0:00:11 > 0:00:15Tracey Curtis-Taylor is setting out to fly the length of Africa.
0:00:19 > 0:00:2210,000 miles with no modern technology,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25just a joystick and pedals.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Tracey will follow the same route as Mary Heath,
0:00:31 > 0:00:36the first person to fly solo from Cape Town to England in 1928.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40She was in a fur coat. She had her pearls.
0:00:40 > 0:00:41She was doing Africa in style.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45She was consciously making history and showing that women could do this.
0:00:47 > 0:00:5185 years after Mary Heath's African flight,
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Tracey will face many of the same challenges.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58From the beauty of the wilderness to war-torn countries.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02Tracey will also face new challenges -
0:01:02 > 0:01:06aviation fuel for her 1920s plane is scarce.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11There's more bureaucracy and Tracey wants to do it in less time.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14It took Mary Heath over 12 weeks.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Tracey has just seven to reach Europe
0:01:17 > 0:01:19before the worst part of the winter.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26You're just this tiny speck, moving very slowly.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28You are so vulnerable.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38I am frightened.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41I think, "What am I doing?" I'm more frightened of not doing it.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Ten years from now thinking,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49"I wanted to do it but I didn't quite have the courage to do it."
0:01:53 > 0:01:56On her arrival back in Britain, Mary Heath was celebrated
0:01:56 > 0:01:59as the greatest female pilot in the world
0:01:59 > 0:02:04but she died alone, penniless and completely forgotten.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09It was a meteoric career and then she disappeared from history.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11But she's coming back.
0:02:17 > 0:02:22Today, there are still only a few women in the world flying vintage
0:02:22 > 0:02:26biplanes. One of the best is Britain's Tracey Curtis-Taylor.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29I've always loved the smell of aeroplanes.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33I go to airports just to breathe in the kerosene.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35All the noise of the engine, the propeller,
0:02:35 > 0:02:37they're rattly old things.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Very early on in my flying, I got into flying old aeroplanes.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43The women who flew during the '20s
0:02:43 > 0:02:46and '30s were a great source of inspiration.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48Amy Johnson did the first flight to Australia.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51Amelia Earhart flew the Atlantic, the first female to do so.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54You know, they are both celebrated and remembered.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57But, before all this, there was Mary Heath and, of course,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59she's been entirely forgotten.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07She starts at Cape Town International Airport.
0:03:07 > 0:03:091-2-9, good morning to you.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Shortly number one and there is traffic departing ahead from echo.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17It's one of the busiest in Africa, handling over 200 flights a day.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Today is day one.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24And God knows what we're in for, really.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Right.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32But I think I'm ready for anything.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56The minute you get into one of these aeroplanes, life becomes
0:03:56 > 0:03:58very, very immediate.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00I don't think of anything else, I'm just there.
0:04:06 > 0:04:07Equipment...
0:04:12 > 0:04:13Clear prop.
0:04:22 > 0:04:266-3-0 continue the approach. The wind is still 1-8-0-1-5.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32I can't see in front of me so I'm looking over the side.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37I have to weave and zigzag.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39I look like I'm drunk when I'm taxiing.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53As Tracey reaches the runway, all other flights are suspended.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00The airport has been shut down until she leaves.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04November 5-6-200 rolling.
0:05:36 > 0:05:38Bye-bye.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Today, Tracey will fly 400 miles along the coast
0:05:55 > 0:05:57of the Indian Ocean to Port Elizabeth.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00A commercial flight takes 90 minutes.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04At her top speed, it will take Tracey almost five hours.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20An open cockpit, at low level, it's so beautiful.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24You know, the wind is blowing in. You know, it's exciting.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47You know, I'm a mile off the coast. 50 feet off the water.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54The thrill and exhilaration of it overcomes any sense of prudence.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07Mary Heath filed reports on her adventure to newspapers
0:07:07 > 0:07:11around the world so an eager public could follow her journey.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14She based her book on her reports and the journal she kept.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20"Africa will always be the land of thrills and romance and wildlife.
0:07:20 > 0:07:24"Fear is a tonic and danger should be something of a stimulant."
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It's more than pleasure, it's ecstasy. I love it.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47I simply love being in the aeroplane.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03As in the 1920s, South Africa is dotted with runways and airports.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06They're all well equipped and, at least here, Tracey's
0:08:06 > 0:08:09specialist aviation fuel is readily available.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11If you can just give me the tank,
0:08:11 > 0:08:13I'll go up on the wing and fill it up.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16All the fuel is up here in the wing, up on the top here.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19Great, thank you.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27That'll do it.
