12x04 - Finding A Foothold

[bunniefuu]

There. There.

Ran up the hill.

There's food
all over the place.

It's going to be really hard
to hunt here.

Not good.

I cannot drink the water
out of the lake

without boiling it,
because I know

I will have diarrhoea,
and I will drop out.

Thank God.

I feel a little nauseous.

.

Hello, this is Pablo.

I'm officially tapping out.

I couldn't keep up
with hydrating myself.

I got to throw up, man.

All points,
we have red button alert.

Hopefully, there's many
chapters in this legend,

and, hopefully, it is a lot
more triumphs than failures.

They call this place
the Land of Great Thirst.

The great Karoo Desert,
South Africa.

We are in one of the most
inhospitable places on Earth.

Ten participants.

Whoever can stay
the longest wins.

It's pretty simple.

Oh, I found the baboons.

There's ten of them,
but I only have five arrows.

This place is dry, dry, dry.

The sun's beating down
on you every day.

I'm so tired,
and I'm so thirsty.

Oh, man.

I really don't feel safe
drinking this water.

This is a place to be,
if not feared,

treated with a lot of respect.

I changed my mind!

Look at the size
of that thing.

There's a big herd
of wildebeest right there.

Rhino tracks.

Meat's back
on the menu, boys.

They call Cape Buffalo
the black death for a reason.

They'll just
straight up k*ll you.

We don't control the game.

Here you go.
Flooding.

This is nothing compared
to what's coming.

It hurts so much, man.

It's freaking ice.

So the question is,
how strong of a mind

do you need to have
to win this?

Whoo!

What the
did I get myself into?

Long cold night.

The last one to tap walks
out of here with 500 grand.

This is one of
the hardest things

that a person
can do in their life.

Oh, my gosh.

It's another great day
in Africa.

Well, good morning from

beautiful, cold, Africa.

It was a brutal night.

I think it's the coldest
it's ever been.

I've only got a blanket
and a bivy sack and a fire.

So I'm thinking about
beefing up my shelter.

I think that's
what I have to do

to maintain

my time out here.

All right, well,
I'm going to get started.

My survival philosophy is,

if you plan on doing
the days ahead stuff,

the hourly stuff
could k*ll you.

Days is water, weeks is food,

but hours is body temperature.

Last two nights,
it just gets cold.

That's just
going to get worse.

So right now, my shelter,
that's my priority.

Now, got to mix it in between.

All the books
you read about Africa

talk about using grasses
as thatch,

but there's not a lot
of grass in my area,

and so I'm using bulrush.

But you can see, this is going
to take a hell of a long time.

But if it keeps me warm.

Thatching is to protect you
from sunlight.

It's to protect you from wind.

It's your protection
from rain.

But rain is probably
not going to be an issue

because of the dry season.

It needs to be thicker.

I'm going to get more.

I cut most of the reeds
up there this morning.

So I can take
the next batch up,

which is a task.

This has been a dream to
come here since I was a kid,

and I had a great childhood.

Yee-haw.

My mom and dad bought
a cabin in Kentucky

out in the middle of nowhere.

I had thousands of acres
of woods to explore.

And so I grew up
being a feral kid.

Ah.

You know,
living out in the woods,

and go walking
miles and miles,

and your parents didn't know
where you were at,

or what you were doing,
and looking for stuff,

and using sticks,
and bones, and rocks,

and didn't realise some
of the stuff I was doing

was primitive technology.

Being out here,
it feels like that.

Oh.

It's finished enough for today.

But I hope I'll be able
to see some type of change

and not be freezing tonight.

I don't know.
We'll see.

Fire.

♪ The best part
of waking up ♪

♪ Is buffalo thorn
in your cup ♪

This water is still
going to be really hot.

Awesome.

Let that cool.

I'm just taking the decorative
stitching off this belt

so that I can use it
for a fishing lure.

Let's see.

Ooh, that could be nice
on the surface.

Hmm.

I'm just hoping
it looks enticing.

OK, time for the big reveal.

So the white
is from my underwear tag.

This is a feather I found.

The red is from
the stitching on my belt,

and the brown is from
the stitching on my belt.

I'd buy that.

Would you?

I'd definitely buy that.

I don't really know
what these fish like,

so I'm going to have to do
some experimenting.

See if I can find
a shorter route to the water.

I grew up in rural Vermont
in a small house

that my mom and stepfather
made themselves.

As a kid, I was hyperactive.

