0:00:05 > 0:00:10Only one creature has carved a life for itself in every habitat on Earth.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15That creature is us.
0:00:17 > 0:00:23All over the world, we still use our ingenuity to survive in the wild places,
0:00:23 > 0:00:28far from the city lights, face to face with raw nature.
0:00:28 > 0:00:33This is the Human Planet.
0:00:43 > 0:00:47Humans have always been drawn to rivers.
0:00:52 > 0:00:54Rivers flow through every environment,
0:00:54 > 0:00:58bringing us the essentials of life -
0:00:58 > 0:01:00fresh water...
0:01:01 > 0:01:03..food...
0:01:05 > 0:01:08..and ready-made highways.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14But what rivers give, they can also take away.
0:01:14 > 0:01:16They can flood,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19freeze...
0:01:19 > 0:01:22and sometimes disappear altogether.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29Rivers force us to take great risks.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33These are remarkable stories of survival
0:01:33 > 0:01:37from the most unpredictable habitat of them all.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06It's the monsoon season, and the mighty Mekong,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Southeast Asia's greatest river, is in full flood.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Between Cambodia and Laos,
0:02:15 > 0:02:20the Mekong current creates the widest rapids in the world.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34The Khone Falls are great for fishing, but also very dangerous...
0:02:36 > 0:02:39..as Sam Niang, a local fisherman, knows all too well.
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Migrating fish get trapped here, waiting to get up the rapids.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21Sam Niang has to risk his life to catch them.
0:03:21 > 0:03:24He has a family of seven to feed.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29He starts by fishing from the riverside, near his home.
0:03:36 > 0:03:42During the monsoon, the Mekong swells to 20 times its normal volume,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46which brings more fish, but makes them much harder to catch.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07After a morning, his net is still empty.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14There is another option - an island out in the main rapids.
0:04:15 > 0:04:20But to get there, Sam Niang must take his life into his hands.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36In the dry season, he built a high wire across the rapids
0:04:36 > 0:04:39out of old cable and bits of rope.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03At this time of the year,
0:05:03 > 0:05:08these rapids have nearly twice the flow of Niagara Falls -
0:05:08 > 0:05:11more than 11 million litres a second.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06He makes it to his favourite fishing perch.
0:06:16 > 0:06:18Turbulent currents corral the fish,
0:06:18 > 0:06:22and Sam Niang soon lands his family's supper.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Though the fish are plentiful here,
0:06:28 > 0:06:31the most he can carry back is a few kilos at a time.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Any more, and he might lose his balance.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Today, Sam Niang won his battle with the Mekong.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08Tomorrow, to keep his family fed, he'll have to fight it again.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17It's not just the power of water that makes rivers dangerous.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20It's their erratic nature too.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Reading a river correctly
0:07:25 > 0:07:28can mean the difference between life and death.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35The Zanskar valley is a hidden world on the edge of Tibet,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37in the heart of the Himalayas.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41In winter, it's cut off by snow.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44All roads in and out are impassable.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56Stanzin needs to get his two children to school,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00but the nearest school is 100 kilometres away,
0:08:00 > 0:08:02and the only way to get there
0:08:02 > 0:08:05is to walk down a frozen river.
0:08:09 > 0:08:15It's a six-day trek, so dangerous it's got its own name -
0:08:15 > 0:08:18the Chadar - the blanket of ice.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24They'll have to brave sub-zero temperatures,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26avalanches and freezing water.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Term starts in a week.
0:08:33 > 0:08:38It's time for the school run, a formidable trip for 11-year-old Dolkar.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50Dolkar's 14-year-old brother, Chosing, is coming too.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57The family prepare for the journey ahead.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06Their mother has knitted them thick woollen socks to protect them.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36The brother and sister depend on their father's courage and skill.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52This has to be the most perilous school run in the world.
0:10:15 > 0:10:21The spring melt seems to have started early, which worries Stanzin.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Stanzin has to make sure the ice can take their weight.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16And his expertise is tested immediately.
0:11:30 > 0:11:36The danger is not only underfoot. There's another threat - avalanches.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57Seven days ago, an avalanche killed a man on the Zanskar river.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18The unusual spring sunshine has brought another problem.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21The river's current has already melted the ice.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32Stanzin has to find a way past the barrier.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50The only way around is a narrow ledge.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10The ledge is barely 20 centimetres wide and covered with snow.
0:13:12 > 0:13:17There's a ten-metre drop to the freezing river below.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25The ledge ends with some metal pegs to climb down.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30Chosing makes it.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Now it's Dolkar's turn.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44They mustn't delay.
