Primal Survivor (2016) s09e02 Episode Script
Valley of Giants
1
[squawking]
HAZEN: Wow.
Look at that view.
Torok Falls, this
region's highest waterfall
Looks like it gets steep fast.
[rustling]
Crossing these formidable falls
is my gateway down
the sheer face the escarpment.
I need to find
a safe route across.
Whoo!
Just look at the power
of the spray.
It's really coming out here.
But look up there.
The bottom of the waterfall.
Woo!
Yeah. You can feel
the power of it.
[grunts]
[theme music playing]
HAZEN: Woo.
Woo-hoo!
Still 3,000 feet
above the valley floor.
I have a ways to go,
but that is spectacular.
Woo! Man!
Okay. Luckily,
it's downhill from here.
I'm Hazen Audel,
wilderness explorer.
I'm on the adventure
of a lifetime;
a journey through East Africa's
legendary Great Rift Valley.
As a biology teacher,
I've always known
that this place
in the world
is a mecca for wildlife.
And now, I'm here to experience
it myself.
The Great Rift is home
to Africa's most iconic animals.
And I'm on a mission
to see them all.
I'm following
ancient migration routes
To begin, one of the
greatest journeys of my life.
Trekking 500 miles
on my extreme safari south
I'll be tackling
towering escarpments
massive lakes
and colossal canyons.
To reach my ultimate goal,
the legendary savannas
of the Serengeti.
I'm trying to get myself
to the Serengeti,
where all these animals
group together,
as one of the greatest
congregations of animals
that anyone could ever see.
This time I'm heading
through elephant country.
An arduous 3,000-foot descent
will take me to the floor
of the Great Rift,
where I must make my way
along the Kerio Valley.
My destination on this leg
is the Chebloch Gorge,
near where one of Kenya's
largest herds
of migrating elephants
are said to gather.
If I can get myself
down into the lowlands,
the first big animal
that I'm really trying to see
that's going to be beginning
this journey along with me
are the African elephants.
That's what I'm really
looking for.
My first challenge is to descend
the mighty Elgeyo escarpment,
part of the western wall
of the Great Rift Valley.
An ancient geological fracture
on the Earth's surface.
Here you can see this big escarpment,
and it just keeps going down
and down into the valley.
That just goes on
for miles and miles
for as far as I can see
into the biggest rift valley
in the entire world.
I just gotta keep going down.
It's tough
and unpredictable terrain.
Look at right there.
See where there's no plants?
Well, there used to be plants
and trees
that were holding
that cliff side together
and then it eventually failed.
And then it all slid down
as this giant,
catastrophic landslide.
That's just something you don't
really want to get caught in.
Just have to watch out
for those ones though, for sure.
These steep slopes are home
to some of the most
agile predators.
There's a monitor lizard
right there,
right on that termite mound
just basking in the sun.
They can either play dead
or they can run
like grease lightning.
Let me see if I can
get a better look at it.
I can see that this monitor
could use a little help.
It's actually kind of good
that I found you
because I'll be real gentle.
Oh, yeah,
you're grabbing a hold.
You are starting to wake up.
But here's what I want to do.
See all these
Look at these horrible ticks.
They get these parasites on them
and they just suck their blood.
Let's, uh, make your day
so much better by getting rid of
some of these nasty parasites.
Nobody likes ticks,
including myself.
Monitors have powerful jaws
that can crush bones
and even through hard shells
of turtles.
And have special toxins
in their saliva
that stops blood
from coagulating.
This is just a baby.
They can get pretty easily,
six feet long.
So, they're the biggest lizard
in Africa
and they can defend themselves
with those big, sharp claws,
with a very powerful bite.
You can see those big claws
built for climbing trees,
built for climbing
termite mounds
and built for grabbing
a hold of the ground
when it's in a dead sprint.
They have a forked tongue
that's a lot like a snake.
Uh, they can sort of smell
or sense the air.
Well, this was a really,
really lucky find.
But I'm just going to let you go
right where I found you.
[grunts]
Pretty smart lizard.
Cool.
The high reaches
of the escarpment
acts like a stone wall
that traps clouds,
creating an abundance
of moisture and water.
And I've hit upon
a downward trail
of a mountain stream.
But to my eye this river's flow
doesn't seem completely natural.
You see that?
I've been noticing
chopped sticks.
And this, this might not look
too obvious,
but this is a dam
to divert water.
There's definitely people around.
And in this region,
that'll be the Marakwet.
The Marakwet
are the true masters
of this rugged terrain.
Renowned high-altitude athletes,
they have a long tradition
as expert highland farmers,
manipulating water's natural course
all along the escarpment
to where it is needed.
This is just
the beginning of it.
From what I know,
as I go further down,
they get more and more intricate.
If I keep following this water down
I'll definitely run into them
for sure.
Nobody understands this
landscape like the Marakwet.
Finding them will be my best
chance of navigating my way down
to the valley floor and reaching
the mighty Kerio elephant herd.
Cool place.
And it's got those, too.
Some food.
Since I found it,
I better go get it.
Yeah. Great.
I've spotted some
seasonal fig fruits,
they're about 15 feet high
and they grow
straight out of the trunk.
It's a dusty tree.
Makes it a little bit trickier
to climb.
It's like it's covered in, uh
dried wax.
It's sort of a hard landing
down there.
With those rocks below,
this wouldn't be a good place
to fall out of a tree.
Ah!
Woo!
Gonna have to ride this part
like a horse.
There we go.
This is great.
Okay. That's all I need.
[grunts]
All right.
The fruiting of fig trees
is unpredictable
so I've lucked out here.
All right.
Let's see what we got.
These are figs and figs,
you can take this and
[cracks]
Crack it open and it has this,
these weird looking insides.
Believe it or not, a fig
is like an inside-out flower.
All the sexual parts
are on the inside
and it needs to essentially trap
a little parasitic wasp
that goes inside the fruit,
gets trapped in there
and winds up pollinating
the fruit.
The flavor
it's like a really
unripe zucchini.
I wish they were more ripe
but yeah,
you can't be too choosy
in this neck of the woods.
I'm looking for a route down
this vault formed escarpment
to find the ancient
Kerio herd of elephants.
I find a stone lined
irrigation channel
that's obviously man-made,
so I follow it.
There was a guy.
There are some people
down that way.
Yomunee! Yomunee!
These guys are focused
and it looks like urgent work.
This all blocked up?
- MAN 1: Yeah.
- MAN 2: Yeah.
HAZEN: Oh.
There was a big log
that came down from the,
from the hillside
and blocked up their waterway.
MAN: Come, come.
It's a big, heavy one, huh?
Blockages like this
could be devastating.
These irrigation channels,
known as furrows,
are vital for the communities
and crops below.
MAN: Work fast. We work fast.