I liked to know
how things work,

but that usually just meant
I took them apart,

and that was something
that drove

my father in particular crazy.

Oh.

An entire leg,
complete with hooves.

That's super cool.

My folks got divorced
when I was five,

but I visited my father
every other weekend.

He was an avid fisherman
and hunter.

Whoa.

Holy [bleep].

Here's the entire carcass.

Wow.

Look at the size of that.
It's huge.

Those horns are amazing.

This isn't that old really.

So something took down
an animal this big.

My dad, he loved me, but he
had an intensity about him

that made it hard to know
what exactly he was thinking

or what he might
expect of you,

and I always found that
pretty challenging.

I often felt like there was
something I was supposed

to be doing,
but I wasn't doing it,

or I wasn't
doing it well enough.

Just threw the line in.

Belt and boxers lure
is on the line,

just letting it sit
for a second.

I think my relationship
with my dad

does drive me
to an extent now,

and some of that comes
from a desire

to prove that I'm worthy.

And so while he's long gone
and he never said, you know,

"You need to go out
and survive

in the wilds of Africa,"

I think there's a part of me
that wants to say,

"Hey, look what I can do."

No sign of buffalo.

Oh.
Whoa, whoa.

Whoa, whoa.
Holy [bleep].

Holy [bleep].
Holy [bleep].

Holy [bleep].
Holy [bleep]. Holy [bleep].

Did I say holy [bleep]?
Wow.

Wow.
I got a fish.

I got a [bleep] fish.

Holy [bleep].
Oh, [bleep].

Wow. Wow.
I got a fish.

I got a [bleep] fish.
Holy [bleep].

Oh.
Oh.

Oh.

I had a fish.

Well, that's, I guess,
positive, right?

I had a fish on.

It's hard not
to feel disappointed,

but in reality,
that's one step closer

to having a fish in hand.

Add it to the experiments.

First I determine
that there are fish there,

and I try one lure,
I try another,

try evening, try morning,
try on the bottom,

try on the surface.

I don't know what
these fish are all about.

I don't know their behaviours,

so I've got no choice but
to just keep trying stuff.

Well, crap.

OK, come on.

No fish,

so there's something
I want to try.

It's funny, all of my plans,

you know, it kind of
all goes out the window

when you're hungry.

Oh, that could be--

that's got potential.

Scorpion time.

I stick my knife into the hole
so it will come out.

And got to cut
that stinger off.

OK, we'll give this guy
a quick death.

So what we're left with
is that,

which I'm going to roast
right now.

I know that scorpions
are edible,

and this is probably
the time to try it.

I mean, I'm feeling good
about the plants I've found.

The crabs are good,

but I don't see them
all the time.

What kind of survivalist
would I be

if I had never
tried a scorpion?

When my dad
got into something,

he got way into something

and was very goal-focused,

and because of that, I learned
to be very self-critical.

Scorpion kebab.

But out here, I'm learning

that I'm never
going to be perfect,

and I think realising that
and being OK with it

is a huge step,

and I'm starting to learn
to see things a different way.

I can tell you
how this is going to taste.

Burned.

Because I am going to cook
the hell out of it.

Even though
the fishing situation

has been a little maddening,

there's a story
about Edison that he tried

almost 10,000 things
to make the filament

for the light bulb,

and someone asked him, like,

"How can you deal
with that much failure?"

He said, "Failure?

"I've discovered 9,999 things

"that aren't the filament
for a light bulb.

I've succeeded."

I think it's time.

It's time for a scorpion kebab.

Mmm.

Wow.

It's good.

I mean, it's burned,
but it's good.

Maybe with a little bit of
a seafood aftertaste.

Thumbs-up on the scorpion.

Today, I need
to move my shelter

because this wetness

was slowly creeping up,

and now it's at the fire pit.

It seems like I need to move
my camp from here

to just over there.

I am happy the way my shelter
is built is light, mobile...

come on.

And I don't have
to disassemble it.

I hope this is a good spot.

OK, should do something
about fire pit.

I think I need to go closer.

First thing first,
gather more firewood.

I don't have a ferro rod,
so I have to keep

the fire alive all the time.

At least there is a lot
of dead wood on the ground.

Dead wood means
easy access to firewood.

All right, I'm feeling thirsty.

I am taking water
very seriously.

Boil, filter,
drink as much as I can.

About 4,
possibly 5 litres a day.

Water is boiling.

OK, let's try this.

Ah, sitting down in my shelter.

