0:00:04 > 0:00:09BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner has a little-known passion.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13It's beautiful. It's really lovely.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17I've been a keen bird-watcher now for probably more than 20 years.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Whenever I go to somewhere really unusual
0:00:19 > 0:00:21I'll always bring binoculars.
0:00:21 > 0:00:25This is very geeky but I've kept a record of how many different species
0:00:25 > 0:00:27I've seen - 1,358.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32But there's one group of birds that's so far eluded him.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36The ultimate, the Holy Grail of exotic birds
0:00:36 > 0:00:39has always been birds-of-paradise.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42I've wanted to see birds-of-paradise since I was eight years old.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45And I want to see them in the wild.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Almost all of these birds are found in one of the most spectacular and
0:00:50 > 0:00:52remote places in the world -
0:00:52 > 0:00:53Papua New Guinea.
0:00:55 > 0:00:59But events in 2004 ended Frank's chances of getting there.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04The reason I'm in a wheelchair is because we were filming
0:01:04 > 0:01:07on a BBC trip in Saudi Arabia and we got ambushed by terrorists,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09by Al-Qaeda.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13I lay in hospital thinking,
0:01:13 > 0:01:15"Why didn't I go to Papua New Guinea?
0:01:15 > 0:01:18"Why didn't I go and see these things when I could trek?"
0:01:19 > 0:01:23A meeting with renowned solo explorer Benedict Allen
0:01:23 > 0:01:24gave Frank new hope.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27When he told me his story, I said,
0:01:27 > 0:01:31"A-ha! I'm your man, because I used to live there 30 years ago."
0:01:34 > 0:01:38Now Benedict is returning to Papua New Guinea, taking Frank with him,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41in an attempt to fulfil Frank's dream.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45It's something we've cooked up between us, so if it's a disaster,
0:01:45 > 0:01:46the blame lies with us.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49- There are crocodiles here, Johnny? - Yes!
0:01:49 > 0:01:51In the first part of their journey...
0:01:51 > 0:01:52Loving this.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56..Benedict reunited with the people he left behind as a young man...
0:01:56 > 0:01:58DRUMS BEAT
0:01:58 > 0:02:01It sends a shiver down my spine when I hear that noise.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04..and revealed to Frank the brutal initiation ceremony he endured.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09It's the sort of thing we were beaten with the first day.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Guys, will you please keep your voices down?
0:02:12 > 0:02:16And Frank had just a fleeting glimpse of a bird-of-paradise.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18I saw it for a split-second.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24It's halfway through and the expedition is about to get tougher.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28We have to keep this chair absolutely stable.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30Straighten up. Straighten up!
0:02:30 > 0:02:34It is a big wound that will take you down fast.
0:02:35 > 0:02:38The idea of taking anyone in a wheelchair through Papua New Guinea
0:02:38 > 0:02:40is absolutely crazy.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44It's got everything you could possibly dream of and dread
0:02:44 > 0:02:46in a tropical environment.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49That is disgusting.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52What will Benedict find when he revisits his past?
0:02:52 > 0:02:53I can't make sense of this.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55It's as if there's a vacuum here.
0:02:55 > 0:02:57They've been forgotten.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02And will Frank finally get to see his birds-of-paradise?
0:03:03 > 0:03:08This is so much more than just going to see a bird, this is, in a way,
0:03:08 > 0:03:09a form of closure to my injuries.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26Friends Frank and Benedict are over halfway through their three-week
0:03:26 > 0:03:29journey to the highlands of Papua New Guinea
0:03:29 > 0:03:31to find birds-of-paradise.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33I'm feeling pretty good.
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Yesterday, I saw my first-ever bird-of-paradise.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38Great. Thanks. Well done.
0:03:38 > 0:03:39Very good, we got there.
0:03:41 > 0:03:43And I'm really keen to see more of them.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46I mean, I want to see proper displays, I want to see the males in
0:03:46 > 0:03:49all their finery, and the best ones are higher up in the hills.
0:03:51 > 0:03:52Really good. Good job.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59I have to say, Chambri Lakes,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02it sounds like some sort of executive spa retreat
0:04:02 > 0:04:03in the Home Counties, doesn't it?
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Yeah, this is going to be slightly cheaper and less fun.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Up ahead, there's at least an eight-hour trek.
0:04:13 > 0:04:14It's going to be bad.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19Up through forest, then, carefully avoiding Murder Mountain,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23we go up to the Central Range and that is where
0:04:23 > 0:04:25I'm hoping to see birds-of-paradise.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30They're continuing to retrace the journey Benedict made 30 years ago,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33stopping at villages along the way.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37Their ultimate goal is the cloud forest, high in the mountains
0:04:37 > 0:04:38of the Central Range.
0:04:40 > 0:04:41Frank?
0:04:44 > 0:04:45Oh, no, already?
0:04:49 > 0:04:50OK, I'm sorry.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55What I'm scared of is letting down Frank.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00I'm someone who's used to doing his own thing.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01Looking after myself.
0:05:01 > 0:05:06But, I feel that he's decent and he deserves his chance.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09What counts is getting Frank to that moment when he's face-to-face
0:05:09 > 0:05:11with one of these birds.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14- Oh, we're here already? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.- Gosh.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20Frank and Benedict are stopping at the community of Mensuat to meet
0:05:20 > 0:05:24a local team who will carry Frank through the dense jungle tomorrow.
0:05:26 > 0:05:30Basically, lift up, turn around 180 and march out.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36Easy, easy, easy.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Keep going, keep going. Just move.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40Good afternoon.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41- WOMAN:- Good afternoon!
0:05:41 > 0:05:42Hello.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46OK, my name is Joe.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49I'm the ward councillor of, ah,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51this village here.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Plywood? Balsa boy.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17I'd say mahogany at least.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21One of the hardest things about being physically disabled is that
0:06:21 > 0:06:24people often, you know, they see the wheelchair, not the person.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Every now and then, newspaper articles will say,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30"He's confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life."
0:06:30 > 0:06:31That is so 1950s.
0:06:34 > 0:06:35Yeah, perfect.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37That's lovely.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Back then, people really were confined.
0:06:40 > 0:06:41You didn't have a life.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44That, thank God, has changed completely.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46But in this community,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49Frank's disability is still regarded as a curiosity.
0:06:59 > 0:07:00OK.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02Do you want me to talk to them and you translate?