HAZEN: We have to work fast.
[grunts]
One, two, three.
Okay. Bombs away.
Yeah.
Woo!
- Nice to meet you.
- HAZEN: What's your name?
- Dennis.
- Dennis, nice to meet you.
- DENNIS: Yes.
- I'm Hazen.
You can see how already
that was blocking this,
these guys were sent up here,
because they're the,
they're the young,
brawny lads at the villages
down below.
Anyways Now, to repair
all the damage.
One, we'll roll it?
- MAN: Let's work.
- HAZEN: One, two, three.
All these waterways
that they construct,
essentially,
they're over 500 years old,
and they're still in use.
The Marakwet
are expert hydro engineers.
Forging these furrows
meticulously by hand,
their skills and knowledge have
been passed down
from generation to generation
from ancient African civilizations.
Their irrigation network feeds settlements
right down the escarpment.
It's kind of like
the Romans did.
It enables them to grow gardens
and feed their livestock
and everything else.
But repairs are not complete
until the Gods say so.
[chanting in native language]
These two elders
have come up the, up this canal
to bless the water
and to essentially make
a sacrifice
to a God named Ilat, right?
- DENNIS: Ilat, yeah.
- HAZEN: Ilat.
And that God is responsible for
essentially the, more or less
the health of the canal.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: The stomach contents
of a sacrificed goat
is sprayed with honey wine
and scattered into the river.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Once the ritual offering
is complete,
Dennis tells me it's time
to head back to the village.
I've been invited
to their village down below,
and we'll just clean this whole
water away on the way down.
Cool.
The adventure continues.
Arriving into the community,
Dennis shows me
the highland bounty
created by the irrigation network.
Yeah, you can just see
immediately what water does
Everything's so lush.
[laughs]
You can divert the water
- DENNIS: Divert the water.
- To irrigate this field?
- DENNIS: To irrigate.
- HAZEN: I see.
- DENNIS: Yes.
- To grow corn, banana trees?
- DENNIS: Banana.
- HAZEN: And cassava.
Ooh mangoes.
DENNIS: Yes.
I live here.
- HAZEN: Oh.
- DENNIS: Yeah.
HAZEN: Hello! Hi!
Dennis introduces me
to his family
and they invite me
to eat with them.
It's a freshly harvested feast,
of ground millet grain
and a local specialty,
an aged yoghurt drink.
Mursik.
DENNIS: Yes.
HAZEN: Oh wow,
it's a bit fermented, yes?
DENNIS: Yeah.
HAZEN: As we eat,
I tell Dennis of my plan
to find the Kerio herd
of elephants
migrating along the banks
of the river.
He tells me I'll need to make
good progress to catch them
before they leave the valley.
To help me on my journey,
he directs me
to a locally forged
shortcut leading straight
to the valley floor,
a risky but direct trail
down the escarpment.
DENNIS: When you're coming down,
we have loose stones
when you step on them,
they slip.
- Yeah.
- HAZEN: Mmm.
Then you have to be
very careful.
You take shoes that have, uh,
very good treads.
- HAZEN: Okay.
- Yeah.
Well, I got the same kind of
shoes you're wearing,
so I should be okay.
DENNIS: Like this.
HAZEN: Once I reach
the valley floor,
Dennis tells me to find
a neighboring clan
of the Tugen tribe.
Spearfisherman that live along the water
near to where the elephants
are said to migrate.
DENNIS: We meet when they come
and sell their fish
we meet, we interact.
Ah, so you guys are friends.
- DENNIS: We are friends.
- Oh, great.
Reaching the Tugen, I'm told,
will be my best bet to help me
find the roaming herd.
So, the Tugen will know more
about where the elephants live?
- DENNIS: Yes.
- HAZEN: Mm-hmm.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Tomorrow will be
a big day.
DENNIS: Mm-hmm, yeah,
it will be a big day for you.
- HAZEN: Okay.
- Yeah.
HAZEN: The next morning,
I have to be up early.
Pretty place to leave.
But, uh, I've got a big day ahead.
Okay. Congoi. Thank you.
Following the directions
Dennis gave me,
I set off down the escarpment
in search of the Tugen.
The valley fishermen
who live in elephant country
are now my best chance
of finding
the migrating Kerio herd.
But Dennis's route down
is everything
he warned me it would be.
Ooh!
I can't believe
that this is one of their trails
down the escarpment.
[grunts]
See right there.
That's the way they cross
the river.
Made by the locals out of
whatever they can find locally
and then hope it works.
All right.
I've got to cross here
to continue
on the Marakwet trail
down the escarpment.
I can't turn back now.
You've got to know
exactly where to put your feet.
[creaking]
I do hope
this makeshift bridge holds.
[♪]
[grunts]
That there is a hometown feat
of swashbuckling engineering
right there.
All right. It's pretty cool.
[grunts]
Just when you least expect it,
there's some kind of interesting
new place in the world.
There's a big rock overhang
in here.
Wow. What a cool place.
It's like its own
little ecosystem.
Oh, it gets real big
and opens up down in here.
Carved by countless years
of falling water,
sometimes drip by drip,
this vast overhang
on the edge of the escarpment
is a welcome break
from the dense forest.
Yeah, I like this place.
It's nice and finely flat.
And there's water.
Oh okay, here's some prints.
Look at these ones.
Pretty easy to see.
Those are baboon.
So, baboons are here.
Little small mongoose
are around.
Looking closely at the rock,
I can see why there are
so many animals up here.
All the water that's coming
out of this rock
has salts and minerals in it,
and then when it comes out
on this bare rock
it evaporates, as pure water.
And then what's left behind
is this
Yeah, salt.
A lot of animals need salt,
so they come here and
essentially lick the walls.
But this natural salt lick
is way too high up
on the escarpment
for the elephants.
That's the Kerio Valley
right there.
And if there's any chance
of finding elephants,
it's going to be down there.
Back at it.
A little further
down the trail
I spot a handy little fruit.
This is a tiny, tiny, little
spicy, hot pepper.
Look at these, tiny little ends
of matches, yeah.
This is often called
the African red devil chili.
Named for its fierce kick,
this chili plant
can fruit all year round.
This is not my food for today.
I'm treating this as medicine.
Some places in Africa,
it doesn't take you too long
if you're starting
to drink the water,
it's almost a matter of time
until you start getting
internal parasites.
Long revered
in traditional medicine,
these chilies make my gut
an inhospitable environment
for parasites.
By getting something
super spicy down in there
you can at least make
a habitat that they don't like.
So, they leave.
I'll start off with one.
Yeah, that's
That's pretty spicy.
They
[coughs]
[clears throat]
It starts to
Boy, that really
starts to kick in.
Woo-wee!
Just one small chili
packs a very fiery punch.
I don't really want
to mess around.
