Original subtitles

This program me contains scenes of hunting, fishing,

and the killing of animals which some viewers may find upsetting

Over 50% of the world's population now live in cities.

We are the most disconnected we have ever been from the natural world.

With the rapid pace in growth in which us humans live,

it would be easy to believe that there's no area left unexplored.

But you'd be wrong.

There are still majestic pockets of land that are truly rugged,

wild, and untouched.

It's just brutal.

We just haven't seen proper sunlight in, like, 21 days.

It's so dark under the canopy.

And the critical thing is,

we need them for the health of our planet.

I'm Lucy, and I'm an explorer.

I've been leading expeditions across the world for over a decade -

and now, I'm on a mission to take you with me.

On my biggest and most dangerous adventure yet,

I'm trying to cross one of these last-remaining wildernesses

located deep in the Amazon rainforest -

a journey many think is impossible.

I want to show you the beauty...

Oh, my God, look...at this!

...the surprising...

Ah, it's magic in here. It truly is magic.

...and the downright ugly.

Ohhh!

With my team, we'll seek out the weird and wonderful creatures

that call this unrelenting place "home".

And, as we journey on foot through in ho spit able jungle,

we'll learn to work with the wild, not against it.

We're very, very far from help right now.

If something happens, we are on our own.

We just got attacked by the really big wasps.

THEY LAUGH

Because it has never been more important for us to build up

our relationship with the natural world

and protect these last wildernesses at all costs.

This is the hardest thing I have ever done.

The expedition is almost over before it even began.

So, we've just capsized, and we lost stuff.

We did lose one thing - the water filter.

The bushmaster-snake whistles haunted us.

DISTANT WHISTLING There's so many here, aren't there?

Peccary.

Our tree-climbing came into play.

They came through here. Whoa.

Team morale was put to the test.

This is...not easy.

Vivian was evacuated...

He was the strongest team member.

...leaving the whole expedition in jeopardy.

I'm in Guyana, journeying across

one of the most untouched rainforests in the world.

This majestic and rugged wilderness threw everything at us

in the first leg - but now, we're at our first resupply,

waiting for the new team member.

So, this should be an opportunity for rest.

But instead, losing the water filter has finally caught up with us.

SHE SIGHS

I went down last night with sickness,

vomiting, and diarrhoea.

But I feel a lot better now.

It was going to happen at some point.

This was the best time for it to happen.

Hopefully it doesn't happen again.

How are you feeling, Aaron? Rough?

Minor thing - we'll get over it, and we'll be strong again.

Yeah, yeah, yes, Lucy. Yeah. HE CH UCKLES

Eventually, after days of waiting,

we hear the distant murmur of a motor.

Yeah! Yeah, man!

Because we're so remote, it's taken Anders three days

to reach us, even by river.

Nice to meet you.

I hope Anders said that there was going to be a camera.

I already told Carlos how grateful we are that he's coming in on,

you know, such a short notice. Yeah, amazing.

It's good we've got our - another fifth team member again.

I'm sad that Vivian's not here, but we move on.

I cannot wait to get the next... leg done.

And then, we'll be, like, two thirds of the way, and then,

I could be able to see the end.

Right now, the end feels a long way away,

especially the way I've been feeling.

So, the raft is ready - and tomorrow, we set sail.

We're going to have to give all we got for leg two.

First, it'll see us heading north, downstream -

Well, that's if the raft holds out.

We hope to sail all the way to where Rewa River meets Kwitaro River.

And from here, we'll be back on foot,

heading west through the lush forest.

We'll be gaining height as we cross the Mapari Mountains,

finding a way through the lush vegetation

until we reach the Rupununi.

But our first obstacle to tackle is keeping the raft afloat.

Let's hope it works.

Let's see if the caimans stay away,

or if they become a little curious about a little raft going along.

I'm going to try and sit in the middle, with my machete, ready.

Not that I'm sure I stand much of a chance with a machete

and a black caiman, but... a girl can dream.

A ship isn't a ship without a flag.

Final touches?

SHE CHUCKLES

Yeah.

Right, leg two.

Let's get this done.

You, you paddle out, Aaron. Yeah, paddle.