0:07:02 > 0:07:03- Yes.- Come on, then.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04OK, let's turn around, then.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05About turn.
0:07:10 > 0:07:12I wasn't born in this wheelchair.
0:07:12 > 0:07:1612 years ago we were on
0:07:16 > 0:07:19a filming trip in the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Do you want to translate?
0:07:23 > 0:07:24HE SPEAKS HIS OWN LANGUAGE
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Six criminals attacked us with guns.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36The first one said, "Peace be upon you."
0:07:36 > 0:07:40And as he said that, he was pulling out a gun.
0:07:40 > 0:07:41He fired once.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Bang!
0:07:43 > 0:07:46And the bullet went straight through this shoulder.
0:07:46 > 0:07:52And they stood over me and fired many times into the body, here.
0:07:52 > 0:07:54You've got two choices.
0:07:54 > 0:07:56You can feel all depressed
0:07:56 > 0:08:00and sad or you can just get on with it and say,
0:08:00 > 0:08:03"Right, I'm going to deal with it and move on."
0:08:03 > 0:08:07Coming to Papua New Guinea makes it all worthwhile
0:08:07 > 0:08:11to survive and explore beautiful countries like this.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13OK?
0:08:13 > 0:08:14- LOCALS:- Yes.- OK.
0:08:14 > 0:08:15Thanks, Joe.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23When I was in hospital, they sent this brilliant Navy psychiatrist and
0:08:23 > 0:08:25he sat there at the end of my bed and he said,
0:08:25 > 0:08:27"Do you know what, Frank?
0:08:27 > 0:08:31"Don't dwell on the things that you can't do any more."
0:08:31 > 0:08:33He said, "Just concentrate on the things you CAN do, cos you'll find
0:08:33 > 0:08:37"there are so many more things you can still do than the things you can't."
0:08:37 > 0:08:40And that's really been my guiding principle.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45The heat of the day is just starting to subside,
0:08:45 > 0:08:52and it's a lovely thing just to sit here at the edge of the village,
0:08:52 > 0:08:55with this great expanse of green canopy forest behind,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00strange bird calls I've got no chance of identifying,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03and it's a really nice feeling.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05It's a really special moment, this.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Frank has carried on enthusing all through this trip.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12He's savouring life all the time.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15I think he does it better than me.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17He's better at it than me.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21So, I don't think there's any one set definition of paradise.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24- I mean, for some people it's a beach, you know?- Yeah.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Others it's a really good ski run.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Others it's a
0:09:31 > 0:09:33particularly memorable sexual exploit.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35- You know, it could be anything. - Yeah, yeah.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39Different things, different places.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41But right now, at this moment...
0:09:42 > 0:09:43..it's here.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03The expedition is preparing to tackle the treacherous passage
0:10:03 > 0:10:05to reach the village of Yembiyembi.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Today is actually the one day when I think it really is probably going
0:10:11 > 0:10:12to get quite tough.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15It's "the big trek". It's going to be pretty much the whole day.
0:10:16 > 0:10:19Benedict has trekked up to the mountains before
0:10:19 > 0:10:21and knows the challenges ahead.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25I hope this is going to be worth it,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27because he is putting himself through hell.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30He's got a metal rod in his right leg.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Bullet fragments in his back.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35He has to deal with a colostomy bag.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39That's bad enough in any environment, but here,
0:10:39 > 0:10:40extra risk of infection.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42He's being jogged about all the time.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46And he will press on, because he's that sort of man.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49That sort of person.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52But we've got a long, long way to go.
0:10:56 > 0:11:01Frank's personal helper, Felix, is also anxious about the day ahead.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12Today, basically,
0:11:12 > 0:11:18is the first time we are doing a very long-distance trek,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21which, for all of the crew, is going to be quite challenging.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25I remember Frank saying to me that one of his worries was that he would
0:11:25 > 0:11:29simply be dropped and his legs shatter, and that word terrified me.
0:11:29 > 0:11:30Shatter?
0:11:30 > 0:11:35Yeah, his injuries are complicated and multiple.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36He cannot be dropped.
0:11:39 > 0:11:42The local team has no chance to practise carrying Frank
0:11:42 > 0:11:44on the steep paths before they head off.
0:11:47 > 0:11:48Thank you, Felix.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Right, guys, a few things I just want to highlight.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57OK, you guys know this trail very well - we don't. All right?
0:11:57 > 0:12:01So we're relying on your local knowledge to guide us up
0:12:01 > 0:12:04to the boundary safely.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08We have to keep this chair absolutely stable.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12It cannot tilt, it cannot fall, it cannot slip.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16We have to protect it like the most precious thing in the world.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19OK, it has to be gentle all the way.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21Just give me a nod when you are ready, then.
0:12:21 > 0:12:22You need to turn the other way.
0:12:24 > 0:12:25Turn.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31If there is a drop, an added risk is an internal bleed.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35An internal bleed can become rapidly life-threatening.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38An immediate, priority-one casu-vac.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40That means calling in a helicopter.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43That would be game over.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47So, this day presents a massive amount of risk.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54Six years ago, sitting in London at a bar,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Frank and I had this dream. We concocted this idea of coming to
0:12:58 > 0:13:00Papua New Guinea and see the birds-of-paradise.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02And now,
0:13:02 > 0:13:04here we are, walking through the forest,
0:13:04 > 0:13:09not two men but various members of several villages
0:13:09 > 0:13:13willing us along to make this dream a reality.
0:13:16 > 0:13:21This idea of having this huge, great big, long tail, as it were,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24of people and porters, this is...
0:13:25 > 0:13:27..this is totally alien to me.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Frank doesn't want to be dependent on other people.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36I think a lot of that is survival mechanism.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44The sedan chair experience is a mixed blessing.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47There's something slightly uncomfortable about being carried
0:13:47 > 0:13:49like a, sort of, conquering hero.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51You know, I'm just an ordinary person.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55This is the stuff that is a bit iffy.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58We've got an incredibly narrow - literally about one,
0:13:58 > 0:14:00maybe, at the most two feet wide,
0:14:00 > 0:14:03this muddy path and it falls away steeply to one side.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06So, if any of these guys misses their footing...
0:14:09 > 0:14:12..we're going to a-tumble straight down the side there.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15They're being really professional, but I don't want to speak too soon.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27We're going over a huge fallen log here, which has fallen
0:14:27 > 0:14:30across the path and it's about to get steeper after this.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It's so risky,
0:14:38 > 0:14:42and the guys on the side are piling in to support the forward carriers,
0:14:42 > 0:14:43which is great.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Incredibly tough, all barefoot
0:14:48 > 0:14:51they're all talking to each other, swapping around regularly.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53What we can't do is relax.
