these blooms like this,

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seem even more fragile when they are alongside that massive,

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torrential river.

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'Orchids like these thrive at the riverside.'

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You get these incredible displays of colour and that, very much,

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is designed to attract the pollinators.

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Just in here is a paper nest,

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which has been made from chewed-up tree bark and wasp spit,

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essentially. And gathered around it are a whole host of wasps.

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So a fair few times, working in forests like these,

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I've brushed into nests like this and got stung a couple of times

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and then just kind of swatted the wasps.

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And when you do that, they release a pheromone which smells

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like ripe bananas. And it's an attack pheromone -

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it convinces all the others to start stinging too.

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You end up charging for the nearest body of water with your arms

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flailing around all over.

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Ow! Shoot!

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I just seriously went against

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working with wasps and bees

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rule one!

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I must spend so much of my life telling people,

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"If you are near wasps and bees, don't swing your arms around

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"all over the place because it agitates them."

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And that's really spicy.

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Ow!

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HE LAUGHS

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'With no sign of the weather improving,

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'Aldo and I decide to make the most of it and try and find one

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'of the elusive tribes that live out here.'

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Ah! 'And the signs are promising.'

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Look at this.

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It's a hunter's hut and I can still smell that damp ember smell,

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which means this fire is relatively recent.

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'The dominant tribe in this part of Papua are the Yali.

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'Their villages abound in the wild lands

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'that surround the Baliem Gorge.

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'If we can find one of their villages, it would be a real coup.'

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So if we look around here, there's bound to be a trail that heads up

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there and I bet anything there's a village somewhere

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on the hillsides above us.

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'With their own distinct language and culture,

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'many of the Yali live their lives shut away from the outside world.

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'Finding a trail to their village is easier said than done.'

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-Is that yes?

-Yeah.

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Certainly not as well used as the stuff we've just come through.

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It's maybe not used that frequently, but it's definitely a walkway.

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I'm not convinced, if I'm honest, mate.

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No.

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T-shirt or something there.

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Rag.

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Well, this is the path.

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I'd imagine we'd zigzag up onto this ridgeline here.

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'This old hunter's trail is overgrown and little used.

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'It's a struggle to cover any distance and painfully slow.'

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Thick, isn't it?

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Cheers.

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'The occasional chopped-down tree is another trail marker.'

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That's been covered. 'Signs the Yali have been here.

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'The terrain gets steeper and steeper.

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'It's humid, sweaty and slippery.

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'Even the wildlife seems to be taunting us.'

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I just walked into the mother of all spider's webs.

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And this is the culprit.

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She is Nephila.

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A golden silk orb-web-weaving spider.

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She is a reasonable size, but they can get to be enormous.

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This incredible spider, although I guess it looks extremely creepy,

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is harmless to us as human beings.

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'The webs are strung across the open paths to target flying insects,

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'but have been known to catch small birds and even bats.

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'She'll inject them with enzymes that liquefy their insides

0:24:210:24:24

'and then suck out the meat soup.'

0:24:240:24:26

Right, I'm going to put her back on this leaf here.

0:24:260:24:29

See that long thread of golden silk.

0:24:300:24:34

For its size and its diameter, it's stronger than steel.

0:24:340:24:38

'As I'm out front, I'm the one walking into all the webs.'

0:24:400:24:43

And I am trussed up in it properly.

0:24:450:24:48

It's all in my hair.

0:24:490:24:50

Ugh. Grim.

0:24:510:24:53

'After hours of struggling uphill, we break out of the trees.

0:25:060:25:10

'But it's not the Yali village we were hoping for.'

0:25:100:25:12

Now that is a view!

0:25:150:25:16

-Wow!

-Stunning.

0:25:180:25:20

It's not often in the rainforest you pop out and get a view like that.

0:25:210:25:25

Usually you are just completely encased in this dark green cavern

0:25:250:25:29

and all of a sudden, seeing this.

0:25:290:25:32

'It's amazing to think this was once a seabed.

0:25:320:25:35

'Marine fossils in the rock prove it.

0:25:350:25:38

'Over the last 5 million years,

0:25:380:25:39

'these layers of ocean floor were lifted up to form mountains.

0:25:390:25:43

'Then rivers like the Baliem got to work, carving out deep valleys.'