0:08:29 > 0:08:30Thank you.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Once I leave South Africa I'm really in no-man's-land,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35so I'm on my own, much like she was.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And she crashed and was very lucky to survive it.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48What happens if I do have an engine failure?
0:08:48 > 0:08:50If I survive the crash landing, what happens then?
0:09:15 > 0:09:17"I began to feel the pain in the back of the head,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"neck and shoulders which hints at the beginning of sunstroke.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27"The pains got worse and black blobs began to dance and flow before me."
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Alone in the wilderness, fast losing consciousness,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Mary Heath's plane was hurtling towards the ground.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Tracey, though, does make it to Bulawayo Airport
0:09:54 > 0:09:57but she wants to find out more about Mary Heath's crash.
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Historian and former RAF pilot Bill Sykes has taken a keen
0:10:02 > 0:10:05interest in Mary Heath's flight
0:10:05 > 0:10:08and believes he has located the area where she crashed.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Having had a look through all the chronicles, newspapers
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and that sort of thing, we find she was an incredibly strong woman.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17To be the first person, and especially a woman,
0:10:17 > 0:10:22to go from Cape Town to the United Kingdom in 1928
0:10:22 > 0:10:23is really something.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33Bill takes Tracey on an hour's drive into the bush
0:10:33 > 0:10:35to the crash site.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41There's lots of thorn bushes and scrub
0:10:41 > 0:10:43and it's pretty rugged terrain, isn't it?
0:10:43 > 0:10:45I don't think I'd like to put an aeroplane down here.
0:10:47 > 0:10:48COW BELLS JINGLE
0:10:59 > 0:11:02She was in this sweltering heat, fighting nausea,
0:11:02 > 0:11:03fighting consciousness.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07If she could just sort of stall the aeroplane on
0:11:07 > 0:11:09and then lurch out through the undergrowth,
0:11:09 > 0:11:11I mean, she would... You know, you'd survive this.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14If I had to put the Stearman down in this,
0:11:14 > 0:11:15I'd just about manage it, I think.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18She would have been fighting it down. You know, just stick forward,
0:11:18 > 0:11:22diving for the ground because she was an aerobatic pilot, a racer.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25I think it would've been very natural to jam the stick forward,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28- get the aeroplane down. - You go into automatic.
0:11:28 > 0:11:32You do everything that has to be done and I think any pilots,
0:11:32 > 0:11:35including me, we've experienced that, where you think afterwards...
0:11:35 > 0:11:37You think, "Did I really go through all the checks?
0:11:37 > 0:11:39"Did I really do all the right things?"
0:11:39 > 0:11:41You look back at it afterwards and you think,
0:11:41 > 0:11:43"I don't remember doing that but I did it."
0:11:43 > 0:11:45Never had to think about it.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49"I came to under some thorn bushes, with three native girls in
0:11:49 > 0:11:55"various stages of scanty undress, sitting back on their haunches.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57"They had steeped two of my handkerchiefs in milk
0:11:57 > 0:11:59"and put them on my head."
0:11:59 > 0:12:03I don't think I'd like to wake up and find myself under a thorn bush
0:12:03 > 0:12:07being resuscitated but, I suppose, surviving it, that was the thing.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09She survived it. She did a pretty good job of it.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11I think she did a really good job, yeah.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17Rescued by a local tribe, she was taken to Bulawayo to recover.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Anyone who thought she might be put off her adventure
0:12:23 > 0:12:24was in for a surprise.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30She spent 16 hours asleep in the nursing home and then got up
0:12:30 > 0:12:33that morning and flew from the racecourse
0:12:33 > 0:12:35to Vic Falls, to Livingstone.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37- She carried on.- She just carried on.
0:12:37 > 0:12:40Which I think is also an amazing thing.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42She must've had tremendous fortitude.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44I mean, any normal person would have given up and said,
0:12:44 > 0:12:48"Right, I'll stay in Bulawayo a week because the beer's cold
0:12:48 > 0:12:51"and the people are so nice." And it still is.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57Mary Heath wasn't the only adventurer in 1928.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00Three young men were also attempting to travel
0:13:00 > 0:13:03the length of Africa by car.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06They planned to meet with Mary at various towns along the route.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Bulawayo's Vintage Car Club has come to the airport
0:13:12 > 0:13:13to give Tracey a sendoff.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20This is like the cars Mary Heath was tracking as she flew up Africa.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23They're stunning. I mean, look at this, British Racing Green.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25I would love one of these.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- It is very heavy on the steering. - Bloody hell, it is!
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Oh!
0:13:39 > 0:13:42One of the drivers was a journalist called Emil Milan.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45Mary and Emil would only meet on a few occasions
0:13:45 > 0:13:48but they still enjoyed each other's company.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51"I flew very low and dropped a bottle of beer,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53"a glass and a message.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55"'Godspeed and bon voyage, meet you in Abercorn.'"
