Original subtitles

I'm bear grylls. Whoo!

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

From some of the most dangerous places on earth.

I've got to make it through a week of challenges...

In the sort of places you wouldn't last a day

Without the right survival skills.

Okay. Come on.

Now I'm in the wilds

Of new zealand's volcanic north island...

Man, that's why this place is so horrible. Look.

...Crossing raging mountain rivers...

This is the bit you don't want to go in on.

...And battling my way through dense, steaming forests...

Got to reach the tree!

...Carrying with me little more than the average tourist...

Ah! Ow!

...I'll turn a busted cellphone into a potential lifesaver.

Here we go.

I'm in new zealand's volcanic north island.

The maori have been in this land for centuries,

And it's only with their blessing

That I'll be able to travel and gather food

In this extraordinary place.

I just love this country!

And I'm not alone.

Every year, thousands of people flock to new zealand

For the mountains, the volcanoes, and the forests.

But be under no illusion.

This place is still very wild.

Every year, tourists end up getting lost or stranded,

Requiring assistance from new zealand's rescue services.

I'm gonna put myself in the position of a lost tourist

To show you how to survive

When an everyday adventure goes very wrong.

These jet boats are incredible --

Very shallow draft and powerful engines.

And that's how they negotiate

These narrow rivers and big rapids.

They're used by hunters in new zealand

To penetrate deep into the forest interior.

Okay.

But a 30-foot waterfall is a natural barrier

That even these amazing boats cannot navigate.

That's about as far as the jet boat's gonna take us.

We're gonna have to bail.

Okay.

I'm good.

[ grunts ]

The powerful current is pushing me away from the rocks.

Okay.

Welcome to new zealand!

A good bet here is to keep on a north-south bearing.

In this part of new zealand,

The largest concentrations of people

Are in the north of the island.

Get there, and your chances of finding habitation

Will increase massively.

The simplest way of establishing your direction

Is to use the sun.

But there's a method even on an overcast day.

Look. You just use a knife, get a twig.

And then just...

Try and find the shadow of the twig on the knife

And work out where that shadow is strongest.

You can see that it's quite weak there.

As we move, it's getting stronger,

And then it gets weaker again.

That's about the strongest point,

Which means the sun is directly over there --

Midday, southern hemisphere, sun's in the north.

That's the way you want to go.

Your search for food is continuous.

And if the opportunity arises, grab it.

This is a manuka tree.

You'll often get grubs in these.

Here's another one.

There you go. Look. See these holes?

That's what the grubs will make, let you know it's a tree weta.

Oh, my goodness.

Look at the size of that one there.

Try and get him off.

Thing is, they do have these unbelievably powerful pincers

In their front.

Be careful with this guy.

Look. You can see him holding on to that.

But, gee, that's mean-looking.

And these guys actually predate the dinosaurs,

And you can see why.

But fine to eat.

Not quite sure where to begin on it.

Ow, ow, ow, ow!

He got me there. Ah! Ow!

Oh. Look.

Ow.

What a brute. It's actually drawn blood.

Right. Now it's war. The head's coming off.

And the body...

Is fine to eat.

Oh, my goodness.

I've eaten a lot of bad things before.

Hoo!

[ spits ]

It's gonna be one of those ones you want to hold your nose

And just get it down so you don't have to smell it.

Oh, it's rancid.

God.

It smells like it's been alive since before the dinosaurs.

Some sort of big river pumping down there.

You can hear it.

Look. This just came out of nothing.

No knowing how deep that is, either.

Need to find some way across this, get down.

Attempting to cross a river this powerful

Should not be taken lightly.

New zealand loses over 100 people each year to drowning

And has one of the highest annual drowning tolls

In the developed world.

That's gonna be one option.

Of all these tragedies, most occurred in rivers.

Disappears into a whole world of ugliness down there.

This is probably gonna be our best bet.