You paddle, you paddle. Nice. Not bad, not bad. Yeah.

Good, good, good.

It's working.

Guyana, in native Amerindian,

translates to "the land of many waters" -

and it's easy to see why.

Its majestic forest is interspersed with an abundance of rivers,

creeks, and waterways.

Having plentiful water keeps the forest resilient

and allows the animals and plants to thrive within.

Looking at it now, it's hard to believe,

but this area has actually seen a drop in rainfall

and had more frequent droughts.

These drier conditions threaten habitats

and increase the risk of wildfires.

And this, of course, has a far-reaching impact.

A mass die-off of trees would lead to the release of huge amounts

of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,

making us all more vulnerable by

driving global temperatures even higher.

This plan is working. Yeah, yeah. SHE CHUCKLES WRYLY

I'd much rather be in here... than in there,

moving so slowly next to the river.

Properly living a childhood dream right now.

We're about to get very wet -

and not from having a dip in the river.

Ready?

Now. It's pouring with rain.

Nice little, erm...shower.

But we're almost there.

One more turn.

We've made it. Yeah. Five hours?

Five hours, instead of five days.

The raft... Did work.

...did work, yeah.

Oh, thank God. I can't believe that raft worked so well.

We've got to Kwitaro Mouth.

We start our next leg tomorrow.

That worked incredibly.

Better than my wildest dreams.

Team spirit is good.

That was amazing. Best day yet so far.

Leg two.

Let's do it!

Wasps, Lucy. Wasps. Yeah.

Yeah, we're forever either standing still because of wasps or bees,

or running through them.

It's one of the two.

In the Amazon rainforest alone, there are hundreds,

if not thousands, of different species of wasps.

So, it's no surprise that wasp nests are a daily encounter.

Normally, we're able to spot them before creating a disturbance

and give them a wide berth,

but some just come out of nowhere.

LOUD BUZZING

Wasps!

We just got attacked by the really big wasps.

I just got about... two stings on the head.

Er, yeah, some on my head.

One on my neck. One on my arm.

SHE CHUCKLES WRYLY

And one on my back.

But it's OK. just quite sore.

SHE CHUCKLES

SHE CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY

Mm-hm.

THEY LAUGH

There's going to be a little bit of a swelling on my head,

I think. Me, too.

I'm hoping for a good night's sleep to recover from the wasp attack.

But of course, the guys have other ideas.

TH EY STRAIN LOUDLY

Whoa!

STRAINING CONTINUES

No, it's not. THEY LAUGH

Dinner is served! LAUGHTER CONTINUES

During the last leg, the guys' feet really began to rot.

So, for this one, they've opted for long boots -

otherwise known as wellies.

Further up ahead, we're stopped by a river obstacle.

This river might look tame,

but it's filled with electric eels.

And just recently, there's been a new species discovered.

These eels generate electricity of a voltage of

up to a whopping 860 volts -

that's more than three times the voltage from our home power points.

What's your idea, Aaron?

Aaron, why are you going that high?

I'm quite worried for him, actually. It's really high.

Jesus Christ.

Aaron, that was amazing!

That's ridiculous!

I can't believe you just did that in Wellington boots.

Aha!

Aaron has me worried a lot on this trip.

OK, so it looks like we're actually going to chuck the rope over,

and we're going to try and get the bags across,

and then, get us across.

You know what? I don't think it's going to be a dry crossing.

Let's see.

Oh, man.

The faster we go, the less likely we'll attract the electric eels.

Yes!

Go, Lucy! Yeeeah! Wow! SHE LAUGHS

You've got the arrows and everything? Yep!

Your hat! Your hat!

THEY LAUGH

Nicely done.

Ah!

SHE LAUGHS

Your tree climbing - your tree climbing was amazing!

Thanks.

Our plan worked - no-one was electrocuted.

Now, only about SOOkm of jungle to get through.

The Amazon rainforest is home to 390 billion trees.

That's so big that it's three times more trees

as there are stars in the Milky Way.

But they're not all the same either.

There's approximately 15,000 different species of tree here,

each with different properties to make the whole ecosystem stronger.

This is the Balata tree -

also known as the rubber tree.

