0:00:07 > 0:00:12The more I see of Australia, the more fascinated I become by this vast continent.
0:00:12 > 0:00:18In this series I'm gonna look at stories, people, places and events
0:00:18 > 0:00:23as I travel in the traditional Aboriginal style by going walkabout.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58This is the Stuart Highway.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02It runs almost 3,000km from Darwin in the north of Australia
0:01:02 > 0:01:08to Port Augusta in the South, dissecting the very heart of this vast land.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11It takes its name from a little known explorer
0:01:11 > 0:01:16who was the first European to successfully cross the continent in 1862.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Well, I know this series is all about walking
0:01:20 > 0:01:27but the story that I want to look at on this particular episode requires a lot of driving
0:01:27 > 0:01:31because I want to look at one of the greats of Australian exploration,
0:01:31 > 0:01:36the first man who walked from south to north and back again,
0:01:36 > 0:01:38a man called John McDouall Stuart.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43But it's not his big expedition I want to look at, it's the little ones that led up to it.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47The little expeditions that taught him how to conquer this country
0:01:47 > 0:01:51in terms of finding water and finding his way and being alive here.
0:01:53 > 0:01:56Very little was known then about the interior of the country.
0:01:56 > 0:01:58No maps existed.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03It is said that the early European settlers knew more about the surface of the moon
0:02:03 > 0:02:06than the interior of Australia.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12There's no doubt that Australia is vast and arid,
0:02:12 > 0:02:15but, you know, when you travel in air-conditioned luxury
0:02:15 > 0:02:19on tarmac roads you're lulled into a false sense of security.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22It's only when you come off of the hard top, that you begin to realise
0:02:22 > 0:02:27that yes, you are travelling across a desert and it still has teeth.
0:02:32 > 0:02:39Stuart felt the bite of those teeth many times on his explorations, almost costing him his life.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43One of six children born in the small village of Dysart, Scotland,
0:02:43 > 0:02:48he came to Australia in 1839 and worked out of Adelaide as a surveyor.
0:02:48 > 0:02:56He thrived in the desert, the quiet and the desolation appealing to his nature as a loner.
0:02:56 > 0:03:02He became obsessed in his desire to map out the centre of this uncharted territory,
0:03:02 > 0:03:07pushing himself and his men to the very limits of endurance.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14During these early expeditions he developed his own approach to conquering this land,
0:03:14 > 0:03:20and one that in my mind made him one of the greatest explorers of this arid terrain.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26It's really good to be back in the bush and I'm looking forward to the first night's camp
0:03:26 > 0:03:31as we've chosen a very special place, Gregory Creek.
0:03:31 > 0:03:36This is one of the campsites Stuart stayed in on his early journeys
0:03:36 > 0:03:40and it starts to give me a sense of the terrain he was working in.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43He was employed here as a surveyor,
0:03:43 > 0:03:48looking for valuable grazing land, copper and gold deposits.
0:03:48 > 0:03:54It was these years spent in the bush that taught him how to survive and travel out here.
0:03:55 > 0:04:02As the crew set up for the night my first priority, like Stuart, is to brew some billy-tea.
0:04:04 > 0:04:08There are a few things you can take with you in desert trips that can be very useful,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11particularly in Australia. One of those is a head net.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15The flies can be very irritating and having a net that you can throw over your hat...
0:04:15 > 0:04:20you may look ridiculous but I have to tell you it's brilliant because you can now concentrate.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24It was a major problem for some of the expeditions were the flies,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26and the flies constantly harassing the men.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30They used to get into their eyes and eventually cause serious infections.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34So having some means to protect yourself is a very good idea.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37The other thing that's good to take with you is one of these,
0:04:37 > 0:04:40which is a solar fire starter, it's a parabolic mirror.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43What I've got here is a little bit of dung,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47pop that on to the spikes at the end of this.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Find the sun,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53and now this...
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Bit like a magnifying glass, but using a mirror instead of a lens,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01I can focus the power of the sun on the dung.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04And you can see immediately it starts to catch.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Once that's going I can take it off and it'll glow
0:05:12 > 0:05:17like a little ember and I can use that for starting the fire.
0:05:19 > 0:05:24In all my travels across Australia I've found that the fibrous texture of kangaroo dung
0:05:24 > 0:05:27is particularly good for lighting fires.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30Once lit it will smoulder away quite happily.
0:05:34 > 0:05:39Rick Moore, the president of the McDouall Stuart Society, joins me around the campfire.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44I wonder about his motivation.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47I mean, when you leave civilisation and head into this country,
0:05:47 > 0:05:52you gradually lose more and more resources until you come to this landscape which looks like Mars.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56I think NASA even sent some vehicles here for testing, it's so like it.
0:05:56 > 0:06:02What encouraged him to keep pressing on into such a barren environment?
0:06:02 > 0:06:06He must have had a bit of a burning personal goal.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11He was good at surveying and perhaps, being inclined to like the bush,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15he might have by then worked out he was perhaps better in the bush than in the city.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18One of the things I find intriguing
0:06:18 > 0:06:21is the way his expeditions were backed.
0:06:21 > 0:06:27He was working for somebody else who seemed to have taken most of the benefits of his work.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Yeah, his first backer was a gentleman named Fink
0:06:30 > 0:06:33and then two brothers joined him,
0:06:33 > 0:06:36and the Chambers brothers and these guys were leading entrepreneurs.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41They were into mining, pastoralism, and they befriended him and they took him under his wing.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43But he worked for them for years.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46So the treasures are the knowledge, the judgement of the land,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50the maps, the waters, can anyone else go there?
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Very valuable for a new colony.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55Do you know whether he had any real pals, friends,
0:06:55 > 0:06:59people who weren't just interested in him in some sort of financial way?
0:06:59 > 0:07:01There's no record of that.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05- He's quite a lonely character, isn't he?- Yeah, definitely.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09Yeah, probably pretty tough guy to be around. Only a little bloke,
0:07:09 > 0:07:11tough, but all his men respected him.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14It was a very difficult thing to keep pushing his men
0:07:14 > 0:07:20into this incredibly tough environment. I think they all went way beyond the call.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22And the physical hardship they endured...
0:07:22 > 0:07:29Way beyond the call and that goes back to your question, you know, why did he do it? What was in it for him?