Why I'm always a little bit nervous of fallen tree trunks --

You don't know how long they've been here.

You don't know how rotten they are.

Okay.

This tree has been swept downstream

When the river was in full flood

And then rammed onto these rocks.

It's a sobering reminder

Of just how powerful these rivers can be.

Seems pretty solid, this.

You're just not human, though, if you don't assess it twice.

The consequences of getting this wrong are big.

It's the best option,

But put a foot wrong and go into those rapids,

You're not coming out.

Quite slippy here.

Probably worth shinning.

White water is treacherous.

The constant churning makes the water aerated,

And the millions of air bubbles

Means it's much harder to stay afloat.

Combine that with powerful currents,

And you've got a fight on your hands.

This is the bit you don't want to go in on.

You don't hang around on this.

Okay. Get it going, then.

Come on. Come to me.

Last bit.

You just don't want to take any chances

When there's that much white water

Being driven under a log like that.

You know, you'll only get it wrong once.

Okay. Good job. Let's keep going.

The river edge can be a rich source of food.

Couple of big crayfish in here.

Good-sized ones, though.

Okay. Let's try and get these guys out.

We can eat them later.

Crayfish like this are best kept alive.

That way, you can ensure they're fresh

When you come to cook them.

This will do -- just a bit of moss.

Okay. Let's get them out.

Okay. There we go.

And then all I need to do...

Wet this moss.

And then I can store them in that, wrap them up.

Try and get the other one first.

Here we go.

That's gonna be a good little eat on the way.

Wrap them up in this.

Eating raw crayfish can be very dangerous.

They can carry a parasitic worm

Which works its way from your intestines to your lungs,

Causing fever, chest pains, and extreme fatigue.

So always cook them up before eating.

We'll just keep an eye out

For any other little pools like this we find

As we work our way along the river.

Okay. Good.

Before maori hunters commenced their journeys into the wild,

They would acknowledge the gods,

Who they believed would lead them to their prey.

Up ahead lies a formidable volcanic mountain chain

That must be crossed if you're to maintain

Your north-south bearing.

Man, that's why this place is so horrible. Look.

Dislodge one thing,

And the whole mountain starts to slide.

I'm in the wet wilds of new zealand,

Taking on dense forests slashed with fierce mountain torrents.

This is the bit you don't want to go in on.

It's out of the forest.

A lot of mountains ahead there.

Okay. Let's keep moving.

This arid volcanic range

Dominates the central north island

And has to be crossed

If you're to stay on your northerly heading.

North island, new zealand,

Is the most southwesterly quadrant

In the vast pacific ring of fire

That stretches from indonesia to hawaii.

It's relatively young in geological terms,

Only becoming an island around 90 million years ago,

And is still on the move today, constantly reshaping.

It's definitely hard work at altitude

And also very dehydrating.

You know, you're not only breathing hard

And therefore losing a lot of moisture.

You're also peeing more

As you're getting rid of the extra co2 in your body.

It's like everything's battling against you --

Expiration, perspiration, and peeing,

All going out and nothing going in.

[ breathes deeply ]

The volcanoes here are still active.

In 2007, mount ruapehu's crater lake gave way,

Causing a giant mudflow.

Up to 1 1/2 million tons of mud, ice, and snow

Cascaded down into the valley below.

Finding water is gonna be a huge priority

In a place like this.

There's a river I can hear. Look.

Let's try and find a way down to it.

Even a few hours of exertion at this altitude

Will leave your body dangerously low on fluids,

Which urgently need replenishing.

Very loose. Just take it easy down this.

But getting down to the river

Is gonna be easier said than done.

The ground is hard and compacted.

And to make things worse. It's covered in loose boulders,

Making any progress doubly hard.

Man, that's why this place is so horrible. Look.

Dislodge one thing,

And the whole mountain starts to slide.

That's just getting all funneled down,

Like an alley of death down there.

And that is not the way we're going.

