Episode 1 Ben & James Versus the Arabian Desert

This programme contains some strong language

-How are you feeling?

-Awful. Ah, hanging on for dear life.

Just think of the miles that we're covering at least.

Olympian James Cracknell and adventurer Ben Fogle

are taking on the largest sand desert in the world...

Wow, look at this!

..the Empty Quarter.

They're travelling in the footsteps of legendary British explorer

Wilfred Thesiger.

Their goal - to rekindle a lost friendship.

We're getting there, yeah.

Together, they've already rode across the Atlantic Ocean

and raced to the South Pole.

Now, in the most hostile desert on the planet,

they'll face extreme heat and dehydration...

I do feel like I'm almost hallucinating, I feel like I'm drunk.

..violent sandstorms...

The sand gets in your nose, eyes, mouth.

-..and unpredictable camels...

-Argh, stop!

Stop it, stop it.

Argh!

I'm in so much pain.

..and their troubled relationship will be

pushed to breaking point.

It's OK. Jamie, Jamie, calm down.

You're lying, you're lying. You don't want to head out, rubbish.

Sometimes, James is an arse.

If you go to bed with an argument, it gets bigger.

Can James and Ben find what they're looking for in the most

remote place on Earth?

I'm going to need you more than ever over the next two days.

We've both been on umpteen expeditions and trips

and this is WAY harder.

-Do you know where you're going?

-I am going...there.

-Middle East?

-Middle East.

-Would you point it out on a map?

It's a week before Ben and James set off for the Empty Quarter.

It's bigger than the Sahara.

James' wife Bev and their children Croyde, Kiki

and Trixie are helping him get ready.

Cos it's so big,

it's like the space between your ears - there's nothing in there.

'This is an amazing place to get to go to.

'Neither Ben or I are experts in this environment,'

it's a case of, in any situation,

knowing what your limitations are and planning around them.

-Who loves you?

-Da-da.

-Oh, he does. Oh, he does.

-He's going to miss you, isn't he?

-Uh-huh.

-Uh-huh. Where's Daddy going?

-Is he going to see a camel?

-Mm-hmm.

-Wow.

I'm, for once, not going to be the most grumpy person on camp

cos there's some camels there as well.

-Check it out.

-Ludo, can you guess what Daddy's going to make?

'I've never properly tried to live and be self-sufficient in a desert.'

It's more like a dinosaur.

'For me, this is a really exciting opportunity to genuinely test'

myself in what I think is probably one of the toughest terrains.

Can you make me enough to last me a month in the desert?

The Empty Quarter expedition will be the longest that Ben has ever

been away from Marina, Ludo and Iona.

The funny thing is I'm genuinely reaching a stage now where

I just want to be with my family and part of me thinks maybe I should

just hang up my adventurer coat but I do love this whole adventure thing.

Ooh, watch, a big wave.

Ben and James first met in 2005 when Ben asked the Olympic rower

to join him in a race across the Atlantic.

The cabin is underwater.

Very scary and Ben's very shaken. As am I.

They emerged from the gruelling 50-day voyage as firm friends.

-Good job, man.

-That was amazing.

Three years later,

they teamed up again in a 500-mile race to the South Pole.

We're not even halfway.

The pressure of the race pushed their friendship to the limit.

I can't be a...a sponge, we've got to be a pushing-out.

'My friendship with James is quite a complex one,

'there's no doubt about it,

'and we have been described and are often described as the odd couple.'

We are, we're pretty different.

Whatever it is, James has to and wants to be the best at what he does.

Despite the tension of Antarctica,

they always planned to do a third expedition together.

But in July 2010, tragedy struck.

During a cycle race across America, James was hit by a petrol tanker.

He suffered a catastrophic head injury.

He was wired up to all sorts of machines, pillow covered in blood.

His brain had swung forward in his skull

and all the damage was to the front of the brain.

I was a day away from never seeing my family again.

James' skull was split in two places with severe bleeding

and swelling of his brain.

It was a sort of waiting game of, well, is he going to live?

Yes, brilliant.

Is he going to be OK? We don't know.

Hmmm, OK.

We can't tell you how much of him is ever going to be back.

The one thing they were categorical about,

they said he will never regain some of these functions that he

had before, he will always struggle with some of these things.

That's really hard to hear.

He spent three months on a neuro trauma recovery ward in America.

Three years on,

he's still coming to terms with the effects of the accident.

'Not a day goes past when I wish it hadn't happened

'and I wish it hadn't happened for Bev and the kids.'

The reality is, with the frontal lobe injuries, the ability

to plan, organise, motivate and empathise are massively reduced.

He's found it very hard to maintain relationships which apparently

is classic, textbook behaviour for someone who's had his injury.