0:25:430:25:47

Being here

0:25:480:25:50

gives you a real sense of quite what it is we've taken on here, you know.

0:25:500:25:55

The river is an absolute beast, but the second you come away from it,

0:25:550:26:00

the forest is even harder.

0:26:000:26:01

We've taken...

0:26:030:26:04

..three and a half hours to get here and we are...

0:26:050:26:10

..about a kilometre away from where we started.

0:26:120:26:14

Only 200 metres in height.

0:26:140:26:16

Only 200 metres in height.

0:26:160:26:18

Massive mosquitoes.

0:26:180:26:19

Massive, massive mosquitoes.

0:26:190:26:21

It's 4.30 now, so it's going to be dark in just over an hour or so.

0:26:230:26:28

I don't think we're going to get to that village, do you?

0:26:280:26:31

No, there's no way.

0:26:310:26:33

'We may have utterly failed to find the elusive Yali village on the

0:26:330:26:36

'ridgeline, but it's given us a different perspective on the river

0:26:360:26:39

'and the landscape that it's shaped.'

0:26:390:26:41

There's no water up here.

0:26:420:26:44

We can't really camp up here comfortably,

0:26:440:26:46

so we are going to have to head down and fast otherwise we will be

0:26:460:26:50

sliding down the slopes in the dark, and that would be very unwise.

0:26:500:26:55

I think we'll end up in the dark anyway.

0:26:550:26:57

'Sure enough, as soon as we drop back under the dense canopy,

0:27:000:27:04

'the light fades.'

0:27:040:27:05

The jungle is so difficult to navigate in daylight...

0:27:130:27:17

..never mind night-time.

0:27:180:27:19

Keep your wits about you.

0:27:210:27:23

'The trail was tricky to find before. Now, in the dark,

0:27:250:27:29

'we quickly lose our bearings.'

0:27:290:27:30

First thing you learn about being in the jungle

0:27:330:27:35

is don't fight the forest.

0:27:350:27:37

Move as slowly, carefully and easily as you can...

0:27:380:27:42

..because otherwise you are going to come a cropper.

0:27:430:27:46

'The only way on is to head down towards the roar of the river.'

0:27:500:27:53

Right, nice and gently, guys, really gently.

0:27:570:27:59

If you fall, shout.

0:28:000:28:02

Keep your legs together.

0:28:020:28:04

Everyone just be super careful.

0:28:070:28:09

That's a big drop so maybe push round to the left.

0:28:090:28:13

We are in a nightmare scenario now.

0:28:150:28:16

Can't see the track.

0:28:160:28:18

Nothing really to hold on to.

0:28:180:28:20

Careful, mate. Careful.

0:28:230:28:24

-Where the hell are you taking us, Aldo?

-Oh, mate.

0:28:250:28:29

We've managed to turn a simple side trip into an absolute epic.

0:28:290:28:34

Everyone's exhausted.

0:28:370:28:39

We've been going for much too long.

0:28:390:28:42

Be super careful. I can't see how steep it is here.

0:28:460:28:49

The river's getting louder as we get closer.

0:28:520:28:55

'But we've no idea if we're about to walk into our camp or the rapids.'

0:28:550:28:59

I can see the water now.

0:29:010:29:02

Thank God for that.

0:29:040:29:05

Yeah, sorry.

0:29:050:29:07

It's always an epic moving at night in the jungle.

0:29:070:29:10

'It's been a huge, physically draining day.'

0:29:130:29:15

Oh, I am beat.

0:29:220:29:24

At first light, the cloud cover is still hanging over the valley.

0:29:360:29:39

The chance of a helicopter rescue is looking unlikely.

0:29:420:29:45

The weather doesn't look particularly good for it,

0:29:460:29:48

but everything kind of hinges on us getting out of here this morning.

0:29:480:29:53

'Low cloud and rain is not on our side.

0:29:530:29:56

'But then we get word - the chopper is on its way.

0:30:010:30:04

'The daredevil pilot has ducked in beneath the clouds.

0:30:150:30:18

'We only have only minutes to tear down camp and load the gear

0:30:180:30:21

'in case the clouds close in again.'

0:30:210:30:23

Cannot believe I'm back in a helicopter again.

0:30:260:30:30

'Our aim is to make a short hop over this impassable section.