0:07:29 > 0:07:33Yeah, way beyond the call of most men, and he was successful.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39The night skies here in the desert are simply beautiful.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44They lend everything a timeless quality that somehow brings Stuart much closer.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48BIRDS TWITTER
0:07:48 > 0:07:53You wake early in the desert, the sun and the galahs see to that.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55You also want to get up and washed
0:07:55 > 0:07:58before the flies become too much of a nuisance.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01I like to make time in the morning to get myself organised
0:08:01 > 0:08:03and to prepare for the day ahead.
0:08:03 > 0:08:09As I said, my aim isn't to follow Stuart's crossing of the country but to visit some of the places
0:08:09 > 0:08:17that were key to him gaining his bush knowledge and experience that allowed him to make that journey.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21One of the things I really like to do is to look at my route on a survey map.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24At the beginning of each day I'll check where I'm going
0:08:24 > 0:08:28so that when I'm driving along I've a better understanding of what I'm passing by.
0:08:28 > 0:08:32I'm very lucky because most of Australia is extremely well mapped
0:08:32 > 0:08:37but, of course, back in Stuart's day it was largely a blank sheet of paper.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40You can see here how I've got my maps organised.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43I've numbered each sheet that I'm gonna need for the whole journey
0:08:43 > 0:08:46so I can find my way to them very easily.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48It also means that I won't lose track of them.
0:08:48 > 0:08:53I know that if number five's not there, I have to look for it cos I don't want to lose anything.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57I can't suddenly pop into the shops, and that's exactly how it was for Stuart.
0:08:57 > 0:09:01He was an absolute stickler for having his whole equipment really well organised -
0:09:01 > 0:09:05his bags were numbered, and every piece of equipment had its place.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11Of course, it wasn't just about being able to find the equipment he needed when he needed it.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16It was about not losing them, because this man was travelling very light.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Virtually every piece of equipment he had was essential.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Before departing on my trip, Rick arranged for me to spend some time
0:09:27 > 0:09:34looking at Stuart's personal belongings, kept here at the History Trust's store in Adelaide.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39This is the kit he built up and refined over his many early explorations
0:09:39 > 0:09:43and would have been with him on his eventual crossing of the country.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49I feel honoured to be granted permission
0:09:49 > 0:09:53and hope it will shed some light on Stuart's method of exploration.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00This is a real privilege.
0:10:00 > 0:10:05On the table here I've got some of the items that are held in collections here in Australia
0:10:05 > 0:10:10from Stuart's expeditions and it's fascinating to have a look at them.
0:10:10 > 0:10:15One of Stuart's men was a man called Kekwick and this was his mug.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18When I travel I have one mug I take everywhere with me,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20and I'm sure it was the same for him,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23It becomes a very personal item, it's in use every day.
0:10:23 > 0:10:25That mug would have been designed -
0:10:25 > 0:10:27if I'm very careful, that folds in -
0:10:27 > 0:10:31and that was designed to fit inside a billycan for cooking.
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Amazing.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39But perhaps most interesting of these personal items
0:10:39 > 0:10:42is this scarf ring made of red coral.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45That was John McDouall Stuart's
0:10:45 > 0:10:47and it's in the shape of a dragon.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50I wonder what Aboriginal people thought of when they saw that.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55This is John McDouall Stuart's belt.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57This tells us a lot about the man.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01He was very slim and...
0:11:01 > 0:11:06I could barely get that round my thigh, it's quite astonishing!
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Fascinating.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Navigation was of course critical on these expeditions,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19and it's interesting to know the quality of his navigational equipment.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23The compass was a tool he was completely happy and comfortable with.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27His first expedition was carried out merely by dead reckoning,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29knowing his distance and bearings.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33And so to hold his compass and look through there and take a reading...
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Wow, it's a bit chilling actually.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42And it's really moving to hold that compass cos you know what that meant to him.
0:11:44 > 0:11:50Later on he used a more accurate means of navigation or fixing his position on the land's surface,
0:11:50 > 0:11:55which was necessary if the interior of Australia was to be accurately mapped.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58And for that he used a sextant, and this is his sextant.
0:11:58 > 0:12:03It's a well made sextant with a micrometer reading on the bottom here.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08And it shows the commitment to accurately recording where he'd gone.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12His observations would, of course, have been written down,
0:12:12 > 0:12:16and this is one of the notebooks from 1862.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20It's interesting that when you read it from this direction
0:12:20 > 0:12:23the observations are of two types.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28We have lunar observations and sun observations to establish
0:12:28 > 0:12:33his longitude, by working out the local apparent noon.
0:12:33 > 0:12:39And when you read it from the other direction there are his latitude observations,
0:12:39 > 0:12:44all beautifully recorded here in a light copperplate script.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48That's very, very special.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52But I guess of all of the equipment that I'm looking at here,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57the things that have intrigued me most have been the binocular and the telescope and his spurs.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00I think these things are very interesting.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04These are his binoculars, they're French binoculars,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06they're good quality binoculars,
0:13:06 > 0:13:10they're still functioning today and they're very light.
0:13:12 > 0:13:18Optics were tremendously important for him in scanning the landscape in searching for water.
0:13:18 > 0:13:24And the way he would look for that was to get up early in the morning and scan with a telescope.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28The optics are of good quality but they're very light.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Very, very light and that's reflected also, that concept, in his spurs.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Look how delicate these spurs are.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38That's incredible.
0:13:38 > 0:13:42This was a man who in his mind believed in travelling light
0:13:42 > 0:13:46and fast, and his equipment very much reflects that.
0:13:46 > 0:13:51I've been looking at this, thinking about the equipment I take on a trip into the desert
0:13:51 > 0:13:54and thinking, well, maybe my binoculars give me better vision
0:13:54 > 0:13:56but they're heavy compared to those.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Lightness is something that as you get older I think you come to value more and more
0:14:00 > 0:14:02and it's something that he really understood.
0:14:02 > 0:14:06And that's the abiding impression I'm left with from his equipment -
0:14:06 > 0:14:11how simple his outfit must have been, how well made it was.
0:14:11 > 0:14:17It's robust, but it's all epitomising his concept - light and fast.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23This travel light and fast approach was adopted by Stuart
0:14:23 > 0:14:27after a failed 18-month expedition in 1844.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29Captain Charles Sturt led the way.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31He travelled like many early explorers,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34taking everything they thought they needed with them.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39Burdened by all their equipment and a flock of sheep, they moved very slowly.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Stuart having seen the error in the method came up with a plan.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46He was convinced that you could explore this land
0:14:46 > 0:14:53taking only the bare essentials and a few good men on horseback, travelling from sun up to sun down.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58His early trips into the then uncharted land were invaluable.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02Stuart taught himself what to look for, learning as he went,
0:15:02 > 0:15:04banking the knowledge needed to survive out here.