And that makes rubber?

Or that is latex, and that makes rubber?

The white liquid was exploited for latex in the late 19th

and early 20th centuries,

and was big business for Guyana's rubber industry,

until synthetic alternatives came along -

one rare bit of good news for the rainforest.

Really?

And the tree can recover quite well?

Yeah.

The beautiful thing about the tree diversity here is

the potential it has in medicine.

The indigenous communities still hold vast traditional knowledge of

the medicinal uses of many of these plants.

There's secrets everywhere.

The Mora tree.

LOUD SCREECHING AND CHATTERING

Whoa.

A tree like this can be home to tens of thousands of different species,

and, left untouched, can live for hundreds of years.

But just 200km away,

across the border and into Brazil,

it's a different story.

The Amazon rainforest loses around 1.4 billion trees each year

from deforestation, and the loss of these trees means we risk

losing potentially life-saving cures that are yet to be discovered.

It's a race against time to preserve this wilderness

as much as we can.

So, this part we're in now... is so, so unexplored.

Very likely that no human has ever walked these mountains, and...

...we are the first to go through them.

This really is like us covering new ground.

Real, real exploration.

SH E EXHALES

This terrain might be hard for us,

but it makes for the perfect home for the Bush Dai Dai.

And, before we know it, there's evidence that it's been here.

What? So one there. And where's the other one?

Oh, one of the, yeah... Yes, yes. This is the sign.

These broken trees next to one another are a sign that

the Bush Dai Dai has passed through.

And feared by many. Yes. Yeah.

The Bush Dai Dai is from an Amerindian belief.

It is a half-human, half-animal-type figure,

a Yeti figure, bigger than a man, hairy,

claws, that sort of thing.

And it is essentially the guardian of the forest.

Keep respecting the jungle, as it deserves to be respected,

so that the Bush Dai Dai stays on our side.

Yeah.

Second sighting evidence of Bush Dai Dai.

I expect we'll see more as we go into the mountains, as well.

So, no shouting.

Cos if you shout, the Bush Dai Dai will know...

...where you are and come.

Legend says that the Bush Dai Dai can shape shift into any animal.

So, perhaps it's been watching us all this time -

because then, we hear our biggest fear.

BUSHMASTER SNAKE WH ISTLES

Bushmaster snake. Mm-hm.

Come around?

WHISTLING CONTINUES

Can you see it? Yeah.

Don't get too close.

You can see it?

Where? Where, where, where?

How are you seeing it?

No.

We've been surrounded by whistling bushmaster snakes

during the day and night.

Now, it feels like they're getting closer.

But we're weeks from help.

One deadly bite and it's game over.

WHISTLING CONTINUES Bushmasters...everywhere.

The land of the bushmaster snake.

We hear them a lot, but we haven't been seeing them that much.

Yeah, we don't want to be running into them,

or stumbling into them.

Very dangerous...

...and we are far from help.

Good to know that that one ran away.

DISTANT WHISTLING

Two bushmasters.

DISTANT WHISTLING

Phew. Scary.

The light fades very quickly in the jungle,

and so, it makes seeing things on the floor very hard

as soon as it gets to, like, around 3pm.

And 3pm is also the time at which the wildlife comes out.

DISTANT WHISTLING

We just ran down that mountain to get away from the bushmasters.

Well done for getting us away from the bushmasters!

We cannot hear them, so we have to be careful.

Don't go walking at night.

Very dangerous. Yeah.

But, yes, once again,

we are surrounded by bushmaster snakes.

Yeah, we knew it when we were coming down to find the water,

but this place is full of bushmasters.

They're everywhere.

DISTANT BUSHMASTER SNAKES WHISTLING

It's getting pretty exhausting, being in danger all the time.

But, erm, just one foot in front of the other, and we will...

...eventually get there.

Oh, yeah. Found a snake.

Let's...let's get rid of it.

Keep an eye out where it goes.

It's going to Lionel.

You see? Exactly?

You just can't take your eyes off the ball.

Bloody snakes...everywhere.

I'm pretty tired today.

Everyone's pretty tired.

Running low on food...energy.

I just want to get to the next resupply.

Good exercise, yeah.