0:30:340:30:37

'But below us, the river has risen again.

0:30:430:30:46

'Every minute we are in the air, we're flying over more of the river

0:30:520:30:55

'we'd like to paddle and explore.

0:30:550:30:57

'We scan the gorge, desperate for water we can actually paddle.

0:30:570:31:00

'Nearly 15km pass below us before we find a place the heli can set down.

0:31:050:31:09

'The river is still a raging torrent,

0:31:130:31:15

'but the hope is that we can paddle from here to the end of the gorge

0:31:150:31:18

'at South Gap.

0:31:180:31:19

'We are just very, very lucky'

0:31:240:31:25

the helicopter can come to our aid

0:31:250:31:27

and bring us down here, cos where we are now, we can start again.

0:31:270:31:30

There is still a lot of river left, a lot of river,

0:31:320:31:35

like probably 300km of river left.

0:31:350:31:38

From its source in the mountains,

0:31:450:31:47

the Baliem has already dropped two vertical miles in height.

0:31:470:31:51

Massively swollen from the extra rain...

0:31:510:31:54

..this is the Baliem at its mightiest.

0:31:550:31:57

But whatever the river has left to throw at us, we are ready.

0:32:020:32:07

Despite frustrations and false starts, we are feeling

0:32:070:32:10

battle-hardened, thirsty for big water.

0:32:100:32:12

Stay on my tail, mate.

0:32:150:32:17

'We hurtle through virtually nonstop rapids...

0:32:200:32:22

'..and spectacular white water.

0:32:240:32:26

'On this journey from the very source of the Baliem,

0:32:460:32:48

'we've been hit by constant challenges.

0:32:480:32:51

'The river's character has been ever-changing.

0:32:510:32:53

'Sometimes gentle.

0:32:540:32:56

'Sometimes a wild, tumultuous, thundering beast.

0:32:580:33:02

'This is what we came here for.'

0:33:130:33:15

You're mine!

0:33:200:33:22

Nice, Steve.

0:33:220:33:24

Oh!

0:33:320:33:33

Sticking with the boys is really tough.

0:33:500:33:53

It's not just that they are younger and fitter than I am,

0:33:530:33:55

although that obviously helps,

0:33:550:33:57

but they just... This is what they do.

0:33:570:34:00

They don't get intimidated by the big stuff.

0:34:000:34:03

And it's starting to get to me.

0:34:030:34:05

I'm knackered.

0:34:050:34:07

'As we stop to make camp, faces emerge from the forest.'

0:34:220:34:25

'They are a Yali hunting party that has been following our progress

0:34:370:34:40

'from a distance.'

0:34:400:34:41

I think it's the village we tried to walk to yesterday

0:34:430:34:47

and failed dismally. But they've come to us.

0:34:470:34:51

'Their hunting trips can last weeks,

0:34:520:34:55

'but it hasn't taken them that long to find us.'

0:34:550:34:57

'At last, we've come face-to-face with the elusive Yali.'

0:35:140:35:17

They are all intrigued, I think is the word,

0:35:310:35:34

intrigued and interested as to what we are up to and what we

0:35:340:35:36

are doing here.

0:35:360:35:38

'But then more Yali arrive, this time with weapons drawn.'

0:35:390:35:43

'New Guinea has huge mineral reserves.

0:36:190:36:21

'It's home to the world's largest gold mine and the third largest

0:36:210:36:25

'copper mine. But the exploitation of these resources has often been

0:36:250:36:29

'at the expense of indigenous people and their lands.'

0:36:290:36:33

The first 20 seconds when he came striding over here

0:36:330:36:36

with his bow drawn and a look on his face like thunder

0:36:360:36:40

was genuinely scary.

0:36:400:36:42

'Once they realise we aren't here to steal from them or from their land,

0:36:440:36:47

'the mood lifts.'

0:36:470:36:49

It has an incredible spiral thread running down the length of it.

0:36:540:36:58

Wow, that's beaten out of a kind of thing of fuel.

0:37:050:37:11

It is basically a fuel can that's been beaten into an arrow head.

0:37:110:37:14

But there aren't supposed to be any crocodiles here.

0:37:240:37:27

OK, so another 10km or so downstream,

0:37:340:37:36

we are going to hit crocodile country.

