Original subtitles

ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.

THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER, JOIN ME ON AN ADVENTURE

DOWN THE LONGEST RIVER IN THE WORLD AS WE EXPLORE

THE MYSTERY OF THE NILE.

DYLAN: WE'LL FOLLOW A BRAVE TEAM OF SCIENTISTS,

PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THRILL SEEKERS RAFTING DOWN THE

NILE RIVER FROM BEGINNING TO END.

THROUGH DEADLY RAPIDS, OVER TOWERING WATERFALLS,

AND PAST HUNGRY CROCODILES.

THIS IS THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME.

DYLAN: THE NILE RIVER IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT

RIVERS IN THE WORLD, SPANNING OVER 4,000 MILES

AND 11 COUNTRIES.

THIS RESOURCE POWERED THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN EMPIRE

AND TODAY PROVIDES WATER TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE AND

ANIMALS LIVING ALONG ITS BANKS.

WE'LL BE JOINING A TEAM OF ADVENTURERS WHO WILL

ATTEMPT A JOURNEY THAT NO ONE HAS SUCCESSFULLY

COMPLETED BEFORE.

TRAVELING DOWN THE NILE RIVER FROM ITS MAIN SOURCE

IN THE HIGHLANDS OF ETHIOPIA ALL THE WAY TO

THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

DYLAN: FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS ONE OF AFRICA'S GREATEST

MYSTERIES WAS THE SOURCE OF THE WORLD'S LONGEST

RIVER, THE NILE.

DYLAN: THE NILE IS UNIQUE AMONG THE RIVERS OF THE WORLD.

SOME CALL IT THE MOST IMPORTANT RIVER ON EARTH

BECAUSE IT GAVE LIFE TO ONE OF OUR GREATEST

CIVILIZATIONS, THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.

DYLAN: AS LONG AS 8,000 YEARS AGO EGYPTIAN FARMERS

DIVERTED LIFE-GIVING WATER FROM THE NILE TO IRRIGATE

THEIR CROPS AND MAKE THE DESERT BLOOM.

EACH SUMMER ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WATCHED THE

WATER LEVEL OF THE NILE RISE SEVERAL FEET WITHOUT

A SINGLE DROP OF RAIN.

FARMERS COULD ONLY WATCH THE RIVER AND WONDER WHERE

DOES ALL THIS WATER COME FROM?

IN 1858 A BRITISH EXPLORER NAMED JOHN HANNING SPEKE

SET OUT TO SOLVE THIS MYSTERY.

HE PROCLAIMED LAKE VICTORIA AS THE ONE TRUE

SOURCE OF THE NILE BUT HE WAS WRONG.

THE MAIN SOURCE OF THE NILE COMES FROM LAKE TANA

LOCATED IN THE RUGGED HIGHLANDS OF ETHIOPIA.

AND THIS IS WHERE PASQUALE AND HIS TEAM WILL BEGIN

THEIR JOURNEY, FROM LAKE TANA ALL THE WAY TO THE

MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

PASQUALE: WE'RE HERE TO ATTEMPT THE FIRST DECENT

OF AFRICA'S MIGHTIEST RIVER, THE BLUE NILE.

I'VE HIRED SOME ETHIOPIAN BOATMEN TO BE OUR COOKS,

OUR HELPERS AND BODYGUARDS.

WE'LL BE HEADING INTO TERRITORY FEW OUTSIDERS

HAVE EVER SEEN.

MY TEAM IS MOSTLY NOVICES; I'LL REALLY HAVE TO KEEP

AN EYE ON THE GREENEST BUNCH OF RIVER ROOKIES

THAT EVER CLIMBED INTO A RAFT.

DYLAN: THERE'S EGYPTIAN SCIENTIST DR. MOHAMED

MAGAHED, KAYAK SAFETY EXPERT GORDON BROWN,

SPANISH JOURNALIST SASKIA LANGE,

AND ARCHEOLOGIST MIRIAM SECO.

MIRIAM STUDIES ANCIENT HOLY SITES ALONG THE NILE

INCLUDING THE STONE-CARVED CHURCHES OF LALIBELA.

JUST AS THE CHRISTIANS IN LALIBELA CARVED

MAGNIFICENT CHURCHES OUT OF SOLID ROCK, THE NILE

RIVER CARVED THIS HUGE CANYON THROUGH THE

HIGHLANDS OF ETHIOPIA.

AN AERIAL SCOUT HAS CONFIRMED THAT THE HIGH

WATER HAS PEAKED.