That's most people's daily exercise. Yes, yes, yes.

Yep. SHE CHUCKLES WRYLY

Sometimes that happens.

CH UCKLING CONTINUES

Yeah, there's a really nice moment that keeps happening -

and that's that Mikey is teaching Aaron how to use the GPS.

I don't know, it's really nice, cos Aaron's been teaching Mikey

how to use the bow and arrow - so it's quite a nice crossover

of knowledge, from one generation bushman to the next.

Quite nice to watch, and that they're both wanting to learn.

And that's the way it should be.

Whoa! A nice shot.

We've been together for over a month in the jungle -

and I think it's fair to say we're all going a little feral.

Tapping into our childlike selves.

There's no going back now.

Woohoo!

EXCITED CHATTER

Whoo! H00!

EXCITED VOCALISING

Higher, Lucy, watch that peccary!

Well, I am thrilled to report

that Aaron will be staying for the entire time.

So, I was a bit worried that he might want to leave in the next leg,

but he's going to continue.

I think Lionel is stepping out,

cos of his knee and the mountains ahead,

which is fine.

He's done remarkably well.

But it will be very sad to see him go.

Today should mark the end of leg two,

and we get to our next resupply point,

which is going to be amazing -

because I also hope that

Vivian's wound will have healed,

and he should be waiting at those coordinates.

And we'll also be meeting our next team member,

Max, who will be replacing Carlos.

So, big changes. But last resupply point,

and leg three means we head into the mountain stage -

the steep mountains of the Kanukus.

Ohh, he's going straight in!

Watch out for the caiman.

Watch for the caiman! That's the deep bit.

Oh, my God. Yes!

SHE LAUGHS

THEY LAUGH

Woohoo!

After 39 days, we have really done it.

Leg two complete, and we've made it to the coordinates

of our final resupply.

And, look who's waiting for us.

Morning. Nice to see you.

How's your arm?

Yeah? Can I see it? Can I see?

Oh, God. Actually, that's na...

Yeah. Oof! Ouch.

Are you looking forward to the trip? Yeah?

I'm hap...

Yeah, we're going to have a good leg. Yeah, yeah.

Lionel, I know everyone likes to fist bump,

but I'm going to give you a hug.

Thank you so much...for everything.

Carlos, I'll give you a hug. This is how we do it.

SHE CHUCKLES

Let's go cross this river. Wish us luck.

SHE CHUCKLES

Leg three sees us crossing the caiman-infested Rupununi River -

and then, we'll have really have gotten started.

The Kanuku Mountains are a protected area

and the only part of the forest where logging and mining are banned.

These mountains are 3,000-foot tall,

and we have dozens and dozens of them to cross.

But if we can make it, we'll finally emerge onto the savannah

and the border of Brazil.

So, we've spotted a place to cross the river.

It's still pretty wide, I have to be honest,

and we have seen two caiman already.

But we're going to get Aaron, the water dog -

he's going to swim across with a rope,

and then, we're going to swim with our bags and get across.

But am I nervous?

Yes, I think this is probably the most scariest,

nerve-racking swim I've ever done in my life.

The bushmasters, the jaguars... it's all right,

we'll take on the next predator.

Now, the black - oh, the piranhas, they're small fry.

LAUGHTER

These caiman are not to be messed with.

These black caiman, they can grow up to 14 feet,

15 feet, 400 lbs, some of them.

They'll easily eat you up,

take an arm and leg off without even thinking about it.

And if you splash in the water, it'll attract them -

so, whilst we swim across, we've got to be very silent.

Careful. Don't splash.

OK, Aaron, you can come back now.

What have we got ourselves into?

There's a caiman right there.

Now, it's my turn.

All right. Yeah. RELIEVED CHUCKLING

Don't sit. Yeah!

Our final leg begins.

The Kanukus were made a protected area in 2011,

securing this area's future.

How beautiful is this?

Hitting the mountains, and it's starting to get really stunning.

We are in the mountains now.

The mountains have begun.

Steep, steep, steep.

Yeah.

Phew.

Yeah, the Kanuku Mountains are big. SHE CHUCKLES

THEY STRAIN

Well, we started climbing the Kanuku Mountain.

