Original subtitles

I'm Bear Grylls.

I'm gonna show you what it takes to get out alive

from some of the most dangerous places on earth.

I've gotta make it through a series of challenges in the sort of places you wouldn't last a day

without the right survival skills.

Now I'm in Indonesia. A land ravaged by the tsunami.

I'm gonna be on a remote island. Battling against the seas.

Doing whatever it takes to find food.

It's a stingray!

Trying to get water.

All you're gonna get is salt water.

And using every ounce of survival knowledge to show you how to make it out alive.

You either stay, but you're gonna die. Or, you take your chances with the ocean...

Man vs Wild S02E11- Castaway, Ring Of Fire

I'm off the western coast of Sumatra, one of the most volcanic regions on earth.

It's known simply as "the pacific ring of fire".

In 2004 one of the largest earthquakes ever witnessed erupted underneath these seas.

It was so violent that the seabed buckled.

And it's thought to have risen by staggering 15 foot.

I'm heading for the epicentre, the Banyak Islands.

Some of these islands disappeared overnight.

Others were catapulted out of the water.

This is as far from an island paradise as you can get.

If you're stranded out here making the right decisions is critical.

Make a bad call and you're dead!

I'm 9000 foot up, preparing to land an open ocean.

It's a dangerous drop, and one that I can't afford to get wrong.

I've got a few basic survival tools

and my camera crew is coming with me.

I'm free-falling at around 120 miles an hour.

Before I hit the sea, I must detach from my parachute.

It's a technique used by the Special Forces,

but it's a high-risk maneuvre.

There is nothing below me to help me judge distances

and gauge just when to detach.

The danger is dropping too early and too high.

Get this wrong, and hitting the water is gonna be like landing on concrete.

Okay!

Man, I hit the water quite a lot bad!

But I need to get this parachute... get this off.

And start swimming.

And there is the island. That's where I'm going.

I feel the current take me away from the island,

so I'll need to aim off, if I'm gonna hit it.

Strong currents surround the island, as the open ocean hits the land.

And there is a real danger that the coral shelf is causing a riptide.

Fighting that would be a losing battle.

These riptides are killers,

and in America alone 100 people a year drown in them.

But one thing I can hear is the roar of the surf.

So there's obviously some sort of breakers around the island.

I can see a line of breakers ahead. See that? See the white?

You're safer in the surf. The calm water indicates where the riptide is,

as the water is sucked back out between the breakers.

You haven't got a chance against its force.

Within seconds you'll be dragged back out to sea.

Staying in the surf means taking a pounding in the waves,

but they should carry me closer to the shore.

But there is also a razor-sharp coral, just beneath me.

And if you get dragged over this, it will cut you to shreds!

I've made it ashore, but my challenges are only just beginning.

I'm on the island. Just about.

My first battle on this island constant directly above my head.

The island is only 3 degrees south of the equator, and it's roasting hot.

Don't be fooled by the clouds.

They offer no protection from harmful UV rays.

And the sun here is an ever present enemy - 12 hours everyday.

I can already feel my skin burning.

15 minutes is all it takes to get into trouble.

And sunstroke here can be a killer.

My mission is to scavenge for anything that can combat the blistering sun.

And this beach should be full of flotsam that can help.

I've been to some serious and remote places in the world.

But wherever I am there is always rubbish,

you know, washed up, especially plastic like this that lasts for thousands of years.

And if you have got that, you wanna use it. As survival is all about improvising

and then adapting. And what I can make out of this bottles...

is like some goggles, to have a bit of a forage

in the sea and the surf and see what I can find.

And if I put that into water to break the surface I can look through it and see what's on the bottom.

I'm after one of nature's miracles in these waters.

Check this guy out! I've got a mushroom coral.

And this guy is amazing, especially when you're somewhere where the sun,

is as strong as it is on this island.

But if you ever doubted how cool nature is, watch this.

There, you see the water coming out of it? Give it a few seconds,

and that's gonna turn to mucus.

And look you can see it's suddenly now much more gloopy.

And what this stuff is is like sunblock.

And the coral itself will use this in low tide when it's exposed to the sun,

it will secrete this as a way of protecting itself.

Just amazing!

Scientists have actually reckoned this stuff

is like as good as factor 50.

And look you can see where my shoulder is getting a little bit sunburnt already.

But rubbing this in, oh, it feels nice. It's gonna help.

But the great thing about this coral

is that I'm not harming it at all, by doing this.