0:14:55 > 0:14:56That's when accidents happen.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Felix, how's it going?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01- FELIX:- Not bad. I'm all right. I'm OK.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Yeah? Still strong?
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Good, good.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08We've decided to take a rest, five minutes every hour.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11- They hooned up that hill, didn't they?- Such strong legs.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Very, very strong.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16I was just saying, I mean, it is quite a steep drop down here.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20Os would have a field day sorting us out if we fell down that.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25All right, same level of concentration.
0:15:25 > 0:15:26Very, very good.
0:15:26 > 0:15:27Let's keep it up.
0:15:35 > 0:15:37At four hours into the trek,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39a new challenge presents itself.
0:15:43 > 0:15:49We're just reaching the visible border between the land that belongs
0:15:49 > 0:15:53to the people that are carrying us with the next place we're going to,
0:15:53 > 0:15:58and we're supposed to be met there by porters from the other clan.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01If they don't turn up, then we're going to keep our ones and
0:16:01 > 0:16:03go through their land.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05I just hope it doesn't result in an ugly scene,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08because people are incredibly territorial here.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19These people are from
0:16:19 > 0:16:22the village here that's called Yembiyembi,
0:16:22 > 0:16:25which, I have to say, sounds suspiciously like Airbnb.
0:16:25 > 0:16:26My name is Greg.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32It's not ideal to be changing crews halfway, but we're now in a
0:16:32 > 0:16:35different clan's territory, so we have to. It's protocol.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38You've got to let a new lot of people carry me,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41so they've got to learn all over again.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Bye.
0:16:48 > 0:16:49Thank you.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02The new crew's first test comes within minutes of setting off.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20My life-changing injuries just remind me how vulnerable my body is.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25I've been incredibly lucky to be back to the state that I'm in,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27but I'm not invincible.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29The human body is pretty vulnerable.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34Keep a very careful eye on this.
0:17:34 > 0:17:36We know it.
0:17:36 > 0:17:37- We know it.- Good.
0:17:43 > 0:17:44That's a welcome sign.
0:17:45 > 0:17:46The outside world.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49This forest is very, very thick primary forest
0:17:49 > 0:17:51and that is Murder Mountain.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55I seem to remember deciding to avoid that for some reason.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58I think we're getting there, Frank.
0:18:03 > 0:18:07The expedition has almost arrived at today's destination,
0:18:07 > 0:18:10but, to reach Yembiyembi, the team has to cross
0:18:10 > 0:18:13a series of makeshift bridges,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16the first submerged in waist-high water.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36To suddenly find we have a long pole to get Frank along.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43That wasn't something I was expecting or any of us were expecting.
0:18:43 > 0:18:45Straighten up.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46Straighten up!
0:18:50 > 0:18:51Brilliant.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Felix, well done, very good.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56No, no, no, you did really well.
0:18:56 > 0:18:57That was brilliant.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Yep, we sweated buckets up there, but it doesn't matter,
0:19:00 > 0:19:01we're safely here.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04Another little leg in the journey completed.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07I trust my life and safety to you.
0:19:07 > 0:19:08You're really good.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Thank you for sorting that out.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Frank has woken up with a problem.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35The plan for today is to head further on towards the mountains,
0:19:35 > 0:19:38but he's asked to see Os, the expedition medic.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Hi, Frank.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42Hi, Os.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Look, I've got a little bit of a medical issue here,
0:19:45 > 0:19:47which I need to alert you to.
0:19:47 > 0:19:48Sure, please do.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52- I've got a pressure sore on the left cheek of my arse.- Right.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Not the first time I've had it, but it really hurts.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- And it's from the trek we did yesterday.- OK.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03Six hours jolting around in the chair and it has basically chafed it
0:20:03 > 0:20:06and I think it's broken the skin.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09For your delectation, I've taken a photograph.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13Right.
0:20:13 > 0:20:14How bad does that look to you?
0:20:14 > 0:20:17OK, that is quite serious.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20We have doctors online all the time.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25I would like to discuss it with them and follow their guidance on how we
0:20:25 > 0:20:27treat this and how we manage it going forward.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29Sure.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33But, for now, we need to stay put. This needs immediate attention.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35OK.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Frank rarely gets pressure sores, but yesterday's carry has caused
0:20:39 > 0:20:41a ten-centimetre ulcer.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45I've inspected it this morning.
0:20:45 > 0:20:52There is an open canker, where the skin has opened up and it's probably
0:20:52 > 0:20:55two or three millimetres deep.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58Any infection can lead to blood poisoning and could kill
0:20:58 > 0:20:59within 48 hours.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Yes, that is the bottom line.
0:21:05 > 0:21:09Do we proceed or do we have to call it quits now?
0:21:13 > 0:21:16I've got to be candid here, Frank, it is a big wound,
0:21:16 > 0:21:21it looks very distressed and very angry and the fact that the skin
0:21:21 > 0:21:24is broken is the key point.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28And that is just a conduit for infection
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and that will take you down fast.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34I just think we've got to slow it down, that's all.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38I mean, my intent here is to get this well enough
0:21:38 > 0:21:41that there's no question of cancelling, cos I want to get to
0:21:41 > 0:21:44cloud forest and, obviously, I want to see these birds-of-paradise.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48I caught one short glimpse of a very beautiful bird-of-paradise,
0:21:48 > 0:21:53but if that's all I get to see after two weeks in PNG,
0:21:53 > 0:21:54I'll feel a little short-changed.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57We've already made the decision that today we're not going anywhere.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59- Yeah.- At all.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02- FELIX:- OK, let's go. - BENEDICT:- Right, let's go.
0:22:02 > 0:22:04Benedict is looking to provide Frank with a distraction.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10What Frank needs is something to fortify him.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Something mineral-rich, full of protein...
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Sago grubs, surely.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28Yeah, thank you.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33His pressure sores are the hidden cost of that journey over the hill.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35What he needs is to see his birds-of-paradise,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38but, er, I just want to raise his morale, you know?
0:22:39 > 0:22:45Deep down, he must be feeling desperately upset or worried.