0:37:360:37:38

'The hunters live a hand-to-mouth existence,

0:37:380:37:41

'catching what they need from the jungle and the river to survive.

0:37:410:37:44

'It's a tough life.'

0:37:500:37:52

Isam has a nasty machete wound to his hand -

0:37:520:37:56

-do you think you can do anything with it?

-I'll have a look, yeah.

0:37:560:38:00

'Expedition medic Aldo

0:38:000:38:02

'strips away the old rags and moss they've used as a dressing.'

0:38:020:38:05

You can see there...

0:38:110:38:12

..it's actually just the skin,

0:38:140:38:16

it doesn't look like it's gone down into the tendon.

0:38:160:38:19

The main thing is to clean it up and dress it.

0:38:190:38:22

'The nearest medical help is many days away.'

0:38:220:38:25

It may sound like an exaggeration,

0:38:250:38:27

but a wound like this out here would definitely get infected.

0:38:270:38:30

So Aldo, with just a little bit of modern antiseptic and cleaning

0:38:300:38:35

and dressing, could actually have saved this guy's hand.

0:38:350:38:39

'These Yali hunters don't seem interested in heading for a new life

0:38:410:38:45

'in the towns or working in the mines.

0:38:450:38:47

'These jungles are home.

0:38:480:38:49

'The next morning is potentially our last in the Lower Gorge.'

0:38:570:39:00

This felt like the finest king-sized bed in history.

0:39:100:39:15

Look at that, breakfast in bed.

0:39:150:39:17

The butterflies here are some of the most exquisite you'll see

0:39:210:39:24

in the whole world, and the biggest as well.

0:39:240:39:27

The butterflies are being drawn in by our clothing we've got hanging

0:39:270:39:31

out to dry. They are landing on it and extending that long proboscis

0:39:310:39:35

or tongue and lapping up the minerals that's coming out of our

0:39:350:39:39

crusty old sweat.

0:39:390:39:41

If you watch carefully, you can see the excess fluid like that

0:39:410:39:45

being excreted from the back end of the abdomen.

0:39:450:39:47

The only thing they want is the salt.

0:39:470:39:50

'We are now on the final stretch of the Lower Gorge.

0:39:550:39:58

'We start early.

0:40:050:40:06

'The river gets wider and slows.

0:40:110:40:14

'We are leaving the mountains behind.

0:40:140:40:16

'And then ahead, we can just make out the smoke of a fire - South Gap.

0:40:180:40:23

'We've arranged for motorised longboats to meet us here

0:40:250:40:28

'to take us on to the coast.'

0:40:280:40:30

When I think about what we've done over the last three weeks,

0:40:430:40:47

the territory we've been through,

0:40:470:40:49

the amount of distance we've covered,

0:40:490:40:52

it's epic.

0:40:520:40:54

You know, we've already done something massive.

0:40:540:40:56

The clouds are rolling in...

0:40:580:41:00

..and the mountains are going to disappear pretty soon.

0:41:010:41:05

Just one last look.

0:41:050:41:06

'The long stretch to the coast would take weeks in kayaks and there's

0:41:110:41:14

'the small matter of the monster crocs.

0:41:140:41:17

'Only Aldo and I will continue south to the sea.

0:41:170:41:19

'The river team will be heading back to civilisation.'

0:41:210:41:25

# I go down to the river tonight... #

0:41:250:41:31

'We got through the wild water in one piece.

0:41:310:41:33

'As did a guitar, which they smuggled all this way.'

0:41:360:41:41

# Down to the river we'd ride... #

0:41:410:41:47

This is probably the last chance I'll have to splash around in the

0:42:020:42:05

river like this. Much downstream of here and we are in croc country.

0:42:050:42:09

'This is the last leg of our journey.

0:42:140:42:17

'We've 200km ahead of us through croc-infested swamp,

0:42:200:42:24

'home to the Asmat people,

0:42:240:42:26

'renowned warriors and once famous for being headhunting cannibals,

0:42:260:42:30

'before we reach our goal - the Pacific Ocean.

0:42:300:42:33

'As we travel further downstream...

0:42:360:42:38

'..the landscape and the river change.

0:42:390:42:41

'We are now meandering through lowland jungle.'