0:15:04 > 0:15:10He would use his bush skills to find a drink, going where the water led him.
0:15:10 > 0:15:15To the untrained eye it would seem that finding water here would be nigh-on impossible
0:15:15 > 0:15:20but Stuart had the uncanny knack of wringing a drink out of this sunburnt landscape.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25We know that Stuart took good optics with him on his expeditions.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29He took binoculars, which are convenient and very easy to use,
0:15:29 > 0:15:34with which he could scan ahead looking for any indication of water,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38maybe a particularly green or bushy tree down a creek,
0:15:38 > 0:15:43or wildlife - birds that could indicate the presence of water, pigeons, kangaroos...
0:15:43 > 0:15:46Kangaroos dig in some of these creeks for water.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50But the thing that really intrigues me is the fact he was carrying a telescope with him.
0:15:50 > 0:15:55The telescope gives you much greater magnification, and we know that he would go in the morning
0:15:55 > 0:16:02onto high points when there was less mirage, less heat haze, take the telescope and scan the country ahead
0:16:02 > 0:16:08looking for any possible source of water because that's the means by which he navigated.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11And I can picture the scene.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Steady the telescope.
0:16:19 > 0:16:20Focus it.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26And then very carefully
0:16:26 > 0:16:28follow the creek lines,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31studying them for anything that could indicate
0:16:31 > 0:16:34the presence...of water.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38And you can very easily discern now
0:16:38 > 0:16:41bushes that are particularly green and verdant,
0:16:41 > 0:16:43and with a telescope like this
0:16:43 > 0:16:47you can look into the bush and see the presence of bird life.
0:16:50 > 0:16:54And having done that, he could then send other members of his team out to scout ahead,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57send them down the creek lines to survey it, saying,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59"Pay particular attention over there.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02"That might be a good place for water."
0:17:02 > 0:17:07And by that means he very quickly could build up an accurate impression of where the water was
0:17:07 > 0:17:12so that he could navigate via reliable sources of water.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14That's what was unique about Stuart's approach -
0:17:14 > 0:17:20he followed the water, rather than hoping it would be where he wanted to go.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25In this vast land, Stuart couldn't have done what he did without horses.
0:17:25 > 0:17:32They had the stamina and reliability to travel the distances needed as he surveyed the landscape.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35His life literally depended upon them.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39To preserve the horses, Stuart set off early in the mornings,
0:17:39 > 0:17:44setting a steady pace as they rode for hours across the baking interior.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Their needs always came first at the end of the day.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51No-one could eat or drink until they'd been tended to.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56Today the mode of transport has changed to four-wheel drives,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58but actually the same rules apply.
0:17:59 > 0:18:04When you're travelling in this sort of country, you need to inspect your tyres on a regular basis.
0:18:04 > 0:18:10Make sure you've got the appropriate tyre pressures and look for any signs of wear.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15These rocks here, they're not just hard, they're also very sharp.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19And, of course, not much has changed since McDouall Stuart came through here.
0:18:19 > 0:18:27Back then it wasn't tyres, it was horseshoes, and on his second expedition he made a major mistake.
0:18:27 > 0:18:33He didn't take enough horseshoes with him and 100km north of here, he had to turn back.
0:18:33 > 0:18:38You can imagine, can't you? If your horse goes lame out here, you're as good as dead.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49The searing heat can play strange tricks on the mind and the eye.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54Stuart learned this the hard way on Captain Charles Sturt's expedition.
0:18:54 > 0:18:56Slowed to a standstill by all their kit,
0:18:56 > 0:19:01Stuart was sent to scout ahead for water and after four days in the saddle
0:19:01 > 0:19:04his weary eyes met with the very welcome sight
0:19:04 > 0:19:07of a huge lake in the distance.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09He returned with the triumphant news.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12But his elation would turn to disappointment
0:19:12 > 0:19:16as it turned out he had been deceived by a mirage.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20He vowed never to let this happen again and wrote...
0:19:20 > 0:19:24"The mirage is so powerful that little bushes appear like great gum-trees.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27"One would think that the whole country was under water."
0:19:27 > 0:19:30One of the best ways of getting water in a desert
0:19:30 > 0:19:35in an emergency is by use of something called a transpiration bag.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37To do this you're gonna need a big polythene bag.
0:19:37 > 0:19:42You have to have that with you already, but here in Australia there's a real advantage.
0:19:42 > 0:19:47What I'm gonna do is try and trap the moisture being transpired from these leaves
0:19:47 > 0:19:49by covering a branch in a plastic bag.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54Some trees will give out chemicals called alkaloids into the water and make it toxic,
0:19:54 > 0:19:56but eucalypts don't do that
0:19:56 > 0:20:02and that's one of the great advantages for this technique here in Australia.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06What I'm looking for is a fairly bushy branch on this sapling
0:20:06 > 0:20:10that's facing north so it's gonna get good sun and I'm gonna need to
0:20:10 > 0:20:14trim it up a little bit to get rid of some of the excess branches that I don't need.
0:20:16 > 0:20:24This far south in the Southern Hemisphere the sun passes from east to west with the sun to the north,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28so that's why I'm careful to choose a north-facing branch.
0:20:45 > 0:20:49It really pays to take your time, getting as many of the branches in as possible
0:20:49 > 0:20:54so that you can trap as much of the life-giving water that this bush will transpire.
0:21:00 > 0:21:06Have to be careful not to puncture the bag because it needs to be airtight.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Seal this end as well as possible.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21So...
0:21:21 > 0:21:25I've gone to quite some length to tie that firmly.
0:21:26 > 0:21:31I'll leave that long so that if I have to re-tie it later I can.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Now, down at this end...
0:21:48 > 0:21:50So...
0:21:50 > 0:21:53there's the transpiration bag set up.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58What I've created here is a reservoir to collect the water by just narrowing the bag here,
0:21:58 > 0:22:03and what I'm gonna do now is adjust this cord so this is hanging down at the lowest point.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14So I've rigged that so that this is right at the bottom.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17The gravity will lead any moisture down into there.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24That's good. And you can already start to see
0:22:24 > 0:22:28moisture forming on the inside of the bag as the tree transpires.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32It's like a greenhouse, trapping all the moisture transpired from the leaves
0:22:32 > 0:22:34then that finds its way down here,
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and we can shake it and tap some of the moisture
0:22:36 > 0:22:38so that it'll run down.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41So we're just gonna leave that now in the sun to do its work.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44Oh, I've got a hole there - look. That's no good.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Need a bit of...