0:14:45 > 0:14:51Night is falling fast, and the temperature will plummet to minus 30 Celsius.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55Luckily, Stanzin knows a cave nearby.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21The children need their sleep.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25The most dangerous part of the Chadar is still ahead.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36It's not all hard slog.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42But Dolkar's fun can't last.
0:15:42 > 0:15:47As the smallest, she's the first to feel the cold.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51She starts to lag behind.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55One little girl on a melting ice river,
0:15:55 > 0:15:58among the greatest mountains on Earth.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Now for the final leg.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47The melting ice has left just a tiny shelf.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06It's thin. Stanzin is worried it won't take their weight.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17As he advances, the ice starts to crack.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38With the ice weakened by Stanzin's weight,
0:17:38 > 0:17:41the children have to brave it on their own.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28Dolkar's made it, now for Chosing.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44Thanks to their dad's expertise, the children have survived the Chadar.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47Six days out on the ice river.
0:18:50 > 0:18:55The Himalayan town of Leh, journey's end for the children.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58They rush straight to the school.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01There's just enough time for a goodbye.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28BELL CLANGS
0:19:36 > 0:19:40Stanzin now faces the return journey on his own.
0:19:43 > 0:19:48Melting river ice doesn't just make travelling harder.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53When frozen rivers break up, tonnes of ice start to flow,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57a potential disaster, even in the heart of a modern city.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01In the Canadian capital, Ottawa,
0:20:01 > 0:20:07spring melt turns the Rideau river into public enemy number one.
0:20:07 > 0:20:11The danger point is a footbridge on a frozen waterfall...
0:20:12 > 0:20:16..a bottleneck where the Rideau flows into the Ottawa river.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28It's late February, and the ice is melting here too.
0:20:28 > 0:20:30Ice blocks are in danger of forming a dam,
0:20:30 > 0:20:33which might lead to devastating flooding.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39A natural threat that needs a daring human solution.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Meet the ice-dam busters!
0:20:49 > 0:20:52Their job isn't just to predict nature,
0:20:52 > 0:20:55they have to beat it!
0:21:01 > 0:21:07There are thousands of tonnes of ice behind the bridge, up to a metre thick.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10The team needs to break it up to keep the river flowing.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18Stage one - cut the ice into long strips.
0:21:18 > 0:21:23They're still too large to flow under the bridge, so, for stage two,
0:21:23 > 0:21:27the team uses a more persuasive force...
0:21:28 > 0:21:30Now!
0:21:30 > 0:21:33..hundreds of kilos of dynamite.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42Hup!
0:22:17 > 0:22:23Bite-size pieces now flow easily under the bridge and over the falls.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27The centre of Ottawa is safe for another year.
0:22:29 > 0:22:34The world's largest rivers bring the most danger to our lives.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37Their floods can be devastating.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42They often happen without warning,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45and there's nothing we can do but try to escape.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49In Bangladesh, tens of millions of people
0:22:49 > 0:22:55can be displaced when the Ganges and her tributaries burst their banks.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03The river is so strong, it regularly changes course,
0:23:03 > 0:23:05brushing land aside as it goes.
0:23:12 > 0:23:17A month ago, Mohamed Jaleel's village was 100 metres from the bank.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Today, his house is about to be swept away.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32He and his neighbours have only minutes to move his home.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53The rest of the villagers look on, helpless,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56as the rising river obliterates their land.
0:24:23 > 0:24:28In South America, floods can be so huge
0:24:28 > 0:24:31that the entire year has to be spent planning for them.
0:24:36 > 0:24:42In the Amazon basin, one mother prepares for the rising waters.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46Jarnia lives by the Rio Negro in Brazil.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52It's November, the dry season, the time of plenty.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57Fish are so easy to catch,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01she even has enough to feed the local river dolphins.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12But in six months' time, when the flood water invades,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14all these dolphins and the fish with them
0:25:14 > 0:25:18will disappear into the flooded forest to breed.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29When the fish are gone, feeding her large family will become a nightmare.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38Surviving such hard times means thinking ahead,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40and Jarnia has a four-stage plan.
0:25:43 > 0:25:49Stage one is collecting turtle eggs six months before the floods arrive.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04River turtles lay thousands of eggs in the dry season beaches,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07which they leave to hatch.
0:26:07 > 0:26:13Turtles are a reliable source of protein when the waters rise,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15so these eggs are precious.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34Back in the village, it's time for stage two.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42Jarnia reburies the eggs in her turtle nursery.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44In the wild, many eggs would be eaten by animals...
