Primal Survivor (2016) s09e04 Episode Script

1
[gentle music throughout]
[grunting]
[Hazen] Wow! Ooh-wee.
These tunnels just
go on and on and on.
Woo!
But this could be the
gateway to where I need to go.
I'm committing now.
It's starting to get really
kind of scary in here now.
Woah!
You hear that?
Oh boy.
They're coming.
[squeaking]
Woah!
[squeaking]
I can't see, I can just hear them and feel
them when they fly by.
Woah. That one just hit me.
This is crazy.
They're just flying
right past my face.
Woah!
Bats are, I think for me are just one of
the most fascinating mammals there are.
Woo.
There's a lot of life in here.
But it's definitely not a good
place to be because bats can
carry such a vast array of diseases.
I got to light up my torch
again and get out of here,
but this is, this is
one of those experiences.
Okay.
[Hazen] I'm Hazen Audel,
wilderness explorer.
I'm on a huge solo journey across East
Africa's monumental Great Rift Valley,
[Hazen] I've studied this region's
iconic wildlife for years
and now I'm finally here in person
on a mission to see it all.
An extreme Rift Valley safari
South through 500-miles of
extreme, bio-diverse environments.
My ultimate goal is the legendary savannas
of the Serengeti.
[Hazen] The rains are coming, it's
just coming down now
and it's spurring on the
migration of animals.
The pinnacle of all this is
happening in the southern
wilderness of the Serengeti.
Exactly where I'm headed.
[Hazen] I've reached the Hell's Gate
region in the heart of the Rift Valley.
For this leg of my journey,
I'll need to pass through deep
gorges and dense forest
as I head to my next major
waypoint, the volcanic
slopes of Mount Suswa.
[Hazen] My goal is to see one
of Africa's rarest and
most endangered animals,
the black rhino.
These powerful animals can
only be found in small pockets
of the African wilderness.
I'd be really lucky to find them
but rhinos are here, somewhere.
[Hazen] I need to draw upon the
knowledge of local tribes
and my experience
of animal tracking,
if I'm to stand any chance of finding the
elusive Black Rhino.
[hopeful music]
[Hazen] I've got a long journey ahead
and my first challenge is to
navigate through a treacherous
maze of gorges that crisscross
this entire landscape.
Oof! This gorge is just nasty.
I've been trying to
look for a way down.
[Hazen] My best option is to get to
the base and follow the
dry watercourse out
to the main gorge,
but this is a tricky descent.
[grunting]
This entire hillside
is just made up of volcanic ash.
[grunting]
Woah!
[grunting]
I'm going to get some good dust
boogers by the end of the day
and the day is still young.
[upbeat music]
[Hazen] Water makes these
paths through here,
so this is my preferred
mode of travel
getting into one of these,
just because you can see how
clear it is, as opposed to
trying to navigate everything
that's outside of this.
[Hazen] Like veins joining onto a main
artery, this route should lead
to a much wider gorge,
and a way out of here.
Oh!
Did you see what it just did?
It was so fast, smaller
than a blink of an eye.
They're just so
cool in so many ways.
These chameleons can change
color so fast, within seconds,
so they can thermoregulate,
regulate their body temperature
and also kind of depending upon
whatever mood they're in,
so if they're really angry
they see another chameleon
and they don't like that,
they can change color
and be more threatening
or be more timid.
Right now, it's in hunting
posture so it's looking around
for things to eat, and it can
do it really well with those
bizarre eyeballs that
are looking independently.
And in that mouth is a
spring-loaded tongue
that can be sprung out and
can stretch to nearly twice
as long as its own body
and it just globs onto its prey,
and then springs it back into
its mouth and then chews it up.
There, there,
did you see that!
It's almost faster than
the human eye can make out.
These critters are so amazing,
and I don't know any other
animal that can squirt
out it's tongue like that
and eat its lunch.
Very cool, you are a very
clever little creature!
Ugh.
It was all going
so good until now.
That drops down
a good 35 feet.
[Hazen] Water has completely
eroded this channel.
Which means my route ahead is
even deeper into this canyon.
I think this is the
only way down right here.
Bring this down there.
[thump]
Fully committed now.
This is the place to get
down if I'm going to get down,
because it's going to be the
narrowest part of the canyon.
The way to shimmy down here
is by wedging my body down and
using this tight space
while I have it.
If it doesn't work,
it's going to get real bad.
[grunting]
I'll just go slow.
[grunting]
This is just about the perfect
width of a crevasse to where
I can wedge my body in.
But this rock is
unfortunately pretty slippery.
This is only working out right
now until I finally get to the
point of no return.
Which is right now.
[grunting]
Oh, it's slippery.
This is as far as I can go.
You can see that my wedge
drops out from under me.
I've got no option
but to jump from here.
[Hazen] I've got to nail the landing;
a broken ankle down here
would be disastrous.
Once I let go of this arm.
I'm going down.
Okay.
1, 2, 3
[grunting]
Ok, I made it.
Hopefully this will lead
me out to the bigger gorge.
[Hazen] I'm taking a risk
being down here,
narrow canyons like these are prone
to flash flooding.
If it does rain, all the water
goes into these slot canyons,
and people die that way
because they could never
see any clouds or rain coming in
and then they just
get washed away,
drowned in places like this
never to be found ever again.
I'm not going to be wasting a
lot of time while I'm in here.
[Hazen] Torrents of water have
undercut the walls,
causing them to
collapse in places.
Yeah, all this stuff just
came down not too long ago.
Yeah, it gets narrow in here.
[tense music throughout]
Little bit of a squeeze,
but it's starting to open up here.
[tense music continues]
[Hazen] Finally, my chosen
path has paid off.
I've made it out
into the main gorge.
For centuries, flooding waters
have carved a path through
here deep into the Great Rift basin.
And right now, it's providing me with a
direct route through these gorges.
[squeaking]
You hear the squeaks?
All these critters that are
around me in the rocks,
these are called hyraxes.
There's one right down there,
there's hyraxes
all over the place.
They look sort of like a cross between uh,
a guinea pig and a raccoon.
But they are not a rodent at all.
Actually, believe it or not, their closest
relative is an elephant.
It's actually mostly
because of their skull.
It's so bizarre that they are a relative
of the elephant, yet they look like that.
These guys can go for about a third of the
year without actually drinking water.
They get all the moisture that they need
from the things
that they're eating and munching on.
They're amazing climbers and they live in
these really, really rocky areas.
This is hyrax country for sure,
and there they go.
[Hazen] Ahead of me lies a
new environment,
a huge expanse of dense forest.
It's here I'm hoping to find a unique
tribal group called the Okiek.
They'll know the way through this wild
region better than anyone.
[mysterious music]
The Okiek are totally dependent on this
forest as farmers, as foragers.
If I can come across them,
that would help me out so much
of my journey just because they know the
best ways to get through this place.
[Hazen] Not only could the Okiek
guide me, but they might have
information that could
lead me to the Rhinos.
As I push deeper into the
forest, I realize I'm not alone.
Oh, my gosh.
[Hazen laughing]
Woah! There's one jumping over there.
Look at that. Skunk monkeys.
Oh, they're
looking right at me now.
Actually, they're black
and white Colobus monkeys.
They have probably some of the fanciest
hairdos of any of the primates around.
That jet black with
bright white stripes.
They're really unique
amongst a lot of the primates.
They don't have,
they don't have thumbs.
They just have four really,
really long fingers that are
just like grappling hooks
going from branch to branch.
They're amazing climbers.
The mom has a baby right now.
So, just like so many primates.
Lots and lots of care for their young.
Sometimes the whole entire
family of monkeys that are up
there in the tree, they all
take care of the little ones.
All collectively, like a
tribe up in the trees.
Be a nice place to live.
Be out of the way of anything
that would be down here that
could eat them like
lions and leopards.
There's not much that can compete with the
agility of a black and white colobus.
I mean, they can leap 50 feet.
It'd be much easier to be able
to hop from branch to branch
rather than trying to
break through all this stuff.
[Hazen] I've got to keep moving if I'm to
find the Okiek somewhere in this forest.
Chopped down tree.
So, there's people
that are living out here.
I think so.
Yeah. Somebody was here
look at this, these ashes.
Woo!
Look, they've been whittling
on things, making stuff.
They could have taken
off pretty far from here.
Where they went, I'm not sure.
But there is a trail here.
Woo!
Yeah, there's some people.
Woo, Supa!
Yeah, there's some
people right over there.
Ah this place is so dense.
There's somebody over there.
[Hazen] This could well be the
tribe I'm looking for.
Oh, there's two of them.
Hey. Hello.
[Maseto] Jambo.
[Hazen] Jambo.
Two people out of nowhere.
Are you Okiek?
[Maseto] Okiek, yes.
[Hazen] Supa.
[Maseto] Supa.
[Hazen] I found them,
Joseph and Maseto are
members of the Okiek.
I've been seeing those up in the trees.
These are yours, huh?
[Maseto] The hives have honey.
[Hazen] Oh, that's great.
[Joseph] 500. 500.
[Hazen] How many?
[Hazen] You have about 500!
[Maseto] Yes.
[Hazen] Wow.
[Joseph] All of them.
The Okiek are renowned
for having amazing wild honey
and they're just checking each
one of their hives right now,
so they said I
could tag along.
This is great, proper Okiek.
[gentle music]
[Hazen] Joseph and Maseto are happy to
lead me through the forest
but they want to take stock of their
precious honey along the way.
[Joseph] It is empty.
[Hazen] As they're checking
each one of their hives,
they can just tell by
the way it's swinging
whether or not it has
bees and honey in it.
So off to the next hive.
[Hazen] Not only is the honey a
staple food,
it's also used
in medicines and preservatives.
An important
commodity for the Okiek.
And that's what they're after.
Up there is the honey that is inside that
beehive right up there.
[bees buzzing]
[Hazen] To harvest the honey the hive
must be lowered to the ground,
and that means
climbing this huge tree.
So Maseto wants me to go up first,
and then he'll be right behind me.
We have to make sure that
we're not making too much
commotion because there are
bees in that log over there.
Just a little bit higher.
[Hazen] The hive is about 50 feet
up in the tree canopy.
It's definitely
pretty high from up here.
I definitely would not want
to fall from this height.
[Hazen] We need to get to the hive out of
the branches and lower it down.
We're going to bring it down.
We're going to lower it.
This thing is
heavy, yeah, I have it.
[Hazen] Bees release pheromones when
they're threatened so Joseph
uses smoke to disrupt their sense of
smell and stop them from swarming.
The bees are acting up, but
the smoke is doing its job.
[Joseph] Stop, stop there. Stop.
[Hazen] Ok, we have
everything locked off up here.
The hive is almost to the ground. Suspended.
We've got the hive down but we're not
going in for the honey just yet.
[Hazen] The Okiek know that the bees are
reluctant to fly at night,
and are far more docile.
So, for now we must wait
for the light to fade.
Now is the time.
It's plenty dark enough now.
It's not getting
any darker than this.
So, by firelight, we're going
to dig right into that hive.
They're really
buzzing around in there.
The kind of bees these
are East African honeybees.
[Hazen] A big hive like this
can have 40,000 bees.
Being stung in numbers can be fatal.
If they swarm the risk is very real.
There's a trap door on
the bottom of this hive.
They're blowing more
and more smoke in there.
Heart of the hive with the honey.
There it is, that's it right there.
That's what we're talking about.
Those bees are angry now.
They're starting to fly out.
Ba-ba-ba-ba! Aye!
[Hazen] Ahhh right in the
armpit, that's a bad one.
[Hazen] The smoke is preventing a
swarm but some bees are
still going in for the attack.
When they crawl on you. They just sting
whatever feels like skin.
Ah! I've got one under my shirt,
and I've already
been stung about,
I don't know, six or seven times, I don't
know. These guys are getting stung, too.
They're working fast,
trying to get the honeycomb.
Oh.
Oh, my gosh.
Heavy with honey.
And then those white parts,
those are little baby honeybees,
which isn't honey, but it is protein.
Might seem like a lot of work
to get honey but think about it,
there is nothing out
here sweeter than honey.
They're not going to take the entire hive.
They'll just take what they
need, and they're going to put
that trapdoor back and
then let the bees calm down.
[Hazen] Joseph and Maseto have a
forest camp nearby
and I'm invited to join for the night.
All right.
Dipping into the honey bag.
Well, thank you.
There's a couple of
bees still clinging on.
Yes, this is a nice little
treat for this evening.
[Joseph] Suck keep sucking.
[Hazen] Mmm, it's really nice
honey, but it almost tastes
like, more like liquid brown sugar.
[Joseph] Is it ready?
It's brewed now.
This is our tea.
Nice hot tea. Nettle tea.
Cheers!
[Hazen] While we share the food
gathered from the forest,
I tell Joseph and
Maseto about my journey.
I'm trying to get to
the Suswa, Suswa volcano.
[Hazen] And my mission to see some
of Africa's rarest animals.
I would like to find
African black rhino.
[Hazen] They tell me there are rhinos
roaming the plains in Maasai territory.
And there's a community on Mount Suswa,
right where I'm headed.
[Joseph] Some Maasai live on Suswa.
[Hazen] Yeah, the Maasai.
[Joseph] When you reach Suswa
go and greet the tribesmen.
[Hazen] OK.
[Hazen] They tell me that if I can
find the Maasai village,
they should be able to help with
my quest for the black rhino.
[Joseph] You will be welcomed in Suswa,
how we welcomed you here.
[Hazen] Ok, Ok.
[Hazen] But Joseph's got a warning for me.
When you go to Suswa
you will go through a cave to get there.
[Hazen] There's a deep
and complex cave network
on my way to the Suswa volcano.
OK.
[speaking native language]
So, it's going to be a little bit of a
mission to Mount Suswa.
[Hazen] The Mount Suswa Maasai
seem like a promising lead,
but the cave network sounds daunting.
[dramatic music]
Tonight, I'll rest up
[Maseto] You will sleep on that side.
[Joseph] And I will sleep on the other side.
[fire crackling]
I've been given directions on uh
It sounds like a little bit of a trek, but
I should be able to make it in a full day.
My next stop is going to be a cave.
And that's right on my
way to the Suswa volcano.
So, more adventures ahead. Goodnight.
[Hazen] The next morning Joseph
and Maseto give me guidance.
[Joseph] Inside, there is a cave
that looks more like a chamber.
[Hazen] To help get through the cave
system on my way to Mount Suswa.
[Hazen] The cave
[Joseph] Huge cave.
[Hazen] You can go deep inside.
Keep going that way, it's
going to be a long walk.
Uh huh.
Ok, ok.
[Hazen] And a vital ingredient
to help light my way through
the cave's pitch-black labyrinth.
A gift from me to you.
[Hazen] I've been given this.
It might look kind of gnarly,
but that is goat fat there.
And I might be able to use this to make a
candle or to make fire.
Now you'll have a safe journey.
[Hazen] If I'm to reach the caves by
nightfall, I've got to get moving.
I need to push through another
stretch of dense forest before
I reach the southern edge
and a clearer path ahead.
[Hazen] I'm now heading away from
the forest, towards a volcanic
cave system on my way to Mount Suswa,
a major waypoint and home to Maasai tribesmen
that could have knowledge to where
I can find black rhinos.
[Hazen] I've still got a long way to go
and this environment
is becoming increasingly sparse.
[dramatic music]
See this cactus right here?
It's good and bad.
It's an alien species, invasive species.
That's the bad part.
The good part is it's edible.
[Hazen] I need to load up on
supplies while I can.
And then when I can find a
nice place for a fire,
and cook it, I will have
something to eat out here.
[Hazen] It's no feast, but something's
better than nothing.
Running out of food
out here is a real risk.
And it's not the only one.
Whoa whoa whoa.
Gosh.
[Hazen] Look at how well it
camouflages, my goodness.
When you get down to
eye level with this snake,
you can see that it has these scales that
look like horns right above its eyes,
and this is why it's called
the Kenyan horned viper.
It makes the snake look really cool, but
that just adds to the snake's camouflage.
I just want to make sure
that I'm not within its
striking range because it is venomous,
it's something that you
do not want to mess with.
Oh my gosh,
it's making its way now,
right into another little
hiding spot, right in here.
The venom is unique
amongst other vipers.
Most vipers, their venom works
to essentially stop the blood
from coagulating so their prey
winds up bleeding to death
internally like mass hemorrhaging.
Whereas the Kenyan horned
viper, its venom almost works
like in the opposite way, mass coagulation.
So, it stops the blood flow
in that particular area,
but it'll pick off a small rodent,
even a really small bird.
Oh.
Look at this.
Little ones.
Look at the little babies.
There's two of them!
If there's two of them and they're right
here, they must have just hatched.
I got to be really careful because they do
contain venom even at that size.
Cool. Whole family
going on right there.
[eerie music]
[Hazen] The ground I'm now walking on has
changed from dirt to volcanic rock.
I'm nearing Mount Suswa and
I've reached cave territory.
Wow!
Look at this.
This is a giant sinkhole.
What this is, is
Well, this whole place used to be a cave,
but the ceiling of the cave fell through.
That's the
ceiling right there.
And then it's just
surrounded by this cliff.
[Hazen] This has got to be the cave system
the Okiek told me about.
Looking down there, I
think this is the way down.
Honestly. Wish me luck.
Aghh this is too
much of a squeeze.
Woah! This is not easy.
[grunting]
[dramatic music]
[grunting]
I'm down.
Alright, made it.
Wow, there it is the
entrance of a big cave.
[Hazen] If what the Okiek said is true,
this is a deep and complex cave system.
And it'll be nightfall soon.
So I want to rest up here and plan and
prep properly
before I take on this challenge tomorrow.
Okay. If I can find a place to lay down,
it's where I'm going to call camp.
I think this might
work right here,
right in the protection of this,
amongst all these caves and these cliffs,
this is going to be great.
I'll get a fire going.
Try to make it nice and flat,
make a little divot here.
That's all I need.
[gentle music throughout]
Yeah, that's good good good material.
Got a little coal.
There we go. Fire!
Good deal.
[fire crackling]
[Hazen] There's nothing remotely
edible down here,
so I'm glad I harvested dinner
when I had the chance.
Let's see here. What's on the menu.
It's that prickly pear.
Ow, yeah, prickly all right.
Okay, so first put him in fire
and the first thing to burn
are all those prickles.
So, they'll singe right off.
They get real uh, flaccid, I guess you
would say, as they cook.
Yeah, that's looking good.
I am preparing myself to be very
disappointed with how these taste.
But it is all I got.
Hmm.
A little bit slimy, but
they're toasted, so it's
almost like a burnt cookie on the outside
and then a little bit lemony and tart on
the inside.
Now, not a lot of protein, but
it's like eating a zucchini.
Lots of vitamins, carbohydrates,
enough to keep me going.
So, this is great.
[barking]
Hear that noise?
Yeah, you hear them?
They're all looking down at me.
Oh my gosh!
[barking]
[Hazen] This is where
that sound was coming from.
There's a bunch of baboons.
I just see a bunch of silhouettes and
eyeballs looking right at me,
wondering what I'm doing in
their living room.
It's a good size troop, I bet.
Probably 40, 50, maybe.
Oh, look, there's the
big male right up there.
This is probably where they've
been down for the night.
All of them, the whole troop of baboons.
Just nice and safe from predators.
And they might be able to
snack on a bat or a bird
that's flying in and out
of the cave along the way.
So, I'm definitely not
going to be alone tonight.
I did not anticipate sleeping alongside a
whole bunch of baboons.
I don't know if that's
the safest thing or not.
It's going to be
kind of a spooky night.
I will say right now, with
all of these baboons,
these primates looking at me,
highly capable primates too.
I have a feeling this is going
to be a night to remember.
Hello, everybody, I'm just here for the
night passing through.
[gentle music]
Okay, It's been a pretty
good day and a nice evening.
Exciting, especially
with all the baboons.
Yeah, so I'm surrounded
with exceptional company.
Tomorrow is going to be a big push.
I'll have to go deep into
the cave to Mount Suswa
and look to see where the
Maasai are living.
It's been an adventure. Goodnight.
[birds chirping]
[Hazen] It's early morning and I'm ready
to take on the cave system.
But I've been warned, if
I'm to make it through its
pitch-black tunnels I
need a reliable light source.
So, this is called dracaena.
Yeah, it's good stuff.
So, the dry material,
it's really old,
you can crack it open, and it's almost
like a tube already, and then all of
the fibers burn really well.
Yeah, so that's the stuff. It's like a,
it's like a tube with a surprise inside.
And that'll work
for making a torch.
[Hazen] I've got everything I need,
including my gift from the Okiek.
One of the secret ingredients
is this animal fat.
Yeah, that's still gnarly.
So I need a wick for it.
[Hazen] Some volcanic obsidian rock
found nearby is a useful tool.
That edge, believe it or not,
is sharper than a razor blade.
There's my wick.
[Hazen] A quick test and I can see
this fat is going to work.
It'll burn slowly making my
torches last that much longer.
So, I've got this material.
And then I add a bunch of this
animal fat, if I can just get
a little bit of this, this lard,
but I'll just add this,
this oil to all these fibers,
I should be able to get 15, 20
minutes per torch that I make.
If I just split a green stick
and get some of this here.
Just wad it right in there.
Just like that.
And then just take any old vine laying
around or root. And it's really crude.
This, once I put a bunch of this oil
and kind of drip it on inside
and I'll be ready.
Okay. I think I'll
just make a few more.
[suspenseful music]
Okay. One, two, three, four.
I'm ready.
I got all the supplies I need.
[Hazen] My plan is to navigate
through the cave system,
following ancient lava tunnels to another
exit closer to the slopes of Mount Suswa.
This whole place.
It's all volcanic.
But, yeah, these lava tubes,
they go on and on and on,
and then they branch out
into other lava tubes.
Daylight there.
Complete darkness there.
Okay. Good.
Top this off.
My torch is working good.
Okay. We'll see how this goes.
Oh, wow.
[intense music]
[Hazen] I've got to move fast
to find my way through.
If I take too long, my
torches will burn out.
[intense music continues]
Yeah. It opens up
into a big room here.
[Hazen] As I push further
into the labyrinth,
I hit large
interconnecting chambers.
Whoa, Whoa.
It's just a big drop
off into nothingness,
whether that's a few hundred
more feet or a couple of miles.
Okay.
I do not want to lose
track of where I am.
Oh, look at that, that might be hard to
see, but right there.
See that orange spot?
These are all cave paintings.
So, there were definitely
people in here before me.
Any of the Maasai, any people, even before
the Maasai I'm sure were in this cave,
having ceremonies and
just simply exploring.
See what else is down here.
Wow.
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is what I'm
talking about.
Look at these walls.
This whole place is a tunnel and
at one time it was liquid magma,
rivers of lava, and
making this big cavern.
[Hazen] Lava tunnels flow like tentacles
from the heart of the volcano.
And are a crucial sign that I am on the
right underground trail.
The more I explore this place,
the more I'm understanding
just how dangerous it is in here.
Because there's chambers that go off.
It's like they split and
then they reconnect,
and it's like an underground maze that you
could easily get lost in forever.
I have to really pay attention to where
I'm going, not get lost under here.
Sheesh. Okay.
This is my last torch.
I got to get out of here.
I'm going as fast as I can.
[dramatic music]
Starting to get
really scary in here now.
[Hazen] There's a draught
coming from there
that just means that there's an opening.
The draught is pulling
my flame to the right.
Hinting that I'm moving towards an exit
and not a dead end.
I'll go this way.
Yeah. This way.
There's light. There it is.
Yes, I'm out of here.
It's amazing in there, but
it's a relief to see daylight.
Look at that it's barely
going, just a little bit left
but that fat worked so good.
[Hazen] I've made it.
I need to climb up to higher
ground to get a clearer view
of the landscape that surrounds me.
[triumphant music]
Woah ho ho ho.
Wow.
Look at this. This is definitely the
crater of Mount Suswa.
[triumphant music continues]
Now to find the Maasai who live somewhere
on this volcano.
[Hazen] I've been told look out for
a manyatta, a small village
somewhere on the outer slopes.
Yep, down there, right down
there, there's a manyatta.
Anybody that's living around
here, they're all Maasai.
Hello? Supa!
Is this the
manyatta of Sempui?
[Massai Man] Yes.
[Hazen] This is the place?
[Hazen] The Okiek told me
to come to this place.
[Massai Man] Oh.
You came from Okiek?
[Hazen] Yes, it was a long way.
[Hazen] This is it, the Maasai
community I was told about.
I see people coming in right now.
Yeah, those people they are coming. Even
you can see the cows are coming in.
[Hazen] Yeah, everybody's
bringing in their cows.
[Massai Man] Yeah, we have a big
celebration during the evening.
[Hazen] After several months
being out at pasture with
their cattle, herdsmen are
returning to the village.
[Hazen] So, your brother
came in from far away?
[Massai Man] Yeah, yeah.
[Hazen] Just now, wow.
When you want to talk about
the toughest of the tough
it's the Maasai warriors because
they've been way out
grazing their cattle in
far off lands for months.
There's a good chance that
these are the guys that could
help me find the black rhinos.
The Okiek told me that everybody here
is incredibly friendly.
I'm very relieved, it's
been a heck of a walk.
[speaking native language]
[Hazen] This is this is a sort of a
reunion for a lot of these people.
They haven't seen
each other in a while.
But they've all made it here
just to enjoy being together
and I'm not the only one that's happy
to have made it this far.
[gentle music]
[Hazen] The Maasai people are
incredibly welcoming
and while the warriors prepare
their homecoming feast,
they tell me where black rhinos
are in Maasai territory.
Ah Maasai, Maasai.
[Massai Man] Maasai, yeah.
Asante, supa.
[cheering]
I'm going to rest here for
the night and enjoy the
homecoming celebrations before I head out
to search for rhino tomorrow morning.
[chanting]
[Hazen] It's so wonderful to be to be
in the presence of the Maasai
part of the colorful cultures
of the Great Rift Valley.
And here I am in
the heart of it.
[chanting]
[Hazen] Tonight, there's much
excitement in the air
for the safe return of
the Maasai warriors,
and the long-awaited
reunion with their families.
And I'm excited too.
Not only does Mount Suswa
mark an important waypoint,
but I've got the directions
I need to find rhinos.
[gentle music throughout]
[Hazen] The next morning, I receive
blessings from the
Maasai elders for
my onward journey.
Thank you, very much.
I follow the directions
the warriors gave me.
I enter a new environment, vast open
plains, where big animals roam.
[Hazen] There's all kinds of animals here.
This place is so wild.
By looking at this water up here,
I'll have a pretty good idea of
really what's around here.
[Hazen] All animals need to drink,
so this watering hole is the
place to look for tracks.
Look at these.
These are all animal paths.
Oh, wow.
Three big toes, a very heavy animal.
One, two, three. Right there.
That is rhino, and they're
using this watering hole.
In this kind of environment.
You want to try to see them
before they see you, for sure.
[tense music]
These could be rhino trails.
All these right here.
Anything could be right
behind any of these bushes.
[Hazen] There's something in the far
distance that I haven't seen before.
[tense music continues]
After an hour of tracking,
I spot something under the
shade of a distant tree.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
That is the black African rhino.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
There's another little
group coming over there.
What I'm seeing is so incredibly rare.
Every single one of them is threatened,
endangered or worse.
Wow look at that
Rhinos in the wild.
This is incredible.
You just look at the size of
them, and that, that thick skin,
it's, it's like body armor.
They're like tanks
with horns on them.
Rhinos are iconic of African wildlife.
I would have never in my
entire life ever imagined
I would see African
black rhinos in the wild.
This is so special.
[inspirational music]
This is like one of the best moments
in my entire life right here.
[Hazen] Not only have I managed to
see one of Africa's rarest and
most majestic animals.
I've passed the half-way
mark on my journey through the
Great Rift Valley,
a major milestone.
But, just like the migrating wildlife I'm
here to see, I've got to keep moving
towards the vast savannas
of the Serengeti.
[Hazen] Next time.
I head out to the tropical coast.
It's starting to get scary now.
To follow a sea route south.
Woo it was a close one,
a very very close one.
[Hazen] Riding fierce trade winds.
If this thing decides to flip over, it's
just going to be me with the sharks.
In search of one of the largest colonies
of bats in the world.
Wow, wow, this is awesome.