0:22:48 > 0:22:50bit of gaffer tape from the crew.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55Thanks.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57Good, I'll leave that to do its job.
0:23:03 > 0:23:10As the sun climbs, the heat rises towards 40 degrees and the transpiration bag begins to work.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14The leaves perspire and release their precious life-giving moisture.
0:23:32 > 0:23:37On arriving at camp for the night, Stuart had a strict routine he adhered to.
0:23:37 > 0:23:43Whilst he made the most of the remaining daylight writing up his precious charts and journal,
0:23:43 > 0:23:49his men would unpack the saddlebags, hobble the horses and collect wood for the campfire.
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Their fire-lighting kit reflected Stuart's philosophy of travelling light.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Rick has been given special permission
0:23:56 > 0:24:00to bring along the fire-lighting kit of the artist Stephen King,
0:24:00 > 0:24:03who accompanied Stuart on a number of his journeys.
0:24:03 > 0:24:09This is Stephen King's flint and steel...that he carried.
0:24:09 > 0:24:17So this is how you'd make fire, just simple gear using rudimentary equipment.
0:24:17 > 0:24:18It's very interesting, isn't it?
0:24:18 > 0:24:24Little brass tube to contain it, and a striker and a piece of flint.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27And this intriguing tube.
0:24:27 > 0:24:33Now, this is the first time I've seen this, but I've seen photographs and drawings of it, Rick.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38And what I've begun back in the UK is I've gone into my shed and I've replicated this...
0:24:38 > 0:24:42I'll show you what I made, I think I've come pretty close, actually.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47- That's what I've knocked up. - It's very similar.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50It's very close, and without actually seeing the original.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54But there is one thing I've added that I think you'll find very interesting.
0:24:54 > 0:25:00What I've done is I've put in a cord. This is a cotton cord which I've impregnated with saltpetre,
0:25:00 > 0:25:06and I think that is what the tube from King's apparatus was used for.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09And if I bring that charred end out and show you that...
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- Yup.- There's the charred end.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15But if I can get a spark to land in the right place...
0:25:16 > 0:25:18- There.- Like that.- Like that.
0:25:18 > 0:25:23And cos this has got the saltpetre it glows like a slow match.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28- And it won't go out.- That won't go, it's gonna keep going.
0:25:28 > 0:25:31Let's give this a go then, shall we, Rick?
0:25:48 > 0:25:51There's our fire.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Now, the clever thing about the tube
0:25:54 > 0:25:58is that you can pull that down and you can place your finger over the top of the tube,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00and that starves it of oxygen and out it goes.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04And I think that that's what you have in this kit here.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11But, Rick, King's fire-lighting apparatus is quite well travelled, isn't it?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14Yeah, more than quite well travelled, it's extraordinary travelled.
0:26:14 > 0:26:20Because not only did it go from south to north, the first European crossing across the continent,
0:26:20 > 0:26:28Dr Andy Thomas, who's a descendant of FG Waterhouse, who was the naturalist on the final expedition of Stuart's,
0:26:28 > 0:26:32took this as a memento when he went in the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1996.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34So it's pretty well travelled.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37It was here, right here, right at this very spot
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and it was on the north coast of Australia,
0:26:39 > 0:26:44and then about 145 years later it was Andy's personal memento
0:26:44 > 0:26:48as Australia's only astronaut on the space shuttle Endeavour.
0:26:48 > 0:26:49That's amazing.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54- That is incredible, to think that it was probably used right here.- Absolutely.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Right here, and then it goes off... I find that amazing.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01- And it's come back and it's intact. - That's fascinating.- Pretty special, isn't it?
0:27:05 > 0:27:10OK, time to see if I have enough for a life-saving drink.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Well, let's have a look at the transpiration bag,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15and I'm really pleased with that result.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18In fact, the reservoir hasn't been big enough.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22There's a good amount of water here, and a lot more than I can tap down from the branch.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25This is my choice of technique for an emergency here.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29You could have 20 or 30 of these bags stashed away in an off-road
0:27:29 > 0:27:32vehicle without any difficulty should the need arise,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35and all you do is put them on the branch and let the sun do the rest.
0:27:36 > 0:27:37Fantastic!
0:27:39 > 0:27:41I'm gonna see how much there is.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Normally you'd save the bag and open it carefully but I don't have to.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48I'm just gonna cut it and see what the score is.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Go on, go on, go on.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01We've nearly got... Yes.
0:28:02 > 0:28:10My mug's calibrated and that's half a litre of liquid for virtually no effort whatsoever.
0:28:10 > 0:28:17Decent quantity, just thanks to this bush and the power of Mother Nature herself, the sun, cheers.
0:28:20 > 0:28:21It even tastes good.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25BIRDS TWITTER
0:28:40 > 0:28:43DIDGERIDOO MUSIC
0:28:43 > 0:28:45Well, it can happen to anyone.
0:28:45 > 0:28:50This may look like a set-up but believe me, no-one wants to get bogged down out here.
0:28:50 > 0:28:55However it does give me the chance to show you how to get out of a similar situation.
0:28:55 > 0:28:59Having had extensive experience of travelling off-road in this country,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02I made sure that one of our vehicles was fitted with a winch.
0:29:02 > 0:29:06But we still have to dig down and place branches under the tyres
0:29:06 > 0:29:10to give us purchase on the very soft sand bed.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14John, would you do us a favour...?
0:29:14 > 0:29:16Everything's zipped in your swag, isn't it?
0:29:16 > 0:29:18Yeah.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24OK, guys, live cable.
0:29:24 > 0:29:29I've seen a winch cable break under the strain before and believe me it's extremely dangerous.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34The pressure on the cable is greatest near to the vehicle that is being winched.
0:29:35 > 0:29:37If it snaps it'll whip back.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40As a precaution we wrap a swag around the middle
0:29:40 > 0:29:44to prevent this whipping action that could be lethal.
0:29:44 > 0:29:48The key is to be patient and to winch slowly, taking up the slack.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52Too fast and we will get bogged down again.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18Very unfortunate to get stuck there, came down here last night in the dark,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21tired a little bit dehydrated, made a poor decision.
0:30:21 > 0:30:22Looked down the slope
0:30:22 > 0:30:26and I could see where there'd been a campfire and I could also see roots of the trees
0:30:26 > 0:30:29so I thought, well, that must be hard sand.