ALL THE PREPARATIONS ARE READY, IT'S TIME TO START

THE EXPEDITION.

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪

PASQUALE: THIS IS ONE OF THE LAST GREAT RIVER

EXPEDITIONS LEFT IN THE WORLD.

KEEPING EVERYONE ON THIS EXPEDITION ALIVE IS MY

GREATEST RESPONSIBILITY.

PASQUALE: NO ONE HAS EVER SUCCEEDED IN RUNNING THIS

ENTIRE RIVER FROM SOURCE TO SEA.

ALL THOSE WHO'VE TRIED IT HAVE EITHER DIED OR GIVEN

UP.

DYLAN: SHARP LAVA ROCKS COVER THE BANKS AND PINCH

THE RIVER TOGETHER CREATING A NARROW CHANNEL

AND HUGE RAPIDS.

THESE VOLCANIC ROCKS ARE SHARP AS KNIVES AND

THERE'S A FINE LINE BETWEEN AN EXCITING RAPID

AND A DEADLY ONE.

DYLAN: WHEN THE RIVER GETS TOO DANGEROUS PASQUALE

SENDS ONE EMPTY RAFT THROUGH THE RAPIDS WHILE

THE TEAM CARRIES THE REST OF THE GEAR TO CALMER WATERS.

PASQUALE: ONE SURE WAY TO GET A LAUGH IN ETHIOPIA IS

TO CARRY A RIVER RAFT ON YOUR HEAD.

DYLAN: THE SPEED OF THE RIVER IS ACCELERATING AND

THE TEAM IS ABOUT TO WITNESS ONE OF THE MOST

MAGNIFICENT SITES IN ALL OF AFRICA, THE BLUE NILE

FALLS.

♪ MUSIC CONTINUES ♪

GORDON: I TOLD PASQUALE I WAS GONNA RUN EVERY INCH

OF THIS RIVER.

NOW HE KNOWS I'M SERIOUS.

PASQUALE: GORDON IS A BIT OF A COWBOY, HE'S GOT HIS

OWN STYLE OF DOING THINGS.

PASQUALE: NOW IT'S TIME TO SEE HOW MOHAMAD

HOLDS UP UNDER PRESSURE.

PASQUALE: HE'S NEVER BEEN ON A ROPE BEFORE.

I NEED TO PUSH MOHAMAD TO GET IT OVER WITH FAST; THE

LESS TIME HE HAS TO THINK ABOUT THIS THE BETTER.

SASKIA GOT TIRED OF WAITING FOR MOHAMAD TO

INCH HIS WAY DOWN, SO I LET HER GO AHEAD.

MOHAMAD: THIS ISN'T REALLY FAIR.

WHEN I SIGNED UP FOR THIS TRIP PASQUALE ASKED ME IF

I COULD SWIM, HE NEVER ASKED ME IF I COULD FLY.

PASQUALE: MOHAMAD DIDN'T SCORE A LOT OF STYLE

POINTS BUT HE SHOWED ME SOME COURAGE.

I THINK OUR CITY BOY IS STARTING TO TOUGHEN UP.

♪ MUSIC CONTINUES ♪

DYLAN: THIS EPIC EXPEDITION DOWN THE NILE

BY PASQUALE, GORDON AND THE REST OF THE TEAM WILL

TEACH THEM ALL AS MUCH ABOUT THEMSELVES AS THE

RIVER THEY'RE RUNNING.

THE CHALLENGE THEY FACE IS PHYSICAL AND MENTAL AND

THEY STILL HAVE MORE THAN 100 DAYS TO GO.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, OUR TEAM RUNS INTO MASSIVE

WHITE WATER RAPIDS AND A RIVER FILLED WITH HUNGRY

CROCODILES.

BUT WHEN ONE RAFT CAPSIZES IT'S TRULY A BATTLE OF

LIFE AND DEATH.

STAY TUNED, THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY.

OUR TEAM HAS SUCCESSFULLY CROSSED OVER BLUE NILE

FALLS ON THEIR WAY DOWN THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE

NILE RIVER FROM ETHIOPIA TO THE EGYPTIAN DELTA.

BUT THEIR EPIC 3,000-MILE JOURNEY HAS JUST BEGUN.

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: IT'S THE MORNING OF DAY 11.

A SHORT DISTANCE DOWNSTREAM FROM THE FALLS

IS THE FIRST STONE BRIDGE EVER CONSTRUCTED IN

ETHIOPIA, BUILT IN THE 1600'S.

DYLAN: FROM HERE THE RIVER SNAKES THROUGH A HARSH AND

UNFORGIVING LAND FULL OF ANCIENT PREDATORS.