0:42:430:42:46

These trees are mangroves and a lot of these plants

0:42:550:42:58

are tremendously saltwater tolerant.

0:42:580:43:01

They have to deal with the fact that the water level here is going up

0:43:010:43:04

and down twice a day.

0:43:040:43:06

Because we are now in the tidal reaches of the Baliem.

0:43:060:43:10

This is one of the last huge, unspoiled rainforests left on Earth.

0:43:120:43:19

It is one of the most biodiverse forests there is on the entire planet.

0:43:200:43:24

The amount of species living here is extraordinary.

0:43:240:43:28

It's a massive colony of flying foxes,

0:43:350:43:39

giant fruit bats, and they are truly giant -

0:43:390:43:43

the wingspan is well over a metre.

0:43:430:43:46

'These bats are the largest in the world.'

0:43:460:43:48

There must be 4,000 or 5,000 bats in this colony.

0:43:510:43:55

It's absolutely huge, it goes all the way back into the forest.

0:43:550:43:59

And although they look like giant vampire bats,

0:43:590:44:03

actually they're feeding on fruit.

0:44:030:44:04

And these are incredibly important animals,

0:44:040:44:07

they're one of the most vital dispersers of seed in the rainforest,

0:44:070:44:12

so much of the trees and the forest that we're seeing around us is made

0:44:120:44:16

possible because of bats like this.

0:44:160:44:18

And they have remarkable mechanisms in their feet.

0:44:200:44:23

When we relax, our hands fall open.

0:44:230:44:27

But when they relax, they come closed like this, so they are

0:44:270:44:30

always gripping. They have long claws at the end of each one

0:44:300:44:33

of their toes and just one of those is enough to hook on to the branch

0:44:330:44:37

and they can just hang there all day long with no effort whatsoever.

0:44:370:44:41

'After two days travelling through jungle,

0:44:430:44:46

'we get our first glimpses of people living by the river.

0:44:460:44:48

'We are in the land of the Asmat.

0:44:510:44:52

'Many of the Asmat remained uncontacted

0:44:560:44:58

'at the end of the 20th century.

0:44:580:45:00

'There are probably wild corners that have yet to meet the modern world.

0:45:000:45:03

'They have lived here for a staggering 30,000 years.

0:45:040:45:08

'But how are they coping with the 21st century?

0:45:080:45:11

'What impact is it having on their ancient traditions?'

0:45:110:45:14

We are just pulling in to a village called Yaosakor.

0:45:140:45:18

This is the first settlement we've actually seen marked on a map

0:45:180:45:22

for about ten days, since we left the highlands.

0:45:220:45:25

This looks like the traditional long house up ahead.

0:45:250:45:28

'There are Asmat villages scattered all through the jungle,

0:45:310:45:34

'but Yaosakor is one of the largest.'

0:45:340:45:36

THEY SPEAK LOCAL LANGUAGE

0:45:390:45:41

No prizes for guessing how the people of this village

0:45:440:45:47

make their living,

0:45:470:45:49

or what the main food source is here.

0:45:490:45:53

'The village is built on two metre-high stilts to protect

0:45:530:45:56

'the houses from river floods, with raised walkways connecting

0:45:560:46:00

'private dwellings and communal buildings.

0:46:000:46:03

'The long house is the traditional centre of the village

0:46:030:46:06

'where the elders hold important meetings.

0:46:060:46:08

'As we've seen throughout Papua,

0:46:100:46:13

'elders are the most respected members of the community,

0:46:130:46:15

'guardians of their culture.

0:46:150:46:18

'Ernes is one of the village elders.'

0:46:180:46:20

The river is at the heart of everything they do.

0:46:590:47:03

They come from the river and when they die,

0:47:030:47:05

they go back to its source.

0:47:050:47:07

'The river may be a vital part of Asmat life and culture,

0:47:080:47:12

'but its murky waters hide real-life monsters.

0:47:120:47:15

'The saltwater crocodiles that live here

0:47:160:47:18

'are the largest reptiles on earth.'

0:47:180:47:20

Quite often actually, crocodiles are seen as a symbol of great power

0:48:000:48:04

and there's a lot of respect for them.

0:48:040:48:06

Here in this village, that's definitely not the case -

0:48:060:48:09

the crocodile is pure evil.