'I probably don't even really know where our friendship is

'at this particular moment and in some ways,'

actually, in many ways,

that's why I'm embarking on this trip with him

cos I see this as a chance to try

and understand more about where we are now but also, I don't know,

I don't know whether James sees it that way as well,

but I kind of feel like that we need to...

We need to...refriend.

With a brain injury, it's very difficult

and people find it very hard to be honest

and they've got their expectations of what the impact

of the injury is and are you different or not that different?

And if they see you walking and talking,

the assumption is you're OK.

That's part of the excitement for me, to prove to...

I think I've proved to myself, just to show whether it be to Bev,

to family, to other people who've been through a tough time,

that he's back, he's fine and let's crack on.

My worry comes from the fact that I've been told that

some of his...characteristics,

some of his traits have been exaggerated through the accident

and I say that with a smile on my face cos that does worry me

a little bit because, by his own admission,

he was always quite hard on himself and those around him,

he was always pretty driven,

he always had the potential to be a bit grumpy occasionally,

and if those are exaggerated,

I'm about to go away with a monster.

Ben and James are travelling to Rub' al Khali, the Empty Quarter.

Spanning over 250,000 square miles across the Arabian Peninsula,

it's the largest expanse of sand in the world.

They're following in the footsteps

of British explorer Wilfred Thesiger,

who criss-crossed this vast desert over half a century ago.

Aristocratic by birth, Thesiger shunned the trappings

of privilege and wealth to travel in the company of local Bedouin.

He shared their hardship and won their respect,

earning the nickname Mubarak bin London.

Now, James and Ben

are attempting to cross 600km of the Empty Quarter in Oman.

They've promised their families they'll be away for just four

weeks, so it's an ambitious goal.

Local elder Musalem Al Mahari will be their mentor, teaching them the

traditional Bedouin skills they'll need to survive in the desert.

Hi there, how are you? Very nice to meet you.

-So you're going to...help us with everything?

-Yes, I'll do.

I'll try my best to help you.

-Have you ridden a camel before?

-No, no. Once.

Once, many, many years ago,

I was hopeless so we know nothing really about camels.

Horses?

-I've done a teeny bit but not really very much.

-And you?

Horses, no, I'm...

-I used to have a cat. That's about it.

-OK.

-Cos we know nothing.

-Yeah, I mean, it's quite hard.

Ben and James are in Salalah, Oman's second city.

When Thesiger was here in the 1940s, it was still a small town

that had been built on the ancient trade of frankincense.

Thesiger knew he was witnessing the end of an era as oil wealth

and a rush to modernity began to change Oman

and the whole of Arabia for ever.

I've kind of being fascinated by Thesiger since I was a young boy,

I remember finding that book, Arabian Sands.

The more I read,

the more captivated I became about this Empty Quarter, this vast,

inland ocean and the fact that here was a man out here being

traced by gun-toting Arabs, genuinely, his life in jeopardy.

Come, quickly.

Listen to me, listen to my advice.

The traditional souk has changed little since Thesiger's day.

Ben and James want to travel as he did,

so it's the perfect place for them to shop for authentic supplies.

'On a modern expedition, you can be as hi-tech as you want.

'Quick-wicking clothes, GPS, you can have water pumps to purify

'the water, just about everything at your disposal, satellite phones.'

But I think both James and I are fascinated to try and take it

back to its grass roots level and I've never really done that before.

-Try this.

-Look at this, you've got a smile on your face now.

It's like a jock strap.

Hey, James, OK.

Is it a bit over the top? Do you think...? Is this for look?

-Is this for show...

-Yeah.

-..or is this also...?

-Both, both.

-Where's Ben? OK.

-Silver.

I mean, it's kind of... It's kind of like dressing up, isn't it?

-Now, try to eat a lot of fries to have big belly.

-Oh, really?

Yeah, to have big belly.

-Like this, you don't look a rich man.

-Really?

-You've got the evening attire version.

-Does it suit me?

-Yeah.

What do you think?

Am I going with the campest desert companion in the world?

In fact,

I was going with the campest desert companion in the world anyway,

now, he's just made himself look like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Priscilla, I'm coming.

Come, come, come.

The tribal unrest that Thesiger encountered over 60 years ago

is long gone, but it's still Bedouin tradition to carry

a dagger as a mark of masculinity

and it's a crucial tool for survival in the desert.

-I think we need a short one and a big, strong one. Each.

-Each?

-You not think just...?

-A small one and a big one each.

-Yeah.

Well, why doesn't one of us get a small one and one of us

gets a big one?

OK, if a snake happens to be near you,

are you going to have time to fold it out and chop its head off?

No, I think you want to take one of each.

I think it is better to have one of each than a gun.

I think we definitely have some disagreements on how we want

to approach this in terms of whether we're going for...whether

we're going for practicality or authenticity.

This knife, the blade runs right to the hilt, is going

to behead a snake or a...camel or a Fogle.