0:22:45 > 0:22:46Except he's not.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Frank refuses to believe he won't be back on the trail tomorrow.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Yeah, I've always been determined and quite stubborn.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56I tend to think, if this is something I really want to do,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59I'm going to do it. I mean, against all advice,
0:22:59 > 0:23:05I left banking to go into news journalism at 33.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09I still think like an able-bodied person.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12I think, "Right, you know, I can get up, I can run around...
0:23:12 > 0:23:14"Oh, wait, no, I can't."
0:23:14 > 0:23:18So, I have to keep pinching myself and remind myself, even now,
0:23:18 > 0:23:20there are so many things I can't do,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22because I tend to be quite positive about it.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25One's escaping.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27- What do you think? Do you think Frank will like them?- Yeah.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Frank will like them.
0:23:31 > 0:23:32- Job is complete.- Yes.
0:23:32 > 0:23:34We have our sago grubs.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Good news, Frank.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39Guess what.
0:23:39 > 0:23:40Oh, my God!
0:23:40 > 0:23:42You found your sago grubs.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Oh, that is vile! They're wriggling.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48This very, very wise man, he says,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51"Take three of those with a glass of water every quarter of an hour and
0:23:51 > 0:23:53"you'll be as right as rain."
0:23:53 > 0:23:55That is disgusting.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58- Do you want to cuddle one?- What do you think? They're maggots.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00Well, they're sweet maggots,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03and with a bit off to Tabasco sauce, quite creamy.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05But, on a more serious note, how are things?
0:24:06 > 0:24:08I'm so frustrated.
0:24:08 > 0:24:09I never get pressure sores.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14I mean, you know, I normally boast that I'm lucky enough,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17that my skin's in good nick, I don't get pressure sores.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21But the trek yesterday just did it for me.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32I'm someone who has never wanted to travel with anyone
0:24:32 > 0:24:36but there's something about Frank that makes me want to travel with him.
0:24:36 > 0:24:37And it's certainly not pity.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42There's something very honest about his objective.
0:24:42 > 0:24:44I do wonder what's going to emerge on this journey.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57It's early next morning and there's news on Frank's condition.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Os, are you able to give me any word?
0:25:02 > 0:25:04It's very, very delicate.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06I would say we are on a knife edge.
0:25:07 > 0:25:11He's developed a second sore and expedition medic Os
0:25:11 > 0:25:15has alerted the emergency medical team in New Zealand.
0:25:15 > 0:25:16They are waiting for a call back.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24It's worse than I was thinking. I thought, "We'll rest up a day,
0:25:24 > 0:25:26- "rest up a couple of days." - This is, from a...
0:25:26 > 0:25:27PHONE RINGS
0:25:27 > 0:25:29I've got to take this call.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33Frank is patched through on the call.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59It, it, it...
0:25:59 > 0:26:00I'm going to resist that.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04I am really not in that...that state.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07You know, right now, I'm fit and well and perfectly fine,
0:26:07 > 0:26:10except for this bloody pressure sore on my arse.
0:26:32 > 0:26:33Mmm.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35And there's nothing we can do to mitigate in the meantime?
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Right.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42This is unbelievably bad.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44This is the end of the trip. That's it. It's over.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47We're not going to get up to the mountains at all.
0:26:47 > 0:26:51All because of this bloody pressure sore that I've got.
0:26:51 > 0:26:54God! You know, I hate the way the curse of my injuries comes up
0:26:54 > 0:26:57to dog me 12 years on.
0:27:03 > 0:27:04It's so cruel.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07It wasn't meant to be like this.
0:27:12 > 0:27:13It wasn't meant to be like this at all.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28I never expected to be leaving Papua New Guinea like this,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31being medevacked out in a helicopter.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33I also never expected to be leaving without Benedict.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37I've yet to get a proper view of birds-of-paradise
0:27:37 > 0:27:41in their environment, but you can't beat nature.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42Sometimes these things are bigger than us and
0:27:42 > 0:27:44we've just got to respect that.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48I just feel Frank has suffered enough, you know,
0:27:48 > 0:27:49and he deserved this.
0:27:56 > 0:27:57Slowly, slowly.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Mind your head. Well done.
0:28:07 > 0:28:08Beautifully done, guys.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Well done.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14We'll meet again somewhere.
0:28:14 > 0:28:15- We will.- Some jungle.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Farewell in a jungle clearing on an airstrip.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21See you in another jungle, somewhere.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Yeah, good trip. Felix, you've been...
0:28:23 > 0:28:25- FELIX:- Thank you very much for our trip.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27- Thank you.- Love you.
0:28:27 > 0:28:29You're really good, you're my bro.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30You're my bro, Felix, thank you.
0:28:51 > 0:28:52So cruel.
0:28:55 > 0:28:56The mountains are there.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00They're visible, just about.
0:29:01 > 0:29:02We were just so nearly there.
0:29:05 > 0:29:09Maybe paradise, in the end, is simply unobtainable.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32To reach the birds-of-paradise,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35the expedition had planned to pass through a missionary station called
0:29:35 > 0:29:39Bisorio, where Benedict spent some time 30 years ago.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43He is heading upriver to let them know the change of plan.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50I can see the silhouette of dozens and dozens of people,
0:29:50 > 0:29:51who are coming out to greet us.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55When I was here last time, there were three or four
0:29:55 > 0:29:59American missionaries busy baptising them in this river,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02telling them to believe in this alien god
0:30:02 > 0:30:05and so, readily, that's what people were doing,
0:30:05 > 0:30:09throwing off their feathers, their traditional ornamentation and
0:30:09 > 0:30:11putting on their American T-shirts,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14which they could buy cheap in the local store here.
0:30:15 > 0:30:16I can't see any sign of missionaries here.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Let's go.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24Hello.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Oh, thank you.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Thank you. Good to be here. Do you remember me?
0:30:36 > 0:30:37You still remember me?
0:30:41 > 0:30:42So who is your father?
0:30:45 > 0:30:47What was his name?
0:30:47 > 0:30:49Yeah. Benny.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51- A great speaker.- Yeah.
0:30:51 > 0:30:55The missionaries here would wait and get him to say the right thing.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57The missionaries have gone?
0:31:02 > 0:31:04- You mean, they've just left you? - Yeah.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12- No-one? No help? So you are just left by yourselves?- Yeah.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18Before the missionaries arrived in the 1980s,
0:31:18 > 0:31:21many of these people lived off the land in self-sufficient communities
0:31:21 > 0:31:23deep in the jungle.
0:31:25 > 0:31:27I can't make sense of this.