0:30:29 > 0:30:34Drove down there, soon as I got in I realised it was soft and I bogged out on the underside of the vehicle.
0:30:34 > 0:30:38But we're fortunate - we got one of the vehicles set up with a winch.
0:30:38 > 0:30:44Here's a little tip - when you're winching and you tie your shackle on, you fix your shackle on like so.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50When you do it up, a lot of people do it up really tight.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55The problem with that is that by the time you've loaded the vehicle and you've pulled it out
0:30:55 > 0:30:57it can have tightened and you can't get it undone.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00So once you've done it up, undo it a fraction.
0:31:01 > 0:31:07Still gonna hold tight once there's load on there, but it means when you get out, you can easily undo it.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Little tip, little things like that make all the difference.
0:31:15 > 0:31:21Reminders of the harsh reality of living in such an environment are never far away.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25Travelling in vehicles can lull you into a false sense of security,
0:31:25 > 0:31:27but step out into the blistering heat of the day
0:31:27 > 0:31:31and it's not long before you're reaching for the water bottle.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36It's hard to imagine what drove Stuart to return time and again to the desert,
0:31:36 > 0:31:40venturing further and further into this arid land,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44often not knowing where the next drink was coming from.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48No matter how dehydrated and exhausted from lack of sleep and nourishment,
0:31:48 > 0:31:55he never veered away from his task of mapping out the great swathes of uncharted land.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Stuart became incredibly adept at finding water out here
0:32:03 > 0:32:08but even he wasn't prepared for what he saw one evening on his second expedition.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12Climbing a hill he saw stretching out before him
0:32:12 > 0:32:16a series of hills with water springing out of the top of them.
0:32:16 > 0:32:22He had discovered a line of mound springs that were to become essential to his later expeditions.
0:32:22 > 0:32:23He wrote in his journal,
0:32:23 > 0:32:29"This is another strange feature of the mysterious interior of Australia."
0:32:32 > 0:32:36Well, that's completely weird. I've come uphill to a waterhole.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40It seems like nature turned upside-down, it's quite incredible.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42This is a mound spring. I've heard a lot about these,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45but it's a bit of a surprise when you come here.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49This was a very important place for John McDouall Stuart,
0:32:49 > 0:32:51this was permanent water that he could rely upon,
0:32:51 > 0:32:55and it was from here that he really kicked off on his proper expeditions.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57Amazing.
0:33:10 > 0:33:12It's pretty salty,
0:33:12 > 0:33:15but if it was good enough for John McDouall Stuart,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17I guess it's good enough for me too.
0:33:19 > 0:33:22Take the opportunity to top up the old water bag.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27It's hard to imagine really what this must have been like.
0:33:27 > 0:33:32Riding across here on a horse would have been like crossing the lunar landscape,
0:33:32 > 0:33:36so to come to one of these raised points and find all this water
0:33:36 > 0:33:41must have been a fantastic experience both for man and for horse.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47These canvas water bags are an ancient tool of Australia.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50I guess in some ways they're falling into disuse
0:33:50 > 0:33:54cos people have such good refrigerators inside off-road vehicles today.
0:33:54 > 0:34:00But the basic principle is the bag's wet and you tie it on the outside of your vehicle or on your horse
0:34:00 > 0:34:03or even bicycles, believe it or not,
0:34:03 > 0:34:10and as you go along the breeze causes an evaporation on the surface that keeps the fluid cool inside.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15Brilliant tool.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18Very special place to be.
0:34:18 > 0:34:23Kind of get a sense of John McDouall Stuart here,
0:34:23 > 0:34:25getting ready for the journey ahead.
0:34:27 > 0:34:31As a permanent source of water, the springs played a key role
0:34:31 > 0:34:34in Stuart's exploration of the interior.
0:34:34 > 0:34:40Mound spring expert Colin Harris is researching the springs in the area.
0:34:40 > 0:34:44When I first saw these mound springs, I thought nature had turned upside-down.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48You walk up the slopes of this thing to find a waterhole, it's bizarre!
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Can you tell me how that forms and how they come about?
0:34:51 > 0:34:57Well, the simplest description is that they're natural outlets for the waters of the great artesian basin.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01So it's ground water which is bubbling to the surface under pressure.
0:35:01 > 0:35:06The great artesian basin is huge, it covers about a fifth of the Australian continent.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Most of the underground water in the basin has come from
0:35:09 > 0:35:12the Great Dividing Range up in northern Queensland.
0:35:12 > 0:35:17It's got down into water-bearing gravels and sands and sandstones,
0:35:17 > 0:35:22various aquifers, and it moves very, very slowly south-westwards
0:35:22 > 0:35:26so that the water we're seeing here has probably been moving through the basin
0:35:26 > 0:35:31at the rate of about one to three metres a year, which makes it a couple of million years old.
0:35:31 > 0:35:37So the water in front of us here today is really fossil water - it's been around for a long, long time.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43Because it's moving through the aquifers so very, very slowly
0:35:43 > 0:35:46it's picking up a lot of dissolved solids as it goes.
0:35:46 > 0:35:52So as soon as the water emerges lots of those dissolved solids start precipitating
0:35:52 > 0:35:59out, and they concentrate over time and start forming these cones and the typical mound that we see behind us.
0:36:01 > 0:36:05Tell me about John McDouall Stuart's association with the mound springs.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Yeah, well, they were absolutely critical to Stuart.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Without the mound springs Stuart, of his own admission,
0:36:11 > 0:36:15would never have got across this inhospitable part of the continent.
0:36:15 > 0:36:19I mean, where we are today is the harshest part of the Australian continent.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21It's the lowest rainfall,
0:36:21 > 0:36:27it's erratic, you'll get years sometimes with negligible rain, or almost no rain at all.
0:36:27 > 0:36:31It was an almost insurmountable obstacle to crossing the continent
0:36:31 > 0:36:33which was a great strategic objective,
0:36:33 > 0:36:38and Stuart, once he got onto the line of mound springs up here,
0:36:38 > 0:36:42realised that he would then be able to get unfailingly into the centre of Australia,
0:36:42 > 0:36:46pick up the big gum creeks and then move into the sub tropics
0:36:46 > 0:36:50and on through to the coast, and, ultimately, that's what he did in '62.
0:36:50 > 0:36:54And he comments time and again in his journals about the fact
0:36:54 > 0:36:58that without the mound springs he would never have achieved what he did.
0:36:58 > 0:37:04And in the annals of Australian exploration, Stuart is right there with the best of them.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07The thing I find fascinating is he comes into this country
0:37:07 > 0:37:10and there's already a technology here for finding water,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14with an aboriginal perspective, but he brings a new perspective on the whole issue.
