Episode 2 Serious Explorers: Livingstone

Seven young explorers take on the biggest challenge of their lives.

An epic adventure in the heart of Africa.

It'll take them far from civilisation,

-encountering endangered wildlife.

-Such an adrenalin rush!

Witnessing unique tribal ceremonies.

Wow!

-And trekking where none have been before.

-So amazing.

They're following in the legendary footsteps of the great Scottish explorer, Dr David Livingstone.

And the demanding expedition will push them to the very limit.

-It is a wake-up call.

-Horrible!

Have they got what it takes to be serious explorers?

Coming up, life at sea hits a new low.

Just can't stop throwing up.

A VIP welcome, African-style.

It's like we're celebrities!

And guests of honour at a unique show.

I've never seen anything like it!

Previously on Serious Explorers - the young adventurers set sail in two traditional dhows,

following Livingstone's route down the African coast.

Wow!

They had an astounding rare encounter with humpback whales.

But they were less lucky with the weather -

as time and the tide ran out, one of the boats got stuck on a sandbank.

Expeditions are full of surprises, ups and downs,

and we're a classic example of that.

They finally reached their overnight stop on the tiny island of Jibondo at 2am.

It was a rude awakening to the world of exploring.

I didn't expect that on the first day!

The longest day of my life.

I'm hungry and tired.

But they have little time to rest.

They're woken at 7.00am by expedition leaders Ben Major, an ex-army officer,

and Polly Murray, a record-breaking explorer.

For the next stage of their voyage,

the whole team will be aboard one much larger traditional dhow.

A thing of beauty.

It's the most graceful... entry onto the boat ever!

-I'm on!

-Right.

So much bigger than I thought it'd be, I thought it was the size of a normal one.

But it's massive now, and there's lots of room to move around, and to sleep.

Conditions are extremely basic, but after yesterday's small dhows,

it feels like luxury.

It has shelters, like whoa!

It is huge. It has a toilet! Yes!

Oh, my God!

Or at least a hole in the deck.

-Straight into the sea!

-I think it's good, cos there's some privacy while you're doing your business.

It's better than the other ones where you had to squat over the boat or jump in or something like that.

The Serious Explorers prepare to continue their journey in the wake of David Livingstone,

down the east African coast, retracing key parts of the Scottish explorer's last expedition.

150 years ago, Livingstone sailed to the village of Pemba,

before heading in to unexplored parts of Tanzania.

The young explorers have a further sail of nearly 200 miles from Jibondo to reach the village,

before following him inland.

What the explorers don't know is that when they arrive in Pemba,

they'll be guests of honour at an amazing tribal display.

It means they've got a very tight deadline.

Speed, speed, guys.

To get there in time for the show, they have just three days to sail the 200 miles.

Helping them are expert local sailors,

but there's no time to lose.

We're going to be the most efficient boat crew off East Africa!

Traditional dhows like this have sailed up and down the African coast for more than 1,000 years.

The boats are completely dependent on the wind. With no motor,

they rely on just one big sail to drive them along.

The sail is huge.

It takes about 10 people to actually lift it up.

Everything is on such a huge scale.

It just makes everything, like, 10 times harder.

Before long, one of the explorers has to brave the primitive toilet perched over the back of the dhow.

-You having fun in there, Ali?

-No!

You know you're meant to squat, not sit down.

Oh.

Ali also has to get used to having no loo roll.

Local custom is to use your left hand instead.

Toilet paper...is this.

Oh, disgusting!

I've washed my hands like seven times with the anti-bacterial stuff, and I don't feel clean.

Sailing close to coral reefs and desert islands,

the explorers start to appreciate why Livingstone loved coming

to this part of the world.

It's what you see on a postcard, it just looks so beautiful.

But as they leave the shelter of the coral reefs,

the dhow starts to roll around in the ocean waves.

There's trouble brewing in paradise.

We're going up and down quite a lot at the moment.

I'm starting to feel it, but I think after a few hours,

I'll get used to it.

I just feel really sick.

Suck in lungfuls of fresh air, and look at the horizon.

You're just going to have to fight through it.

If you are feeling sick, get it over the side,

and try not to get it over other people.

Oh!

It's all right, it's normal. Don't worry.

I can't really stand up for more than five minutes without

having to sit down again, because I feel so sick.

At the beginning, I was feeling fine, but as soon as it got quite choppy,

I started to feel queasy, and disorientated.

To combat the seasickness, the worst affected take turns steering the boat,

forcing them to focus on the horizon.