PASQUALE: I ADMIRE FISHING PREDATORS, EXCEPT WHEN

THEY'RE CONTEMPLATING HAVING ME FOR LUNCH.

DYLAN: THE NILE CROCODILE IS THE MOST DANGEROUS

REPTILE ON EARTH.

THEY SWIM 12 MILES PER HOUR AND ARE RESPONSIBLE

FOR HUNDREDS OF ATTACKS EACH YEAR.

PASQUALE AND HIS TEAM HAVE MORE THAN A FEW CLOSE

CALLS.

PASQUALE: SO WE WERE FLOATING DOWN THE RIVER

AND UP ON THE BEACH WAS THIS HUGE CROCODILE, MAYBE

14 FEET, AND HE SLID OFF THE BEACH.

WAS REALLY AGGRESSIVE AND MADE A BEELINE STRAIGHT TO

GORDON.

GORDON: HE STARTED TO ARCH OUT OF THE WATER AND HE

JUST KEPT COMING AT ME.

SO I RAISED MY PADDLE AND I SMACKED HIM ON THE HEAD.

HE DOVE UNDER MY BOAT, HE HIT MY BOAT, HE HIT MY

BOAT AS HE WENT DOWN.

FOR A SECOND I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA TIP OVER.

PASQUALE: AND AS THE CROCODILE OPENED THAT BIG

MOUTH I JUST WAS AFRAID THAT THE CROCODILE WAS

GONNA GRAB HOLD OF HIS ARM AND TAKE GORDON, TWIST HIM

UNDER.

IF THAT WOULD'VE HAPPENED TO GORDON HE'D HAVE BEEN

DEAD.

AND THERE WAS NO WAY GORDON WAS GONNA GO AHEAD

AND RIGHT HIMSELF AGAIN BEFORE THE OTHER

CROCODILES GOT TO HIM.

DYLAN: AFTER THEIR FRIGHTENING ENCOUNTER THE

TEAM BEGINS A NIGHTLY CROCODILE WATCH.

DYLAN: ALL ALONG THE JOURNEY WHENEVER THE TEAM STOPS TO

GET SUPPLIES THEY ARE ABLE TO CONNECT WITH THE PROUD

PEOPLE THAT LIVE THERE.

SASKIA: ETHIOPIA HAS OVER 100 DISTINCT ETHNIC

GROUPS.

MANY OF THEM ISOLATED FROM EACH OTHER BY THE RUGGED

TERRAIN.

DYLAN: THE STOPS ALSO GIVE THE TEAM A WELCOME CHANCE

TO UNWIND.

DYLAN: OVER 200 MILLION PEOPLE DEPEND ON THE NILE, AND

THAT POPULATION IS PROJECTED TO DOUBLE IN THE

NEXT 25 YEARS.

THE BIG QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT THE NILE

CAN SUPPORT ALL THESE PEOPLE AND WHAT WILL

PEOPLE DO TO DEFEND THEIR PIECE OF IT.

PASQUALE: IN THESE REMOTE CANYONS LOCAL BANDITS,

CALLED SHIFTA, HAVE ROBBED AND KILLED AT LEAST 4

PEOPLE ON PREVIOUS EXPEDITIONS.

DYLAN: NOW THE TEAM IS ABOUT TO ENTER THE LONGEST

STRETCH WHITE WATER RAPIDS THEY WOULD EVER FACE.

PASQUALE: FLIPPING A RAFT IN HUGE WHITE WATER CAN BE

FATAL.

PEOPLE CAN DROWN IN A HURRY IF THEY HIT THEIR

HEAD ON A ROCK OR GET SNAGGED UNDERWATER.

ON EARLIER EXPEDITIONS AT LEAST 6 PEOPLE HAVE DIED

IN THIS ONE SECTION ALONE.

DYLAN: 4 FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO WHITE WATER

RAPIDS; GRADIENT MEASURES A RIVER'S DROP IN

ELEVATION AS IT MOVES DOWNSTREAM; CONSTRICTION

IS WHEN WATER IS FORCED INTO A NARROW CHANNEL;

OBSTRUCTION LIKE A LARGE BOULDER OR ROCKY

SHORELINE; AND FINALLY THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN THE

RIVER IS FULL.

THE TEAM IS DOING WELL THROUGH THE RAPIDS AND

SUCCESSFULLY MAKE IT THROUGH THE FIRST STAGE.

BUT AS THEY HIT FASTER WATER RUNNING THROUGH A

CANYON PASQUALE'S WORST FEARS ARE REALIZED.