0:13:58 > 0:14:01I feel there is absolutely no suspension, whatsoever.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05I mean, great! This is exactly the same sort of thrill,
0:14:05 > 0:14:07old cars and old aeroplanes.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09- How do I get out? - Can you hoot, madam?
0:14:09 > 0:14:11Can you hoot?
0:14:11 > 0:14:13HORN HOOTS
0:14:13 > 0:14:18I reckon she's grand at what she's doing. I wish I could go with her.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21But you see, my wife won't let me!
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Seven days after leaving Cape Town, Tracey approaches Zambia.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39The journey takes her over Zimbabwe National Park
0:14:39 > 0:14:41and into the heart of wild Africa.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03The Zambezi River marks the border between Zimbabwe
0:15:03 > 0:15:07and Zambia. Tracey follows it north to Victoria Falls,
0:15:07 > 0:15:10one of the wonders of the world.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24This is the heart of Africa. For me, it's just magical.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29To fly at tree level, over the elephants, down the valleys...
0:15:29 > 0:15:32You know, along the rivers, elephants in the river,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36hippos in the river and I am 30 feet above them.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39You know...
0:15:39 > 0:15:40and then I land.
0:15:42 > 0:15:44And I'm moved beyond tears.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58It's just to clear any oil.
0:15:58 > 0:15:59Perfect.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Bit of rubbish in here.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Ah, I've got my biltong.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10I've got my survival blanket, my first aid kit.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13My maps.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18Tracey's about to take on her longest flight yet.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23Having reached the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27she'll have to cross the airspace of three countries in just one day
0:16:27 > 0:16:29to make it to Tanzania before nightfall.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40The Congo is one of the most dangerous countries in the world.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44And she must convince the airport controllers
0:16:44 > 0:16:46her old plane is safe enough to fly.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51Come and have a look. So I fly it from the back seat...
0:16:54 > 0:16:57HE CHUCKLES
0:16:57 > 0:16:58Good?
0:16:58 > 0:17:00Nice?
0:17:00 > 0:17:02- HE LAUGHS - I think she's crazy!
0:17:22 > 0:17:26The Congo has been in an almost constant state of civil war
0:17:26 > 0:17:27for 60 years.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50It's not difficult to fly it, that's straightforward.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53The problem is if I have...an engine failure.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Just a sitting duck for somebody with an AK-47
0:18:00 > 0:18:02just...filling you with lead.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Safely out of Congo airspace, there's another worry.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Scrub's being burnt away for farmland.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21And it's on such a large scale that Tracey struggles to avoid the fumes.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42It's taken an extra hour to get around the smoke.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49And to reach her destination in Tanzania,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51Tracey needs a fuelling stop.
0:18:55 > 0:19:01Kasama Airport in northern Zambia has changed little since the 1920s.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06Tracey's landing is a big event.
0:19:27 > 0:19:28THEY SQUEAL
0:19:34 > 0:19:36Hi.
0:19:36 > 0:19:37Oh, thank you!
0:19:37 > 0:19:39TRACEY LAUGHS
0:19:39 > 0:19:43Do you know, these are my favourite flowers, frangipani.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46I understand you might need some fuel.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49I do, but I've just been told there's none on the field...
0:19:49 > 0:19:51- Oh, you'll have to go into town to find it.- ..which is unfortunate.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Really? How far's town?
0:19:54 > 0:19:55- Ten minutes.- Right.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58- Is there a loo around here first? - There certainly is, let me show you.
0:19:58 > 0:20:03- I think it's order of priority. - Definitely!- It won't be fuel first, then loo?- The loo and then the fuel.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06Thank you for coming to help.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09I need a couple of heavies to lift my fuel, I think.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11CHUCKLING
0:20:15 > 0:20:18- Do you have any aviation fuel?- Nah!
0:20:18 > 0:20:22Do you have any fuel for aeroplanes? WOMAN LAUGHS
0:20:22 > 0:20:24That's what I need, seriously.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30Well, they're selling eggs.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34DOGS BARK
0:20:35 > 0:20:36Welcome.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46It's loaded, we're ready to go.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57Finding the fuel has taken over an hour.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02And there are no electronic pumps at the airport.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07This could take a while.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16Refuelling just as Lady Heath did in 1928.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23But there's an additional delay.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30We have a lot more paperwork than she does.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33We can only operate in our own era.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11It's been an exhausting day
0:22:11 > 0:22:14and there's another early flight tomorrow.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31Mary Heath took time to enjoy Tanzania, going on hunts,
0:22:31 > 0:22:34attending parties and playing tennis,
0:22:34 > 0:22:38but Tracey is flying gruelling legs each day.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41What Mary Heath took a leisurely month to accomplish,
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Tracey does in five days.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47And the pace is taking its toll.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53I've had this, erm, streaming head cold for the last three days,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56which has been, erm, horrible.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00And I think it's worsened by flying, because you're sort of
0:23:00 > 0:23:03up at altitude, and the pressure, and I just have these ringing ears.