Really watch our footing on this.

It's the whole stuff -- it's crumbling.

Let's keep working around it.

Okay. You got to stay close to me in all of this.

Don't want to be dislodging stuff on top of each other.

It was much easier trying to work our way down the shoulder

Than all of that loose face.

You can see there.

That all just leads to those cliffs.

Actually, you can see that funnel of death

I was talking about -- boulder alley.

Yeah. That's why we didn't go down there.

Let's try to pick a line down this.

It's all cliffs straight under this.

Trying to work out a way down the last bit of the river.

Let's try this way.

It's a bit of a gully down here.

Okay, it's good.

[ grunts ] okay. Let's refill.

[ sniffs ]

I smell sulfur, though.

[ spits ]

Aw, very acidic. [ spits ]

Makes the lips and tongue really tingle.

That's the volcano that's doing that to this water.

It just means it's completely undrinkable for me.

A lot of effort to get down to this.

But you're not gonna win them all.

There's no way we can drink this.

Okay. We need to get out of the mountains.

Your survival depends on how you react to disappointments.

Horrible.

It's so easy to allow your spirits

To become crushed by setbacks.

Okay, let's get moving faster now.

Everything then becomes a series of diminishing returns.

And your chances of surviving will plummet.

You have to rejoice in the small victories

And shrug off the failures.

Leaving the mountain

Doesn't mean that your challenge is over.

And in this volcanic landscape, danger is never far away.

Very steady here.

All of this bank is crumbling.

See that down there?

That water's coming out at boiling temperature.

And boiling water is very unforgiving.

All of this is so spongy.

It's hard to know what's solid and what's holes.

Like that. Look.

So careful where you tread.

[ grunts ]

Okay. We need to jump this bit.

Hot springs are formed

When rainfall permeates through porous volcanic rock

To around 10,000 feet deep.

When it comes into contact with the magma,

It becomes superheated to way above boiling point.

This water returns to the earth's surface

Through a process of convection,

And it can be crazy hot.

The calcium-rich water forms a crust of sinter,

Which can conceal hidden dangers.

Take this to probe with.

[ thudding ]

You can hear that.

That sounds hollow.

Go through there, it's just gonna be boiling mud

And sludge and water.

We'll not take any chances with this.

Man, check this bit out.

All of this is boiling.

You go into this, it's gonna be a very sticky end.

Actually, only a year ago, somebody fell into one of these,

100% burns, and died an agonizing death.

Even if just your foot goes through the crust and the mud,

You end up with boiling burns and blisters on your feet.

It's gonna incapacitate you.

In the wild, that could have massive consequences.

The boiling water is at least useful for one thing.

I can use it to cook up those crayfish that I caught earlier.

Yeah. Look.

That moss has preserved them well.

Nice and damp and moist.

Okay. Let's get these guys cooked up.

Seriously hot here.

Well, the easiest way, you know, is just to use my sock.

And in the military,

You get used to boil-in-the-bag food --

Not necessarily like this, though.

Let's get them in.

At this temperature,

They'll only need a couple of minutes.

Okay. I reckon that these should be done.

Look at that.

Out they come, all nice and pink and cooked.

And one sterilized sock, which is probably a good thing.

Amazing.

A substantial meal like that will give you vital energy

And allow you to cover ground fast.

What a spot!

But at some point, you'll need to take a break

And find shelter.

I'm gonna show you how.

I'm going toe-to-toe

In new zealand's rugged north island.

I've traversed its mighty volcanic ranges...

Man, that's why this place is so horrible. Look.

...And encountered lethal geothermal pools.

All of this is boiling.

But it's not done with me yet.

Parts of new zealand see up to 60 feet of rain a year,

Feeding hundreds of rivers.

You won't travel long here before you find one.

There's no mistaking that sound --

White water and a river.

What a spot!

Look. That would make a perfect place for a camp.

If I can survive, it's paradise here.