It's shady.

It's nice.

OK, right now, I need
to find something to eat.

Hunting is not going well.

I see a lot of
animal tracks here,

but I haven't seen anything
that I can hunt.

Maybe they're spooked
by my presence,

and that not bringing a
ferro rod was a bad strategy.

So I'm going to have
to try to catch fish,

but I did not bring
a fishing kit

as one of the ten items.

Now that my fishing rods
are ready,

I need to find
a good fishing spot.

I have bank line,
and I made some hooks.

Oh, a piece of wire.

That could come in handy.

I found a piece of wire.

I heat it up in the fire, and
I bend it with my multi-tool

into a round hook.

That should do it.

I believe that fishing is
one of the stronger aspects

of my survival abilities.

And from my experience,
I knew I would be able

to find something
that I can use as a hook.

I chose not to have
a long line

because the fish
comes close to the shore,

and the hook should be
just under the water level.

One fish would be great.

The ability to adapt
to the situation you're in,

for me,
is the way of survival.

I don't feel accomplished
about today.

I'm hungry.

Food security,
that's what I need.

I feel like I hear something.

That's by the water.

What is that?

Oh, we're in business.

Check this out.

I caught a fish.

OK.

Wow, it's a catfish.

I would love to kiss it
right now.

Tonight, I'm eating.

This catfish right here
is a lot of meat.

Look at that.
Don't you love it?

And I know catfish
is fatty fish.

She's a good size.

Thank God I have
something to eat.

The head,
I'm going to eat first,

because head is one of
the parts of the fish

that really hard to preserve.

I'll put fish in the pot.

From childhood, the outdoors
gave me a sense of peace,

sense of balance.

I felt like I'm
more connected to this

than to a life in a city,

because life in the city
is stressful.

Yes, I can see
it's falling apart.

In Kyrgyzstan,
we lived in a capital city,

in a tiny apartment.

Oh, so good.

Partially because of that,
I talked to Dina,

my wife.
I said, "We need to go."

We already had
our oldest daughter,

and we were able
to scramble up $1,500 U.S.

Tastes very good.

In the United States,
we stayed in Ohio

three years before
we moved to Canada

to a city called Kitchener.

But I realised that I am still
trapped in this city cycle.

Go to work, make money,
spend money, go to work.

The only thing
it's missing is my wife.

That's why I ran away
in the bush.

I wanted to leave
my children a legacy

that does not come
with chains.

Now, they'll know what
a connection to land is.

They will know the
value of nature itself.

Also, I'm glad I brought salt.

Without salt, it wouldn't
have tasted so good.

Catching fish
gives me promise,

gives me great hope
for a comfortable stay.

Thank you, nature.
Thank you.

Thank you.
Thank you.

Thank you, nature.

Another day, another couple
of prickly pears.

I don't know
if you can see this,

but I can see nine waterbuck

grazing on that western side
of the hill.

It's exciting.

If I can get a sense
of their routine,

I could at some point
ambush them.

All right.

I need to go fishing.

Not ready to set up
little ambush spots yet,

but I'm getting ready.

I feel like I need to
dial the fish in first,

and then I'll be able
to do that.

I think if I just get excited
and push right up there,

I could push them
right out of the valley,

so I don't want to do that.

Here we go.

I'm going to try
to be really patient

because there's a long time
I've got here.

And next, fishing adventure.

In the meantime,
I've got lots of plant food.

I am eating.
That's a great foundation.

But, obviously, I would
like it to include more meat.

There's a lot of rocks here,

so this is a good area
in terms of fishing

for catfish and bottom feeders

like that fish
I got the other night.

I'm not going to give up
until I get fish.

Again, must have fish.

My little boy, Hunter,
he's quite the fisherman.

Hopefully, he'll bring me
luck with the fishing.

Today is his 12th birthday,

and wish I could be there.


He's growing up to just be
such a beautiful young man.

Come on.
Where are you guys?

I home-birthed both my kids,
Ella and Hunter.

Motherhood is a foundational
part of my life.

I love it,

but coming into this,
I've had a lot change.

My relationship
with my partner

of 20 years has come to
an end,

and that was really hard
for all of us,

and I worry about that
with my kids.

Nothing yet.

You can't help it as a mum
wanting to know

that you're just not
mucking your kids up.

But it's tricky.

No fish.
Damn it.

Hunter's birthday,
it is a reminder

of my motivation to be here.

If I win, I could buy us
a house to live in.