0:23:03 > 0:23:08We've been doing 12-, 14-hour days, so it's...it's intensive.
0:23:08 > 0:23:12And I'm tired, I am actually tired. I think everybody's tired.
0:23:12 > 0:23:13And we're only halfway!
0:23:17 > 0:23:21Tracey's next flight is over the Rift Valley.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27A giant fault line that leads up to the Equator.
0:23:32 > 0:23:33Most women in the 1920s
0:23:33 > 0:23:37wouldn't be able to dream of an adventure like this.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40They were expected to marry and raise children.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Mary Heath had different ideas.
0:23:43 > 0:23:48Before her African flight, she married 75-year-old Sir James Heath.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52Eyebrows were raised when, instead of going on honeymoon,
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Mary ventured on a solo trip up Africa.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Like Mary, Tracey has chosen adventurous flying
0:24:01 > 0:24:03over raising children.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08When you go the conventional route in life, and that's where
0:24:08 > 0:24:12you have a family, I think that sets you on a different course in life.
0:24:14 > 0:24:15I'm not in that situation
0:24:15 > 0:24:20so I can afford to live my life in a more adventurous way.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24She's a survivor but she's an outsider, too.
0:24:24 > 0:24:28And I think those are the things that I relate to.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31It's her love of adventure and her need for adventure.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33You know, it just makes you a misfit.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37November 5-6-200 is ready for departure, 0-9.
0:24:39 > 0:24:45Fate has somehow conspired to give me this terrifying freedom...
0:24:45 > 0:24:47and the aeroplane.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04In the Rift Valley, tectonic plates are still moving,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Lake Natron is a natural phenomenon.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Its temperature can reach 140 degrees,
0:25:28 > 0:25:34and where the water evaporates it leaves a layer of toxic chemicals.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44You know, a few people have crashed in the lake,
0:25:44 > 0:25:48because you get this distortion and you sort of lose the horizon.
0:25:48 > 0:25:52People just become mesmerised by the surface of it.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40It's as if somebody has put a pearl in your hand when you can fly.
0:26:40 > 0:26:42You know, this rare gift.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48It's the view of the gods, isn't it? It's this wonderful perspective.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Next stop, Kenya.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24Tracey comes to a nature conservancy outside of Nairobi,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28to see some of the few remaining rhinos left in the wild.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Today it's illegal to hunt rhino in Kenya
0:27:36 > 0:27:39but they face a new threat.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46Rhino horn is mistakenly believed to have medicinal properties
0:27:46 > 0:27:51and can fetch up to 100,000 a kilo on the black market.
0:27:51 > 0:27:56Tracey's meeting Sarah Watson from the conservation charity Tusk.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58His head almost looks like a turtle.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00I could just take this little one home, actually.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03- I don't think he'd fit in the plane! - Ooh, I could cram him in.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05The extra weight!
0:28:06 > 0:28:08OK?
0:28:08 > 0:28:10Gone. It's all gone.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23So when Mary Heath flew here in 1928, what would she have seen?
0:28:23 > 0:28:26- There were hundreds of thousands of them.- Yeah.
0:28:26 > 0:28:28There's pictures from, like, the 1940s, I guess,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32- and there's pictures of the herds of cattle with rhino in-between.- Yeah.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34So, yeah, the population's been completely decimated.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36Completely decimated.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55Rhinos have great hearing but poor eyesight.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02A full moon puts them in a spotlight for poachers.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08On the last morning of Tracey's stay, there's terrible news.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13There has been reported poaching of rhinoceros.
0:29:14 > 0:29:19A rhino's been killed. A security team are now hunting the poachers.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23- Good morning, how are you?- Are you John?- Yeah.- Tracey. Nice to meet you.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28- Nice to meet you.- I'm sorry. So...another killing.
0:29:28 > 0:29:31- Terrible.- What happened?
0:29:31 > 0:29:34The first thing happened is that the gunshots were heard
0:29:34 > 0:29:37by one of the lodges which is close here, and the time that we know
0:29:37 > 0:29:41that there's gunshot inside here, definitely that's poaching.
0:29:41 > 0:29:43Do poachers get killed here?
0:29:43 > 0:29:46In case of any contact between the rangers and the poachers,
0:29:46 > 0:29:48yeah, lots of times somebody will die.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50So it's really a terrible, terrible...