0:31:27 > 0:31:32The missionaries created this place and now they are not here.
0:31:32 > 0:31:33It's extraordinary.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35It's as if there is a vacuum here.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40This used to be a pristine lawn
0:31:40 > 0:31:44and you'd imagine a picket fence around it.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49It was like a little bit of American suburbia right here in the jungle.
0:31:50 > 0:31:53It's all gone. There's a solitary bathtub over there.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57Everything else...
0:31:57 > 0:32:00it's as if it has evaporated.
0:32:00 > 0:32:01Nothing.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06Benedict encountered the Yaifo people in
0:32:06 > 0:32:09the mountains above Bisorio 30 years ago.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12Targeted for conversion to Christianity,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15some of them abandoned their traditional way of life.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19When I first came here,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22I couldn't work out why the Yaifo would come out of their homes,
0:32:22 > 0:32:26leave their gardens and camp down here in the mission station.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28But then I saw this place and I thought,
0:32:28 > 0:32:30"Why wouldn't they? It's amazing."
0:32:30 > 0:32:33There are hibiscus plants over there,
0:32:33 > 0:32:35there was a medical post over there
0:32:35 > 0:32:37and the missionaries themselves looked so healthy.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40I've got a photo of one of the missionaries here
0:32:40 > 0:32:43and he's baptising someone in the river behind me.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46He's a very enticing role model, really.
0:32:46 > 0:32:48"You too can become like me,
0:32:48 > 0:32:52"you too can become an American and have access to everything."
0:32:53 > 0:32:55It seemed like a great offer.
0:32:57 > 0:32:59Joseph, when the missionaries left here,
0:32:59 > 0:33:00it must have been such a shock.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08So there's no doctor here?
0:33:09 > 0:33:10What is happening now?
0:33:10 > 0:33:12Gradually people are going back into the forest?
0:33:24 > 0:33:26So people have forgotten how to work the gardens,
0:33:26 > 0:33:31- how to find food in the forest, so they are stuck?- Yes.
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Look what I've found. A dusty, old Bible.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45This has not been read for quite a while.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48It's in Bikaru, which is the local language here.
0:33:48 > 0:33:51And a pair of missionary spectacles
0:33:51 > 0:33:54with which to read the good news even closer.
0:33:54 > 0:33:55That's interesting,
0:33:55 > 0:34:00it looks like the Holy Bible in the local language is "goodee-be", goodbye.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03And with that goodbye, off the missionaries went
0:34:03 > 0:34:06to find a new lot of people to spread the good news to.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14The children in Bisorio show signs of malnutrition,
0:34:14 > 0:34:17and now that Benedict and Frank's journey is over,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19the remaining supplies are donated.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36The missionaries were doing the right thing, as far as they were concerned.
0:34:36 > 0:34:42They were here in the service of God for the spreading of the good news.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46But it seems that it wasn't totally good news
0:34:46 > 0:34:49as far as the locals were concerned because...
0:34:50 > 0:34:54Well, they don't look in that good a way, do they?
0:34:54 > 0:34:57They've been forgotten.
0:35:02 > 0:35:07Returning to Bisorio is bringing back the past for Benedict.
0:35:07 > 0:35:08Looking back now,
0:35:08 > 0:35:13I was an explorer in the last era of grand exploration,
0:35:13 > 0:35:16in that classic sense, when there were still journeys to do,
0:35:16 > 0:35:18remote peoples to discover,
0:35:18 > 0:35:21'when you could just disappear off the map.'
0:35:21 > 0:35:24This is very bewildering.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27I did get to the point where life caught up on me.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31My mum had died unexpectedly, my dad was left alone, heartbroken.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34I thought, "I can't do this any more."
0:35:34 > 0:35:36This is the beginning of the airstrip.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Grapefruit trees are growing up,
0:35:39 > 0:35:42and even they are being dragged back into the forest.
0:35:42 > 0:35:43You can see those vines.
0:35:43 > 0:35:46This is going back into the jungle.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49I thought, "I've got to stop,"
0:35:49 > 0:35:52and that's when I settled down and started to have a family.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57And it's glorious and it's frustrating.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59I was going through my equipment just now
0:35:59 > 0:36:02and I reached into my pocket and I found my daughter's sock.
0:36:02 > 0:36:05What is this doing here?
0:36:05 > 0:36:08So, erm... That is family life.
0:36:08 > 0:36:13It has changed, but there still is that little bit inside me...
0:36:13 > 0:36:15that hasn't gone.
0:36:20 > 0:36:21It's sad that Frank isn't here.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24And the plan was,
0:36:24 > 0:36:28we were going to be doing this together right to the end,
0:36:28 > 0:36:30so the mission feels a bit incomplete,
0:36:30 > 0:36:32as far as I'm concerned, but...
0:36:32 > 0:36:35if there's one thing I've learned from him is that
0:36:35 > 0:36:38you just grab whatever you can out of life.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41I feel I can be really grateful for what we DID have,
0:36:41 > 0:36:45which was an extraordinary encounter with a place
0:36:45 > 0:36:50that sometimes can be hell and other times be like paradise.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09We are going back to Papua New Guinea.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Some people are going to be saying, "Well, you know what? Rather you than me, mate."
0:37:12 > 0:37:14But I'm very, very lucky.
0:37:14 > 0:37:16When Frank was examined in Australia,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20he was found to have a grade three wound almost open down to the muscle.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22He spent five days in hospital.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25I am going to do things differently.
0:37:25 > 0:37:29To be medevacked once from Papua New Guinea is acceptable,
0:37:29 > 0:37:33to be medevacked twice, that's not going to look good on the resume.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Frank and Benedict have decided that continuing to follow
0:37:36 > 0:37:41Benedict's previous route overland is too risky for Frank's health.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44I'm very excited about this.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47We are flying into Tari, right up in the highlands,
0:37:47 > 0:37:51and into the heart of bird-of-paradise country.
0:37:58 > 0:38:02Expedition support team members Casper and Felix
0:38:02 > 0:38:04are waiting at the airport.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17Good to see you.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22They are heading to a nearby lodge to meet Joseph,
0:38:22 > 0:38:25one of Papua New Guinea's leading bird experts.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29I feel like there's some unfinished business.
0:38:29 > 0:38:33I've yet to get a proper view of birds-of-paradise.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37It is becoming almost an obsession. I've got to see them.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41You've been taking people to look at the birds-of-paradise, yes?