I'll put it back, and use him another time.

On this tiny island, my toughest challenge is gonna be finding most basic resources

in the battle for survival.

Disgusting!

I'm on a tiny desert island off the western coast of Sumatra,

showing you what it takes to get out alive.

My mission now is to explore it,

to discover what resources there are to help in the battle for survival.

First thing that hits about this place is just how hot and humid it is.

In out there in the sun it is just roasting hot,

and then in here, in the interior of the island, it's so hot and sticky.

Humidty can reach a staggering 90%. It's dangerousely deceptive.

You feel soaked to the skin, but your sweat just isn't evaporating fast enough.

And heatstroke is a major risk.

You need to replace any lost fluids, and finding fresh water is now your top priority.

It's just looking like all of this island is like coral. I mean look at this.

That's all just solid lumps, like that.

Which means any water that falls here is just gonna run through, you know, it's so porous.

And you're only a couple of feet above sea level at the highest point.

So if you dig and manage to dig down, all you're gonna get is salt water.

And really the only chance of getting fresh water

is where rain's collected in the hollows of the trees and a leaf like that.

That's gonna be rainwater. Yeah!

There's not nearly enough here to keep you alive for long.

In this climate you need around 10 litres a day.

Dehydration is now one of your biggest enemies.

And with as little as 2.5% less water in your body, you become a quarter's efficient.

That makes your job of surviving much harder.

The odds against you are now stacking up.

This island just isn't the larder I was hoping for.

But know where to look, and you can find food.

Look, they've seen me coming, they've all disappeared into their shells.

They've all disappeared and rolled back down the hill.

And the shells they're in they're not actually their own shells, they're whelk shells.

And what they do is take it over.

And then when they grow bigger, they'll abandon their house and they'll find a new shell.

But these you can eat.

Here we go, I've got this one before he's gone back in his shell.

And all of this... ow, ow... Get off! All of that's the guts.

And then he's got this one big claw here.

And that's what I want. They're much easier to get

when they are out of their shell. But you gotta be quite quick.

Get them before they retreat.

You just have to get over that worry of being bitten by them.

Okay, I've got enough of them here to be able to barbecue them up. Nice crab.

I don't want to eat them raw. They're full of harmful bacteria.

Food poisoning is the last thing you need out here.

It's like signing your own death warrant.

I'm gonna forage for more supper and I need something to help me.

There is a certain amount of food on the island, but really,

the real bounty is to be found out there... in the sea.

And if I can just sharpen up the end of this,

this will act as a really good spear.

I'm gonna free-dive and then see what I can find on the seabed.

The coral surrounding the island should harbour plenty of food.

And I'm after something that I can get easily.

Sea cucumbers are some of the simplest life forms in the sea.

They sift plankton and waste on the seabed,

with up to 30 tube-like feet around their mouths.

Just like the earthworm, they're a complete recycling machine.

It looks like a giant sack of black sausage.

But they're one of the most protein-rich foods in the world

and perfect for survival.

Black, salty, rubbery, pretty ruddy disgusting!

Now I'm gonna get back into the sea and try and find something more substantial.

I've got to go deeper, but I need to train my body first.

The more practice dives I make, the longer I'm able to stay under.

And soon I can manage almost 2 minutes.

But if I ignore my body I could black out and drown.

Hard work, just free-diving like this.

It's just about slowly stretching the limit that your lungs can work out.

But a lot of it is just about slowing things down,

taking good few breaths, filling your blood with the oxygen,

and that will let you stay down there for longer.

You gotta be careful not to hyperventilate though. Do too much of it, and you go hypoxic.

Hypoxia is a stealthy killer.

In the US alone, 4.000 victims drown every year.

Your expanding air-starved lungs drain your bloodstream from oxygen.

Before you know it, you're unconscious

and you die without any idea of your impending death.

Okay, we're getting it now.

Now I'm ready to hunt. And there is a fish I've spotted on the bottom buried in the sand.

It's a stingray. But these have been known to kill.

The venom in its barb is laden with enzymes which destroy body tissue.

If I go for this, I need to get it right first time.

I'm looking for the telltale mound in the sand which will give it away.

I'm hunting for food on the ocean floor,

on a tiny indonesian island off the Sumatran coast.

I'm using all my survival skills

to show you how to make it out alive. I'm diving for stingray.

This lethal reef predator has powerful jaws.

But its real weapon is in its tail.

Get too close to one, and these have been known to kill.