Okay. Let's get across the river.

And there you see, it's way deep enough.

See straight through that water.

Cossack, back scratcher, and pike.

I've got to swim hard to get across it, though.

Cold river.

[ breathing heavily ]

Okay. Let's get this kit off, get warm again.

It's gonna be a great place just to make camp.

You know, I'm close to the river,

But up here, just above the flood line.

I've got shelter from the trees

And lots of resources to make a camp with as well.

Okay. Let's get this on...

And get into it.

[ sniffs ]

Wow. Smell that carcass.

Just stinking.

Look at all the flies all over it.

The remains of a rabbit -- just left all the skin and guts.

Yeah. Nothing on there for me.

After just a couple of hours,

Unrefrigerated meat will start to grow bacteria

That will make you sick and can leave you incapacitated.

Out here on your own, that can spell disaster.

If you're in any doubt, leave it.

When making camp,

Be on the lookout for a helping hand from nature.

This is a lancewood tree.

Actually, we might be able to use this.

Make a bit of a frame...

Like a tent.

The good thing about these trees -- really long fibers,

Which makes it one of the most flexible trees on the planet.

Just need something, then, to peg that with.

And that would work.

The simplest method is to use the crook of a branch

In this deadwood.

[ grunting ]

Pin this in, and this is just --

It's called "dead man's fingers,"

A "v" to hold that in like a tent peg.

Okay.

Yeah. This is all flax.

And this is a maori's prime resource of rope.

All you need to do is split them,

Get lengths like this,

And you can just tie those together.

It's gonna be strong.

A simple two-way binding knot is enough to secure the frame.

Always consider the primary purpose of your shelter,

Even if you don't plan to stay long.

Build to your needs, whether it's to keep rain out,

For warmth, or to keep you off the ground.

That's pretty good.

And then it just needs something

To hold the whole thing up and out.

What you need now is some roofing material.

Oh, I'm excited about this.

It's gonna be a great shelter when this is finished.

I love a manuka bush.

And these are just ideal for roofing.

Getting hot.

Let's get some more of this thatch.

And then the last lot, just lay the other way.

The thicker it is, the warmer it'll be,

And the more waterproof it will be.

The last thing you'll need is a deep underlayer.

Take loads of this dry moss.

You lose most of your body heat to the ground.

This will help insulate you.

Just peel it off.

It's like nature's cushion.

And then look at this -- all old-man's-beard.

Bone dry and perfect for tinder.

Spread this out a bit.

The important bit that I want to keep warm --

All my core, the central bit here.

Nice.

Shelter built, now to focus on food.

There we go. There was one coming in over there.

And in the depths of new zealand's rivers

Lurk some truly huge monsters.

There he is.

He's right under us.

I'm in the heart of new zealand's

Mountainous north island.

Heading down.

Now I've made camp, I'm gonna hunt for food,

Using an ancient maori fishing technique.

Okay. Let's get this down to the river.

And that rotting carcass I found earlier

Will come in handy.

One thing these rivers are pretty full of is eels.

And a maori way of catching eels is just using this flax.

Fold it in two, you take this middle bit...

And just rub it.

And you want to strip it down to the fibers.

And these are sort of strands you want, like this.

When the eel bites down on those --

Because their teeth face backwards --

They get their teeth stuck in these strands.

To make it stronger, I'm gonna use a three-strand plait.

And, then, the end of it, you want to smear

With all of these stinking guts.

And eels hunt on smell.

And just that is enough to lure them in.

Okay.

If it's good enough for the maori, it's good enough for me.

See if this works.

It's gonna be a pretty good spot here.

A lot of aerated water running into a deep lagoon

And the nice shallows and overhangs

That the eel's always gonna like.

Just trying to entice one of them in.

There are worse places I could be sitting right now

Doing a little bit of fishing.

Eels tend to hunt at night,

But they can be lured out in early evening.

There we go. Look. There's one coming in over there.