0:48:090:48:11

'Just seven years ago, the village was terrorised by a huge crocodile.'

0:48:140:48:18

Oh, my goodness.

0:48:200:48:22

It's the biggest croc skull I've ever seen in my life.

0:48:230:48:26

This is from a saltwater crocodile,

0:48:340:48:37

which is the biggest species of reptile, the biggest species of crocodilian.

0:48:370:48:41

Look at the size of those teeth there.

0:48:410:48:43

This was a nearly five-metre long crocodile.

0:48:430:48:48

I kind of quite struggle to lift it with my hands,

0:48:480:48:52

but look how broad the skull is.

0:48:520:48:56

A crocodile like this could weigh three-quarters of a tonne.

0:48:560:49:00

It's often said these rivers in New Guinea have the largest crocodiles

0:49:000:49:03

in the world and this proves that is absolutely true.

0:49:030:49:07

17 people and then one

0:49:190:49:21

of the people here killed it with a spear, just like that one.

0:49:210:49:25

It was basically eating its way through the village.

0:49:250:49:28

When it was alive, this would have been a true monster.

0:49:280:49:32

It really does bring home how difficult life must be

0:49:320:49:35

in a village like this.

0:49:350:49:37

Knowing that every time you go down to the water's edge,

0:49:370:49:39

there could be something like this waiting.

0:49:390:49:42

'Although saltwater crocodiles are legally protected here,

0:49:470:49:51

'the Asmat are allowed to hunt and trade them in small numbers.

0:49:510:49:54

Just a few days ago,

0:49:590:50:00

'the villagers caught another one and it's still fresh.

0:50:000:50:03

'Well, nearly.'

0:50:030:50:04

Ugh.

0:50:070:50:08

'Three days festering in the hot,

0:50:110:50:13

'humid Papuan climate, and the carcass reeks.

0:50:130:50:16

'I've been an animal lover all my life and I'm particularly fascinated

0:50:190:50:22

'by reptiles like crocodiles,

0:50:220:50:24

'so seeing this skin and rotting skull

0:50:240:50:26

'is difficult for me to stomach.'

0:50:260:50:28

'It may not have been a man-eater,

0:50:430:50:44

'but a crocodile this size will provide the Asmat with fresh meat

0:50:440:50:48

'to feed the village and its skin can be traded for hard currency.'

0:50:480:50:52

'My ideals of animal welfare and conservation seem

0:51:120:51:15

'pretty out of place here, where people live their lives

0:51:150:51:19

'alongside predators with such lethal potential.'

0:51:190:51:22

Obviously it's sad that an animal of that size has been killed,

0:51:230:51:29

but at the same time, if you live in a place like this and an animal

0:51:290:51:34

takes 17 of your friends and family from the river then, you know,

0:51:340:51:40

obviously you're going to kill it.

0:51:400:51:42

THUNDER

0:51:440:51:46

'As the heavens open, the Asmat all come together.

0:51:530:51:57

'Normally the long house is men only.

0:52:040:52:06

'But today the whole village is here to sing,

0:52:070:52:10

'dance and share their ancient tales.

0:52:100:52:13

'To help celebrate the village gathering,

0:52:180:52:20

'a feast is being prepared.

0:52:200:52:21

'And this time it's not crocodile,

0:52:230:52:26

'but one of the village's own pigs that's about to be slaughtered.'

0:52:260:52:29

THEY CHANT

0:52:350:52:37

PIG SQUEALS

0:52:390:52:40

'The pig will provide enough food for all 12 of the village clans

0:52:460:52:49

'and Aldo and I are honoured to be included.

0:52:490:52:52

'Before the feast begins, somewhat incongruously,

0:52:570:53:00

'the village head says prayers.'

0:53:000:53:02

'Missionaries have been converting the Asmat and other Papuan tribes

0:53:150:53:18

'to Christianity since the 1950s.

0:53:180:53:21

'The missionaries persuaded many tribes to leave behind headhunting

0:53:210:53:25

'and cannibalism.'

0:53:250:53:26

'Although much of Yaosakor is nominally Christian,

0:53:380:53:41

'traditional animist beliefs are still the dominant force.'

0:53:410:53:44

Mmm.

0:53:450:53:46

-Is it good?

-Mmm.

0:53:480:53:49

'Their traditions run deep.