0:29:50 > 0:29:53- It's like a war, isn't it? - No, no, it's a war, it's a war.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56- It's not like a war, it's a war. - It is a war.
0:29:59 > 0:30:01We go?
0:30:11 > 0:30:14FLIES BUZZING
0:30:14 > 0:30:17She have her calf. 2.5 years.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19- Where's the baby? Where's the baby? - The calf is...
0:30:19 > 0:30:23- The guys, they are still searching for the calf.- My God.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28What a... What a waste.
0:30:31 > 0:30:35I suppose you see a lot of this, but I don't.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49You come to these places and it's all so beautiful and idyllic
0:30:49 > 0:30:52and we have such an idealised notion of things.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55And then you see that.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01It's a terrible sort of... juxtaposition, really.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16Tracey heads to Nairobi.
0:31:16 > 0:31:20She still has 5,000 miles to fly across the hottest
0:31:20 > 0:31:24and most dangerous parts of Africa before she returns home to England.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Today I am going to the Mutumba, which is a sort of...
0:31:45 > 0:31:50a famous street market, to try and find some gear for the Sudan.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52So, yeah, should be quite fun.
0:31:56 > 0:32:00Given Tracey's plane only has one small compartment for gear,
0:32:00 > 0:32:04she must choose what she takes very carefully.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08Do you know, I can never resist a carpet.
0:32:08 > 0:32:11I could just about sleep on that in the desert.
0:32:11 > 0:32:13- Is that all right?- Yes. - Thank you.
0:32:13 > 0:32:19So no tent, no tarp, but a nice silk Persian rug.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22I think it's a triumph.
0:32:22 > 0:32:23Thank you.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25Another bargain.
0:32:27 > 0:32:29- How much for this? - This one? Ah, no...
0:32:29 > 0:32:31That's what I need, I need that for the Sudan.
0:32:31 > 0:32:34- We are not selling this one. - Where do I buy one like this?
0:32:34 > 0:32:36It's because for dusting. I might use it.
0:32:36 > 0:32:39It's what they have, though, don't they, in the desert?
0:32:39 > 0:32:41OK, you can take it for 300.
0:32:43 > 0:32:44Thank you!
0:32:46 > 0:32:47I've got a good eye for these things.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Always been good on furnishings, soft furnishings,
0:32:50 > 0:32:52so I'm actually delighted.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03Tracey now faces a new challenge.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Entebbe in Uganda is on the other side of a high mountain range.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11It'll be the first time she's flown it this high.
0:33:58 > 0:34:03In 1928, Sudanese authorities were so worried for Mary's safety
0:34:03 > 0:34:06that they required her to fly with an escort.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11In 2011, Sudan divided into two,
0:34:11 > 0:34:15in an attempt to end Africa's longest-running civil war.
0:34:15 > 0:34:18But the region is extremely volatile still
0:34:18 > 0:34:22and Tracey must find a safe route through.
0:34:23 > 0:34:26The Ministry of Defence back in England, when I was briefed on this,
0:34:26 > 0:34:30they said...they didn't really want us to go through the Sudan.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32But, you know, there are these corridors that
0:34:32 > 0:34:35the United Nations use to get stuff through,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39so I'm hoping that, you know, we're going to be OK with that.
0:34:41 > 0:34:45I am nervous about what lies ahead, it's unknown.
0:34:47 > 0:34:50She follows the Nile to Malakal in South Sudan,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53on the dangerous border.
0:34:57 > 0:34:59Situated on the banks of the Nile
0:34:59 > 0:35:01and close to the country's oil reserves,
0:35:01 > 0:35:06Malakal is one of the most hotly contested towns in all of the Sudan.
0:35:35 > 0:35:38With the conflict situation changing daily,
0:35:38 > 0:35:42Tracey wants to make sure her flight path is still safe.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45She meets weapons inspector James Bevan,
0:35:45 > 0:35:49who's agreed to help her find the best path.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52- Tell me about this area out here... - Yeah.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55..because we've got fuel now positioned out to the west here.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59- It's clear that there's a lot of, er, armed activity...- Yeah.
0:35:59 > 0:36:03..in and around that area. Particularly the Nuba Mountain area.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Erm, you also have South Sudanese-backed armed forces
0:36:07 > 0:36:09who are operating along this area.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12And that's where that UN helicopter was shot down.
0:36:12 > 0:36:15And they told me they just burnt an entire village as well,
0:36:15 > 0:36:17- I mean, it was sort of tribal. - Yes, a few weeks ago, yeah.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21- Was this just a few weeks ago? - Yeah, killed 80 people.