If I'm going to do it,
I got to make it count.
So, just, uh
They're getting
Starting to build up.
Wow.
I don't know if anybody
knows about these little ones,
but they're like, um,
Kenyan killers.
[coughs]
Okay make it count like I said.
[exhales]
You got to get it in there
and really teach those guys
a lesson.
That is really hot.
[clears throat]
[exhaling incessantly]
The power of plants.
Whoo!
After days of grueling descent,
I finally reach
the valley floor,
a major landmark on my journey.
But I still have a ways to go.
At low elevations like these
temperatures are at their peak.
The Rift Valley walls
lock in the heat of the day.
And this vast expanse
of dry thorn bush
is the perfect hiding place
for some potentially
deadly surprises.
Whoa.
It's a black mamba.
That is a black mamba.
The most deadly snake
in the world.
That is definitely
a black mamba.
It blends in so well.
I am not going to get
very close.
Look it, there's where
you can see its head,
and see that black
flickering tongue.
It's one of the reasons
why they call it a black mamba
is because, when it feels threatened,
it'll open up its jaws,
and it's, all the insides
of its mouth
are just jet black.
One of the fastest snakes
in the world,
the black mamba can slide
through dense terrain
at over 12 miles an hour.
Faster than the average person's
running speed.
If you get bitten
by a black mamba,
it's pretty much 100% likelihood
that you're going to die,
unless you get hospitalization.
Each bite from a black mamba
can deliver a powerful potion
of neurotoxins
over ten times the fatal dose.
A fast and fatal predator.
I just need to see if it
has planned an escape route.
It'll just drop
right under the ground in,
in any of this kind of environment
it is gone like that,
because they move so fast.
It's just right up there.
Oh, oh, it's
Took off right into there.
It's gone.
Just like that,
the mamba disappears.
As I journey
along the valley floor,
towards the southern reaches
of the Kerio River,
I must find the Tugen tribe's
seasonal fishing camps.
Living along
the elephant's migratory route,
they are likely to have
fresh information
that could help me find the herd
on my way to Chebloch Gorge.
And subtle changes
in the vegetation
tell me I'm on the right track.
You can tell elephants
have been through here.
Look at this broken branch.
You can imagine,
big herd of elephants,
they always leave
a trail of destruction.
Look at this.
This is an acacia tree.
And whatever is right
under the bark of this tree
is really sweet,
and they're after
all those sugars.
You can see the scrape marks
right there from their tusks
being used to scrape that
bark right off that branch.
You can even
Yeah, you can chew it yourself.
And it does have a certain
sweetness to it and that's
what the elephants are after.
It's my first solid clue
of the illusive herd.
But these beat up branches
are old evidence.
[grunts]
Wait, what?
No. No way!
Look at that.
It just blends in
and it's just able to walk
amongst all of these spines.
Look at that.
Look, look, look,
look, look, look.
That is a true chameleon.
It is a kind of a lizard.
Watch how it changes colors
when I put it on a branch.
Okay. It's pretty much green
with white stripes.
Let's put it
Let's put you right on there.
Be careful.
Look it, now it's got
these brown blotches on it
so it can mix in
with the branches.
It just immediately
changed colors,
which is crazy.
Changing color
is the chameleon's
only defense against predators.
And when you, when you watch it,
when it walks,
it kind of walks like a dance.
And that's to make it look
like it's a flittering leaf
in the wind.
That is awesome.
As I break out
of the dense tangle of thorns
the land transforms dramatically.
Wow.
Look at this.
Look at all these trees.
It's like they're up on stilts,
up on their roots.
All this dirt used to be here.
But it's all been washed away.
That's the sight of,
devastation, really.
Flash floods have carved
deep channels into this dirt.
But to reach the Tugen,
I've got to find a way through.
Some of these places
get really narrow.
It starts to become a maze.
It's hard to know
where to go sometimes.
I think you could
just keep going and going
in these horrible little
canyons forever.
Water flows downhill,
the more I keep doing this, eventually,
I'll get to where
I'm trying to go.
Okay. Starting to get clear
there in front of me.
The gullies finally open up.
There's the lake.
Wow.
At last, I reach the shores
of a low-lying lake.
This ancient basin
is fed by seasonal rains
flowing through the gullies.
I must be getting close
to the southern reaches
of the Kerio River,
and the Tugen fishing camps.
What a beautiful place
for birds.
They're just all over the place.
I'll follow this lake around
and see what I can find.
Formed by the natural erosion
of the Kerio River,
the lake is a wildlife hotspot
for birds
and rare white crocodiles.
It's not long before I spot
a tell-tale signal.
See where that smoke is?
Those are people.
Yeah.
[birds chirping]
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Oh, hey.
They seem friendly. Nice.
- [man speaking native language]
- HAZEN: Yeah, hi.
- [speaking native language]
- HAZEN: Yeah. Yeah.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Nice to meet you.
Yeah, you guys
You guys are Tugens, yeah?
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: These Tugens are a
semi-nomadic clan
called the Arror people,
and the only fishing community
in this region.
[speaking native language]
So, you guys are just starting
a new camp?
Yeah, this is our fish camp.
HAZEN: How long will you
guys stay here at this camp?
MAN: Oh, we can stay
for even a year.
HAZEN: A year?
MAN: When it rains,
we are expecting more fish.
If the fishing becomes
successful, huh?
- HAZEN: Yeah.
- We will enjoy staying here
because that is where we
will be, uh, earning a living.
Well, it looks like
a beautiful place
to live for a while.
As we build the fishing camp,
I tell the Tugen of my mission,
to locate
the valley's largest herd
of migrating savanna elephants.
So, you're saying the elephants
pass through here sometimes?
At night you can see, um,
elephants, your wild animals.
They can come around
and then they go.
It is normal that they come
and they go.
HAZEN: It is clear
these fishermen could have
the intel I need
to locate the herd.
Nice.
So, when it's all finished up,
it looks nice and tidy, huh?
Like that.
I used to have
a haircut like that.
With the shelter structure complete,
the real work
is only just beginning.
Using traditional
handcrafted tools and torches,
these Tugen spearfish by night.
And they've asked me
to join them.
The guys are getting ready
to go fishing.
I think conditions are just right.
The moon is shining through.
So that gives us
a little bit of extra light.
But then all the rest
of the light
that we need will be
from these torches.
Under the cover of night,
fish roam into the shallows
making them ready prey
for these master spearfishermen.
- Shall we go?
- MAN: Yeah, we go.
HAZEN: Okay. The time is now.
Into the muck.
And they're already,
they're already going.
You can see them
in this murky water, huh?
- MAN: Yeah.
- Okay.
Go a little bit deeper.
This is kind of fishing by feel.
But fish, are not
the only creatures in here.
Do you ever see crocodiles
in here?