It would be a huge thing
for me and my kids.

And we can start a completely
new phase in our lives.

I have to
make it work somehow.

What is that?

Oh, my God, guys.

Oh, that's protein.

Get my boots back on and see
if I can snare that ibis.

Can't really afford
to let opportunities go.

I think I can sh**t
that ibis.

Bummer.

Bums me out.

I mean, it was straight,
the shot.

It just-- it was too low.

God, that would have felt good.

So good if it was
a crunchy hit.

Bummed I didn't manage
to get that ibis

'cause I really was
hungry for him.

And I'm still
hardly got any fish.

Could take me a bit of time
to dial in my food.

Probably just say,
"Just keep going.

Keep fishing, Mom."

I wouldn't mind throwing
my two lines in tonight.

Eventually,
I will have consistency.

It's a journey, this thing.

Out here, it's a big
transformational time

for me right now.

I'm coming out of building
my life with another human,

and now, I'm building
my life by myself

with looking after my kids.

So I'm off fishing again.

And I'm 46.

It's almost like
I'm nearly blindfolded

and with full faith,
just surrender,

and just say yes
to what's coming,

but it's been
really challenging,

the loss of having a family,
and having a mom and a dad,

and the two kids,
and going through

the ups and downs of life,
but sticking it out together.

Out here, this is a journey
of finding my independence

and standing
on my own two feet.

OK, so I've got my lines in.

I feel like
I'm about to embark

on creating a completely
new phase in my life.

Yeah, really just trusting
in the process

that this is where
I'm meant to be.

It feels like
I'll be different

when I leave.
I can feel that already.

Oh, sh**t.
Line broke.

I just lost another hook.
Damn it.

There's ants living in there.

I'm trying to get bait.

Oh, yeah.

There's a nice, big scorpion.

This one will make
some good bait.

So I'll cut the stinger
off this one.

Actually, I might start
eating these guys.

They're pretty decent size.

It's definitely
a little sauce of protein.

For now, I'm going to
use them for bait,

but I think it
might come to eating.

We'll see.

But before I fish
with that scorpion,

I'm going to get started
working on that line,

see if I can make a play
on these big catfish.

This 30-pound test
is not working,

so I'm going to make
a four-ply line here

that should have 120-pound
breaking strength.

The giant catfish
here in this spot

keep breaking
my 30-pound test line.

I can barely hold them,
and the line just snaps.

I'm going through hooks
at an alarming rate.

So I'm going to put
an end to that here.

Here, we have two lines.

Go down to the other end,
and I'm going to twist these.

Don't want to twist it
too much,

just the right amount
of tension.

And it's been
since I was a kid

that I actually did
this technique.

As a child, I definitely
had that sense of wonder

about nature
and primitive things,

and thanks to my father for
providing that opportunity

for his children to sleep
on the ground, to get hungry,

to try and figure out
how to find food for real.

Twist looks good.

Next step, I'm going
to fold it in half.

These two-ply will become four.

Got it pinched off here
where I'm tying it.

So that did not come unspun.

We can do research and
practice things in our garage.

That's all really helpful,

but nothing can replace
the amount of time

in the wilderness, because
there are so many variables

that come up out there,

and you can't really
manufacture those.

Strong.
No flaws.

Being there and having
those experiences

accumulates to
an ability to adapt

to whatever situations
come up.

So here we have our


fishing line
and my largest hook.

I'm going to see if we can
land one of these big cats.

We'll leave it alone.

We'll see how it goes.

So I strung up
my 120-pound test line,

went for a little walk,

and saw a mouse
running around,

and the main reason I want
a mouse is for catfish bait.

So I'm going to build a trap
right now and...

See what happens.

There's some monster catfish,

and I'm kind of consumed
right now with catching one.

It's got the fossils in it,

which I think
are coral fossils.

Pretty cool.

We'll set this up.

I'm going to do a
figure-four deadfall trap.

My bait stick here with a
little bit of dried fish on it

that the catfish
are not interested in.

I'm going to see if
the mouse will go for it.

Here we have it.

So I'm going to
leave this up all day.

I don't know if this mouse
will come out again,

but we'll set it off tonight.

I'll use my rubber gloves
in the morning to set it

so I don't put
fresh scent on it

and hope for the best.

It's time to go check
the fish line.

While I've been out here,
I've felt a sense

of awareness for my father.

Even things like
set a deadfall trap,

that's a deep connection
for me.

So I do have a feeling that
he's in this game with me.