0:36:21 > 0:36:23Erm, but this area, at least two or three rebel groups
0:36:23 > 0:36:26that are in negotiations with the government.
0:36:26 > 0:36:27So this area's quite calm.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34The safest route is to stay close to the Nile and follow it to Khartoum.
0:36:46 > 0:36:50Before she can leave, the tower must agree it is, though, safe to fly.
0:36:53 > 0:36:55Until then, all she can do is wait.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07This was my purchase. Back in Nairobi.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09I knew it would come into its own.
0:37:09 > 0:37:14So we scrambled at, you know, 6:30 this morning out of the hotel,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16got here for seven, all good to go,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19and here we are, you know, four hours later.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23And we're just waiting to see if word comes through
0:37:23 > 0:37:26but our cut-off point is about one o'clock.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29I have diminishing hope now of getting out today.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34Finally, word comes through.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39She could face a long wait in the scorching heat of Malakal,
0:37:39 > 0:37:43in a country that is still in a state of civil unrest.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Nothing flushes, there's no running water.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52There's a bucket of Nile water. Fine, I just wash in that.
0:37:52 > 0:37:56Or not, as the case may be! I've sort of given up.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59All personal hygiene has gone to the...
0:38:00 > 0:38:04We are now, erm, our third night in Malakal.
0:38:04 > 0:38:08I find myself thinking, you know, late into the night,
0:38:08 > 0:38:13because it is very difficult to actually sleep in this.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16Erm, but I do have these moments of...
0:38:17 > 0:38:20I have these moments of...fear.
0:38:33 > 0:38:37We're getting out. We're very optimistic about getting out,
0:38:37 > 0:38:39so with any luck we'll be airborne
0:38:39 > 0:38:41by, I don't know, seven, 7:30 this morning,
0:38:41 > 0:38:45have gone up the Nile and into Khartoum by midday.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00- Good flight. Good luck. - Take care. Bye.
0:39:01 > 0:39:03Right. Clear prop.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Malakal, good morning. This is November 5-6-200.
0:39:09 > 0:39:13After four days in Malakal, Tracey leaves unscathed,
0:39:13 > 0:39:16heading over the border into the Republic of Sudan.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38Stretching over 4,000 miles,
0:39:38 > 0:39:42the Nile is the longest river in the world.
0:39:42 > 0:39:45For both Mary and Tracey, it's a guide northward
0:39:45 > 0:39:48to the Mediterranean Sea.
0:40:03 > 0:40:05MUEZZIN CALLS
0:40:14 > 0:40:15Another early start.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21And the Nile leads Tracey into the desert.
0:40:23 > 0:40:26She's flying to Dongola in the north of Sudan,
0:40:26 > 0:40:29in the heart of the Nubian Desert.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33It's like flying into infinity.
0:40:38 > 0:40:42You just never want to land, you just want to fly on.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06Even in a land of ancient wonders,
0:41:06 > 0:41:10her old plane is still something of a curiosity.
0:41:14 > 0:41:15Howdy.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22- How are you, very nice to meet you. - Fine, welcome, you are welcome here.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Alhamdulillah, welcome to you all here.
0:41:24 > 0:41:28Well, this is marvellous, thank you. What a lovely runway. HE LAUGHS
0:41:35 > 0:41:38I don't know what this place is but it's somewhere north of Dongola
0:41:38 > 0:41:43but, erm, it's amazing. I don't think it's changed much.
0:41:43 > 0:41:45There's a few electricity pylons and a few cell towers
0:41:45 > 0:41:47but by and large it's just desert.
0:41:48 > 0:41:52And just pierced by these minarets, their mosques.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06This is rather lovely, we're in the desert now and there's no moon,
0:42:06 > 0:42:11so there's the most amazing starscape above us.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15And we're just eating a lot of beans and bread...
0:42:15 > 0:42:17here in the sand.
0:42:21 > 0:42:24You can't see stars like this anywhere.
0:42:24 > 0:42:27Falling stars and, you know... So lots of wishing going on.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31I want this to be...
0:42:31 > 0:42:34You know, I want it to be a success.
0:42:47 > 0:42:50We're off to Egypt. It's a hell of a long way.
0:43:01 > 0:43:04Everything in the air shrinks below me.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Ancient Nubians built the first irrigation canals along the Nile
0:43:14 > 0:43:17to create a fertile valley in the desert.
0:43:36 > 0:43:41In 1970, Nubians helped build the Aswan Dam over the River Nile
0:43:41 > 0:43:43to create Lake Nasser.
0:43:43 > 0:43:45At 340 miles long, it's one of the largest
0:43:45 > 0:43:49man-made lakes in the world, and marks the border with Egypt.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10Tracey has flown 30 legs through ten countries now.