- MAN 1: Yeah.
- MAN 2: Yes.
HAZEN: Okay.
The Tugen are known
for being really good fishermen.
What they're after
are these really big catfish.
And, uh
[splashes]
Oh, they got a big one.
- [speaking native language]
- HAZEN: Did you get one?
There it is, look at that.
Oh, he got one!
It's stuck in the weeds.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Whoa!
Wow, that is, that is
a good-sized catfish.
That one fish alone
will feed the entire camp.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Yeah, that was great.
Let me take a better look
at that.
After a skilled
and successful fish,
we head back to camp
to cook up our catch.
It's like pure meat.
Mm-hmm. Oh. Nice.
- MAN 1: I like this.
- MAN 2: Chop, chop.
HAZEN: Sharing our prized catch,
the Tugens tell me
of a recent sighting
of the elephants
on their migration.
And the exact spot
where they saw the herd,
not too far from here.
- MAN: If you want to get them
- Yes.
um, you can just walk,
uh, uh, down there.
Yes.
There is very big river,
we call River Kerio.
- HAZEN: Uh-huh.
- And they normally
cross that river,
theythey come and feed
with the, on these,
on these trees.
So, this is their
migration route?
Yes.
That the route they pass here.
- HAZEN: Uh-huh.
- At some time.
- HAZEN: Uh-huh.
- Yeah.
HAZEN: It's encouraging
to know I'm so close
and that they were here,
just recently.
But I'm told they move fast
and might not be in the area
for too long.
If I'm to catch them,
I need to get some rest
and be up at first light.
I have a big day tomorrow
and I'm still in pursuit for
what I really want to see
while I'm here is elephants.
Goodnight.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Armed with my directions
from the Tugen,
I set off towards
the southern reaches
of the Kerio River
where the herd was last seen.
But migrating elephants
can walk 50 miles a day.
If I'm in for a chance
of finding them,
I've got to move quickly.
It doesn't take long
for me to find some new clues.
You can see this. Look at this.
That is the
elephant poops right here.
And they are big
some of the biggest around.
And you can just see, look it,
I can break it apart and look,
you can tell what they're eating
is basically ground up tree.
They have these giant molars.
You know the teeth that
are in the back of your mouth.
That are so incredibly huge.
And those tusks that they have
are actually two of their front teeth
that continue to grow
throughout their entire life
that they use to strip bark off,
to mow down trees,
to be able to dig holes.
Yeah. That is Yeah.
Elephants have been here.
I must be getting closer
to the herd.
But dry dung tells me
there's still some
distance to go.
The more I track
these elephants,
the more I begin
to really kind of
understand their movements.
I know I'm heading
towards the river
and since it's such a hot day,
they're going to need
a drink of water.
You know what that means,
elephants have been right
through here.
I'm getting warmer and warmer.
[buzzing]
Elephant dung and fresh,
with flies all over it.
Look at those elephant prints
right there.
Right here.
These ones are babies.
Just little ones.
This is where the whole herd
was going through.
Elephant footprints
are bigger than breadcrumbs,
and they're going this way.
Finally, I hit the southern
reaches of the Kerio River.
If the Tugen are right,
then along here
is my best chance
to find the elephants.
This is the river.
I know I'm close,
but so is nightfall.
And the threat of darkness
is a danger I can't ignore.
The problem is,
the sun is going down,
and being out here
when there is no more light,
it's not about the elephants anymore.
It's about everything else
that's coming out
to hunt at night.
I need to find the herd soon,
or I'll be the one
being tracked.
[elephant trumpets]
You hear that?
[loud bellows]
[whispering] Yeah, that.
[bellows continue]
There's a big herd.
They're over there.
[whispering] You can see
the trees that are moving.
Those are elephants
tugging down on the branch.
They haven't come out of the
out of the bush yet.
But they're getting closer
and closer to the water,
which means they're going
to be out in the open.
- [bellows]
- I hear them.
Oh, you can see, you can,
you can see right now.
[bellowing]
I've found the herd!
The group is big.
They're in there feeding
or scratching themselves
against a big tree,
one of the two.
[elephant bellows]
You can hear them.
You can see
all those trees moving.
I don't know how many
are in there,
but as the sun sets, they might
just come down to the water.
If they don't know
that I'm here.
It might be the perfect place
to see them.
[bellowing]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
I am close to the herd with
their young.
I need to be aware of the danger
that they could charge
in my direction.
It's just a shallow river
between us.
[whispering] Okay,
just as I thought,
as the sun is coming down,
they're getting bold enough
to come down to the river,
and I see them.
Okay, I'm being real quiet
because I'm just
on the very other side
of the river from them.
There they go, there they go.
Do you see them?
Do you see them?
They're coming out.
They're coming out.
They're coming out
in the evening.
The whole shoreline
is covered with elephants.
There might be maybe
100 of them.
I've done it.
Crossing paths
with these epic land giants
is a rare and incredible sight.
Their arrival here
marks their return
to the southern reaches
of their range
after a mighty 250-mile
migration
for new pastures.
[bellowing]
They need to drink once a day.
And this is their time
right now.
Look at the female.
How it's using its trunk.
The trunk is amazing.
It's got over 150,000
different muscle units in it.
It's what makes it move
and guzzle water.
[trumpets]
Oh, look, look, look. There's
the baby. The baby, the baby.
Oh, man. Oh, gosh.
Wow.
[bellowing]
You hear that?
There's more coming.
They're wild elephants,
if I spook them,
they're all going to be gone.
This is really special.
At nearly 200 strong,
this is one of Kenya's
largest herds
of migrating savannah elephants.
Being in their company
is a privilege
but light is fading fast.
This might just be
all I get to see for tonight.
But they are here.
Wild elephants.
But I can hardly see
a thing now.
I can still hear them
crashing branches
from across the river,
but, once the sun goes down,
it's just too dangerous for me
to be out here.
Okay, I cannot let this
excitement get the best of me.
I've got to get somewhere safe.
As day breaks,
I branch off
from the elephants' trail
as they cross the Kerio River
and make their way deeper
into the valley.
Seeing these elephants
on their mammoth migration
has been one of the wildest
experiences of my life
and my first big animal sighting
on my extreme solo safari
through Africa's Rift Valley.
Navigating south
along the banks of the river,
I soon reach the distinctive
rock formation
of Chebloch Gorge.
This natural landmark signposts
the southern-most point
of the Kerio Valley
and the end of this part
of my journey.
Next time
Whoa!
I hit the Great Rift Valley's
lake region.
This is hard going.
Oh, my gosh,
there's something big here.
And battle
through dangerous waters
Kind of crazy to be swimming
cows across this lake
that does have
big crocodiles in it.
to try and reach
a monumental flock of flamingos
before they fly south.