But...this knife...will go with his Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

outfit he's got, so I imagine he'll end up with this.

The budget will be three times as much.

Next on the Thesiger shopping list is food.

They'll need enough supplies for three weeks but first,

they must agree on how closely to follow Thesiger's meagre

rations of rice, bread and eggs.

We could take potatoes. I don't know how we'd cook them.

-No, you can't take...

-Tomatoes, probably not.

This is Uday Ali.

We need this for bread.

-For this, 50?

-50, OK.

-50?

-55.

-55?

We just said 50, I thought we had the deal at 50 cos it would have been 60.

I'll do 25 kilos for 25 rials.

No problem.

I would shake your hand but it's probably quite sticky.

Four of these.

Are you buying ginger, Ben? There isn't sushi.

Well, listen, I want to add a little bit of flavouring

-so we've got some ginger.

-You're not going to live off ginger.

This is what Thesiger took out.

-No, ginger is going to just add a little bit of...

-No, what's this?

-Hmm?

-What's that?

-Shark.

Completely against my ethics. Thank you, sir.

-You've been living in Notting Hill too long.

-What have you got?

How much fish is there?

-We've got...

-We've got way more ginger, look at the...

That's the ginger and fish.

I know but the ginger is going to be...flavouring all of our...

Think how heavy that is.

-It'll be fine.

-You're going to a desert, what are you thinking?

This is the first time James and I have spent a day together in years.

It's funny cos it's almost like we're back to square one,

it's almost like I'm with James the stranger again, you know,

James who became such a good friend, who is still such a good friend.

I'm still learning about who he is, how he works, and

if I'm to be honest, I have had a bit of a shock...cos he's so different.

It's such small nuances but they kind of...in my mind,

they've escalated and that makes it a little bit hard because...

..I don't know quite which James I'm dealing with here.

-Sugar?

-Yeah.

-Salt?

-Yeah.

-Dates?

-Yes.

-Ginger?

-No.

THEY LAUGH

In 1945, Wilfred Thesiger left Salalah on his mission to open

up the Empty Quarter.

He called it "the greatest prize of Arabian exploration."

Ben and James are following his route north,

heading to a Bedouin camp for their desert training.

There's suddenly a lot of nothingness, isn't there?

Look, it's beautiful, right?

Not really, it's the same as it was about a minute ago and an hour ago.

But here...

It's stunning but I've seen it, I feel I've seen it all now.

Unlike Thesiger, Ben and James have decided to

take on the Empty Quarter without local guides.

Morning. Salam.

They've got just three days at Musalem's temporary camp to

learn the necessary skills from his team of Bedouin tribesmen.

You ready?

First, it's time to meet their only team-mates -

the camels that will carry them and their supplies.

Oh, it works for the camel as well.

They must learn quickly how to manage

and ride these notoriously wilful and grumpy ships of the desert.

Pull this down and say...

HE MAKES HISSING SOUND

JAMES REPEATS SOUND

Tch, tch, tch.

Ben, who's known for his love of animals, has a touchy-feely style.

(Thank you.) Good boy.

James goes for a firmer, no-nonsense approach.

Your camel is quiet because your camel is afraid of you

because the camel knows that you are stronger than him.

Ben's camel, he is thinking now,

"How could I throw him somewhere in the desert?

"How can I kill him? How can I defend myself?"

It's the quiet ones you've got to watch for,

that's what we say in England. I'm quite worried.

He's very quiet now but it'll only take one second.

-Do your best when you are in the Empty Quarter.

-Yeah.

JAMES MAKES CLICKING SOUND

Very good.

Always keep yourself in the centre.

-Am I not in the centre?

-Yes, you are OK, always in the centre.

-Shall I go up?

-Yeah.

Feels good being up.

And we're off. Slowly, slowly.

My one really wanted to join you, James.

They're up with ease.

But their mentor, Masalan, is having some difficulty.

Tch! Tch! Tch!

JAMES SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY

-Crazy camel!

-GRUNTS

How are you going, James?

HE LAUGHS

-You OK, Masalan?

-Yeah, I fell down.

-Do you think we've got the best tutor, James?

-No.

HE LAUGHS

Come on, teacher.

SINGS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE

-Which way are we going, Masalan?

-Left.

-Left.

-Left.

-On this side.

-That's right, then.

They've taken to the riding well,

but Ben and James will travel through the desert

with four fully-loaded camels.

They'll have to ride their own camels

and manage the pack animals tethered behind at the same time -

a much more difficult skill to master.

Where are we going?

-This is the direction to Saudi Arabia. You see those canyons?

-Yes.

-You see the hills?

-Yes.

-Straight on.

This way. CLICKS TONGUE

-Over the canyon.

-OK. Come on. On you come.

On you come. On you come.