0:26:46 > 0:26:48..but here they'll be safe.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02By March, four months later, 3,000 eggs have hatched.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05It's stage three - release day!
0:27:31 > 0:27:33It's time to release the babies.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41But will enough of them survive to feed the village in the floods to come?
0:27:45 > 0:27:48It's June, the height of the rains.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55The river rises seven metres.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Jarnia's village is transformed.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05The forest is flooded,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10and the nearest dry land is more than six hours' rowing away.
0:28:12 > 0:28:18Jarnia's family is now marooned by the greatest annual flood on the planet.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Time for the final stage.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Jarnia and her sister Dora prepare to go turtle-hunting.
0:28:32 > 0:28:38Jarnia's husband, Francisco, makes them a turtle-hunting spear...
0:28:47 > 0:28:51..and then the two sisters set off in search of food.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Will their hard work bring dinner to the table?
0:29:11 > 0:29:15At first, it's not looking promising.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35Then Jarnia spots one.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56Her preparation's paid off.
0:29:56 > 0:29:58She'll be able to feed everyone.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12Jarnia's foresight has pulled her family through another difficult flood.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22THEY SING
0:30:44 > 0:30:49Some river creatures pose a direct threat to humans.
0:30:51 > 0:30:59The Zambezi river in Africa is used by elephants, crocodiles and hippos,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02some of the continent's most dangerous animals.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09Fisherman Josphat and his brothers have found a safe,
0:31:09 > 0:31:13if slightly hair-raising, fishing spot,
0:31:13 > 0:31:17a place where they can catch lunch without becoming dinner themselves.
0:31:40 > 0:31:44The place they're heading for may be safe from crocodiles,
0:31:44 > 0:31:47but it does have a drawback.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11The reason Josphat's fishing pools are far from safe
0:32:11 > 0:32:13is their precarious position...
0:32:37 > 0:32:40..at the very top of Victoria Falls.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01Josphat's bravery and skill
0:33:01 > 0:33:06enable him to fish where no animal dares to venture.
0:33:30 > 0:33:36People can overcome floods and even learn to fish on giant waterfalls,
0:33:36 > 0:33:42but there's one face of a river that's virtually impossible to survive.
0:33:45 > 0:33:50When a river dries up and disappears, all life drains away.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59Lemagas is a Samburu camel herder in northern Kenya.
0:33:59 > 0:34:03No rain has fallen here for eight months.
0:34:03 > 0:34:08It's a severe drought, and the Milgis river has vanished.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Lemagas has been forced to range deep into the desert,
0:34:12 > 0:34:16searching for fresh food for his precious camels.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23Now they are far away from home, and they've run out of drinking water.
0:34:40 > 0:34:45Not even the camels can survive this long without a drink.
0:34:45 > 0:34:51Lemagas knows there is water here, hidden underneath the river bed.
0:34:56 > 0:34:59But how can he find it?
0:35:05 > 0:35:10The Samburu have learned to rely on another nomadic creature,
0:35:10 > 0:35:13one that usually travels at night.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26While Lemagas and his camels rest,
0:35:26 > 0:35:32not far away, some giant water-diviners are sniffing out the river bed.
0:35:41 > 0:35:46An elephant's trunk - its nose - is far more sensitive than a human's...
0:35:49 > 0:35:54..which means it can tell where the water table is closest to the surface.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04Elephants must drink 100 litres a day
0:36:04 > 0:36:09and can suck up eight litres of water at a time.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14Having drunk, the elephants leave before dawn.
0:36:20 > 0:36:25Early next morning, Lemagas and his camels are on the elephants' trail.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18Even a dry river bed holds water if you know where to look.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22They sing their thanks to the gods...and the elephants.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42A few days later, Lemagas finally returns to his village
0:37:42 > 0:37:45with its permanent deep well.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48He doesn't forget the help he's been given in the wild.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56The first thing he does is to bring up precious water,
0:37:56 > 0:38:01not just for his herd and his family, but for his wild friends too.
0:38:27 > 0:38:32He doesn't forget his nocturnal water-diviners, for without them,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35Lemagas and his camels could never survive
0:38:35 > 0:38:37when they're far away from home.
0:38:45 > 0:38:50Over 4,000 kilometres away, in Mali, another dry river,
0:38:50 > 0:38:52a tributary of the Niger,
0:38:52 > 0:38:56is forcing one man into making a difficult decision.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02His name is Ouseman, and he's a master mason in Djenne,
0:39:02 > 0:39:08an ancient city made entirely of river mud.
0:39:14 > 0:39:17His job is to maintain the city's mosque,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21the biggest and oldest mud building in the world.