Look at that! Wow!
[squawking]
HAZEN: Wow.
Look at that view.
Torok Falls, this
region's highest waterfall
Looks like it gets steep fast.
[rustling]
Crossing these formidable falls
is my gateway down
the sheer face the escarpment.
I need to find
a safe route across.
Whoo!
Just look at the power
of the spray.
It's really coming out here.
But look up there.
The bottom of the waterfall.
Woo!
Yeah. You can feel
the power of it.
[grunts]
[theme music playing]
HAZEN: Woo.
Woo-hoo!
Still 3,000 feet
above the valley floor.
I have a ways to go,
but that is spectacular.
Woo! Man!
Okay. Luckily,
it's downhill from here.
I'm Hazen Audel,
wilderness explorer.
I'm on the adventure
of a lifetime;
a journey through East Africa's
legendary Great Rift Valley.
As a biology teacher,
I've always known
that this place
in the world
is a mecca for wildlife.
And now, I'm here to experience
it myself.
The Great Rift is home
to Africa's most iconic animals.
And I'm on a mission
to see them all.
I'm following
ancient migration routes
To begin, one of the
greatest journeys of my life.
Trekking 500 miles
on my extreme safari south
I'll be tackling
towering escarpments
massive lakes
and colossal canyons.
To reach my ultimate goal,
the legendary savannas
of the Serengeti.
I'm trying to get myself
to the Serengeti,
where all these animals
group together,
as one of the greatest
congregations of animals
that anyone could ever see.
This time I'm heading
through elephant country.
An arduous 3,000-foot descent
will take me to the floor
of the Great Rift,
where I must make my way
along the Kerio Valley.
My destination on this leg
is the Chebloch Gorge,
near where one of Kenya's
largest herds
of migrating elephants
are said to gather.
If I can get myself
down into the lowlands,
the first big animal
that I'm really trying to see
that's going to be beginning
this journey along with me
are the African elephants.
That's what I'm really
looking for.
My first challenge is to descend
the mighty Elgeyo escarpment,
part of the western wall
of the Great Rift Valley.
An ancient geological fracture
on the Earth's surface.
Here you can see this big escarpment,
and it just keeps going down
and down into the valley.
That just goes on
for miles and miles
for as far as I can see
into the biggest rift valley
in the entire world.
I just gotta keep going down.
It's tough
and unpredictable terrain.
Look at right there.
See where there's no plants?
Well, there used to be plants
and trees
that were holding
that cliff side together
and then it eventually failed.
And then it all slid down
as this giant,
catastrophic landslide.
That's just something you don't
really want to get caught in.
Just have to watch out
for those ones though, for sure.
These steep slopes are home
to some of the most
agile predators.
There's a monitor lizard
right there,
right on that termite mound
just basking in the sun.
They can either play dead
or they can run
like grease lightning.
Let me see if I can
get a better look at it.
I can see that this monitor
could use a little help.
It's actually kind of good
that I found you
because I'll be real gentle.
Oh, yeah,
you're grabbing a hold.
You are starting to wake up.
But here's what I want to do.
See all these
Look at these horrible ticks.
They get these parasites on them
and they just suck their blood.
Let's, uh, make your day
so much better by getting rid of
some of these nasty parasites.
Nobody likes ticks,
including myself.
Monitors have powerful jaws
that can crush bones
and even through hard shells
of turtles.
And have special toxins
in their saliva
that stops blood
from coagulating.
This is just a baby.
They can get pretty easily,
six feet long.
So, they're the biggest lizard
in Africa
and they can defend themselves
with those big, sharp claws,
with a very powerful bite.
You can see those big claws
built for climbing trees,
built for climbing
termite mounds
and built for grabbing
a hold of the ground
when it's in a dead sprint.
They have a forked tongue
that's a lot like a snake.
Uh, they can sort of smell
or sense the air.
Well, this was a really,
really lucky find.
But I'm just going to let you go
right where I found you.
[grunts]
Pretty smart lizard.
Cool.
The high reaches
of the escarpment
acts like a stone wall
that traps clouds,
creating an abundance
of moisture and water.
And I've hit upon
a downward trail
of a mountain stream.
But to my eye this river's flow
doesn't seem completely natural.
You see that?
I've been noticing
chopped sticks.
And this, this might not look
too obvious,
but this is a dam
to divert water.
There's definitely people around.
And in this region,
that'll be the Marakwet.
The Marakwet
are the true masters
of this rugged terrain.
Renowned high-altitude athletes,
they have a long tradition
as expert highland farmers,
manipulating water's natural course
all along the escarpment
to where it is needed.
This is just
the beginning of it.
From what I know,
as I go further down,
they get more and more intricate.
If I keep following this water down
I'll definitely run into them
for sure.
Nobody understands this
landscape like the Marakwet.
Finding them will be my best
chance of navigating my way down
to the valley floor and reaching
the mighty Kerio elephant herd.
Cool place.
And it's got those, too.
Some food.
Since I found it,
I better go get it.
Yeah. Great.
I've spotted some
seasonal fig fruits,
they're about 15 feet high
and they grow
straight out of the trunk.
It's a dusty tree.
Makes it a little bit trickier
to climb.
It's like it's covered in, uh
dried wax.
It's sort of a hard landing
down there.
With those rocks below,
this wouldn't be a good place
to fall out of a tree.
Ah!
Woo!
Gonna have to ride this part
like a horse.
There we go.
This is great.
Okay. That's all I need.
[grunts]
All right.
The fruiting of fig trees
is unpredictable
so I've lucked out here.
All right.
Let's see what we got.
These are figs and figs,
you can take this and
[cracks]
Crack it open and it has this,
these weird looking insides.
Believe it or not, a fig
is like an inside-out flower.
All the sexual parts
are on the inside
and it needs to essentially trap
a little parasitic wasp
that goes inside the fruit,
gets trapped in there
and winds up pollinating
the fruit.
The flavor
it's like a really
unripe zucchini.
I wish they were more ripe
but yeah,
you can't be too choosy
in this neck of the woods.
I'm looking for a route down
this vault formed escarpment
to find the ancient
Kerio herd of elephants.
I find a stone lined
irrigation channel
that's obviously man-made,
so I follow it.
There was a guy.
There are some people
down that way.
Yomunee! Yomunee!
These guys are focused
and it looks like urgent work.
This all blocked up?
- MAN 1: Yeah.
- MAN 2: Yeah.
HAZEN: Oh.
There was a big log
that came down from the,
from the hillside
and blocked up their waterway.
MAN: Come, come.
It's a big, heavy one, huh?
Blockages like this
could be devastating.
These irrigation channels,
known as furrows,
are vital for the communities
and crops below.
MAN: Work fast. We work fast.
HAZEN: We have to work fast.
[grunts]
One, two, three.