When I was steering, I just started to feel better,

so I think I'm going to enjoy the rest of the journey, actually!

With no modern equipment like fridges on board,

David Livingstone took live animals with him,

so that while he was sailing, he could slaughter them for meat.

The Serious Explorers' dhow is also without electricity,

and they'll be vegetarian for the voyage, apart from any fish they catch as they go.

Oh, yeah!

David, David!

Lunch is a local fruit called papaya,

and despite a few fragile stomachs, they all decide to give it a go.

I just thought maybe eating might help.

Just if I have something in my belly, something to be sick up.

And that'll make me feel better.

Unfortunately, things are about to take a turn for the worse.

The dhow's ancient design means it rolls from side to side,

far more than a modern boat.

And the seasickness is soon back with a vengeance.

Now almost everyone feels diabolical.

Who's feeling...?

OK, OK.

I guess that'll be James, then!

So far, it's been really tough. I've got terrible seasickness,

and I just can't stop throwing up, so it's a real nightmare, really.

I'll get over it in a bit, I hope.

Thousands of miles from home, it all becomes too much for Sharon.

Along with the seasickness, she gets a bad case of homesickness.

-I'm surprised it's taken this long for one of you to feel like this.

-I miss my mum.

I know you do. I know. And there's nothing wrong with that.

First time you've been away from home, yeah, for a long time?

Just really harsh.

I'm just feeling really...

I'm really missing home.

I'm just...

I feel bad cos I don't want to be here, but...I do.

I don't know, I just keep thinking of what my family would say, but...

that just makes me get more upset.

I'm just feeling like I can't do it.

Fresh fish is on the menu for supper. And the ship's captain demonstrates how to prepare it.

But with their dodgy tummies, the smell of raw fish is the last thing most of the team need.

Matt is the only explorer who hasn't yet felt sick,

and he bravely volunteers to help with the gutting.

Low as you can, next to the bone.

Take it from its tail.

It's gross.

And it was disgusting, and we've left it for Matt to do, as we're all staying well clear of this!

Amazingly, amidst all the fish guts, Matt's iron stomach holds out.

Good job!

Well done, Matt.

Not looking TOO bad. Yeah, quite proud of it.

He even decides to push his luck by tasting a raw fish eye.

This is the only part of the fish that has fresh water in it

so in a survival situation, you'd eat the eyeball.

Matt is going to give it a whirl.

-Unless it makes me throw up.

-Give it a go.

-Do I just chew it?

Yeah.

You can chew it, yeah. Down the hatch!

Don't stick it on your mouth.

I have.

It tastes bony.

Ugh! This is disgusting.

It feels like bones. It doesn't taste that bad though.

Surprisingly.

By the end of the day they've sailed into another area full of dangerous

coral reefs, and the tide is getting too low to proceed safely.

So as the last light fades they drop anchor.

We're in the middle of the sea

and I feel sick.

It's the worst feeling ever.

I'm finding it so hard.

I've been sick countless times.

I feel awful.

The smell of sick.

That disgusting smell just travels and you just smell it. Horrible!

It's not pleasant for them, particularly James and David.

They have been quite sick. Probably tomorrow they'll feel a lot better. Let's hope.

-It's not nice for them.

-8 o'clock in the evening

and David is fast asleep and he can't even hold down a cup of tea at the moment.

Matt and the boat crew have cooked up a Tanzanian speciality, fish stew with rice.

But will anyone be able to keep it down?

It's quite nice to be eating fresh food and a nice stew.

It should either make everyone feel either a bit better or it

will go the other way and they will feel horrible.

David, do you want some food?

Doesn't this look fantastic?

It looks delicious.

And it's really cool because we just caught the three fish and we're eating them now.

It feels really good to get

some food into my stomach finally.

I'm not going to eat too much more because I feel I might throw it up so I will have to stop now.

But, no, it's really nice.

I'm really tired right now.

I could do with a long nap.

But a good long sleep is out of the question.

To stay on schedule they need to sail whenever they can,

and the tide will be high enough at three in the morning.

It's really annoying how we only have a little bit of sleep.

I hope you have a good night's kip, albeit very short.

The explorers have been split into teams in a watch system, with two hours on duty, and four hours off.

First up will be Sian, Ali and Matt.

Matty! Good morning! It's 2.30.

And you're on watch, I'm afraid.

OK? Did you sleep all right?

-No.

-OK.

I didn't actually sleep that well because of an uncomfortable bit of wood but...

After just four hours sleep, they're feeling shell-shocked.