0:37:14 > 0:37:18It's almost like, "Well, they do it their way, I'm gonna find another way."
0:37:18 > 0:37:20I have huge respect for that.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23It... You know, I think that was really unusual.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33The springs were an incredible life-saving find,
0:37:33 > 0:37:40however the minerals in the salty water caused Stuart and his men many stomach problems.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44Resourceful as ever, Stuart had an answer.
0:37:46 > 0:37:50This big billycan here is a water heater.
0:37:50 > 0:37:54It's ideal for my purposes cos it has a spout.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58The way it works is there's this big funnel - it's really good idea.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01The only way you can get water out is to put cold water in.
0:38:01 > 0:38:06You put cold water in, it goes to the bottom and it forces hot water out of the side pipe.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08What I'm going to do is bring the water to the boil
0:38:08 > 0:38:11and I'm just going to keep it simmering,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14I don't want it bubbling and spewing salt water out through that pipe.
0:38:14 > 0:38:18I'm gonna attach to that a pipe
0:38:18 > 0:38:22so that I can condense the steam and get fresh drinking water.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Now, I've brought a piece of plastic hosepipe with me,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28I've just made a coil there.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31The idea is that steam will feed into this pipe,
0:38:31 > 0:38:32I'll have this suspended
0:38:32 > 0:38:37and I'm gonna put a bandage around it and make that wet,
0:38:37 > 0:38:40and the wind blowing across the bandage will cause evaporation
0:38:40 > 0:38:43which will cool the air inside these tubes so as the
0:38:43 > 0:38:48steam comes in, it condenses, forms into a liquid and runs down and that should be fresh drinking water.
0:38:50 > 0:38:56Of course, in order to use the still you have to have found water in the first place.
0:38:56 > 0:39:01Stuart was lucky to find such a permanent source of water in the mound springs.
0:39:01 > 0:39:07Many other explorers seeking new pastoral lands and gold and minerals weren't so lucky.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10There are plenty of chilling reminders of this.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19You know, you can never take desert travel lightly
0:39:19 > 0:39:23and nowhere is that more the case than here in Australia.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27At the moment I'm inside the Royal Geographical Society of South Australia.
0:39:27 > 0:39:33I've come here because there's an interesting collection of artefacts from expeditions of the past.
0:39:33 > 0:39:38Simple things like this water canteen that was found in the desert.
0:39:38 > 0:39:44But scratched in the outside of this tin is the last testament of William Coulthard.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48He scratched these words as he lay dying in the desert of dehydration.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51It's difficult to read now but it says -
0:39:51 > 0:39:54"I never reached water.
0:39:54 > 0:40:00"I do not know how long it is since I left Scott and Brooks...
0:40:03 > 0:40:09"..but I think it Monday, bleeding Pomp, his horse, to live on his blood."
0:40:13 > 0:40:18"I took his horse to look for water and the last thing I can remember
0:40:18 > 0:40:21"is pulling the saddle off him and letting him go.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27"Until now is not good,
0:40:27 > 0:40:33"long it may weather two or three days, I do not know, I am not sure.
0:40:34 > 0:40:39"My tongue is sticking to my mouth and I see what I have wrote
0:40:39 > 0:40:44"and know as this the last time I may have of expressing feelings,
0:40:44 > 0:40:48"blind, although feeling exu...
0:40:48 > 0:40:53"for want of water, my eyes to my tongue,
0:40:53 > 0:40:55"I can see no way I get help."
0:41:07 > 0:41:14This land also claimed the lives of two of Australia's best known explorers, Burke and Wills.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18They went head-to-head with Stuart when he eventually decided
0:41:18 > 0:41:22to employ all of his acquired knowledge to the task of crossing Australia.
0:41:22 > 0:41:28They were chasing fame and fortune offered to the first Europeans to cross the continent.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32The Government were keen to find a route for an overland telegraph
0:41:32 > 0:41:36linking north to south, improving trade and communications.
0:41:36 > 0:41:42They took a very different approach to Stuart, taking everything that they thought they needed with them.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45This amounted to 20 tonnes of equipment,
0:41:45 > 0:41:4927 heavily laden camels and 23 horses.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53They even brought along a wooden dining table.
0:41:53 > 0:41:56But the desert would claim their lives.
0:41:56 > 0:42:01Less than a year after setting off they were down to just three men and two camels.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04They had practically no bushcraft knowledge
0:42:04 > 0:42:10and, unable to process the food they found properly, Burke and Wills perished.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15Well, let's see how this has been going.
0:42:15 > 0:42:18It's been burning now, the fire, for four hours,
0:42:18 > 0:42:21and the difficulty with this technique is always here,
0:42:21 > 0:42:22it's always in the cooling.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26This is very, very hot despite the breeze causing good evaporation.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29Let's have a look.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31Well, that's really not too bad.
0:42:33 > 0:42:38I told you that it was a difficult technique, it's a lot of work for your returns
0:42:38 > 0:42:40but it works, you can take salty water
0:42:40 > 0:42:44and get drinking water from it, and there is a drink there.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46That's not bad going at all.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51As the sun goes down, this will become more efficient
0:42:51 > 0:42:55because the ambient temperature will drop, and then we'll get proper cooling here
0:42:55 > 0:42:59and it'll... We'll get an even higher yield. It's a lot of work.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02You have to have a lot of water to get very little, but there's enough.
0:43:02 > 0:43:07And this is a practical means of turning saline water into drinking
0:43:07 > 0:43:12water, and it was a system similar to this that Stuart took with him on some of his expeditions.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18Stuart embraced the challenge of finding water.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Once he'd found a reliable source he would carefully plot it
0:43:22 > 0:43:25and then plan his future journeys around its location.
0:43:25 > 0:43:29True to his character, he chose to do it in his own way.
0:43:29 > 0:43:35He took little guidance from the Aboriginal people who had lived off the land for thousands of years.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39Reg Dodd, co-ordinator of The Arabana People's Committee,
0:43:39 > 0:43:41has agreed to give me an Aboriginal perspective.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46The Aboriginal people who were living here on the desert,
0:43:46 > 0:43:52their lifestyle was around the management and caring and looking after that land.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55Their whole survival depended on that.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59Their upbringing and teaching are...
0:43:59 > 0:44:02..gave them the skills and knowledge to survive on this land.
0:44:02 > 0:44:08And people would come along and say, "It's just an arid land there's nothing much here, what's here?"