I think it's safe to say... it's hard.

I'm not even kidding, I've actually got the shakes,

because this is...

We are...climbing really,

like, the incline, may be, like,

steeper than 45 degrees.

Sometimes, l-l honestly think it's sometimes like 60 degrees.

So, we are actually rock climbing using roots and trees.

And this is the first time I've seen Mikey tired

in the whole trip.

It feels really nice,

after being in the sort of valleys and the darkness,

to be up high on the mountains.

This is what the Kanukus is all about,

being on these mountaintops.

Whoa! Misty.

How high is it, Mikey?

Whoop-whoop. Yeah, man. SHE CHUCKLES

Over here...

As always, just as we start to let down our guard,

the jungle reminds us she's always in control.

Yeah?

Oh, yeah?

Ooh! It's hard to see, look.

With your film camera, you'd have to zoom in.

Oh, it's ready for you, as well.

Oop!

The bigger these black scorpions are,

the worse their sting,

so this would cause some extreme pain.

My skin is suffering big time.

My legs are bleeding, like, everywhere from all the bites.

A tick's trying to get to me.

Actually, there's two in one area.

Look at those guys.

So, Mikey's got mosquito larvae.

Vivian's managed to get one of these out,

but the other one is still inside.

So, I think we'll use some cigarette ash to try and kill it.

A mosquito larvae is like a botfly.

It's likely it's been growing in there for weeks.

And every night, it breaks through Mikey's skin to come up for air.

If we just left it, it would just get bigger,

and then, grow hairs, and then, wings,

and eventually fly out.

And then, you felt it moving, right?

The ash should suffocate it,

and then, it'll be a case of squeezing it out.

Right, we're going to get this out, Mikey.

SHE CHUCKLES

Is it dead now?

Oh, is that it? Yeah. Oh, let's see, let's see...

So, he came out for breath, and then, died?

Ohhh!

Christ! No wonder you could feel that.

HE WINCES

I don't know how you're watching.

Ugh!

That's its belly? Ugh.

God. Oh, I'm glad you got that out.

Yeah.

It's a new day - and with one less larvae in Mikey's arm,

we should be feeling good.

But before we know it,

it's that familiar sound again.

BUSHMASTER SNAKES WHISTLE

Fear consumes us.

WHISTLING CONTINUES

Bushmasters really like mountainous areas.

They sound like they're coming from all directions.

The whistles have haunted us for months now,

and it feels like there's no escape.

WHISTLING CONTINUES

Tonight...

Tonight, we're surrounded by bushmaster snakes.

We have to be very careful tomorrow, watching our footing.

Cos one wrong step...

There is not a population problem with bushmasters here.

They're just so camouflaged you can't see them...

...but they're everywhere.

WHISTLING CONTINUES

WHISTLING INTENSIFIES

So, the bushmasters are close.

That's why I've been filming...

BUSHMASTERS WH ISTLI NG

WHISTLING GETS CLOSER

That whistle is close.

Oh, can you see it? Can you...?

Oh, it's still there. Shit.

WHISTLING CONTINUES

Yeah.

Uh-huh.

Yeah. My eyes aren't very good, but...

There's a bushmaster right in front of us.

Vivian had a lucky escape and almost fell onto it.

I can tell he's shaken up.

Aaron doesn't hesitate to get his bow -

and I feel a little helpless as I watch what's unfolding.

WHISTLING CONTINUES

WH ISTLI NG STOPS

Yeah, there's another one around.

WHISTLING INTENSIFIES

Despite these creatures driving fear into us for so long,

this disturbs me.

I'm so glad Vivian is OK,

but it doesn't sit well.

WH ISTLI NG STOPS

The team believe that the bones of this snake are venomous,

and if it strikes and misses, it'll then jump onto you

and whip you with its tail.

This is their belief-

but you can't argue that there's something strange about the tail.

The bone appears to be coming out,

a bit like a needle.

Yeah. Yeah. So strong.

Whoa, it's big.

Bloody hell.

Yeah. Yes.

Whoa.

DISTANT WHISTLING

Another Amerindian belief is that, if a bushmaster is killed,

dead wood must be placed on top of it.