Once we get going it will be all right.

Right now is seems awful.

I'm still a bit "wuh"

but let's go for it and see if we can get there.

Pull in a direct line as the other rope. It's easier.

They're away in good time, but with the winds in the wrong

direction progress is slow, and they've now less than two days left.

So far, they've sailed around 60 miles from Jibondo but they still have 140 miles left to reach Pemba.

It's going to be a close-run thing.

And in the cold light of day, it becomes clear it's not just the wind that's against them.

Any hopes that they might have got their sea legs prove far from reality.

The disrupted sleep combined with the ocean waves leave most of them feeling as bad as ever.

Sorry!

We're down to one able-bodied person.

People come on deck to try and get some air and they are either flat

or there are hanging over the side going "blah".

I'm hoping that later on today people will start getting through the worst of it and will be able

to pull together and enjoy what is

an amazing place and an amazing mode of travel.

It's horrible when everyone is ill.

It's not very nice even if you're not ill, because

you can't really enjoy it when everyone else is feeling rubbish.

They're now sailing almost directly into the wind, and the leaders ask

for as many hands as possible on deck to keep the boat on track.

-Yeah, off, off, off.

-But three of the team,

Ali, Sian and David feel too ill to come up top at all.

Every time I sit up I feel sick.

It's so annoying, because I want to be able to help.

Every time I do I want to throw up.

I feel like I can't do anything and if I'm up there I'm just

going to be in the way, because every time I go up I feel sick.

So, I just feel quite useless.

Lunch today is a popular Tanzanian dish, ugali,

a type of maize, which the local crew are preparing with fish.

The explorers desperately need to get more food down, but will this prove a step too far?

Throughout Livingstone's Tanzania expedition, he relied greatly on ugali, which he had as a kind of

porridge for breakfast, and like a gritty mashed potato for dinner.

He claimed to enjoy it greatly, but it's certainly not to everyone's taste.

It's the first time the Explorers team have tried it...

and it doesn't go down too well.

I can taste almost sand in it.

It's quite disgusting, really.

I got a horrible bit of really salty sand and a fish taste.

I had to spit it out, because I've been feeling sick.

I'm not that hungry today. I don't think I'll be having a lot of it.

I feel sorry for Livingstone having to eat that all the time because it's not very appetising.

For the Serious Explorers, it seems the ugali lunch is the last straw.

As the tropical sun beats down almost all disappear below, feeling seasick and sorry for themselves.

I don't want to lie in the sun and at the minute there isn't any shade on deck.

When there's shade on deck I'll go back up.

It's hot and smelly in the hold, making them feel even worse.

By late afternoon, Ben decides they urgently need a breath of fresh air.

Some of you have not even seen the light of day today.

I'm scared, because I've not got any sun cream on.

Well, that's not exactly difficult.

Most importantly, it's 5.20 and the sun goes down in half an hour. Yeah?

So, it's not going to be a biggy.

Exciting report. Seven people on deck.

They're rewarded with a stunning sunset,

which works wonders in raising team spirits.

Most feel so much better, they start to feel really hungry, and fantasise about their favourite food.

I just wanted some chocolate.

Some crisps, or an eclair.

A pizza or lasagne. That would be so good.

Oh, yeah, that'd be good. Or some garlic bread.

Yeah.

After two tough days on the dhow, everyone is now counting down

the hours till they reach dry land tomorrow afternoon.

I cannot wait to get off this boat.

I can't wait to get back to land.

What I would give for us to just turn and go to land...

And their wishes are about to come true, far sooner than they think.

During the night the wind and currents turn completely against them.

Get the boom to the mast.

They're getting pushed backwards and they have to change direction over and over to try to make progress.

OK. Loosen it. Loosen this one. Loosen.

The struggle against the elements goes on all night.

But it's a losing battle and they end up several miles further back than when they started.

By first light, they realise it's going to be impossible to reach Pemba in time for the evening show.

They've covered 120 miles, but are dead in the water 80 miles short of the village.

There's no option but to tow the dhow into the nearest fishing harbour.

These old boats, they need wind to sail and they need wind in the right direction.

Livingstone was here. He came across loads of obstacles and hurdles.

There's never going to be an expedition like this that is going to run like clockwork.

Oh, my God! That's incredible.

Oh, finally! Look - there's land everywhere.

Yes!

The only way they can complete the journey in time is to leave the dhow and go by road.

I'm quite glad that we're stopping, to be honest, cos I

didn't really want to be, I don't really like being seasick.