Okay. Bombs away.
Yeah.
Woo!
- Nice to meet you.
- HAZEN: What's your name?
- Dennis.
- Dennis, nice to meet you.
- DENNIS: Yes.
- I'm Hazen.
You can see how already
that was blocking this,
these guys were sent up here,
because they're the,
they're the young,
brawny lads at the villages
down below.
Anyways Now, to repair
all the damage.
One, we'll roll it?
- MAN: Let's work.
- HAZEN: One, two, three.
All these waterways
that they construct,
essentially,
they're over 500 years old,
and they're still in use.
The Marakwet
are expert hydro engineers.
Forging these furrows
meticulously by hand,
their skills and knowledge have
been passed down
from generation to generation
from ancient African civilizations.
Their irrigation network feeds settlements
right down the escarpment.
It's kind of like
the Romans did.
It enables them to grow gardens
and feed their livestock
and everything else.
But repairs are not complete
until the Gods say so.
[chanting in native language]
These two elders
have come up the, up this canal
to bless the water
and to essentially make
a sacrifice
to a God named Ilat, right?
- DENNIS: Ilat, yeah.
- HAZEN: Ilat.
And that God is responsible for
essentially the, more or less
the health of the canal.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: The stomach contents
of a sacrificed goat
is sprayed with honey wine
and scattered into the river.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Once the ritual offering
is complete,
Dennis tells me it's time
to head back to the village.
I've been invited
to their village down below,
and we'll just clean this whole
water away on the way down.
Cool.
The adventure continues.
Arriving into the community,
Dennis shows me
the highland bounty
created by the irrigation network.
Yeah, you can just see
immediately what water does
Everything's so lush.
[laughs]
You can divert the water
- DENNIS: Divert the water.
- To irrigate this field?
- DENNIS: To irrigate.
- HAZEN: I see.
- DENNIS: Yes.
- To grow corn, banana trees?
- DENNIS: Banana.
- HAZEN: And cassava.
Ooh mangoes.
DENNIS: Yes.
I live here.
- HAZEN: Oh.
- DENNIS: Yeah.
HAZEN: Hello! Hi!
Dennis introduces me
to his family
and they invite me
to eat with them.
It's a freshly harvested feast,
of ground millet grain
and a local specialty,
an aged yoghurt drink.
Mursik.
DENNIS: Yes.
HAZEN: Oh wow,
it's a bit fermented, yes?
DENNIS: Yeah.
HAZEN: As we eat,
I tell Dennis of my plan
to find the Kerio herd
of elephants
migrating along the banks
of the river.
He tells me I'll need to make
good progress to catch them
before they leave the valley.
To help me on my journey,
he directs me
to a locally forged
shortcut leading straight
to the valley floor,
a risky but direct trail
down the escarpment.
DENNIS: When you're coming down,
we have loose stones
when you step on them,
they slip.
- Yeah.
- HAZEN: Mmm.
Then you have to be
very careful.
You take shoes that have, uh,
very good treads.
- HAZEN: Okay.
- Yeah.
Well, I got the same kind of
shoes you're wearing,
so I should be okay.
DENNIS: Like this.
HAZEN: Once I reach
the valley floor,
Dennis tells me to find
a neighboring clan
of the Tugen tribe.
Spearfisherman that live along the water
near to where the elephants
are said to migrate.
DENNIS: We meet when they come
and sell their fish
we meet, we interact.
Ah, so you guys are friends.
- DENNIS: We are friends.
- Oh, great.
Reaching the Tugen, I'm told,
will be my best bet to help me
find the roaming herd.
So, the Tugen will know more
about where the elephants live?
- DENNIS: Yes.
- HAZEN: Mm-hmm.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Tomorrow will be
a big day.
DENNIS: Mm-hmm, yeah,
it will be a big day for you.
- HAZEN: Okay.
- Yeah.
HAZEN: The next morning,
I have to be up early.
Pretty place to leave.
But, uh, I've got a big day ahead.
Okay. Congoi. Thank you.
Following the directions
Dennis gave me,
I set off down the escarpment
in search of the Tugen.
The valley fishermen
who live in elephant country
are now my best chance
of finding
the migrating Kerio herd.
But Dennis's route down
is everything
he warned me it would be.
Ooh!
I can't believe
that this is one of their trails
down the escarpment.
[grunts]
See right there.
That's the way they cross
the river.
Made by the locals out of
whatever they can find locally
and then hope it works.
All right.
I've got to cross here
to continue
on the Marakwet trail
down the escarpment.
I can't turn back now.
You've got to know
exactly where to put your feet.
[creaking]
I do hope
this makeshift bridge holds.
[♪]
[grunts]
That there is a hometown feat
of swashbuckling engineering
right there.
All right. It's pretty cool.
[grunts]
Just when you least expect it,
there's some kind of interesting
new place in the world.
There's a big rock overhang
in here.
Wow. What a cool place.
It's like its own
little ecosystem.
Oh, it gets real big
and opens up down in here.
Carved by countless years
of falling water,
sometimes drip by drip,
this vast overhang
on the edge of the escarpment
is a welcome break
from the dense forest.
Yeah, I like this place.
It's nice and finely flat.
And there's water.
Oh okay, here's some prints.
Look at these ones.
Pretty easy to see.
Those are baboon.
So, baboons are here.
Little small mongoose
are around.
Looking closely at the rock,
I can see why there are
so many animals up here.
All the water that's coming
out of this rock
has salts and minerals in it,
and then when it comes out
on this bare rock
it evaporates, as pure water.
And then what's left behind
is this
Yeah, salt.
A lot of animals need salt,
so they come here and
essentially lick the walls.
But this natural salt lick
is way too high up
on the escarpment
for the elephants.
That's the Kerio Valley
right there.
And if there's any chance
of finding elephants,
it's going to be down there.
Back at it.
A little further
down the trail
I spot a handy little fruit.
This is a tiny, tiny, little
spicy, hot pepper.
Look at these, tiny little ends
of matches, yeah.
This is often called
the African red devil chili.
Named for its fierce kick,
this chili plant
can fruit all year round.
This is not my food for today.
I'm treating this as medicine.
Some places in Africa,
it doesn't take you too long
if you're starting
to drink the water,
it's almost a matter of time
until you start getting
internal parasites.
Long revered
in traditional medicine,
these chilies make my gut
an inhospitable environment
for parasites.
By getting something
super spicy down in there
you can at least make
a habitat that they don't like.
So, they leave.
I'll start off with one.
Yeah, that's
That's pretty spicy.
They
[coughs]
[clears throat]
It starts to
Boy, that really
starts to kick in.
Woo-wee!
Just one small chili
packs a very fiery punch.
I don't really want
to mess around.
If I'm going to do it,
I got to make it count.