0:38:41 > 0:38:46Yes, I do take people to see birds-of-paradise in many places.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49We are now high up in the hills.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51This is the landscape,
0:38:51 > 0:38:55the environment to find the elusive birds-of-paradise.
0:38:55 > 0:38:57- So you think there is a good chance I can see them?- Yeah.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01Because, you know, this is my life's birding ambition is to see them.
0:39:01 > 0:39:05'Joseph knows all about the nature, he knows about the moths,
0:39:05 > 0:39:07'the butterflies, but most of all the birds-of-paradise.'
0:39:18 > 0:39:21And when will you feel, Frank, that you've seen what you've come to see?
0:39:21 > 0:39:24What will be that golden moment for me, I think,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27is seeing one of them displaying, showing off,
0:39:27 > 0:39:30fluttering its feathers, preening itself,
0:39:30 > 0:39:33doing the whole peacock job up in the trees.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36It will be really lovely if we can see that.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39These birds are out there, we just have to uncover them.
0:39:42 > 0:39:44OK, Casper, all set for the bush?
0:39:44 > 0:39:46All set for the bush, yes.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Off we go to the high mountains, 3,000 metres.
0:39:50 > 0:39:53To experience the best bird-watching,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56the team needs to get further off the beaten track.
0:39:56 > 0:40:01Joseph's preferred spot will take them along Papua New Guinea's Highlands Highway -
0:40:01 > 0:40:03its major transport artery.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10Built in the 1950s by hand,
0:40:10 > 0:40:13the highway runs over 500 miles from
0:40:13 > 0:40:15the east coast across the mountains.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19We've come to the roadside because
0:40:19 > 0:40:21Joseph recommends that this is one of the best places
0:40:21 > 0:40:24to see birds-of-paradise feeding on fruit trees.
0:40:26 > 0:40:32This once-remote region now thunders to the sound of over 100,000 trucks a year,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36using the road for commercial transportation, including mining,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39coffee and timber exports.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41TRUCK HORN BEEPS
0:40:48 > 0:40:52But there is no more visible example of how progress
0:40:52 > 0:40:55and modernity is cutting right into their territory and, of course,
0:40:55 > 0:40:59the more trucks there are, the more people there are here,
0:40:59 > 0:41:01the more settlements that spring up,
0:41:01 > 0:41:06the more the birds-of-paradise are going to be squeezed out of their land,
0:41:06 > 0:41:07so it is a worry.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15Further up the road, Benedict has met Thomas,
0:41:15 > 0:41:17one of the three million people
0:41:17 > 0:41:19who live along the length of the highway.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22What was it like, Thomas, this road, in the old days?
0:41:22 > 0:41:24It was just a footpath?
0:41:51 > 0:41:52In your father's time,
0:41:52 > 0:41:54he saw the first aeroplane go overhead
0:41:54 > 0:41:57- and he thought that's a swarm of bees coming over?- Yes.
0:42:01 > 0:42:03Thomas, from your point of view,
0:42:03 > 0:42:06- the road coming here has opened up the outside world.- Yes.
0:42:06 > 0:42:09There were no services, no schools, no hospitals,
0:42:09 > 0:42:12- so these things have helped you? - Yes, yes.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14What's going to happen to the forest?
0:42:14 > 0:42:16What's going to happen to the birds-of-paradise,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20all the other wildlife here? It'll suffer, won't it?
0:42:40 > 0:42:45For locals, there's no doubt about it, it's brought huge benefits.
0:42:45 > 0:42:47Hospitals, schools, market.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51It's brought everything - the outside world.
0:42:51 > 0:42:54For the birds-of-paradise, not so good.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57They've retreated further into the forest
0:42:57 > 0:43:02and this road that snakes its way through the landscape
0:43:02 > 0:43:07you could say is like a snake that's entered paradise.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17TRUCK HORN BEEPS
0:43:20 > 0:43:24That is the best possible way of driving away any birds.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28You can't blame them, they are just being friendly,
0:43:28 > 0:43:30but it is so annoying when they "beep, beep, beep".
0:43:30 > 0:43:32I've got no chance of seeing them.
0:43:32 > 0:43:36Joseph says the birds-of-paradise are not going to come.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38I have to say, I'm not surprised.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41Since we've been here, there has been a succession of lorries.
0:43:41 > 0:43:43I think it has scared the birds off.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57The expedition pushes on towards Joseph's highland bird-watching camp
0:43:57 > 0:44:01as they need to arrive before dusk when birds-of-paradise are active.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05We are pretty high up now.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10To get there, Frank needs to take a short trek off-road
0:44:10 > 0:44:12through the cloud forest.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19HE CHUCKLES
0:44:19 > 0:44:23I still feel like some sort of undeserving emperor being carried around,
0:44:23 > 0:44:26but I promise you there is a practical purpose to this
0:44:26 > 0:44:28because the track is very narrow.
0:44:28 > 0:44:29I can see what they mean,
0:44:29 > 0:44:33we are actually heading into some fairly thick undergrowth now.
0:44:39 > 0:44:42THEY SPEAK OWN LANGUAGE
0:44:42 > 0:44:46The trail is getting incredibly narrow here.
0:44:46 > 0:44:52We are in this kind of dank, dripping cloud forest.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55Everything is saturated with cloud moisture.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01They arrive at the grasslands, where Joseph thinks there is
0:45:01 > 0:45:04the best chance of seeing birds-of-paradise.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07You know that bit in Jurassic Park, where you get whole herds of
0:45:07 > 0:45:10herbivorous dinosaurs flocking across the grasslands?
0:45:10 > 0:45:12That's what it's like.
0:45:12 > 0:45:15Because the birds are active late in the day,
0:45:15 > 0:45:18it will be too dark to carry Frank out afterwards,
0:45:18 > 0:45:20so they must overnight.
0:45:20 > 0:45:24Benedict wants Frank to experience traditional accommodation.
0:45:24 > 0:45:26Well done.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35But in terms of building a camp, it's looking good.
0:45:35 > 0:45:38I'm expecting hot and cold running water, you know, a change of towels.
0:45:38 > 0:45:40A change of towels...? I'm not sure.
0:45:40 > 0:45:42I've got my survival kit. If it all goes wrong...
0:45:42 > 0:45:44You will survive.
0:45:46 > 0:45:48For me, this is just fantastic.
0:45:48 > 0:45:52Getting up here to such a remote part of a remote country...