I didn't want to give up on the sailing, but obviously it just can't happen.

So we've got to go with that, but even though I was feeling

a bit sick on some of the days I would've seen it through.

Seeing the things that we've seen, like the whales

and stuff like that and being on an Arabian dhow has just been a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Getting off the boat for the first time in over two days has an unexpected side effect.

Who's feeling wobbly?

-Anyone?

-When you stand still.

You've got land sickness.

I feel really wobbly.

I feel like I'm still moving on water and the sea,

but I hope I'll get used to it again.

Get my land legs back.

It feels really good to be back on flat ground.

The team have a drive of several hours to make it to Pemba

where Livingstone made landfall and had an extraordinary welcome.

Wherever he went, the local people had never seen anything like it - a man with pale skin

and strange clothes.

It was as if an alien had landed from another planet.

They were also amazed and sometimes scared by the things he carried.

'When I exhibited my compass they desired me to stop as they were afraid of my wonderful things.'

The fishing village of Pemba sits at the entrance of a large bay

and the team have to use dhows again for the short journey across to it.

The village has changed surprisingly little since Livingstone's time.

Mambo. Mambo.

And the young explorers are about to get a very similar welcome.

Oh, my goodness!

They're probably the first European children who have ever been here.

I've never had such a welcome. This is absolutely incredible.

They're just so friendly.

Oh, wow! It's amazing.

Every single one of them just wants to shake your hand. I love it.

I want to live here forever.

This is really strange cos it's like we're celebrities, but we don't even know them.

I think it's cos they haven't seen a white person ever.

Oh, it's absolutely incredible. I've never experienced anything like it.

Everyone's just so happy to see you.

With no TV or computers, the local children show off their skills at more traditional games.

And the Explorers find it hard to compete.

With little money, the villagers make toys from anything they can find.

These hoops come from bits of old plastic barrels.

See? It's not as easy as it looks.

Every time I do it, it's just a fluke, to be honest.

But it so fun on, just all the local people loving it.

I'm going to get all the way round. Twice.

While modern football started in Britain, it's now found in the most remote parts of the world

and the African children give the explorers a serious run for their money.

Result - a 5-5 draw.

In many villages he visited, David Livingstone was treated like a king.

The locals put on tribal displays in his honour that no white person had ever seen before.

And 150 years later, the young explorers are also guests of honour at an astonishing show.

I find it entrancing. It's amazing.

'I mean I've never seen any kind of dancing like this.'

It's just incredible. There's not much to describe it.

The traditional entertainment is unique to the local tribe,

telling stories passed down over hundreds of years.

'That is amazing.'

I've never seen anything like it.

It's just absolutely incredible.

I'm literally glued to the seat and mouth open the entire time.

The children are among just a handful of Europeans who have ever seen these performances.

One of the dancers calls on James to take part.

Just go for it. Just go for it.

And to the delight of the crowd, he enters into the spirit of things.

CHEERING

'It's such a welcome feeling and it's such'

an amazing electric atmosphere. It's brilliant.

It's been an unforgettable day, full of fun and laughter,

but there's also a sadder side to village life,

as David Livingstone himself quickly discovered.

As a qualified doctor, Livingstone found many villagers didn't get enough to eat.

Living in great poverty, they often relied completely on what they could grow,

if there wasn't enough rain for their crops, they simply went hungry.

In some places in modern-day Africa, it's a situation that's changed very little.

As night falls, the Serious Explorers

enjoy a simple meal prepared by the villagers for their VIP guests.

The rice is very good, actually, isn't it?

But they slowly start to realise they're being given very special treatment.

The local children are kept away and look on in envy at what the British children are eating.

They even ask the explorers for any leftovers.

We had our food and they just kept going, "Please give me foodie."

All these kids were running around begging for food and I just felt

horrible. I really wanted to give them everything I could.

Like, anything I had.

After such an amazing day, it's an upsetting reminder

of how tough life can be for some African children.

They just look so hungry and it just, it made me think about all them times that I just

had a chocolate bar for the sake of having a chocolate bar, or said, "Oh, Mum, I don't want to eat that."

You see all these adverts on telly that are about world hunger,

but you don't believe it until you really see it and now we've seen it

in the flesh, it just... It kind of got to me,

because I've really seen

how people live now, even at a young age.

Next time on Serious Explorers - awesome animal encounters.

-That was amazing!

-Tensions in the team.

-No, you didn't!

You didn't ask anyone!

-And keeping crocs out of camp.

-Shine your big light in its face and back away slowly.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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