This is so, if another bushmaster sees it,

they think it's been killed by a fallen branch -

meaning hopefully, we'll be left alone

as we carry on into the mountains.

I do not want to see or come near any more snakes.

We're in the middle of the Kanuku Mountains -

but not remotely free from danger yet.

The end, in my mind, is in sight.

It'll be OK. It'll be good.

We've just got to really stay safe,

cos this place is so dangerous,

and we're so vulnerable to anything that could get us.

We're far from help.

On reflection of the bushmaster killing, I can't help

but still feel uncomfortable with the whole situation,

and I feel like maybe we've had it all wrong.

It was never the snake we should have feared -

but instead, and as it always is,

it's us who is the biggest threat.

I want to know how the team really feel -

and Max is the first to bring it up.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

It's so dark under the canopy.

It feels like night-time.

When the camera is off, without seeing it,

I disturb a tarantula hawk wasp -

and end up with the huge wasp stinging me.

It's officially one of the world's most painful stings -

and I can assure you, it's agony.

My eye has ballooned from the sting,

and it makes seeing things even harder.

Jungle's not done with us yet.

I'll admit, I am...tired.

LABOURED BREATHING

This has been a huge, huge undertaking,

this adventure...

...more than anyone could've ever thought.

But I can't wait for it to be over now.

It's been one hell of a ride.

I'm really... it's time to go home now.

LABOURED BREATHING CONTINUES

WHISTLE BLOWS

We are all fatigued.

My face burns, and the bushmaster killing

has hit me harder than expected.

I need a break.

Ugh.

I haven't had one of these days like this yet.

We've got...we've got two days left.

So, I just wanted to step away from the team a little bit,

and just let it out a little bit.

SHE SNIFFLES

Cos I haven't been able to, cos there's no privacy.

TEARFULLY: I'm ready to finish now.

Can't wait to be safe. SHE SNIFFLES

I've gotta get up.

Make sure I don't look like I've been crying.

I just needed that... I just needed that.

Sometimes, a little release is just what you need,

and I feel much better.

Today's a big day, cos today's our last full day of walking.

Oh, I'm not ready for civilisation.

Actually, that's a lie - I'm very ready for civilisation.

So, I'm going to miss this life.

I'm going to miss this life a lot.

This won't be the end of this life.

There'll be more expeditions, there'll be more jungles,

there'll be more other environments.

...so, so, so...

We've made it to our last campsite.

It's clear, it's open,

and we've just gotta go up the mountain up there,

and then, down into the savannah,

and we've done it.

Yeah.

SHE EXHALES Noodles for dinner tonight.

WHISTLE BLOWS

We've been through thick and thin together.

These guys are like my brothers now.

THEY LAUGH

It's time to go home now, right? Yes.

Like you can walk another trip?

Yes! I can't. HE LAUGHS

This is what the top of the mountain looks like.

ALL: Yeah!

We have come 200km in a straight line -

actually over 400km in the way that we've come,

to the savannah.

Done it. Brazil, that way.

We've almost walked the entire length - the width of Guyana.

Almost.

Phew. Mental.

SHE CHUCKLES

After 50 days and 400km in the deep and dark jungle,

we're out - and into the heat of the savannah.

And it doesn't take long before Anders rocks up,

our brilliant operations manager and resupply organiser -

and with a surprise.

Aaron's wife.

Aww! Big guy. THEY LAUGH

That is a nice surprise.

Go! Go!

Yeah, there we go! LAUGHTER

It doesn't work. You try.

Yeah! LAUGHTER CONTINUES

Before setting off, we could have never have known

what was in store for us.

The dangers and joys that lay ahead,

and the lifelong friendships to be made.

We came here to explore this wild jungle...

...and, along the way, have learntjust how vital

these ecosystems are for the future of our planet.

In a world where we're glued to our screens,

it's easier than ever to feel disconnected from the natural world.

We might assume there's nothing left to explore,

but these wild places, they do exist.

And the truth is, we simply cannot live without them.

Our future depends on these ancient landscapes,

so now is the time to celebrate and protect them with all we've got.

We all have a paradise to look after.

And it's called Planet Earth.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media