HE SHOUTS

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

Whoa. Whoa.

Stop!

-Are you OK, James?

-All good.

The camels, they...maybe they don't like James.

I don't know.

James is the toughest person you're ever going to meet.

He was hit by a truck at goodness-knows-what miles an hour.

I was in that hospital the day after, and all the nurses said

that no normal human being would have survived that.

James is made of, like, armour.

Having said that, I think, like all of us, he has a lot of pride.

Partly both of us want to learn by our mistakes,

but mistakes in the desert can kill,

especially when you've had a head injury, and I'm always aware of that.

IT BELLOWS

I know, I know. I know. I'm sorry. It's on now.

You obey me, all will be good. All will be good.

You may not think I'm the boss, but between you and me...I am.

The camels will carry the water

that will keep the entire team alive between wells.

The Bedouin claim goat skins are still the best way

to look after this precious resource.

-What will we put in there?

-You put water.

-No!

-You put water.

-Yeah.

So the water just goes in the top here, does it?

-Yes, the water in the top.

-Yup.

They've actually got the udders still on them.

So they're female goat skins mainly?

-I think they're the testicles, Ben.

-Really?

JAMES LAUGHS

Wow. What are you doing? Testing that it's...?

And they guarantee they won't leak?

No. I mean, at the beginning, they leak a little bit.

It smells a bit like rotten shoes.

What does the water taste of, then? When it comes out of here.

The first week, it will taste not good.

Smells not good, taste not good.

Excellent.

-But it will change. After a while, you will like it.

-Will we?

Maybe at the beginning,

you will have, the first or the second day, diarrhoea.

-Oh, good.

-Maybe. Maybe. And then after, it will change.

It's the last day of training.

With the reality of what they're taking on beginning to dawn,

the mood in camp is tense.

Ben and James have set themselves an ambitious target.

From the village of Al-Hashman,

they'll enter the Empty Quarter,

crossing over 600km of harsh desert

terrain and huge sand dunes.

Their chosen target

is the vast and fabled quicksands,

known as Umm as Samim,

"mother of poison",

made famous by Wilfred Thesiger,

the first western explorer ever to reach them.

But unlike Thesiger, they're determined to make the crossing

without Bedouin guides,

using only a map and compass to navigate.

So, Masalan - maps, routes, navigation.

This is key, isn't it?

It's the thing I'm the most nervous about,

so feel free to group me in that nervous...area.

-Because it may look empty, but we have to go the right way.

-Yep.

Your direction is this way, north-east.

Sand dunes like this.

Sand dune here, sand dune here, sand dune here, sand dune here,

sand dune here - no canyon.

So, all through here, how far do those big dunes go?

-This goes down to here.

-OK.

-About 40km.

-40km of dunes.

After 40km, you will come to sand dunes, canyon. Go north.

-And then head north? Yep.

-That's Saudi Arabia on the other side.

-Saudi Arabia. Don't come close to Saudi Arabia.

-No.

-There's the quicksands.

-Yep.

And this whole distance from here to there, roughly?

-650km.

-Wow.

-650km.

For James, the pressure to navigate successfully

between water wells is very real.

His head injury means heat and dehydration

could bring on an epileptic fit.

In terms of being ready for the Empty Quarter,

the bits that I'm worried about now

is not necessarily the riding the camels and securing the camels,

the feeding the camels,

the packing the camels - it's finding the water,

and finding our way directly to the next well.

A seizure in the desert would mean the end of the expedition.

More importantly, it could threaten his life.

It's vital they have the means to find and carry water.

The navigation seemed quite specific for the first 20km

and then, very random for the next 480.

So...I think we're going to need every drop of water.

How long these will hold up for, I don't know.

It will take two days to reach the first well.

They'll need at least 70 litres for them and their camels.

I'm worried. I'm really worried.

Especially as these...

..don't look like they'll hold for more than a few hours.

Leaking goat skins are a serious threat to Ben and James.

Wilfred Thesiger fought a constant battle with thirst.

At times, he went between wells

surviving on just a single cup of water a day.

Temperatures in the Empty Quarter can reach over 50 degrees.

To keep cool, he dressed like a Bedouin.

Ben and James will also wear traditional Bedouin clothing.

We have to stop being western men now.

Right. Goodbye, shirt.

I'll miss you. My favourite purple ones.

Big pants.

How do you do this, Ben?

Can I say, it's actually very comfortable. It's quite breezy.

-Are you free-balling?

-Yes. Well, with the big pants.

But there's nothing to hold me in place.

Our boots give us away.

Yeah, I think there's plenty more than the dishdashas

going to give us away, but this is the fun part.

The serious part comes when we get the camels loaded and we set off.

How are you feeling about that?

I have pretty much...

zero confidence in...

..our navigation, if I'm honest.

I'm not confident in our water holding up,

because it's leaking so much.