0:39:34 > 0:39:38It's the heart of Ouseman's culture.
0:39:48 > 0:39:53Ouseman's problem is this - every year the mosque needs
0:39:53 > 0:39:56a fresh coat of mud to protect it before the rains arrive.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03Down in the dry river bed, the mud is blended with rice husks,
0:40:03 > 0:40:05and then left to ferment.
0:40:13 > 0:40:18But this year, the mix hasn't reached the right consistency,
0:40:18 > 0:40:22and now the rains are almost upon him.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30Dust storms are blowing in,
0:40:30 > 0:40:34the first signs that the wet season is about to begin.
0:40:36 > 0:40:42The sacred building desperately needs a new storm-proof skin.
0:40:51 > 0:40:56Two days later, Ouseman and his friend Ibrahim return to the river.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00THEY CHAT
0:41:19 > 0:41:21It's a big decision.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25Word spreads fast, and everyone comes down to help.
0:41:29 > 0:41:33Everyone in Djenne has been waiting all year for this special day.
0:42:25 > 0:42:30The built-in palm logs are perches for the plasterers.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58The whole town mucks in to protect the mosque for another year.
0:43:10 > 0:43:14There's been a mud mosque in Djenne for 700 years...
0:43:15 > 0:43:20..the sacred heart of a city fashioned from river mud.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37CHEERING
0:43:44 > 0:43:48Our relationship with rivers is never easy.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52Their waters can give us so much
0:43:52 > 0:43:54but can also take everything away.
0:43:54 > 0:44:00We will always be at the mercy of their wild and unpredictable nature.
0:44:05 > 0:44:12But one culture has found an inspiring way of mastering their savage rivers.
0:44:14 > 0:44:19In northeast India, a giant cliff leads up into a hidden world...
0:44:21 > 0:44:22..Meghalaya.
0:44:25 > 0:44:30Nearly two kilometres high and buffeted by monsoon storm clouds,
0:44:30 > 0:44:34this is possibly the wettest place on Earth.
0:44:39 > 0:44:45Once, 25 metres of rain fell here in a year, the world record.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51Living here poses an unusual problem,
0:44:51 > 0:44:53and it's not just keeping dry.
0:44:57 > 0:45:02Nearly all the rain falls during the summer monsoon.
0:45:03 > 0:45:08Rivers switch from gentle streams to raging torrents.
0:45:13 > 0:45:20They become wild and unpredictable and almost impossible to cross.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34Harley and his niece Juliana are busy cultivating a cunning solution.
0:45:45 > 0:45:4930 years ago, Harley planted this strangler fig
0:45:49 > 0:45:54on the river's edge, and today, he's teaching Juliana how to care for it.
0:45:54 > 0:45:59The fig's tangled roots help to prevent the bank being washed away.
0:46:08 > 0:46:14He teaches Juliana to coax the roots across what is now just a stream.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18When they reach the other side, they'll take hold there.
0:46:19 > 0:46:24This is the basis of a structure that will survive any deluge.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28A living bridge.
0:46:31 > 0:46:36It's an epic project that no man can complete in one lifetime,
0:46:36 > 0:46:41so Harley is passing on his knowledge to Juliana.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53Each year, Juliana will need to tend the roots, making them stronger.
0:46:56 > 0:46:58If she stays and completes her bridge,
0:46:58 > 0:47:02it will become part of the commuter route here,
0:47:02 > 0:47:07a network of dozens of living bridges that connect the valleys of Meghalaya.
0:47:26 > 0:47:30Some of them are many centuries old.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33There are even double-deckers.
0:47:55 > 0:48:01With Juliana to look after it, the future of this young bridge looks secure...
0:48:07 > 0:48:12..sustainable, living architecture
0:48:12 > 0:48:15that will live and grow for generations...
0:48:24 > 0:48:28..one of the very few examples in the world
0:48:28 > 0:48:33where humans have come up with a successful and natural solution,
0:48:33 > 0:48:37a way of working with nature
0:48:37 > 0:48:42to overcome the problems a wild river can cause.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57For the Human Planet Rivers team, filming on the Mekong river
0:48:57 > 0:49:01at the height of the monsoon raised many challenges.
0:49:03 > 0:49:09Mainly, how do you capture a remarkable event without losing your camera,
0:49:09 > 0:49:13your crew or your star fisherman, Sam Niang, to the river?
0:49:21 > 0:49:25The Khone Falls have more water flowing over them
0:49:25 > 0:49:27than any other waterfall in the world.