0:45:53 > 0:45:56..and being on the verge of seeing these birds,
0:45:56 > 0:45:58it's just really thrilling.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01We're just waiting now for them to appear.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03We're going to have to be patient.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09The shelter needs to be finished before nightfall.
0:46:13 > 0:46:18It's great being with people who know the woods,
0:46:18 > 0:46:22they know the individual species, how they cut, how they bend.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25It's a joy to be part of their operation.
0:46:29 > 0:46:31What's on our mind, of course,
0:46:31 > 0:46:34is that if you get wet, you feel the cold much more,
0:46:34 > 0:46:36so that's what we are going to concentrate on,
0:46:36 > 0:46:38getting that shelter up quickly.
0:46:38 > 0:46:42We want to dry some grass to lay as a floor.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44That will stop the damp rising up at night
0:46:44 > 0:46:47when it really drops down in temperature.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03I don't know if Frank looks at me and thinks,
0:47:03 > 0:47:05"I could be doing what Benedict does."
0:47:05 > 0:47:07But I think he does think,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11"I should be out there in the world, I could have been."
0:47:12 > 0:47:16When I walk off and I go bashing the trees, trying to make a shelter,
0:47:16 > 0:47:19does that really, deep down, sort of niggle you because you think,
0:47:19 > 0:47:21"I should be doing that, I used to do this"?
0:47:21 > 0:47:25It probably would have done in my first year or two...
0:47:25 > 0:47:29after injury. Our girls were still very small and they said,
0:47:29 > 0:47:31"Daddy, you can help us build a shelter,"
0:47:31 > 0:47:33and I did actually try in Richmond Park,
0:47:33 > 0:47:35try and help them build a shelter,
0:47:35 > 0:47:37and it's really difficult in a wheelchair.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40I've had to learn what to prioritise.
0:47:40 > 0:47:43I'm fine with that. You know,
0:47:43 > 0:47:45it's good to see you indulging your atavistic tendencies,
0:47:45 > 0:47:48bringing out the caveman in you.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52I think probably if I'd met Benedict in my 20s,
0:47:52 > 0:47:54I'm not sure I would have liked him actually
0:47:54 > 0:47:56because I was starting to explore countries,
0:47:56 > 0:47:59not as hardcore as the way he's doing it,
0:47:59 > 0:48:02and I would probably have seen him as some sort of rival.
0:48:03 > 0:48:05Good man, good man.
0:48:05 > 0:48:09- Thank you.- I would have thought, "Yes, but I've been to the
0:48:09 > 0:48:12"hill tribes of the Philippines," and he would have probably been,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14"Yes, but I went much further."
0:48:14 > 0:48:17You know, we would probably have been in a little bit of competition.
0:48:17 > 0:48:20We are so grown out of that now.
0:48:21 > 0:48:25I'm fascinated in his stories, I genuinely respect what he's done,
0:48:25 > 0:48:27big admiration.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29Benedict, you did good.
0:48:29 > 0:48:31We did it. So it's good.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34I hope Frank will think it's acceptable.
0:48:35 > 0:48:40So you've built your shelter, you've fulfilled your part of the deal,
0:48:40 > 0:48:45I've yet to have the big epiphonal moment with the birds-of-paradise.
0:48:45 > 0:48:48I feel for you. I wanted...
0:48:48 > 0:48:50- Time-out, one second.- Big tree.
0:48:50 > 0:48:52That tree there.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55On the right, there's a palm tree.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57Wow! Isn't that beautiful?
0:48:57 > 0:48:59It's really lovely.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04Dazzling, iridescent blue.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06Wonderful long streamers.
0:49:06 > 0:49:07It's just fantastic.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10It dropped down.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13He flew down. I saw him for about a split second.
0:49:13 > 0:49:19As dusk falls, the trees begin to fill with Frank's longed-for birds.
0:49:20 > 0:49:21Yes.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Beautiful. Wow! Wow, wow, wow!
0:49:25 > 0:49:3032 days, 225 miles, all for this one moment.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36Finally, Frank Gardner is fulfilling his dream in Papua New Guinea.
0:49:36 > 0:49:41I wonder whether there's a conscious connection between Frank
0:49:41 > 0:49:45and these birds-of-paradise. There they are, free, up in the heavens.
0:49:45 > 0:49:51Maybe he's looking to them as some sort of symbol of freedom,
0:49:51 > 0:49:55some ethereal, unreachable quality.
0:50:00 > 0:50:02Wow!
0:50:02 > 0:50:06This is the female ribbon-tailed astrapia.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10It's got these long, black, streaming tail feathers.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13If the female is there, the male can't be far away.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15To see the male, it would be amazing.
0:50:15 > 0:50:17It's just this otherworld beast.
0:50:17 > 0:50:20It flies, you think, "That can't be real."
0:50:20 > 0:50:22It's an illusion.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25- Hang on.- That's a male and female there.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Yes, I see it. Yes, yes.
0:50:28 > 0:50:30That's the male.
0:50:30 > 0:50:31Yes, see the tail.
0:50:31 > 0:50:34- Very long tail.- Yeah.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37Wow!
0:50:37 > 0:50:40They are just so fabulous, these birds-of-paradise.
0:50:40 > 0:50:42Fly, fly, fly.
0:50:42 > 0:50:44That's fantastic.
0:50:44 > 0:50:46Look at it. Isn't that beautiful?
0:50:46 > 0:50:48It's gorgeous.
0:50:50 > 0:50:51That is lovely.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54There's another one. Two of them.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00That is just such a beautiful bird. It's really lovely.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02Its magnificent, white, streaming tail.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07I really hope the new road doesn't shrink
0:51:07 > 0:51:09the habitat of these beautiful birds
0:51:09 > 0:51:12because it would be tragic for Papua New Guinea to lose them.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16What's on your list now?
0:51:16 > 0:51:18What are you most hoping to see?
0:51:18 > 0:51:21I want to see, if I can, the King of Saxony.
0:51:28 > 0:51:30I was so nearly thwarted
0:51:30 > 0:51:33because I had to be medevacked out the first time.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35It's been really worth coming back here to see them.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38This is like a dream that goes back decades for me.
0:51:38 > 0:51:40These are such creations of beauty,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43this is exactly what I wanted to come and see.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46I just feel incredibly privileged to have seen this.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52Before this journey,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55I knew Frank as someone
0:51:55 > 0:51:58who kept his cards close to his chest.