I'm looking for the telltale mound in the sand which will give it away.

My lungs are now bursting, but I'm determined to get it.

It's a stingray!

Look at it. Beautiful. But these can be...

deadly! And the dangerous bit of it is this, the tail!

But that's good to eat.

My challenge now is the fading light.

Back on shore I've gotta get a shelter made before nightfall.

On the equator, it gets dark like the flick of a switch.

So I need plenty of time to find just the right spot to make camp.

This very tip end of the island is probably gonna be my best place for a shelter.

You know I got really good view here out to sea so I can see any shipping,

that might be coming past. I got a nice sea breeze that's gonna keep the sand flies away.

I also got this tree gonna give me good shade from the sun.

Got loads of driftwood and firewood as well.

Let's see what we can get.

My chances of signaling to a ship are slim.

These aren't exactly the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

But there are fishing boats out there which might spot you.

Build your shelter off the ground, well away from sand flies.

They can carry leishmaniasis.

Sores, fever and diarrhoea are just what you don't need.

This driftwood is perfect for a shelter.

A bit of wood improvises for a hammer,

and I can trim the dead branches with my knife.

I don't know why everything on this island is so ruddy sharp.

The bark on this tree, the coral, everything.

These palm fronds are just what I need for my roof.

They're huge and their leaves are natural channels for the rainwater to drain off.

I almost made with it.

Now I need something to lash everything together with.

And I know just where to find it.

Just look at this place. Incredible!

It's actually just one giant huge fig tree.

But it's got then hundreds of these vines that are like sprouted off it.

But these would be ideal cordage for a shelter.

If I can just get them down. They're super, super strong.

See if I can get up this one.

These vines are incredibly supple and strong.

And will help to reinforce my shelter against tropical storms.

Vines are the answer to a survivalist prayers.

In indonesia there are more than 2.000 types and these can be hundreds of feet long.

That's the vine down!

Cool, let's go and get this built.

I'm making an "A" frame shelter,

tough enough to withstand a tropical downpour.

That's the first upright lashed together.

That's gonna go like that.

And then this is the other "A" frame of it.

And then through the middle we'll have this.

I'm making it about 6 foot, just long enough to take me.

With my wieght compressing the frame, the shelter becomes one of strongest you can build.

And that's then the two legs of the bedpost.

And what happens, I put my weight on it will push it down

and hold it in place. Now I just need vines to go round and round, make like a hammock out of this.

The whole thing takes me just over couple of hours.

That's the bed frame. And now I need the palm fronds.

Grab the end and then just split them in half. They come away really nicely.

And this makes great roofing.

It's beautiful and sunny now, but when these tropical storms hit,

you'll really know about it.

They roar through unleashing an inch or more of rain in an hour. So I'm not gonna miss any oportunity,

to collect fresh water.

If I just split this bamboo...

down the middle, I can use that then as some guttering at the back.

Place it directly under these leaves. It will collect all the water running off here.

So let's hope it rains.

My shelter is finished and I've just got enough time to collect

wood for my fire.

The best place for me to get tinder is some of this palm fibre at the top of the coconut tree.

Coconut is known as a tree of a thousand uses and it's a lifesaver.

Food, fluid, tinder. And when the husk burns, it repels mosquitos.

The good thin about this stuff is that it's all nice and dry.

Because dried by the sun.

Rub it up so it's just the fibres.

And then that will take a spark.

At night it's around 70�, so you don't a fire so much

for warmth, as for the psychological boost it can give you.

And of course, it means I can cook my stingray.

The bits of this that I want to eat are the wings here.

A bit of driftwood makes a perfect skewer.

And I've got these crab claws. Sprinkle these into the hot coals.

And then that's gonna be a proper seafood supper.

Stingray, hermit crab claws.

See if these crab claws are ready.

It's amazing. But even better with some mayonnaise.

With fresh water so scarce, eat little and often.

Otherwise, digestion uses up fluids you can't afford to lose.

Don't do anything that will hasten dehydration.

Man, it's chewy as hell.

And actually doesn't taste very nice. I normally love fish but...

This is obviously quite a mean one.

Now there is one long night ahead of me.

12 hours of darkness on the equator.

Being abandoned on a desert island must be a very frightning experience.

And, you know, in the daytime this place just looks idyllic. You got blue sky, sun, sea, sand.

But at night-time it's just pitch-black. And that sense of isolation, where all you've got around you

is just vast open ocean, is very powerful.