0:53:530:53:55

'Often Christianity has simply been incorporated into their older beliefs,

0:53:550:53:59

'beliefs that everything in nature possesses a spiritual force.

0:53:590:54:03

'The drumming continues late into the night,

0:54:090:54:11

'the elders singing ancient Asmat poems which can last for many days.'

0:54:110:54:16

It's quite late now in the long house and the drumming finished

0:54:200:54:25

a little while ago.

0:54:250:54:26

But there's still lots of people milling around, sitting,

0:54:260:54:29

chatting, sitting around fires and this will go on all night long.

0:54:290:54:34

I guess I'm probably not going to get

0:54:340:54:36

an enormous amount of sleep here.

0:54:360:54:38

But it's one night in a lifetime so I'm just going to enjoy it.

0:54:380:54:43

The Asmat's main contact with the outside world has been through art.

0:54:560:55:00

Their carvings are treasured by anthropologists and collectors.

0:55:000:55:04

Beyond Yaosakor, the Asmat region is a morass of tangled forests.

0:55:060:55:10

Most settlements are just a few shacks.

0:55:110:55:14

If the modern world was going to change the Asmat anywhere,

0:55:140:55:17

it would be here.

0:55:170:55:18

But life in Yaosakor continues as it has done for generations.

0:55:190:55:23

You'd have to travel 100km to get any signal for that phone.

0:55:230:55:27

'It seems to me, a few tin roofs aside,

0:55:280:55:31

'the modernity hasn't got much appeal.

0:55:310:55:33

'My new friends say they like things just the way they've always been.'

0:55:330:55:36

'We are now just hours away from completing our month-long,

0:55:490:55:53

'500km expedition from the central highlands to the Pacific Ocean.'

0:55:530:55:58

Four weeks ago, we were stood up at Habema,

0:56:020:56:04

the source of the Baliem and it was a trickle,

0:56:040:56:08

a hop, skip and a jump across it.

0:56:080:56:10

And now coming to the sea at the end of the journey some four weeks later

0:56:100:56:14

and it's 4km or 5km wide.

0:56:140:56:18

Look at the size of it.

0:56:180:56:19

'There's no doubt our journey has been a challenging one.

0:56:210:56:24

'It's proved to be much tougher than I ever imagined

0:56:240:56:27

'and things have rarely gone according to plan.'

0:56:270:56:29

The history of exploration and expeditions

0:56:310:56:34

is a history of cataclysmic failures.

0:56:340:56:37

Even the very greatest of explorers had impossible challenges.

0:56:370:56:43

You know, Shackleton and Scott,

0:56:430:56:45

probably the two best-known British adventurers,

0:56:450:56:48

are best known for their failures and...

0:56:480:56:51

..in those terms, actually this has been a success.

0:56:530:56:57

We have travelled from the source to the sea and been the first people

0:56:580:57:01

ever to do it.

0:57:010:57:03

Admittedly, more of that has been done in motorboats and helicopters

0:57:030:57:07

than I would have chosen.

0:57:070:57:08

But, I think it's the nature of expeditions that...

0:57:100:57:13

..there are going to be challenges. And if there aren't,

0:57:140:57:17

then it probably doesn't qualify as an expedition.

0:57:170:57:20

'Finally, our goal is in sight.'

0:57:250:57:27

It's the sea!

0:57:350:57:36

'After everything we've been through, all the challenges we've had,

0:57:390:57:43

'to come down here,'

0:57:430:57:45

all of a sudden it feels like every single bit of it

0:57:450:57:47

has been worthwhile.

0:57:470:57:48

This was all about doing the first ever source to sea

0:57:500:57:52

of the Baliem River, it was all about the challenge.

0:57:520:57:55

But it's just become so much more than that.

0:57:550:57:58

It's been truly remarkable to get an understanding of just how

0:57:590:58:03

this mighty river has breathed life into this corner of the world.

0:58:030:58:08

To see how it shaped the landscape,

0:58:080:58:10

created a habitat for unique wildlife

0:58:100:58:13

and how it's made a home for the ancient tribes who thrive

0:58:130:58:16

along its banks.

0:58:160:58:18

This place is always going to have a really special part of my heart.

0:58:190:58:24

And look at that!

0:58:250:58:26

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