With just a few hours before nightfall,

they must address their concerns with Masalan now

if they are to have any chance of leaving tomorrow.

-Did you fill these, James?

-They were full. They were all full.

-They are leaking.

-I filled them all up.

Look. These were full. Look at it. These are just empty.

All they've been doing is sitting in a truck,

not bouncing on a camel, and it's...

So much has gone out.

You see, when you hang it like this -

when you hang the goat skin like this, it will not leak.

This is not my environment, Masalan. I'm not going to go.

I have a wife and children.

I'm not going in there not knowing where to go,

and with bags that leak.

It's just not a responsible thing for any parent to do,

or any individual to do.

You need to be, you know,

confident and comfortable with what we have with us, so if we...

Look, Masalan's coming.

James, I'm the first to agree water is life out there

and there's no point, so I agree. Let's take them full.

So, Masalan, we've decided, as a team, this is our plan.

-We're going to take these two.

-Yes.

-But we want to take them full.

We will fill the water now.

-So we take that and two goat skins, you think?

-No goat skin?

IT BELLOWS

Hey, beautiful. How you doing?

-WOMAN'S VOICE:

-'All right.'

Getting on pretty well with the camels,

although the camel threw me off yesterday, which was...

'Oh, dear.'

Lucky it was on sand, so that was OK.

Don't you worry. We will be very safe.

-BOY'S VOICE:

-'Hi, Daddy!'

-Hey, little man.

-How are you doing?

-'I'm good.'

Hello, Mr Ludo.

So the camel is actually saying hello.

I can send the camel back and I can stay in the desert.

Would you rather have me or a camel?

-WOMAN'S VOICE:

-'It's a tough one.'

HE LAUGHS

Hate those last phone calls.

I'm nervous about it.

I'm really nervous,

because I'm going to be doing something I've never done before

and doing it with someone who's never done this before,

and we're going to have to work together,

and this is really a test of not only

how I can adapt to the situation anyway,

but also proving to everyone

that I am back to who I used to be,

and that's really important.

Should I be doing this? Do I still want to do this?

I'm nervous about heading out there, but I'm excited as well.

Ben and James are leaving their Bedouin mentors behind

to begin their journey across the Empty Quarter.

Sorry, big fella. It's that time of day.

They've still no idea

if their navigation skills are up to the task,

or if they can cover enough distance in two days to reach the first well

60km away.

I'm still dubious as to whether we have enough water.

I mean... Whoa! Whoa!

I feel let down by Masalan in terms

of getting the goatskin bags.

They just...they leak so much.

As much as he's saying,

"Well, they won't leak when they're on the camel,"

it's not something I believe, really.

He's still really worried about water and navigation.

And let's be honest, that's kind of

what makes the Empty Quarter the Empty Quarter -

water and navigation.

And heat.

I always knew this was going to be tough.

We haven't even started yet, and psychologically,

it's kind of eating us up.

James does drag me down.

There's no way I would have been

as stressed as that yesterday with someone else.

I don't think.

I still have a lot on my mind,

but I think he does pull me down a little bit,

and it's my job to try and pull both of us back up.

I have to work double-time.

And in that sense, I do feel I'm treading on eggshells.

IT BELLOWS

That's OK? Come on.

-All right, guys.

-Four camels.

-Four camels.

-Food.

-And us. That's us.

-It's going to be fun, yeah? That's the thing.

-It is going to be fun!

-Hey, Masalan.

-Good morning. James and Ben, how are you?

-Yeah, yeah, good. I think we are finally ready.

-That's good.

-I'm happy that you have learned a lot in a few days.

-We'll see.

And I wish you a good trip. I hope to see you in the next five years.

-So, take care.

-I hope it will be quicker than five years.

-OK.

Brilliant.

-Thank you very much, Masalan.

-Bye-bye.

-Thank you. Camels are good.

We're off, James. We are off to the Empty Quarter.

I feel like I'm going to the best fancy dress party ever.

-I'm going to win the best costume.

-Say goodbye to civilisation.

Bye, guys. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everyone.

Come. Just...

Wow, look at this.

Now, that...is an unbelievable sight.

It's certainly empty.

What's more worrying is that every sand dune

looks pretty much the same to me.

Hey, fellas. Don't you back away from the Empty Quarter.

-I'm relying on you.

-They're genuinely all looking around going, "Oh, no."

"We're going in with these two idiots."

That's what they're saying.

I don't speak camel yet, but I'm learning.

God, though, it's beautiful.

I don't think I've ever seen a desert quite as vast.

You'll be bored of that view in about an hour.

Here's my gang.

Captain Barnacles, Janet behind,

and just in front, over there, is James.

James, what's your load camel called?

-Otto.

-Oh, no, carrying the cargo.

I don't really know.

Otto Two is kind of what I've been referring to him as.