0:49:35 > 0:49:39A narrowing of the mighty Mekong river funnels the migrating fish
0:49:39 > 0:49:43and provides a dangerous, if lucrative, opportunity.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59The crew's here to capture the extreme lengths
0:49:59 > 0:50:02that locals will go to catch fish.
0:50:04 > 0:50:09Sam Niang is lucky. He has access to his own small island for fishing.
0:50:09 > 0:50:14But to get to his prime spot, he must risk life and limb.
0:50:47 > 0:50:51To capture the spectacle of Sam Niang's high-wire feat,
0:50:51 > 0:50:54the crew have chosen a gadget that runs on wires
0:50:54 > 0:50:59and that controls the camera electronically, known as a cable dolly.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07And the idea is, it's one of our most exciting and sought-after shots,
0:51:07 > 0:51:10so we can follow someone walking across the tightrope,
0:51:10 > 0:51:16so the camera moves with them and then pulls out to reveal the angry water.
0:51:18 > 0:51:23But rigging such a hi-tech system over a raging torrent
0:51:23 > 0:51:27is no easy feat, and it requires a specialist rigger.
0:51:27 > 0:51:32We're just trying to get the cable across for the dolly,
0:51:32 > 0:51:38so the local guy's just shimmied across the wires, as he does every day.
0:51:42 > 0:51:46Whilst Tim works on the cables, the rest of the team
0:51:46 > 0:51:49concentrate on filming the rapids from every other angle,
0:51:49 > 0:51:54even shooting in the rapids themselves.
0:51:54 > 0:51:56I'll just go here. It won't be a long run.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58It'll take two or three minutes.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Mick O'Shea was the first man ever
0:52:00 > 0:52:05to navigate the entire Mekong, from Tibet to southern China -
0:52:05 > 0:52:08just the man to capture a fish-eye view.
0:52:28 > 0:52:33But even he succumbs to the full force of the Mekong in surge.
0:52:35 > 0:52:40His kayak is sucked under by the powerful current and swept downstream.
0:52:53 > 0:52:59After a few worrying minutes, Mick re-appears, back in control,
0:52:59 > 0:53:01safe but shaken.
0:53:23 > 0:53:29With new-found respect for the Mekong's power, the crew stick to solid ground.
0:53:29 > 0:53:33Using a four-metre jib, they follow Sam Niang
0:53:33 > 0:53:38as he negotiates a treacherous rocky outcrop to cast his net.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42Over and down, OK? And on... Good.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51By now, Tim has the rigging ready for the dolly.
0:53:51 > 0:53:53Do you want this up there?
0:53:53 > 0:53:55There's a massive cloud come over.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57THUNDER RUMBLES
0:53:57 > 0:54:00But no sooner than it's in place, the heavens open.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03It's the last thing they need.
0:54:03 > 0:54:07Dolly filming stops for technical and safety reasons.
0:54:36 > 0:54:42There's just a little spot of rain. I think rain's stopping play!
0:54:57 > 0:55:00- Cos electronics survive the rain well(!)- Yeah.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04THUNDER CRASHES
0:55:07 > 0:55:10The next morning, it's clear that, as feared,
0:55:10 > 0:55:12water has got into the electronics.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19So what's gone wrong with it now?
0:55:33 > 0:55:35So the new, modern technology is ousted by the old-school way.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49I'm going to go up there now and, um, put the camera on!
0:55:49 > 0:55:51Oh, my... Whoa! OK.
0:55:51 > 0:55:57The crew finally get the cable dolly working, so now it's time to get creative.
0:55:59 > 0:56:05The light, the dolly, the safety team and, most importantly, Sam Niang,
0:56:05 > 0:56:07all have to work in unison.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11Go!
0:56:15 > 0:56:18We turned it the wrong way.
0:56:28 > 0:56:30OK, Tim.
0:56:34 > 0:56:36No.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38Nearly, nearly.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Bring it all back, yes.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43Go.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47No. Still no!
0:56:48 > 0:56:51Sam Niang looks really happy, though, doesn't he?
0:56:51 > 0:56:55My heart's in my mouth every time he has to go over that rope.
0:56:57 > 0:57:00You look really happy, and I'm really worried!
0:57:03 > 0:57:09The sun breaks through the clouds, and finally it all comes together.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30Yay, we've got a keeper!
0:57:32 > 0:57:34That's great!
0:57:34 > 0:57:38Thanks very much, you.
0:57:38 > 0:57:39Yeah!
0:57:39 > 0:57:40What a relief.
0:57:55 > 0:58:00Despite the odds, the Human Planet team have triumphed.