0:51:58 > 0:52:02And I was worried because I thought there could be an angry man here.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07Quite rightly angry because of what's happened to him.
0:52:07 > 0:52:09I didn't find that man.
0:52:09 > 0:52:10This is really impressive, isn't it?
0:52:10 > 0:52:12Do you think so?
0:52:12 > 0:52:15Yes. This is brilliant.
0:52:15 > 0:52:17Even as things were going wrong, he was steady.
0:52:17 > 0:52:19He said, "Benedict,
0:52:19 > 0:52:24"I was someone who almost died and I've been given back life."
0:52:24 > 0:52:27I love this. It's the smell of wood smoke.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29It's the smell of evening.
0:52:29 > 0:52:34He said these words and they stayed with me, and they are with me now.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37"Every day is a bonus."
0:52:37 > 0:52:38Yes, I'm good.
0:52:38 > 0:52:41That's it.
0:52:41 > 0:52:43I'll come away with that truth.
0:52:46 > 0:52:48You've done a lot of solo travelling
0:52:48 > 0:52:51and yet somehow you seem to have made an exception
0:52:51 > 0:52:54to bring me along with all the baggage that I come with -
0:52:54 > 0:52:58the wheelchair and people to help lift me over things.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00It must have slowed you down a bit, that.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02That must be frustrating for you.
0:53:02 > 0:53:04I don't know, I was worried at the beginning.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06I thought, "What am I doing opening myself up,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09"allowing someone else to come on a journey?"
0:53:09 > 0:53:11But I think I've been proved right,
0:53:11 > 0:53:14that you're a great person to travel with
0:53:14 > 0:53:18because you have this ability to embrace what you do have,
0:53:18 > 0:53:20which is life.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23Has this journey changed your plans, do you think?
0:53:23 > 0:53:25It's opened up a dilemma,
0:53:25 > 0:53:29which is that I deliberately put my exploration...
0:53:30 > 0:53:35..life behind me and now, Frank, you've gone and opened up this...
0:53:35 > 0:53:38- Sorry about that. - ..this world of possibilities.
0:53:38 > 0:53:40I do see it as positive.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43I've tasted life again in a sense.
0:53:43 > 0:53:47I've been woken up to the world that's around us here in New Guinea,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49and you've been part of that.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51And that is a very powerful feeling
0:53:51 > 0:53:54and you can either treat it negatively and say,
0:53:54 > 0:53:58"Well, I'm stuck in Britain and that's the end of my adventure life,"
0:53:58 > 0:54:01or you can say,
0:54:01 > 0:54:04"There must be a way," and that's what I'm thinking about now.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06So, boiling it right down,
0:54:06 > 0:54:10do you think that this expedition has actually left you a happier,
0:54:10 > 0:54:12more contented person?
0:54:12 > 0:54:14- Yeah.- That's brilliant.
0:54:26 > 0:54:28Morning, Frank.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32- Morning.- How are you doing?- Good. Yes.
0:54:32 > 0:54:33It's the last day
0:54:33 > 0:54:37and Frank and Benedict are preparing to head back to the airport.
0:54:37 > 0:54:40Look at this, this is brilliant.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42This is just magical, isn't it?
0:54:44 > 0:54:47Do you know what I heard? The first thing I heard...
0:54:47 > 0:54:50Great to see you again. How are you?
0:54:50 > 0:54:53I heard the King of Saxony. I heard him.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55The King of Saxony somewhere around here.
0:54:55 > 0:54:57It's just, he's just taunting us.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06I didn't get to see the most amazing, kind of,
0:55:06 > 0:55:09explosive display of feathers that I had dreamed of,
0:55:09 > 0:55:11but that would probably take weeks
0:55:11 > 0:55:14and to be at exactly the right place at the right time.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17Birding is unpredictable, it takes a lot of patience.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20People will cross the planet to come
0:55:20 > 0:55:23and see the birds that I've seen, so I feel really lucky.
0:55:26 > 0:55:30But an hour into the drive back, there's an unexpected sighting.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34- Wow.- This is the bird.
0:55:37 > 0:55:40Is it OK to stop here? Go back a tiny bit.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42Can you see him, Joseph?
0:55:55 > 0:55:57This is just fantastic.
0:55:58 > 0:55:59Listen to that.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02BIRD CALLS
0:56:02 > 0:56:05And we've found it, we've found the King of Saxony bird-of-paradise.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10It's the last day and we've finally seen a bird-of-paradise displaying.
0:56:10 > 0:56:15It's got these two amazing streamers coming out of his head and they are
0:56:15 > 0:56:17flying up into the air, he's perched right at the top,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21he's basically showing off, trying to attract a female.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24He's puffing and preening himself up.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26That's fantastic.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28It's just an otherworldly bird.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32It's suddenly jogged my memory,
0:56:32 > 0:56:35my fascination with birds-of-paradise
0:56:35 > 0:56:38goes right back to when I was nine,
0:56:38 > 0:56:41and we were living in Holland and my dad was playing the piano beautifully,
0:56:41 > 0:56:45he was a concert pianist in his time,
0:56:45 > 0:56:48and I was playing with a friend, we were playing.
0:56:48 > 0:56:52And the playing cards had all these birds-of-paradise on the back
0:56:52 > 0:56:54and I associated...
0:56:54 > 0:56:58what he was playing, I think it was Schumann,
0:56:58 > 0:57:01with these mythical birds.
0:57:01 > 0:57:03I remember saying, "Do they really exist?"
0:57:03 > 0:57:06And my dad said, "Yes, one day we'll go and see them."
0:57:06 > 0:57:08And now I'm seeing them.
0:57:25 > 0:57:27Ever since I was pretty much on my dad's knee,
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Papua New Guinea is a place that I've longed to go to.
0:57:32 > 0:57:34We always thought we would go together.
0:57:36 > 0:57:37We didn't go.
0:57:38 > 0:57:40He isn't around any more.
0:57:43 > 0:57:46So this, in a way, is a kind of tribute to him.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55Finally, the last hour of the last day.
0:57:55 > 0:57:59I'm in shock, actually. I never expected to see one of these things
0:57:59 > 0:58:02displaying. I thought, "That's just like a dream."
0:58:02 > 0:58:05- And there it is.- Wow!
0:58:05 > 0:58:082,500 metres up in the highlands and we've found it.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11We've found the King of Saxony bird-of-paradise.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14It really is a paradise for them and for us.