MICHEL: I DID A PERFECT FLIP, EVERYBODY, THE THREE

OF US, WENT INTO THE WATER.

PASQUALE: I HEARD SOMEONE SCREAM OZO WHICH IS

CROCODILE.

AND I'M THINKING THERE'S A CROCODILE IN THE RIVER.

MICHEL: WE KNEW THERE WOULD BE CROCODILES AROUND

THERE.

USUALLY THEY WAIT IN THE RAPIDS SO THEY CAN CATCH

THE FISH WHICH GO THROUGH THE RAPIDS.

AND WE WERE BIG FISHES.

PASQUALE: EVERYONE ON MICHEL'S BOAT IS LUCKY TO

BE ALIVE.

DYLAN: THAT NIGHT THEY CAMP AT THE BORDER OF THE

SUDAN.

THEY'RE ABOUT TO ENTER A COUNTRY WHERE CIVIL WAR

HAS BEEN RAGING ON AND OFF FOR ALMOST 20 YEARS.

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, THE TEAM FACES THEIR GREATEST

CHALLENGE YET WHEN A MASSIVE MIDNIGHT STORM

THREATENS TO PULL THEM BENEATH THE WAVES.

DON'T GO AWAY, JOURNEY WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: IT'S BEEN OVER A MONTH SINCE OUR EXPEDITION

DOWN THE NILE BEGAN.

THE TEAM IS HEADING TOWARD THE ANCIENT CITY OF

KHARTOUM WHERE THE WHITE NILE AND THE BLUE NILE

CONVERGE.

BUT TO GET THERE THEY MUST PASS THROUGH THE WAR-TORN

REGION OF SOUTHERN SUDAN AND BEGIN THE MOST

GRUELING PART OF THEIR JOURNEY THROUGH THE

UNFORGIVING SUDANESE DESERT.

DYLAN: CIVIL WAR HAS RAVAGED THE SUDAN WHERE SOME OF

HUMANITY'S OLDEST CIVILIZATIONS WERE BORN.

PASQUALE: AS SOON AS WE CROSSED THE BORDER GORDON

AND I TOOK OFF EXPLORING SUDAN, THE MOST MYSTERIOUS

COUNTRY ON THE NILE.

WHEN WE CAME ACROSS A CAMEL MARKET WE WERE A

LITTLE BIT APPREHENSIVE AT FIRST BUT WE DECIDED TO GO

FOR IT.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU GET TO BID AT A CAMEL AUCTION?

DYLAN: MOST OF THE SUDAN IS DESERT WHERE

TEMPERATURES REACH OVER 115 DEGREES IN THE SHADE.

IN THE CAPITAL CITY OF KHARTOUM THE TWO MAIN

FORKS OF THE NILE RIVER CONVERGE.

PASQUALE: THE WHITE NILE COMES IN ON THE RIGHT TO

JOIN OUR MUCH LARGER BLUE NILE.

WAR AND VIOLENCE ARE WIDESPREAD IN THE SUDAN

AND YET WE NEVER ONCE RAN ACROSS A SINGLE MILITANT

EXTREMIST.

HERE WE WERE SURROUNDED ON ALL SIDES BY HAPPY,

GOODHEARTED MUSLIM PEOPLE GIVING US THE WARMEST OF

WELCOMES.

AND THEY WERE AMAZED AT HOW FAR WE'D TRAVELED DOWN

THE NILE.

DYLAN: PASQUALE AND THE TEAM ARE HEADING TOWARDS

ONE OF THE NILE'S BEST KEPT SECRETS.

PASQUALE: IN THE REMOTE DESERT OF SUDAN THE NILE

FLOWS RIGHT PAST AN ANCIENT GHOST TOWN FEW

OUTSIDERS HAVE EVER VISITED.

WE'RE AMONG THE LUCKY FEW.

DYLAN: THIS IS WHERE THE ANCIENT KINGDOM OF KUSH

RULED THIS REGION OF THE NILE FOR MORE THAN 1,000

YEARS.

OVER 2,000 YEARS AGO THESE PYRAMIDS WERE SURROUNDED

BY FORESTS.

DEFORESTATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE ALLOWED THE SANDS

TO TAKE HOLD AND NOW THE GREAT KINGDOM IS ONLY A

SHADOW OF WHAT IT ONCE WAS.

PASQUALE: SUDAN PROVED TO BE FULL OF SURPRISES.

THE FRIENDLINESS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE HAUNTING

BEAUTY OF THIS LOST KINGDOM, THE KINGDOM OF

KUSH.