Oh, man.

I want to show you what I just
caught with a big scorpion.

Finally.

And I apologise
for not filming that.

Whoo.

Oh, my gosh.

I was starting to lose faith
in catching fish.

Oh, man.
This is awesome.

Going to feast tonight
and in the morning.

Eat this guy.

I'm going to bait up
my four-ply 120-pound line.

Put that back in here
with some of this--

part of this guy's head.

Hopefully,
make this into more fish.

Teeth are sharp.

Certainly, I want
to honour my father

through this
experience applying

the skills that he taught.

Look at those brain juices
ooze out.

It really brings them in,
I hope.

He was so passionate
about it from a young age,

and it was his career
for so many years.

It's what he thought about
and loved.

Yeah.

Now, I'm nothing near
the survivalist that he was.

I've had other passions
and interests.

I ended up studying
agriculture in college,

got a degree
in soil science,

went and farmed in Turkey
for three years,

farmed in Romania,

and I came back to do
an MBA because

I wanted to get more into
the agribusiness side

of third-world countries,

but got distracted
and ended up

starting a software company
with my brothers,

and that's what I've
been doing ever since.

Nothing yet.

Let that line sit for a minute,
get some dinner cooking.

Yet, all along the way,

free time involved
a lot of time

in the wilderness,
so his legacy lives on.

More salt.

I've chosen
to boil this fish

to keep every nutrient
on that fish inside the pot

and then into my stomach.

I also got the liver,
heart, and brain in there.

I'll just make
the broth really good.

If you roast the fish
over the fire,

some of the oils present
drip into the fire,

and you lose those calories.

Huh, OK, I want more salt.

Additionally, I add
a lot of salt to that.

Then I have a lot
of fishy broth,

and I think
that's a really great way

to stay well-hydrated.

It's pretty well-boiled.

It feels good having food
go into my belly again.

But tomorrow's
another fishing day.

I've got to keep
this coming, for sure.

Feel pretty clear
about the waterbuck,

like where to go,
where to sit.

I think the main thing
is just the shelter.

And then once that's set up,

I can start doing
some ambush hunting.

Getting a waterbuck now

without even having
a shelter up,

it would be challenging.

OK, here's
my little shelter spot.

It's waterfront property.

It's got a beautiful view,
access to fishing.

Ugh, there's poo everywhere.

Plenty of shade in the morning
and in the afternoon.

It just feels like
a bit of an oasis.

So if I slept here...

that'd be OK there.

Last night was the first night
that I felt cold,

and if I'm going to stay
for any more length of time,

I need a nest.

These two will start
the process.

I'm planning to make
a half dome.

It's going to be like
a little sleeping tent.

There we go.

And I'm just going to sort of,
like, sweat lodge-style.

Just, you know,
put saplings in the ground,

and bend them over,
and weave them together.

Then canvas on top of that.

OK, you two.

Your job is to
hold each other up.

All right?

I just need it to be
something that's

going to keep me secure
and warm at nighttime,

and to keep
my basic things inside.

I'm going to make string

out of the inner bark
of the acacia.

These need to soak.

I just want to get
the sap out of it.

This is awesome string
for the shelter.

String.

I haven't been able to live
like this for a while.

I've been busy being a mum,

doing everything
for everybody,

and this is not that.

This is like
I'm getting gifted

to go back to my roots.

Hold.

And I'm really interested
to make a life for myself

and create space
where it feels like

I have a belonging
to the country.

I really see this
as a rite of passage,

and I'm going to see it
through to the end.

It's getting cold.

Here in the Karoo,
we're going into winter.

OK, we need to go and get
a couple more saplings.

It's going to still be
really hot during the day,

and then it's going to
plunge down at night.

We haven't hit the most
extreme weather yet.

Oh, my God.
Check it out.

It looks like there's
some wet weather coming.

I haven't really done
that much on my shelter.

Back home,
rain clouds like that

would be, like,
in three days to a week,

there's going to be
proper rain.

Storms are circling.

The main message is,
I need to build my shelter.

I just need to get it done.

Definitely some
crazier weather coming.

We have some decently
dark clouds coming in.

A little windy.
A little breeze picking up.

It's freaking ice.

Holy [bleep].

The rainstorm's getting
progressively more intense.

Oh, [bleep]. Here we go.

Batten down the hatches.

It's absolutely downpouring.

Holy hell.
We have a river.

All my stuff's flooded.

Well, if this doesn't
make you want to tap...