0:44:12 > 0:44:16But she has an important decision to make about the rest of her journey.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21The original plan is to follow Mary Heath's route through Libya
0:44:21 > 0:44:25to Tunisia for the shortest sea crossing to Europe.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31But Libya remains in the grip of civil war.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36Kidnappings and killing are on the rise.
0:44:38 > 0:44:4130-plus killed in Benghazi...
0:44:42 > 0:44:43..in the last few weeks.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48Tracey has to weigh up the risks of sticking to Mary Heath's route.
0:44:48 > 0:44:52The only real reason she went all the way along North Africa
0:44:52 > 0:44:55to the point of Tunis and then actually flew up to Sicily
0:44:55 > 0:44:59is to minimise her crossing over the water.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02So she was really keen to keep that to a minimum.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04She was terrified of the water.
0:45:05 > 0:45:08I am more terrified of Libya, I have to say.
0:45:08 > 0:45:13I'd like to go from Egypt direct across the Mediterranean to Crete.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15But it does mean I've got a much longer water crossing,
0:45:15 > 0:45:17I'm very vulnerable to the wind,
0:45:17 > 0:45:22and, of course, it's disappointing in fact that we're not doing Libya.
0:45:22 > 0:45:25But it's looking like that is the decision.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28The new route means Egypt will be
0:45:28 > 0:45:30the last country in Africa she visits.
0:45:33 > 0:45:38After a short hop to Luxor, she prepares to fly to Cairo.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44At high altitudes this far north, the temperature is almost freezing.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07Tracey has to land at a desert airport outside of Cairo,
0:46:07 > 0:46:11hours away from an important meeting she has the next day.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25Horrific. I can't even feel my feet.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28On the ground, traffic is chaos.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30HORNS BLARE
0:46:30 > 0:46:33It's just the day is beginning to feel endless.
0:46:37 > 0:46:39Thank you, thank you.
0:46:39 > 0:46:41MUEZZIN CALLS
0:46:41 > 0:46:43Welcome to Cairo.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45Great(!)
0:46:48 > 0:46:52When Mary Heath arrived at Cairo, she was hoping to see Emil
0:46:52 > 0:46:56and the car rally, triumphantly finishing their mission.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00But forging a road had proved far more difficult than flying
0:47:00 > 0:47:01over the continent.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04Emil wouldn't make it to Cairo for another month,
0:47:04 > 0:47:08by which time Mary would be long gone.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17But Tracey has more luck.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25Emil's grandson, Marius, lives in Cairo,
0:47:25 > 0:47:27and Tracey has arranged to meet him.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31- Hi, Tracey.- Marius.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34- Or should I call you Mary?- Hello. - You feel like her.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39- Welcome to Egypt.- Lovely to meet you.- It's lovely to see you.
0:47:39 > 0:47:40Oh, so this is his diary?
0:47:40 > 0:47:43This is his diary written along the way,
0:47:43 > 0:47:48which he always intended to, erm...to turn into a book.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50And this is...
0:47:50 > 0:47:55- the only photo I have of the two of them together.- Oh, really?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58- She's great, though, isn't she? She's there in her hat.- Yeah.
0:47:58 > 0:48:01So she does cut a very glamorous figure, doesn't she?
0:48:01 > 0:48:03She's very smart, yeah, she was.
0:48:03 > 0:48:07Both of them were part of this era of beautiful machines
0:48:07 > 0:48:10and beautiful people doing...daring things.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12It's a very glamorous age, isn't it?
0:48:12 > 0:48:15- So did they meet again?- I'm not...
0:48:15 > 0:48:17- Did they only meet in Africa? - I'm not sure about that.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19There was always a certain...
0:48:21 > 0:48:23..embarrassment about it -
0:48:23 > 0:48:27they were both married at the time that they met and, erm...
0:48:27 > 0:48:32and both, I think, escaping from... rather unhappy marriages.
0:48:32 > 0:48:37- So they both went on these expeditions to escape?- I think so.
0:48:37 > 0:48:42And they were looking for adventure...and excitement.
0:48:42 > 0:48:47And with my grandfather it was fast cars and with her it was flying.
0:48:47 > 0:48:50It's funny, I've thought about that, you know, my own life has just been
0:48:50 > 0:48:53such a ridiculous soap opera for the last year.
0:48:53 > 0:48:55Suddenly, you know, you've got the whole of Africa
0:48:55 > 0:48:58and the most beautiful flying machine in the world,
0:48:58 > 0:49:01and that was more real to me, in fact, than my...
0:49:01 > 0:49:03you know, my emotional life.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06You know, I think you're exactly like they were.
0:49:07 > 0:49:12It's romance, beauty, to dream something...