All the wind's picked up, I can also hear all these crabs like scurrying around under me.

On top of that, this bed is seriously beginning to creak.

And there is one really annoying bit of palm frond in my back.

So at the moment, there is not a lot of sleeping going on here.

And I'll need all my strength for what lies ahead.

Look at this guy, quite a nasty-looking fella.

I've just spent a long and uncomfortable night on a remote island off the coast of Sumatra.

I've gotta make it through a series of survival challenges to show you

how to get out alive. And this morning things are looking up.

When these tropical storms hit, they're fierce. Just look at it pouring down.

And all of this rain collector is filling up really fast. And I'll put more of them.

But for me, this is just heaven.

When it rains like this, you just gotta have your fill, drink as much as you can.

And store as much as you can.

I don't care, I'm gonna go to have a wash.

Because the rest of time it's just been roasting hot.

No wind. And now it's just like pouring.

And a nice fresh breeze.

That is so nice. Get all of that salt off me.

You know, if you live with salt for a long time it just gives sores, loads of abrasion.

And this is just heaven!

Before the punishing heat and humidity kick in again,

I'm grabbing the chance to exercise. It will release endorphins,

wich will pump your body and mind ready to face the daily struggles

for survival.

Yeah! Feels good!

The downpour means I've got fresh water. But there is nowhere near enough to keep you

going on this island for long.

However desperate you are, never be tempted to drink sea water.

Your kidneys will collapse.

There is military rule of thumb that says you can survive three weeks without food,

but only three days without water. In a place like this, you're nearing crunch point.

You either stay and face death or think of a way to get off this island.

But first, I'm back in the sea. I need some breakfast.

The spiny sea urchin bristles with pain-inflicting defence mechanisms.

As well as the spines, some sea urchins can release venom which has been known to cause paralysis.

Look at this guy, quite a nasty-looking fella.

Look at the size of spikes on this. Stand on that you're gonna know about it.

And actually often what happens, people a lot out at swimming, or snorkelling they'll stand on it and

get these barbs in their feet. and they're really hard to get out.

What happens, pull it this way is fine, go the other way...

and there's just millions millions of these little barbs and they will just stick in your feet.

And actually what the locals do if they stand on this they say the only way of getting it out

to get a bit of wood and just beat your feet until all of these

little bits are broken up into tiny little fragments and then your body can absorb it.

But you can also eat this!

And you wanna get all of these barbs off first because you'll like spike yourself.

And what you wanna do is split it straight across the middle.

Here we go! Okay, look, you can see inside it all of the sand and the guts I don't want that.

But underneath this... Sea all of these brown bits here? That's all of its eggs, all of its roe.

And all of these eggs are good to eat. They say this is the caviar of the sea.

It's like kinda baby poop.

Not caviar, but loads of good energy good protein and nutrients in this.

It's a quick energy boost, but water remains my biggest challenge.

No matter how much rain water I've managed to collect, it's not gonna last long.

To survive means facing some stark choices.

The simple truth is, if you're stuck on a desert island,

with a limited amount of fresh water, you've got a choice.

You either stay but you're gonna die, a slow lingering death of dehydration,

or you take your chances with the ocean and build a raft.

And what this island lacks in fresh water, it makes up for in resources.

And I know the choice that I'd make.

I'm gonna tackle probably the biggest challenge facing anyone marooned on a remote island.

Building a raft and trying to escape.

I'm on a remote island off the coast of Sumatra.

It might look idyllic, but every day in a place like this is a battle for survival.

What food there is is mostly out there in the ocean and it's pretty grim.

And in land there are only small pickings.

Here we go, that is a termite nest.

See this? Actually runs all the way up the tree. And look, if I hack a bit of this off...

There you go. To my arm. Loads of them, all the way along here.

And I can just eat these straight off there.

Quite tinny, but nice, if you like that sort of thing.

But then after you've finished, get 'em all off.

Otherwise they get into your pants down your trousers, and you don't want that.

But the biggest problem is fresh water. There is just not enough of it.

Risk staying on the island, and it's a certain death sentence.

Escape is your best chance of making it out alive.

I'm gonna build a raft.

All of this here is now the downward tip of the island, and it's where all of the driftwood.

Look, you can see all of this stuff has got washed up,

put here by all the storms, and the currents would have just washed it up onto this beach.

But it's this stuff that I can use.

And low bamboo like this is ideal.

It's much better than when it's living, it doesn't have all the moisture in it.