0:44:08 > 0:44:13But you would have knowledge that's been handed down by generations and generations after generation,
0:44:13 > 0:44:17and you would know where to look for water, where to look for food.
0:44:17 > 0:44:23So I'm just gonna show you where you can get water.
0:44:26 > 0:44:31This is where one of our rock holes are, so it's pretty precious.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34I'll just remove that, and that...
0:44:36 > 0:44:38..then...
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Wow that's amazing! That really is incredible out here!
0:44:45 > 0:44:46Can I taste that?
0:44:46 > 0:44:48You can taste that. Lovely.
0:44:52 > 0:44:53Wow, it's amazing.
0:44:53 > 0:44:58I've been tasting mound springs and bore holes and things and they're very brackish.
0:44:58 > 0:45:00That's very sweet.
0:45:00 > 0:45:04And the more you clean out, the more you can use it, the sweeter it gets, I think.
0:45:04 > 0:45:08The more you use it the sweeter it gets, so you'd empty that and it'd refill?
0:45:08 > 0:45:11- Do you mind if I fill my water bottle?- You can, you can.
0:45:12 > 0:45:16Without Reg I would never have known there was a water source out here
0:45:16 > 0:45:21and it's so much nicer than the water Stuart and his men would have been drinking.
0:45:21 > 0:45:24As with so many indigenous people,
0:45:24 > 0:45:30it was the Aboriginals who paid the price for progress and exploration.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33Reg, those early explorers who came through this country,
0:45:33 > 0:45:37they didn't know where the special places were, did they?
0:45:37 > 0:45:39No, they wouldn't, no, no, no.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42They would have been travelling, they were camping
0:45:42 > 0:45:48and probably venturing on places where there was no restriction of place,
0:45:48 > 0:45:52only for men or women, so they wouldn't have known that.
0:45:52 > 0:45:54They would have been totally ignorant.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56How did your people feel about that?
0:45:56 > 0:45:59I think in many places it created conflict and that,
0:45:59 > 0:46:06because...on the restriction of who could go on those places and...why.
0:46:07 > 0:46:12And in many places they would have had animals and stock,
0:46:12 > 0:46:18and their stock would have been trampling and treading and destroying that native vegetation
0:46:18 > 0:46:22that provided medicine and food for the Aboriginal people.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25And where we are at this moment, that's a special place.
0:46:25 > 0:46:27It is a very, very special place.
0:46:27 > 0:46:30Just behind us there now is a stone table
0:46:30 > 0:46:36and it would be thousands of years old. It's been carved out of the rock by the old people.
0:46:36 > 0:46:40And this area we're looking at here now
0:46:40 > 0:46:45is actually a ceremonial place where the boys became men,
0:46:45 > 0:46:48very important place it was here.
0:46:48 > 0:46:54- But despite the importance of this site there's a railway just next to it.- Exactly, yes.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57And that railway corridor travels right through
0:46:57 > 0:47:00the heart of this very significant place for Aboriginal people,
0:47:00 > 0:47:04so the impact of that would've been enormous.
0:47:04 > 0:47:09Not only was it the railways but it was the construction of the overland telegraph line, 1871,
0:47:09 > 0:47:10so...
0:47:10 > 0:47:13it would have had an enormous impact.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19Obviously we're making a documentary about John McDouall Stuart
0:47:19 > 0:47:22but what is your...thoughts about the man?
0:47:22 > 0:47:27I often think that the early explorers and the pioneers
0:47:27 > 0:47:32were actually the beginning of the end of that Aboriginal culture.
0:47:39 > 0:47:44In his journals he describes an event where he's crossing the land and he meets an Aboriginal family
0:47:44 > 0:47:47who take him to one of these small wells that they'd dug.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50And he comes along with his horses and all the horses drink the water
0:47:50 > 0:47:53and the Aboriginal man looks at him with astonishment.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56How do you think that man was feeling at that moment?
0:47:56 > 0:48:02Of course it would have been an enormous impact because that water is so, so, so precious to him.
0:48:02 > 0:48:07So, the animals just coming in there and just walking in there and destroying it,
0:48:07 > 0:48:10it and it's.... Probably in place it would be sacrilege,
0:48:10 > 0:48:12do you know what I mean? Creating a sacrilege.
0:48:17 > 0:48:22I have heard of similar stories so many times on my travels
0:48:22 > 0:48:26and it never gets any easier or more comfortable to deal with.
0:48:37 > 0:48:43There's even less water in the creeks and rivers of Australia today than when Stuart crossed here.
0:48:43 > 0:48:48One tip for finding a drink Stuart may have been glad of in desperate times
0:48:48 > 0:48:52was discovered through research carried out by the Australian army.
0:48:55 > 0:48:58These are one of the features of this part of the world.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01You get these lizards called shingleback lizards -
0:49:01 > 0:49:04you can see this incredible scaling on their back here.
0:49:04 > 0:49:06Aboriginal people would eat these for food.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10You can actually drink the liquid from the bladder of these creatures
0:49:10 > 0:49:13cos they excrete most of their salts in their dung.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18Not a very nice idea, much better to let this little chap walk free,
0:49:18 > 0:49:21but if you were walking around here without a drink,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24I don't think there'd be any hesitation.
0:49:24 > 0:49:25There you go, fella.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30You wouldn't want to get bitten by one, they've got a fierce bite,
0:49:30 > 0:49:32they'll really flatten your finger.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36As we finished recording this piece, it began to rain
0:49:36 > 0:49:39but this lasted for just 5 minutes.
0:49:39 > 0:49:43A torment for everyone who's living here under drought conditions.
0:49:43 > 0:49:48A powerful reminder how desperate this land is for a drink.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53Travelling this land, Stuart and his men spent hours in the saddle
0:49:53 > 0:49:57with the wind, dust and the glare of the sun taking its toll on their eyes.
0:49:57 > 0:50:04Stuart in particular suffered from sandy blight, or trachoma, caused by grit under the eyelids.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08It's still a problem for those living in the outback today.
0:50:08 > 0:50:12Sometimes it was so bad that Stuart was unable to leave the camp.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14On one occasion he wrote,
0:50:14 > 0:50:20"Nearly blind, dreadful pain, can do nothing today, no sleep last night."
0:50:20 > 0:50:24But he never gave up and, through relentless example,
0:50:24 > 0:50:28pushed his men hard in the fierce heat of the interior.
0:50:35 > 0:50:42The more I see of the terrain that John McDouall Stuart crossed the more impressed I become.