For the next 18 days,

it will be just Ben, James and their four camels.

Without Bedouin guides,

navigation through the sand dunes is no easy task.

So, Masalan said to us, "Go across the valley,

"go to behind that dune, and take the gully to the north-east."

-So right to north-east.

-Yep.

They not only need the right bearing,

they must also know their average hourly pace

to map their route to the first well.

-So what do we think our walking pace is now?

-Over three, easily.

Three kilometres an hour.

After just two hours, they're struggling.

Well, I'm confused, then.

This could be this one, this could be this one.

I think we need to go that way.

OK. You think we need to go east of this one,

and then to the north of the one behind,

and then that will bring us back out onto the sand and gravel.

It's almost like we just have to have a pant, and if we're wrong,

we have to come back and take the other route.

-We've got to get it right.

-Listen, I know we've got to get it right.

This is the hardest bit.

And it's so easy to get the dunes muddled

because there's so many of them.

To keep to their bearing,

they decide to go straight over a big sand dune.

Have you seen your camel goes up on its knees?

-It's quite steep, mate.

-Yeah, yeah.

It's not a good idea.

The pack animals, Janet and Otto Two,

are weighed down by 75kg of supplies each.

Steady, steady.

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

-You OK, James?

-Yeah, hang on. Let me, um...

Just pull her, and this momentum will drag her up.

Just need to grab...

James, I think it's too much weight. I think we've got to get this off.

No... For fuck's sake.

Whoa!

Arghh!

If the camels escape, they'll lose all their food and water,

which would mean the end of the expedition.

Well done.

-Come on.

-Just going to get mine.

Hey!

Slowly, slowly.

We've discovered not to take them over big dunes.

Big dunes and camels don't work very well.

They need to cover at least 30km today.

I think we might need to just check navigation, Ben.

But they are still struggling with their route,

and the camels.

Come on. Stop it. Stop it.

Whoo! Got a boot to the leg, there.

-You all right?

-Yeah.

-Don't you get any ideas.

After so many wrong turns, the pressure is taking its toll.

Oh.

Fucking idiot.

I fucking don't give a shit any more. This is bullshit.

As soon as we get there, the sooner we can fucking go home. Come on.

-CAMEL GROANS

-Yeah, fuck you!

Ups and downs.

I think, um, I think James is getting frustrated.

He's just got off and he's starting to swear.

Um, listen, it's... It is frustrating.

We've had to stop and redo them. Navigation's hard, so...

It's...you know? It's not easy.

We all go up and down.

I'm feeling...I'm actually feeling really good.

But I don't want...but this is my, you know?

I've got to temper that a bit, I'm aware of that.

After a frustrating nine hours on the move, they decide to make camp.

I have absolutely no idea where we are.

It looks very much the same as when we started out this morning.

It's full of sand dunes.

And as our navigation briefing was five minutes,

and our map involved a pencil line drawn near to 600km away,

it was very much a case of the blind leading the blind, which,

when you're going somewhere for the first time,

it's not a particularly good way of finding anything.

I'm hoping navigation becomes easier.

Walking is one thing. Walking in the wrong direction is another thing.

This is kind of cooking fesija style.

It's literally just water, salt and flour.

No yeast or anything.

It's pretty stodgy and heavy, so it really fills you up.

I've never baked bread out on an expedition like this.

It's the opposite of what you would normally do.

You'd normally have rehydrated meals, boil some water, eat, go.

Instead, I'm about to spend a couple of hours cooking it.

And you'll see, it's quite laborious.

-What do you think of the bread?

-I think it's damn good.

Anyway, we've got bread for breakfast and we've got lunch as well.

Marvellous.

We need to be just a bit careful of scorpions around here.

-Just do a little check, especially boots in the morning.

-Mm.

-What time is it?

-6.30.

-Fucking hell! How long have you been awake?

-I just woke up.

Oh, man!

Ben and James have overslept.

They're already an hour and a half behind schedule.

These camels hawked all night.

After yesterday's navigation problems,

they'll have to keep moving all day in the right direction

to stand a chance of reaching the well by nightfall.

Look at the dune in front of you.

Very nice. I hope we don't have to go over it.

-Were you cold last night?

-A little bit chilly.

Your tea water is ready.

Oh, perfect.

-Is there any dates?

-Yeah, dates...

Where's the sugar?

HE SLURPS

Are you ready, fellows?

There is no biting allowed!

That's us.

-Right, so, James?

-Yeah, Captain?

We head towards that big flat escarpment on that dune

and then bear to the left.

They've missed the coolest part of the day,

but a good night's sleep seems to have lifted James' spirits.

Talk me through your adaptations.

You look like you've been blinging it up.

Well, I've got a sort of slit in my dishdasha there.

-Eh, that's because...

-Are you trying to show me leg?