So, just, uh
They're getting
Starting to build up.
Wow.
I don't know if anybody
knows about these little ones,
but they're like, um,
Kenyan killers.
[coughs]
Okay make it count like I said.
[exhales]
You got to get it in there
and really teach those guys
a lesson.
That is really hot.
[clears throat]
[exhaling incessantly]
The power of plants.
Whoo!
After days of grueling descent,
I finally reach
the valley floor,
a major landmark on my journey.
But I still have a ways to go.
At low elevations like these
temperatures are at their peak.
The Rift Valley walls
lock in the heat of the day.
And this vast expanse
of dry thorn bush
is the perfect hiding place
for some potentially
deadly surprises.
Whoa.
It's a black mamba.
That is a black mamba.
The most deadly snake
in the world.
That is definitely
a black mamba.
It blends in so well.
I am not going to get
very close.
Look it, there's where
you can see its head,
and see that black
flickering tongue.
It's one of the reasons
why they call it a black mamba
is because, when it feels threatened,
it'll open up its jaws,
and it's, all the insides
of its mouth
are just jet black.
One of the fastest snakes
in the world,
the black mamba can slide
through dense terrain
at over 12 miles an hour.
Faster than the average person's
running speed.
If you get bitten
by a black mamba,
it's pretty much 100% likelihood
that you're going to die,
unless you get hospitalization.
Each bite from a black mamba
can deliver a powerful potion
of neurotoxins
over ten times the fatal dose.
A fast and fatal predator.
I just need to see if it
has planned an escape route.
It'll just drop
right under the ground in,
in any of this kind of environment
it is gone like that,
because they move so fast.
It's just right up there.
Oh, oh, it's
Took off right into there.
It's gone.
Just like that,
the mamba disappears.
As I journey
along the valley floor,
towards the southern reaches
of the Kerio River,
I must find the Tugen tribe's
seasonal fishing camps.
Living along
the elephant's migratory route,
they are likely to have
fresh information
that could help me find the herd
on my way to Chebloch Gorge.
And subtle changes
in the vegetation
tell me I'm on the right track.
You can tell elephants
have been through here.
Look at this broken branch.
You can imagine,
big herd of elephants,
they always leave
a trail of destruction.
Look at this.
This is an acacia tree.
And whatever is right
under the bark of this tree
is really sweet,
and they're after
all those sugars.
You can see the scrape marks
right there from their tusks
being used to scrape that
bark right off that branch.
You can even
Yeah, you can chew it yourself.
And it does have a certain
sweetness to it and that's
what the elephants are after.
It's my first solid clue
of the illusive herd.
But these beat up branches
are old evidence.
[grunts]
Wait, what?
No. No way!
Look at that.
It just blends in
and it's just able to walk
amongst all of these spines.
Look at that.
Look, look, look,
look, look, look.
That is a true chameleon.
It is a kind of a lizard.
Watch how it changes colors
when I put it on a branch.
Okay. It's pretty much green
with white stripes.
Let's put it
Let's put you right on there.
Be careful.
Look it, now it's got
these brown blotches on it
so it can mix in
with the branches.
It just immediately
changed colors,
which is crazy.
Changing color
is the chameleon's
only defense against predators.
And when you, when you watch it,
when it walks,
it kind of walks like a dance.
And that's to make it look
like it's a flittering leaf
in the wind.
That is awesome.
As I break out
of the dense tangle of thorns
the land transforms dramatically.
Wow.
Look at this.
Look at all these trees.
It's like they're up on stilts,
up on their roots.
All this dirt used to be here.
But it's all been washed away.
That's the sight of,
devastation, really.
Flash floods have carved
deep channels into this dirt.
But to reach the Tugen,
I've got to find a way through.
Some of these places
get really narrow.
It starts to become a maze.
It's hard to know
where to go sometimes.
I think you could
just keep going and going
in these horrible little
canyons forever.
Water flows downhill,
the more I keep doing this, eventually,
I'll get to where
I'm trying to go.
Okay. Starting to get clear
there in front of me.
The gullies finally open up.
There's the lake.
Wow.
At last, I reach the shores
of a low-lying lake.
This ancient basin
is fed by seasonal rains
flowing through the gullies.
I must be getting close
to the southern reaches
of the Kerio River,
and the Tugen fishing camps.
What a beautiful place
for birds.
They're just all over the place.
I'll follow this lake around
and see what I can find.
Formed by the natural erosion
of the Kerio River,
the lake is a wildlife hotspot
for birds
and rare white crocodiles.
It's not long before I spot
a tell-tale signal.
See where that smoke is?
Those are people.
Yeah.
[birds chirping]
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Oh, hey.
They seem friendly. Nice.
- [man speaking native language]
- HAZEN: Yeah, hi.
- [speaking native language]
- HAZEN: Yeah. Yeah.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Nice to meet you.
Yeah, you guys
You guys are Tugens, yeah?
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: These Tugens are a
semi-nomadic clan
called the Arror people,
and the only fishing community
in this region.
[speaking native language]
So, you guys are just starting
a new camp?
Yeah, this is our fish camp.
HAZEN: How long will you
guys stay here at this camp?
MAN: Oh, we can stay
for even a year.
HAZEN: A year?
MAN: When it rains,
we are expecting more fish.
If the fishing becomes
successful, huh?
- HAZEN: Yeah.
- We will enjoy staying here
because that is where we
will be, uh, earning a living.
Well, it looks like
a beautiful place
to live for a while.
As we build the fishing camp,
I tell the Tugen of my mission,
to locate
the valley's largest herd
of migrating savanna elephants.
So, you're saying the elephants
pass through here sometimes?
At night you can see, um,
elephants, your wild animals.
They can come around
and then they go.
It is normal that they come
and they go.
HAZEN: It is clear
these fishermen could have
the intel I need
to locate the herd.
Nice.
So, when it's all finished up,
it looks nice and tidy, huh?
Like that.
I used to have
a haircut like that.
With the shelter structure complete,
the real work
is only just beginning.
Using traditional
handcrafted tools and torches,
these Tugen spearfish by night.
And they've asked me
to join them.
The guys are getting ready
to go fishing.
I think conditions are just right.
The moon is shining through.
So that gives us
a little bit of extra light.
But then all the rest
of the light
that we need will be
from these torches.
Under the cover of night,
fish roam into the shallows
making them ready prey
for these master spearfishermen.
- Shall we go?
- MAN: Yeah, we go.
HAZEN: Okay. The time is now.
Into the muck.
And they're already,
they're already going.
You can see them
in this murky water, huh?
- MAN: Yeah.
- Okay.
Go a little bit deeper.
This is kind of fishing by feel.
But fish, are not
the only creatures in here.
Do you ever see crocodiles
in here?
- MAN 1: Yeah.