They have large naval cavities

And an incredibly adapted ability to smell.

Got a good-sized one.

Right under us.

There he is.

See that?

They're able to sense food from hundreds of yards away.

Try and just entice him onto the end of this.

But he can smell that.

Come on. There we go. There we go. There we go.

He's cautious enough not to want to bite straightaway.

Go on. Get it in your mouth.

It's backing off again.

But he's definitely inquisitive.

And if you're patient, he will come back.

Okay. Here he comes again.

See him?

Okay. This is the closest he's been now.

Come on.

There you go.

There you go. Go on. Take it.

Take it.

Just nibbling at the end. Look.

Come on. Get it in.

Have a nibble.

I just want to hold it there,

Letting it get really well attached.

Okay. He's on. He's on.

We need to him out here.

Now he's caught, you've got to act fast.

Soaked!

I'll telling you, he just grabbed that again.

Okay. Get him into the shallows.

Here we go.

He's got very sharp teeth.

You want to be careful you don't get bit.

They're also very slippy.

Grab a bit of sand -- straight on their back.

You can see the power in that.

He's trying to wriggle free.

He's almost impossible to hold on to.

The maori tradition is, before you kill your prey...

Oh!

...Feel it.

It's just a sign of respect for it.

It gives you some connection to its energy.

The eel's tail contains nerves that control movement.

A quick blow will temporarily stun the animal.

It's still trying to wriggle out.

Okay. That's gonna stun him.

And then he goes limp.

And then I can finish him off.

And there we go.

Top picnic.

Whew!

This eel is a great catch,

But you're gonna need to cook it.

And making fire is one of the elemental tasks

A survivor has to master.

Get the battery out of it.

But even with a busted everyday cellphone,

It is possible.

And I'm gonna show you how.

Here we go.

I'm in the rugged wilderness of new zealand.

Ow. He got me there. Ah! Ow!

I've made a shelter and caught food.

And there we go.

Now to cook it.

And for that, I need fire.

Okay. Fire.

Most people who get lost in the wild

Don't have the luxury of having a fire steel.

You know, most people routinely carry what?

Cellphone, wallet, keys.

But the cellphone --

Even though it's broken and waterlogged --

Is actually enough to start a fire.

Get the battery out of it.

If your cellphone's still working, keep it

For if and when you come into range of a signal.

Flip the terminal end off.

But if it's busted, it could still help you.

But this should only be used as a last resort.

Touching the blade of your knife across the terminals

Short-circuits the battery, creating sparks and heat.

I feel that getting hot.

As soon as I cut into the battery,

It's gonna expose the lithium to the oxygen.

And that makes the spark,

Heat, and oxygen that's gonna create fire.

I have the tinder ready.

Okay. Watch out.

Here we go.

[ hissing ]

Well, that's going!

It's all about priorities.

If you've got a cellphone that's waterlogged

And not working and you're freezing cold,

Use that battery to make fire and save your life.

Whew!

Eel would have formed a huge part of the maori diet.

Lots of meat on this and lots of energy.

Simply cut the eel into strips along its flank.

I reckon eel will be done in about 10 minutes.

There's too much to eat at one go,

So I'm gonna cook some now

And smoke the rest on the fire to eat later.

Very simple hot-smoker.

Be careful not to place the meat

Directly over the flames.

Place it like that.

And that's gonna steadily dry it out.

That's gonna last much longer,

But all the good fats and the nutrients are still in it.

Okay. This one should be ready.

Mmm!

Nice.

Warming, nutritious, packed full of energy.

A great catch.

But definitely quite tough.

Warming up by the fire is a good time to maintain your kit.

That way, when you move on,

You're prepared for whatever comes your way.

Good discipline before you leave a camp, normally,

Is to really put your fire out well.

But if your life's on the line, stoke it up.

You want to make yourself as visible as possible

And give search and rescue the greatest chance of finding you.