Well, I would be showing you leg, although I did actually

-fashion a pair of gaiters out of my undergarments.

-Yeah.

So that there's less sand going down my shoes.

Because we spent so much time walking yesterday.

So, um...what's the mood in camp today,

given the mood can only be you and I? What mood have we created?

-All in all, in the black rather than the red at the moment.

-Good.

I'm feeling really optimistic today.

I think, um, yeah, slowly, slowly we're getting used to life out here.

-Go over this way.

-So, straight on?

-Yeah.

I think things are a bit more relaxed today.

We left a bit later than we wanted, you know.

But you can't have everything.

It's like something has to always give here.

-It's looking good.

-Oh, that's a big flat plain.

That's a good sight already.

You see that kind of different coloured one there?

Down to the right, yeah. So, you see the little shrub on the top?

Yeah, exactly. We're not going to go over that or over that.

So I'm pretty certain it's down there.

-We're getting there, yeah.

-Slowly.

-Slowly, slowly.

-Slowly.

Well done, Otto. Good pace. Good pace.

Have you noticed how the packing

-seems to be much better today?

-Yeah.

James and Ben have been on the go now for nine hours

and covered 27km.

They're back on track to make it to the well.

There's a lot of camels on the horizon.

Are there lots of people with them as well?

Is funny, isn't it?

Cos actually, one of them looks like a man on a motorbike.

And actually, one of them looks like a bloke pulling a sledge.

I think my mind is already playing tricks on me.

But I'm hoping where there's camels, there's going to be a herder,

a nomad of some sort, and I would imagine they would keep them not far from a source of water.

Look - camels, greenery and water!

It's not the romantic oasis of legend. But it's water.

Oh, look at that, guys!

And finding it marks a huge success for James and Ben,

and excellent news for their camels.

How satisfying is that?

Wow!

Ooh! Is that good, Janet? What do you think, Otto?

It's the relief of seeing these guys filling themselves up.

It actually looks quite clean, this water, as well.

Mm.

Sulphurous!

Pretty satisfying to see them drinking, isn't it?

There's plenty more gas in the tank, is what I get from that.

After today's effort, they've earned an early finish.

It was a huge relief to get to the well, you know, because,

not only just to get to the well, but for the well to be where we thought it would be.

And that is a huge relief.

We are in better shape for a good day tomorrow than we were yesterday.

Mentally.

It's been a really good day.

We're going to try and, eh...

up the ante a little bit tomorrow.

We're on an unstoppable train now.

Here we go. I think that's OK.

How many tea bags would you like in the tea, sir?

-Oh, just one, thank you.

-One?!

It's so quiet here, isn't it?

Yeah. Ish!

All except for the grumbling camel.

What were you hoping to get out of...out of coming here?

I think the bigger attraction for this trip was to go with you,

than just to come here to the desert.

It's something I've always wanted to do, if I'm to be really honest.

-Well, likewise.

-I mean, we haven't really seen each other for a while.

You've kind of...you've been having

your own things to deal with,

and, you know, we've both got families and both disappeared off.

So throwing that question back to you about why you're here.

I spent a lot of the last three years hiding away a little bit,

from...cos people don't really know, or didn't, you know, how to...

..talk to me or have a perception of what

I would be like after having had a big old smack on the head.

Do you think there's a stigma in people?

I think there is not necessarily a stigma, I think...

It is often called the hidden illness, a brain injury,

because you don't really know what people are capable of.

It's not like a heart attack or cancer. There is a kind of...

or a broken leg.

There is a timescale or a perceived recovery. We all know someone...

It's very different, so people...

-Mates talk to me like I'm a foreigner.

-Does that annoy you?

-Yes.

Cos I don't want to be judged on a different scale. I never have.

CAMEL BLEATS

All right.

Oh... I was just feeding...

Ooh. Just feeding my camel.

HE GROANS

And he has bitten me quite badly, actually.

Ooh.

That is very, very painful.

It is very deep.

Ooh, God, that is sore.

Better try and... So, James, do you mind just coming and give me

a little hand just cleaning my hand?

Just heard you shout.

-So you were feeding it and it...?

-Yeah, just bit into me.

It's very deep. He literally...

..took my hand for a date, quite literally.

And his big old tooth went straight in.

Now, you know what's coming?

-Yeah, iodine. That's fine.

-Yeah?

You have got to do it because the camel is not good. Aargh!

I'm feeling your pain, man, I'm feeling your pain.

Right. Put that on top of it.

-Right. Let's carry on so we don't lose any time.

-Yes.

Ben's camel has bitten his hand to the bone.

It's not the greatest place to have a big open wound

because keeping anything clean out here is hard enough.

His injury means another delayed morning.

So we have got another handicap.

Again, that makes the quicksands less and less likely.

It's a real shame, because we had just started to get into the life.