DYLAN: NEAR THE BORDER OF SUDAN AND EGYPT THE NILE

RIVER FLOWS INTO LAKE NASSER.

PASQUALE: TO MAKE UP FOR LOST TIME I DECIDED THAT

GORDON AND I SHOULD KEEP CROSSING LAKE NASSER BY

NIGHT ON OUR OWN, BIG MISTAKE.

DYLAN: A HUGE WINDSTORM APPEARS OUT OF NOWHERE.

DYLAN: THE WINDS HIT GUSTS OF 60 MILES PER HOUR AND

THE COLD SPRAY FREEZES THEM TO THE BONE.

THEY ARE 10 MILES FROM SHORE; IF A BIG WAVE

KNOCKS THEM OVERBOARD NO ONE WILL FIND THEM.

GORDON: PASQUALE WAS IN BAD SHAPE, I WAS AFRAID HE

WOULDN'T MAKE IT.

PASQUALE: WE'RE ALL VERY TIRED WE'RE VERY TIRED.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: AFTER 3 MONTHS OF BRUTAL TRAVEL DOWN THE

NILE RIVER TEAM LEADER PASQUALE SCATURRO IS

EXHAUSTED BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY.

BUT THE EXPEDITION HAS PASSED INTO THE LAND OF

EGYPT.

THE ANCIENT STONE RUINS OF PHARAOHS REMIND THEM THAT

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE AND THE FINAL LEG OF THEIR

JOURNEY HAS BEGUN.

DYLAN: PASQUALE AND THE TEAM SURVIVE THE

WINDSTORM OF LAKE NASSER AND ARRIVED HERE,

THE ANCIENT TEMPLE OF ABU SIMBEL.

SASKIA: IN 1260 BC THE EGYPTIAN PHARAOH RAMSES

THE GREAT HAD THIS TEMPLE BUILT ALONG THE BANKS OF

THE NILE.

40 YEARS AGO THE NEW MAN-MADE LAKE WAS

ABOUT TO FLOOD THIS TEMPLE.

TO SAVE IT WORKERS CAREFULLY CUT THE HUGE

TEMPLE APART AND MOVED IT BLOCK-BY-BLOCK TO HIGHER

GROUND.

PASQUALE: MOVING THIS TEMPLE WAS A HEROIC

EFFORT.

IF THEY CAN PULL THAT OFF, GORDON AND I CAN FINISH

WHAT WE SET OUT TO DO.

DYLAN: THE TEAM HAS FINALLY REACHED A HISTORIC

SITE IN THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CITY OF THEBES,

LUXOR.

CALLED THE WORLD'S GREATEST OPEN AIR MUSEUM,

THE RUINS OF KARNAK AND LUXOR HAVE INSPIRED AWE

AND WONDER FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

PASQUALE: REACHING CAIRO WAS A MILESTONE.

AFTER MONTHS OF SAND DUNES AND MUD HUTS THE CITY

DAZZLES ME LIKE SOME FABULOUS MIRAGE.

DYLAN: WITH THE NILE AS THEIR LIFE GIVER, THE

GREAT PHARAOHS RULED FOR 3,000 YEARS.

THEIR DYNASTIES ARE LONG GONE BUT THE RIVER'S

SPIRITUAL POWER REMAINS.

AFTER 4 LONG MONTHS AND 3,000 MILES, PASQUALE AND

HIS TEAM FINALLY MAKE IT TO THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA.

THEY HAVE COMPLETED ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE AND

GRUELING JOURNEYS ON EARTH.

PASQUALE: I WAS FLOODED WITH EXHAUSTION AND PRIDE

AND JUST OVERWHELMING JOY.

WE'VE ALL GOT INFINITE RESPECT NOW FOR THIS

RIVER.

YOU KNOW, WE REALIZED THAT WHEN WE FINALLY STEPPED ON

THE BEACHES OF ALEXANDRIA, OUR FINAL DESTINATION.

DYLAN: PASQUALE AND GORDON BECAME THE FIRST TWO

PEOPLE IN RECORDED HISTORY TO SUCCESSFULLY NAVIGATE

THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE NILE RIVER FROM SOURCE TO

SEA.

THEIR JOURNEY WAS BRUTAL AND BEAUTIFUL, INSPIRING

AND EVEN A LITTLE INSANE.

ABOVE ALL IT'S A REMINDER THAT IF YOU PUT YOUR MIND

TO IT YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING.

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE MYSTERIES OF THE NILE.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ MUSIC ♪