- MAN 2: Yes.
HAZEN: Okay.
The Tugen are known
for being really good fishermen.
What they're after
are these really big catfish.
And, uh
[splashes]
Oh, they got a big one.
- [speaking native language]
- HAZEN: Did you get one?
There it is, look at that.
Oh, he got one!
It's stuck in the weeds.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Whoa!
Wow, that is, that is
a good-sized catfish.
That one fish alone
will feed the entire camp.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Yeah, that was great.
Let me take a better look
at that.
After a skilled
and successful fish,
we head back to camp
to cook up our catch.
It's like pure meat.
Mm-hmm. Oh. Nice.
- MAN 1: I like this.
- MAN 2: Chop, chop.
HAZEN: Sharing our prized catch,
the Tugens tell me
of a recent sighting
of the elephants
on their migration.
And the exact spot
where they saw the herd,
not too far from here.
- MAN: If you want to get them
- Yes.
um, you can just walk,
uh, uh, down there.
Yes.
There is very big river,
we call River Kerio.
- HAZEN: Uh-huh.
- And they normally
cross that river,
theythey come and feed
with the, on these,
on these trees.
So, this is their
migration route?
Yes.
That the route they pass here.
- HAZEN: Uh-huh.
- At some time.
- HAZEN: Uh-huh.
- Yeah.
HAZEN: It's encouraging
to know I'm so close
and that they were here,
just recently.
But I'm told they move fast
and might not be in the area
for too long.
If I'm to catch them,
I need to get some rest
and be up at first light.
I have a big day tomorrow
and I'm still in pursuit for
what I really want to see
while I'm here is elephants.
Goodnight.
[speaking native language]
HAZEN: Armed with my directions
from the Tugen,
I set off towards
the southern reaches
of the Kerio River
where the herd was last seen.
But migrating elephants
can walk 50 miles a day.
If I'm in for a chance
of finding them,
I've got to move quickly.
It doesn't take long
for me to find some new clues.
You can see this. Look at this.
That is the
elephant poops right here.
And they are big
some of the biggest around.
And you can just see, look it,
I can break it apart and look,
you can tell what they're eating
is basically ground up tree.
They have these giant molars.
You know the teeth that
are in the back of your mouth.
That are so incredibly huge.
And those tusks that they have
are actually two of their front teeth
that continue to grow
throughout their entire life
that they use to strip bark off,
to mow down trees,
to be able to dig holes.
Yeah. That is Yeah.
Elephants have been here.
I must be getting closer
to the herd.
But dry dung tells me
there's still some
distance to go.
The more I track
these elephants,
the more I begin
to really kind of
understand their movements.
I know I'm heading
towards the river
and since it's such a hot day,
they're going to need
a drink of water.
You know what that means,
elephants have been right
through here.
I'm getting warmer and warmer.
[buzzing]
Elephant dung and fresh,
with flies all over it.
Look at those elephant prints
right there.
Right here.
These ones are babies.
Just little ones.
This is where the whole herd
was going through.
Elephant footprints
are bigger than breadcrumbs,
and they're going this way.
Finally, I hit the southern
reaches of the Kerio River.
If the Tugen are right,
then along here
is my best chance
to find the elephants.
This is the river.
I know I'm close,
but so is nightfall.
And the threat of darkness
is a danger I can't ignore.
The problem is,
the sun is going down,
and being out here
when there is no more light,
it's not about the elephants anymore.
It's about everything else
that's coming out
to hunt at night.
I need to find the herd soon,
or I'll be the one
being tracked.
[elephant trumpets]
You hear that?
[loud bellows]
[whispering] Yeah, that.
[bellows continue]
There's a big herd.
They're over there.
[whispering] You can see
the trees that are moving.
Those are elephants
tugging down on the branch.
They haven't come out of the
out of the bush yet.
But they're getting closer
and closer to the water,
which means they're going
to be out in the open.
- [bellows]
- I hear them.
Oh, you can see, you can,
you can see right now.
[bellowing]
I've found the herd!
The group is big.
They're in there feeding
or scratching themselves
against a big tree,
one of the two.
[elephant bellows]
You can hear them.
You can see
all those trees moving.
I don't know how many
are in there,
but as the sun sets, they might
just come down to the water.
If they don't know
that I'm here.
It might be the perfect place
to see them.
[bellowing]
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!
I am close to the herd with
their young.
I need to be aware of the danger
that they could charge
in my direction.
It's just a shallow river
between us.
[whispering] Okay,
just as I thought,
as the sun is coming down,
they're getting bold enough
to come down to the river,
and I see them.
Okay, I'm being real quiet
because I'm just
on the very other side
of the river from them.
There they go, there they go.
Do you see them?
Do you see them?
They're coming out.
They're coming out.
They're coming out
in the evening.
The whole shoreline
is covered with elephants.
There might be maybe
100 of them.
I've done it.
Crossing paths
with these epic land giants
is a rare and incredible sight.
Their arrival here
marks their return
to the southern reaches
of their range
after a mighty 250-mile
migration
for new pastures.
[bellowing]
They need to drink once a day.
And this is their time
right now.
Look at the female.
How it's using its trunk.
The trunk is amazing.
It's got over 150,000
different muscle units in it.
It's what makes it move
and guzzle water.
[trumpets]
Oh, look, look, look. There's
the baby. The baby, the baby.
Oh, man. Oh, gosh.
Wow.
[bellowing]
You hear that?
There's more coming.
They're wild elephants,
if I spook them,
they're all going to be gone.
This is really special.
At nearly 200 strong,
this is one of Kenya's
largest herds
of migrating savannah elephants.
Being in their company
is a privilege
but light is fading fast.
This might just be
all I get to see for tonight.
But they are here.
Wild elephants.
But I can hardly see
a thing now.
I can still hear them
crashing branches
from across the river,
but, once the sun goes down,
it's just too dangerous for me
to be out here.
Okay, I cannot let this
excitement get the best of me.
I've got to get somewhere safe.
As day breaks,
I branch off
from the elephants' trail
as they cross the Kerio River
and make their way deeper
into the valley.
Seeing these elephants
on their mammoth migration
has been one of the wildest
experiences of my life
and my first big animal sighting
on my extreme solo safari
through Africa's Rift Valley.
Navigating south
along the banks of the river,
I soon reach the distinctive
rock formation
of Chebloch Gorge.
This natural landmark signposts
the southern-most point
of the Kerio Valley
and the end of this part
of my journey.
Next time
Whoa!
I hit the Great Rift Valley's
lake region.
This is hard going.
Oh, my gosh,
there's something big here.
And battle
through dangerous waters
Kind of crazy to be swimming
cows across this lake
that does have
big crocodiles in it.
to try and reach
a monumental flock of flamingos
before they fly south.
Look at that! Wow!