0:49:14 > 0:49:16..beyond the ordinary.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27It is the end of...
0:49:28 > 0:49:31..the most extraordinary chapter.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36It's the end of a...of a phase, I do recognise that.
0:49:42 > 0:49:47The whole purpose of my flight was to give her her place in the sun.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51Now she feels like part of me.
0:50:01 > 0:50:06Tracey has one more flight before she leaves Africa.
0:50:08 > 0:50:10She's heading to Mersa Matruh on the coast,
0:50:10 > 0:50:13the closest point in Egypt to Europe.
0:51:20 > 0:51:21Europe.
0:51:22 > 0:51:23Home.
0:51:25 > 0:51:29But storms are gathering in Europe and moving south.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35If Tracey's to avoid them, she must fly today.
0:51:36 > 0:51:42After 40 days flying over Africa, it's finally time to leave.
0:51:44 > 0:51:46Clear prop.
0:51:50 > 0:51:51ENGINE BACKFIRES
0:51:56 > 0:51:58ENGINE BACKFIRES
0:51:58 > 0:52:00It's an ignition problem, I don't know what it is.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04But if it means we miss our slot then we are in the shit.
0:52:07 > 0:52:11For the first time on her adventure, Tracey's plane has broken down.
0:52:14 > 0:52:18With storms on the horizon, it must be fixed quickly.
0:52:37 > 0:52:38ENGINE BACKFIRES
0:52:51 > 0:52:53We've drawn a complete blank with the Stearman,
0:52:53 > 0:52:55nothing's working, it seems to be
0:52:55 > 0:52:58getting worse, and we can't seem to really diagnose the problem.
0:52:58 > 0:53:02The Egyptians have all gone to sleep, or they've gone to prayers,
0:53:02 > 0:53:05so we're now on our own until we resolve the problem.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07Could have happened in Libya.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09Or it could have happened, actually, over the water
0:53:09 > 0:53:12as we're crossing to...to Crete,
0:53:12 > 0:53:15so there's some relief that it's here on the ground
0:53:15 > 0:53:18but, of course, we wanted to get out of Egypt, desperately.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22While the engine's being examined,
0:53:22 > 0:53:26one of the worst storms for 200 years hits Egypt.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37The only place to keep Tracey's plane safe
0:53:37 > 0:53:41is a bunker which is usually used for missiles.
0:53:47 > 0:53:50Oh, it's completely unflyable.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52There must be 70...
0:53:53 > 0:53:57..70, 60, 70 mile per hour winds out here, so...
0:53:57 > 0:54:00I've got my sunglasses on like goggles because there's just
0:54:00 > 0:54:03so much sand and...
0:54:03 > 0:54:05it's just firing missiles at me.
0:54:10 > 0:54:14These terrifying winds, you know, this din, this roar all the time.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17I just want to just be safe and be still,
0:54:17 > 0:54:19but we've got to finish the job.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Oh, they have fixed it.
0:54:30 > 0:54:33They've fixed it and he sounds very confident about it.
0:54:38 > 0:54:40It's just slightly calmer this morning, well, a lot calmer,
0:54:40 > 0:54:44and we're going to try and get across the Med at about lunchtime.
0:54:51 > 0:54:52Well...
0:54:52 > 0:54:54can't quite believe it.
0:55:25 > 0:55:30Caught in the European winter, Tracey's progress home is slow,
0:55:30 > 0:55:34and it's not until the turn of the year that Britain comes into view.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45After 10,000 miles, Mary Heath arrived safely home.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49She was the first person to fly solo from Cape Town back to the UK.
0:55:51 > 0:55:56And her adventure would inspire a generation of women aviators.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02- CONTROL TOWER:- Have you visual now, approach at your discretion,
0:56:02 > 0:56:06the surface is 250 degrees, 1.1 knots.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08One of them, Tracey Curtis-Taylor,
0:56:08 > 0:56:13who is just minutes from completing her own African adventure.
0:56:20 > 0:56:21Welcome home, ma'am.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35It wasn't looking good there for a while.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39- Goodwood never looked so good. - Nice to see you. Well done.
0:56:51 > 0:56:56When Mary Heath returned home, she became an international hero.
0:56:56 > 0:57:00But a year later, she crashed in an air race and was seriously injured.
0:57:02 > 0:57:03By the time she'd recovered,
0:57:03 > 0:57:06the public had adopted new heroines
0:57:06 > 0:57:09like Amelia Earhart and Amy Johnson,
0:57:09 > 0:57:15and Mary Heath died at 42, alone, penniless and forgotten.
0:57:16 > 0:57:21Until Tracey Curtis-Taylor, a modern-day aviatrix,
0:57:21 > 0:57:23decided to bring her back.