The clearer that footprint of where you've been,

The greater chance they have of tracking you down.

Never leave a fire burning

Unless your life is in real danger.

On average, there are 80,000 wildfires

In the u.S. Each year,

Destroying up to 2,000 buildings.

And also, I'm just gonna leave a clear arrow

In the direction that I'm gonna be traveling.

Leave a clear direction marker

For anyone who might be looking for you.

Okay. Time to put some miles under the belt.

Let's go.

But making headway through this environment

Is never gonna be easy.

It throws obstacles in your path at every turn.

My next challenge -- a towering waterfall.

Got to reach the tree!

I'm in new zealand's north island,

Fighting my way through its dense, forested heartland.

There's way more light coming through the trees that way...

Than behind us.

That probably indicates a clearing this way.

Come on.

Look. Check this out.

It's all pumice stone.

Really buoyant rock.

It's not often you see rocks float. Look.

Pretty cool stuff.

Pumice is formed when superheated volcanic ash

Spews out during an eruption and then solidifies

When it comes into contact with cold air.

Whoa! Some clearing!

Man.

Actually, look.

That looks like a track, the other side the lake there,

Like a forestry track or something.

Gonna try and get across this lake and reach that.

Thing is, this is a high one.

That must be 150 feet down there.

A jump here is no option.

From this height, that water might as well be concrete.

Maybe use some of those vines.

Use those to work my way down to the bushes.

See, like 30, 40 feet down.

And then climb down through those.

The longer, flexible fibers of these vines

Make them incredibly strong.

And easily capable of holding my weight.

Let's get this back.

I've got enough of them, and they're long enough.

It's just you can't really wrap these around a tree.

As soon as you start to bend them too much,

They lose all their strength.

Using flax, I'm gonna make a constrictor knot.

Twist it up a bit.

It's simple, very strong, and once tightened,

Virtually impossible to untie.

And that won't budge an inch.

I always work on the principle --

If your life's on the line, double up.

You're only gonna get it wrong once,

And you're better safe than sorry.

But three is easily gonna be strong enough to take my weight.

No doubt -- it is quite a long way down here.

Just got to commit to the systems you've put in place

And then trust them.

If you've done it right,

It shouldn't matter how far down it is -- it's gonna work.

Of course, that's easier said than done.

Okay. Come on.

Get a nice, good grip on these vines.

Really wrap the legs, give you that friction and hold.

The line that the vines are taking

Is dragging me towards the waterfall,

Where the rocks, constantly soaked,

Are slippery as ice.

Got to keep out of that water...

Because it makes these vines so slippy.

Trying to redirect this down this line.

I need to build enough momentum

To pendulum across to the trees.

Got to reach the tree!

Got a precarious little perch. This, on this root.

Problem is, theses vines are running out,

And the next bit is cut in.

It's overhanging. Look. See that?

Let's try and work our way down

To that main cluster of roots over there.

Let me get my leg up there.

Work out a way down from here.

We're out of that vine.

But it looks like that root

Clings all the way through that crack.

Follow that down to the next level.

This ledge is about as far as I can downclimb.

It's gonna be a jump from here.

Okay.

Time for a bit of swimming to get across.

Looks pretty darn small from here, doesn't it?

That waterfall.

Didn't feel like that at the top of it.

Guys, get across.

Get onto this track.

It's that point where you spot what you hope's gonna be the end

And you just get 100% mission focused on finishing it.

Okay. Let's get out and up this track.

There are some tracks.

This looks like a big truck of some sort

With a "v" that's pointing that way,

Which means that the direction of travel is actually that way.

So let's follow them.

Fresh tire marks on a track

Will lead you out of the wild to roads and civilization.

New zealand is one of the most beautiful places on earth,

But you should never discount

That many parts of this majestic country

Are still wilderness

And should be treated with great respect.

But a little know-how will help you make the decisions

To get yourself back home.