And just loads and loads of dead wood around. Dead, straight, floaty wood.

But I'm not gonna miss this coral, that's for sure.

What I want from this raft is both strength and flexibility.

And bamboo is ideal. It is super strong.

That's why so many people around the world use it

for like scaffolding and building material.

Bamboo rules over concrete in many earthquake zones.

It bends rather than collapses in tremors.

And it's those qualities I need for my raft. It's hollow, buoyant and tough.

But what you could use to lash it all together is just vines.

But my experience of vines in the sea is that they stretch,

and you know, over time when you get some big swells it can easy come apart.

So instead what I'm gonna do is make these sort of holes all the way through each of them.

And then put a bit of wood straight through the middle, like that.

And what that's doing is, then, using the strength of the bamboo,

to hold it together, rather than the strength of the vine.

It's gonna take about three hours to build this.

It's hard work this, but this is gonna give real strength to this raft.

And that's then the platform complete. But one thing you've also gotta remember,

when you make a raft, build it somewhere where you can launch it.

Because it's so easy to make a big thing, get ready to launch it

and then it's too big and heavy. Because this thing is a big heavy brute.

But hopefully it's gonna keep me afloat out there on the ocean.

Before heading out to sea, you wanna get yourself some provisions,

and the best thing I can get is some of those.

And this is probably gonna be the best one to try and get up.

But I can tell already, this is gonna be as slippery as an ice rink.

One way of getting up this without using any climbing tools is just to improvise

something to be able to pull on. And I've got this vine.

If I just tie this in a really simple overhand knot it will act as like a self-tightening slipknot.

The vine will then create enough friction to allow me to control the climb.

It's the green coconuts at the top that I'm after. They can be packed with a litre of fluid.

If I use one that's already fallen, there is less liquid in it.

Okay, throw us the camera!

And coconuts are great survival food for rafts.

Just because they last for ages, and not gonna perish in the salt water,

got loads of calories, and inside them is all of that good coconut flesh

and coconut juice.

But ration yourself, drink too much and you risk getting diarrhoea.

And that's a fast route to dehydration.

Soon I'll be launching my raft.

And getting onto the island was tough, but getting out to sea through the surf is gonna be a real battle.

I'm building a raft in a bid to get off a deserted island off the coast of Sumatra.

It's gonna be a challenge, but that's what survival is all about.

In many ways, one of the biggest dangers out on the ocean

on a raft like this is actually the sun, so what you wanna do is make some sort of shade.

Being so close to the equator means that the constant heat and humidity drains you.

Out to sea, the reflexion of the sun on the water intensifies its strength.

These palms are just what I need to help protect me.

I'm almost ready to head out to sea. There are dangerous currents,

stories of pirates and it's a gamble.

But your chances are better out to sea, than staying put on this island

in the hope of being rescued.

There just isn't enough fresh water to survive for long.

I do still believe this is a gamble worth taking.

But if I'm honest, I am nervous about whether

I'm gonna make it through these breakers.

But there is only one way to find out.

Out there are nearly a hundred islands huddle on this archipelago.

Make it to another one, and there could be better resources.

Or you could be rescued by a fishing boat.

I want to use the riptides, narrow channels of water rushing out between the breakers.

They made it tough for me to land on the island, but if I get it right,

I should be able to propel my raft out of here.

But the waves are suddenly coming at me from all sides.

I just hope my raft stands up to the battering.

I've got to use my driftwood paddle to help steer my course.

I can't quite believe I made it, straight out through that coral reef.

And the riptide did exactly what is was meant to do, took me straight out

between where those waves curling and breaking.

Brilliant!

There is no telling how long you could be alone on the ocean.

And you do feel very insignificant as you float in this vast emptiness.

There is nothing but a gnawing loneliness.

Try and conserve your energy and keep focused.

Really I'm losing the light, now. But I wanna see if I make it across

to one of those other islands before the sun sets.

Don't really wanna be on this raft at night-time.

My raft took a bit of a battering in the launch through the breakers.

It's sitting low in the water and I'm having to do continuous running repairs.

But then I can hear the sound of an engine. It's the sort of sight you pray for.

Let's get this off!

Bump into these guys, and your ordeal is over.

My challenges of survival on a remote indonesian island, in one of the most

volatile places on earth has been something else.

But now it's time for me to head home.

Created by Abdelatif Mahmoudi

For more subtitles contact me at friksgone@gmail.com