We woke up at the time we should today,

and we were packing up well and then...

The reality is that was the first time we have fed

the camels in the dark

and it mistook one of his fingers, or his thumb, for a date.

Which is not a good thing.

That section there, but maybe to the left.

This desert expedition was never meant to be competitive.

But James is quickly falling back into the role of Olympic taskmaster,

pushing himself and Ben to achieve the goal they set.

I can see it developing into a race now, which I had not before.

Because there is a target at the end of it to reach the quicksands

that Thesiger was the first European to see.

And in order to do that, we are going to have to be pretty

regimented and ruthless about getting up, getting on it

and keeping the camels on it and now walking on it.

And that may be...

falling into the competitive arena

and I may be more driven to achieve those goals than Ben.

With James, I always feel this pressure to keep up with him

or to match what he is doing.

It hasn't been the happy...happiest trip yet.

It has become dominated by stress, which is strange,

cos I thought, as soon as we took out the racing aspects,

that it would just be chilled.

By midday, they have covered 16km.

James wants to push on through the hottest time of the day.

But Ben is becoming increasingly worried about his camel Janet,

who is refusing to eat.

I was going to let them just grab a few bits of green as we go.

It's how important is it to reach the quicksand, because every time

we stop, it is going to affect our overall destination.

We have set ourselves a challenge.

But I think two minutes to give them this...

We are already up to three or four minutes.

Captain, we are off!

HE CLICKS HIS TONGUE

Just a kilometre later, Ben stops again.

He has spotted some good food for Janet on top of a dune.

I feel terrible, because there is no food for her

and she is starving, absolutely starving.

She has been groaning and trying to eat the saddle,

trying to eat my stick, eating bags, absolutely anything.

Because she just won't eat the dates.

If she is turning down dates, then she is not hungry.

They had food last night, they had dates and Ben's thumb this morning.

I have got mine some leaves, as you can see,

there are just the sticks left. It is like feeding your kids, isn't it?

When a parent brings round their kids, and they say,

"They don't eat crusts off pizza, they don't eat crust off bread."

That's because you don't let them eat crusts off pizza, you...

If you are hungry, you will eat it.

They are carrying all our water and load. They have got to eat.

I know the importance of those camels out here.

Without them, we are screwed.

To be honest, I don't think James really does always get it.

It is time to have a pee or get off the potty

and that is what we have got to do now. We either stop or carry on.

And worrying about little things...

"Oh, the camel doesn't appear to like dates." It's like, well...

If it is hungry, it will eat dates.

If she doesn't eat this...

I don't know. I don't know what else I can do.

There you go.

Ben!

-She has eaten.

-That's good.

-Mine have had a snack as well.

-Good.

Right, we need to make a decision.

-It's time to have a pee or get off the potty.

-Have a what?

Have a pee or get off the potty.

Have a pee or get off the potty. Oh, right.

-Well, my... That way is an option.

-Yeah.

-That way is an option.

-Coming through there is an option. I think, go the middle way.

-Yeah.

And right now, we are doing none of the camels any favours

by standing here.

Perfect. Let's move on.

And you have had enough to eat. Don't you start whingeing.

We are off.

The quicksands are still more than 500km away.

If they are going to reach their target in time, they need to

agree on how best to cover the distance and motivate their camels.

I don't think we should ride the camels at all.

I think they should purely be...pack animals.

We have given ourselves a set time to make the distance

and the reality is, we're not going to get there.

You could whack them to bits with a stick to make them go fast.

It is not my style, I'm not... It is not a race.

The reality is that to make the quicksand, we are

going to have to up our pace by 50%.

At least we found water.

After just three days, James and Ben's dream

of crossing the Empty Quarter is in serious doubt.

Mmm! Camel snot.

Are we going to stay here or do you want to move on?

-Well, it's a bigger question than that, isn't it?

-Yes.

What are you thinking right now?

What is the point of the trip is what I'm thinking.

'There are a lot of complexities to life out here.

'The complexities of doing it with James.'

We just seem to be failing at everything we try to do.

Maybe we are just rubbish at this. Maybe we really can't do this.

But, you know, we have both been on umpteen expeditions and trips

and this is WAY harder, a different level, as far as I'm concerned.

Look at the greys.

I only had a few before this.

It's actually ageing me.

I think what I'm trying to say now is that we are trying.

We are really trying.

Good boy.

Next time, with their expedition falling apart,

James and Ben make a last-ditch attempt to pick up the pace.

We are covering some good distance at this speed, at least.

But their camels become increasingly difficult.

Coming off, coming off!

Stop!

Fucker!

CAMEL GROWLS Wait. Wait.

Their fragile relationship is pushed to breaking point.

Aargh!

And their dream of reaching the Empty Quarter's famous quicksands

is put in jeopardy once and for all.