0:50:42 > 0:50:47It truly is one bleak savannah landscape, it's incredible.
0:50:47 > 0:50:52And he traversed this in the hope of finding water, confident somehow that he would,
0:50:52 > 0:50:57and every so often he had that life-saving success.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01There's an old saying that explorers need more than just skill,
0:51:01 > 0:51:06they need a degree of luck, and he certainly had that all-important ingredient.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09The final place I want to visit
0:51:09 > 0:51:15is a creek that became as important strategically to Stuart as the mound springs.
0:51:15 > 0:51:20It provided a reliable source of water in such an arid area.
0:51:20 > 0:51:25He would return to the creek many times in his explorations allowing him to forge further north,
0:51:25 > 0:51:32finally using it as a jumping off point to take on water before his crossing of the continent.
0:51:35 > 0:51:39Here I'm looking forward to recreating the sort of camp
0:51:39 > 0:51:44that Stuart would have lived in, on the very spot where he would have pitched his tent.
0:51:46 > 0:51:50He must have pinched himself when he came across this green,
0:51:50 > 0:51:54verdant valley in the middle of all this desolation.
0:51:54 > 0:51:57Big trees and, just like today, there's open water.
0:51:57 > 0:52:04This became Chamber's Creek, and was of huge significance in the exploration of Australia
0:52:04 > 0:52:09and of intense interest amongst those who wanted to run cattle in this country.
0:52:09 > 0:52:15Today it's called Stuart Creek in memory of John McDouall Stuart, and it's not easy to get to.
0:52:15 > 0:52:20In fact, even driving here in a car today it's still a fantastic sight
0:52:20 > 0:52:26that raises your spirits when you see all that open water - fresh drinking water.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46So this is where we're to end our journey.
0:52:46 > 0:52:52It's quite something to know that Stuart camped here, in a tent very similar to this.
0:52:52 > 0:52:54It only takes a few minutes to put up.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58In this heat you really want something that is light and easy
0:52:58 > 0:53:02because Stuart would rarely have stayed in one place for very long.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Stuart's original tent doesn't survive.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11We've had this one reconstructed
0:53:11 > 0:53:15from field sketches made on Stuart's last expedition by Stephen King.
0:53:15 > 0:53:20Really gives a sense of place here and it's very good shade, which is welcome today.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Tarps are very simple in their construction.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32To sit under this tarp, which is very similar to the one Stuart used,
0:53:32 > 0:53:36I get a sense of how he would have looked out on the world while he was sitting,
0:53:36 > 0:53:40keeping calculations on his journeys, noting down where he'd been,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44hypothesising where they might next find water, instructing his men where to go.
0:53:48 > 0:53:52What better way to cool off than having a dip in the creek?
0:53:56 > 0:53:59It's too hot not to get in I have to tell you!
0:54:13 > 0:54:17Stuart was very strict with his men, and rations were no different.
0:54:17 > 0:54:21Remember, his philosophy was to travel fast and light.
0:54:21 > 0:54:26They lived on a simple regime of jerked beef, tea and damper,
0:54:26 > 0:54:28the bread that I'm making here.
0:54:29 > 0:54:35It feels very special to sit here making this staple of his diet exactly as Stuart would have done,
0:54:36 > 0:54:40listening to the welcome sounds of the birds and the fresh water nearby.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47The creek and surrounding country will have changed very little since he camped here.
0:54:47 > 0:54:53You can almost feel his presence and it's not hard to imagine him
0:54:53 > 0:54:55sitting here by his fire in the fading light,
0:54:55 > 0:54:58meticulously recording his calculations,
0:54:58 > 0:55:02eating his damper and sipping on his billy-tea.
0:55:34 > 0:55:36I've cooked it a little bit too much on top.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40I have to say I'm more used to making this sort of bread in cold countries
0:55:40 > 0:55:42and the temperature here is way up in the 30s,
0:55:42 > 0:55:45so even allowing for that I haven't allowed enough.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48Just gonna turn it around cos the wind's blowing this way,
0:55:48 > 0:55:51make sure it's properly cooked in the middle on that side and...
0:55:51 > 0:55:53Time to get some tea on, I think.
0:55:53 > 0:55:57I'm gonna add one other special ingredient from my friend Rick.
0:56:07 > 0:56:12Couple of gum leaves in, give it that unique Aussie flavour.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15Rick has travelled the outback many times in pursuit of Stuart's history.
0:56:15 > 0:56:20I started my journey with him and as I come to the end of my time here,
0:56:20 > 0:56:24who better to join me and share a true bushman's meal?
0:56:26 > 0:56:29Well, let's have some damper, Rick, smells good.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31Yeah.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Little bit, still a fraction doughy in the middle.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43- Thanks.- I was afraid of burning it.
0:56:43 > 0:56:47- It's hot.- It's hot, all right.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Pretty tough diet, wasn't it?
0:56:49 > 0:56:52Very tough diet, he must have got pretty sick of it.
0:56:52 > 0:56:57Well, Rick, it's really special to be here in Stuart's campsite beside Stuart Creek,
0:56:57 > 0:57:02to eat some damper and to drink billy-tea in recognition of his achievements.
0:57:02 > 0:57:05- Cheers.- Cheers, good health.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14This has been a remarkable journey.
0:57:14 > 0:57:19I had a great admiration for Stuart before I came here and that has grown enormously.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23What really brings home the incredible achievement of Stuart and his men
0:57:23 > 0:57:29is crossing the very terrain he tackled over a century and a half ago.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31He learnt what he needed to survive out here,
0:57:31 > 0:57:34and this knowledge made it possible for him to become
0:57:34 > 0:57:39the first European to cross the continent and live to tell the tale.
0:57:39 > 0:57:44This is such a tough, unrelenting environment.
0:57:44 > 0:57:48It's really brought home to me how hard and determined he was.
0:57:48 > 0:57:54He is the one person who revealed more of central Australia than anyone else.
0:57:56 > 0:58:00John McDouall Stuart never really fitted into polite society.
0:58:00 > 0:58:07It was out here in the wild lands that he found himself, his sense of purpose, and his confidence.
0:58:07 > 0:58:12In a strange way, history has kind of passed him by, he's almost forgotten.
0:58:12 > 0:58:17But not to those people who still live and travel here in the bush.
0:58:17 > 0:58:21To them this Scotsman of diminutive stature
0:58:21 > 0:58:25is remembered as a giant of exploration.
0:58:43 > 0:58:45Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:45 > 0:58:48E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk