Deadliest Roads | Botswana: Run for your Life | Free Documentary

foreign [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] thank you I'm too thirsty I want you to help me to drink cold water Monty must travel further and further to find it each day in myself I don't have a bowl for water but this time he didn't take the distance into account he was forced to make a two and a half mile round trip my car he stopped running short of petrol so now if you can see me carry this five liter container is petrol [Music] Monty is a farmer he has 1 000 liters of water stored in the back of his old pickup truck for his cattle once again drought is hitting Botswana hard this year [Music] see how it's clean no crazy no crazy no crazy no even leaves no grass no what nothing nothing it is first time this thing happens for me that's a problem that's why feeling tired just because of this [Music] foreign the farmer is determined to find water he travels back and forth between his farm and the various ponds of the region but the country's resources are drying up at a rapidly increasing rate I have to have 10 liters per day [Music] the riverbed can be seen from a distance but when the farmer reaches the bank the river water has gone down it's dry it's finished Waterhole is All That Remains of the once vast River the water has disappeared or rather it never arrived in the first place over the last five years the landlocked nation of Botswana has been subject to severe drought the seasonal flooding of the okavango River delta no longer provides enough water to the Kalahari Desert wild animals are left without food making them aggressive towards Travelers it's hard to do that so with other people there's a bit of such a difference that I must you know that are ready to mate and they traveling the desert by car is no easy feat [Music] this old sand Bushman who usually walks this route is already regretting it a difficult Journey awaits all those who stray from the major highways and in some cases it's truly terrible foreign s these Lakes into mud traps [Music] [Music] in Botswana global warming is a harsh reality foreign but no one is giving up in the battle against it [Music] Chidi works for a company as a janitor he goes home every other weekend [Music] 19 kilometers stand between him and his village it's not far but it sometimes takes two days to get home [Music] accidents are common on this road and the speed of the minibus does little to put Chidi at ease foreign cars strewn across the side of the road are far from reassuring foreign gets out after five kilometers he can't afford to cross the remaining nine in the minibus for the rest of the journey he hitchhikes or walks China is not going to arrive home anytime soon [Music] the inhabitants of the Kalahari Desert would also like the right to travel around and live wherever they wish foreign are some of the last hunter-gatherers in Africa in Botswana they are banned from leaving their designated Reserve [Music] um [Music] [Music] today sakere and his wife live in a resettlement camp the sand Bushmen were banished from their land on the same day that the government discovered it hid one of the largest diamond deposits in the world the recently opened bar on the reserve is proof of this sakeri can't bear to see young people getting drunk all day long the old Hunter knows that alcohol and laziness will gradually erase the memory of their people to keep their culture alive Sakari and his wife are urging young people to not forget their traditions the couple are taking their nephew Bondo to their ancestral lands for the first time [Music] thank you there's just one small setback the 70 kilometers of desert that stand between them and the promised land are not kind to Old 4x4 Vehicles like titus's one I lived there at all the time while I was still young and I went to school today as a long trip to go there this road is difficult to drive in because the sand is dry that's why it's very heavy is heavy it overheats the vehicle the engine is now overheat so we are cooling down it now thank you if we just open it it will flush out the water then we'll hit us so we can cool it down outside the old Hunter and his wife have sometimes spent days in the desert searching for something to eat [Music] patience has certainly become a virtue by the looks of this pitiful old 4x4 [Music] if the sand Bushmen and their Millennia old culture die out Botswana will lose a piece of its identity and that's not the only thing under threat [Music] [Applause] the okavango river is unique in that it doesn't empty into the ocean but instead flows out onto the Kalahari Desert it therefore makes up the second largest Delta in the world thousands of animals gather around these permanent swamps but that's not the only miracle in July at the peak of Summer the desert floods the flooding spreads across millions of Acres the water brings life to the whole region is [Music] foreign the July floods often fill Lake ngami but this year [Music] [Music] name my name is since the beginning of the 20th century lake ngami has been drying out the stream that fed it has evaporated and the okavango river floods are no longer substantial enough to fill it and to think that in 2011 it measured 32 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide [Applause] these days this shrinking lake is the size of a small water hole and its Shores have become a death trap for thirsty animals [Music] it's too late for this herd that has been stuck in the mud for several days these five are patiently waiting for the men to leave thank you but for this cow there's still a glimmer of hope mareko is going to try and save it he's already lost several cows in the mud [Music] it's all zero whatever it's a miracle Lake and gummy is not completely dead [Music] incredibly Mariko and his brother have managed to find food deep in the mud foreign [Music] the mud is still thin enough for thousands of catfish to survive I didn't say [Music] foreign [Music] and fishing doesn't come without its risks [Music] the hundred or so hippopotamuses that once inhabited the lake only two adults and a baby are still there the others managed to reach the okavango river or have starved to death [Music] [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] okay say the 32 degrees [Music] their work here is not yet done their Camp is situated on the former shores of the Great Lake [Music] and gami was the source of work and food for dozens of families Mariko and his brother and their wives do not know how they're going to survive now foreign yeah in a matter of weeks or even days the mud will solidify and will Mark the end of the fisherman's work [Music] mareko does not want to accept this and clings to an ancient legend s foreign at the Gateway to the Kalahari Desert this now dried up River has flowed just far enough to fill these water holes once they have evaporated Farmers like Monty will have to pay for tankers to come and give water to their livestock in the meantime he's making numerous trips back and forth so let's catch kill this is not good water it's contaminated or polluted dead to water this one just because of study is stagnant water yeah the weakest animals can't resist it was Heavy cat that you can see the area how it looks no grass no crazy we are in trouble like this three months coming I'm gonna die situation is getting better [Music] there is certainly a lot to be concerned about [Applause] [Music] you can go straight he didn't go straight here so it's gone out then I got us too much scent and soft then it's tucked cattle they are going down here so now they are making this place soft Monty hurriedly digs away at the sand getting out of the car is always risky in Botswana the country has one of the richest biodiversities in Africa foreign [Music] especially in the dry season when the okavango river floods the animals Converge on the Oasis of the delta [Music] [Applause] [Music] foreign [Music] farms around 30 goats and 70 cows [Music] [Applause] every now and then I try to feed that doesn't help [Music] the farmer does not have enough money to buy fodder every day since the beginning of the year the drought has killed around 100 animals this one is dying just because of hungry because it didn't have any grass to to eat [Music] come up [Music] survive I don't know [Music] this is our tanks keeping water yeah this is a reservoir for me they drink 5 000 liters a day I need to go down to the river five times to make a distance to food just for one day Monty survives in part thanks to his wife's small grocery store on the main highway but there too drought has affected business [Music] unfortunately customers are scarce foreign is completely exhausted but he has no other choice [Applause] Monty tirelessly returns to the river unaware that the wild animals have got a very unpleasant surprise in store for him [Applause] foreign he's shocked to see his herd of goats frolicking outside of their enclosure [Music] look look down here that's on Sprint [Music] and Evan came here and break this down and get in stuff is for last night this one just in the Quran this is not still wet it's not food that attracted these Giants Monty does not stock any but something much more precious [Music] and these trees stood in their way broke down the streets they broke this down elephants elephants just came and stand here and lift up his trunk and put into the water tank and drinking water [Music] you see now it's shouting too much which means no water here so now they know that they can drink water here and that's the problem what do you do when the elephant come when you get up the rifle I just shoot up did you kill already wild animal uh we are not allowed to kill but if he's charging too much then there we can shoot it to kill it Monty hopes he never has to do it he relies on his do-it-yourself alarm to scare them off [Music] unfortunately elephants are not the only danger threatening is herd dogs are here looking after this when the hyenas or juggles come here the the dogs are chasing them [Music] the old man has to spend his nights out in the open it's really heavy because I'm alone I have to fetch water from the river come here and let the kettle drink water sheep goats damn I'm tired [Music] encounters between man and elephant are inevitable in Botswana the country is home to more than 130 000 of them making that a third of Africa's elephants [Music] the world's largest population of pachyderms plays a vital role in the country's tourism [Music] however in these episodes of severe drought food is scarce so these giant creatures draw nearer the villages in their fields [Applause] the farmers no longer think twice about opening fire this elephant was the big boss after I killed this one then those small ones in the Rainy away they don't used to come yeah conflict between the villagers and the elephants is reaching an alarming level and this is only the beginning the ever-increasing human population eats away at the wild BEAST's territory in Botswana Travelers are very likely to come face to face with an elephant and sometimes things get nasty these are members of an organization which campaigns with the government for a better management of wild animals today they're visiting the scene of a serious accident a man has been killed by an elephant they want to find out what has happened but reaching the village is proving difficult we stuck so it does push we need to move otherwise we get stuck and we sleep here they're stuck in the sand just a few kilometers from the village a man passing by immediately gives them a heads up hey we are trying to go to a place where there was an incident with an elephant so with other people there's a bit of safety even though it's not safe what you need to do is work work because if you don't work and it's gonna it's gonna be late now it's about almost five o'clock and if there's any uh one life like elephants they start moving there's no help not happy like sometimes you get to have bull elephants that are in maths you know that are ready to mate and they they get angry over nothing small things they get angry when they see you they don't know you what's going on they might challenge you and start to kill you I don't want to be here until late so you can start going I will start again are we ready push let's go [Applause] [Music] it's no use but luck is on their side well maybe with numbers you can push it with the help of four more men the journey can resume once back in the village the man tells us that he was present the day of the incident faces to the place where the body was discovered there are still elephants in the area [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] poaching lack of food and water in the ever-growing presence of man unsettles these large creatures they completely lose their bearings and sometimes go berserk [Music] [Applause] [Music] even on this road Chidi is not safe from elephants unable to afford a taxi he returns home on foot he's already walked six kilometers in stifling heat but there's still eight kilometers to go ferry that crosses the okavango river offers him some respite at least as long as it doesn't break down [Music] thank you again this year the water levels are at their lowest the propellers scrape along the bottom causing the engines to take their last breath the boat has gone adrift on the banks Chidi isn't surprised it's not the first time this has happened mm-hmm [Music] the fairy hands washed up hours go by and anger is brewing [Music] back on dry land along queue is forming at this time I'm supposed to be back home to go and do some other jobs like faking water and going fetching fire also you see just because of the ferry we can queue for almost a half a day and sometimes we spend the night it's an inconvenience at your job once again The Travelers have to spend the night Under the Stars [Music] early the next morning the ferry is rescued and a new one carries out the job Chinese is Happy it could have been worse sadly faith in long-held beliefs will not cover the taxi fare for the final eight kilometers of his trip [Music] um [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] foreign desert the sand Bushmen are also making slow progress the old 4x4 that's taking them to their ancestral land is constantly overheating the driver was called the engine every half hour [Music] but for the old Hunter his wife and his nephew it doesn't matter how long it takes as long as they get there in the end it's um from 1997 foreign [Music] the government of Botswana justifies its actions by stating that the sand bushman's way of life had become incompatible with wildlife conservation [Music] full of the Savannah know that the real reason lies in the discovery of a diamond reserve on their territory today they're confined to living encampments and hunting is prohibited today we were entering Gathering and we used to go outside and find Foods so here you only eat when we've got money if you don't have money you're always hungry this is the case for security he still does not understand why they've been banned from hunting by returning to their land the sand people are challenging the government and they are yet to complete their Journey after two hours on the road they've traveled no further than 35 kilometers out of the total 43 and to make matters worse the engine cooler has fallen off again [Applause] the bolts the bolt is out so I want to let's use this rope to tie it foreign the car sets off once more but their chances of arriving have been compromised [Music] after almost 29 hours of walking Chidi finally makes it home divorced from his wife his grandmother looks after his children [Music] foreign will carry out the journey all over again with the same unwavering courage [Music] over with the sand Bushman the journey has taken a turn for the worse I think there's now coming week supposedly Jeff got problem now there's a sound coming from the um [Music] [Applause] this time it's not a problem with the engine cooler this breakdown is much worse foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] foreign has just enough power left to get them back [Music] the old Hunter doesn't give up easily the following morning he takes his nephew into the Savannah to pass on the secrets of their culture like his father did for him [Music] foreign is teaching him how to catch a wild animal without having to hunt it down within just a few minutes he creates a trap the sand people are fighting to keep their tradition alive and this is not the only challenge in Botswana another battle has begun against global warming in this country where most of the economy depends on the okavango river the locals struggle each day Against The Impossible finding between each other the resources that nature can no longer provide [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Free Documentary

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, most dangerous roads, most dangerous journeys, worlds most dangerous roads, worlds most dangerous journeys, deadliest roads, deadliest roads in the world, dicing with death, deadliest journeys, deadliest journeys Botswana, dicing with death Botswana, dangerous Botswana, most dangerous roads Botswana, dangerous roads Botswana, deadliest roads Botswana, Botswana

Id: VsIEt2GzCac

Length: 48min 9sec (2889 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 27 2022