Survivorman | African Plains | Season 2 | Episode 4 | Les Stroud

so I am going to test my secret weapon now that I keep a leopard or two away from me tonight [Music] [Music] [Music] the image of Africa is one of majesty and danger beauty and challenge home to an incredible variety of wildlife and an impressive variance of landscapes Africa maintains a nearly mystical reputation for this survival Odyssey I'm headed into classic Africa the kind I've seen in movies and documentaries for years I'm headed into the north edge of South Africa thousands of hectares of scrub brush and Forests cliffs and plains in the extreme pre-dawn well before any major breezes about the chance to blow up I'm able to launch into the picturesque scene they call Africa by one of the most beautiful ways to see the world hot-air balloon this is Africa big skies open plains and jungles and down there there are wildebeest and antelope surviving in the same land as the Predators lion and the Cheetahs the hyenas and by hot-air balloon has to be one of the most spectacularly beautiful ways to see this continent you can just drift and glide silently overtop of the game you can get close down and see everything it's absolutely stunning but what if you were down there and you had to survive alone for seven days well I'm gonna find out well that's it then crews taking off and they'll leave me here absolutely alone for the next seven days in the middle of a remote stretch of Africa I've landed in an area just on the edge of some Plains there's a bit of forest all around me and not much else there's no question that this balloon basket will come in handy for survival I'm barely here half an hour I'm wicked lightning and here comes the rain coming right at me and it's gonna be a strong downpour I can see if I can pull the parachute here but it weighs a lot I don't think I can pull the whole thing I figured I'd have time to cut it up and maybe use it I tried to plan this challenge around landing the balloon and setting up for the night but weather can change quickly and foil some of the best laid plans okay here it comes are you running to [Applause] [Music] part of the hot air balloon is actually a bit of its wool and I wanted to make sure that I kept it dry so I can use it as a blanket tonight it's gonna be a long seven days ever you up well I can't wait forever it just keeps on raining here and that big hot-air balloon is one big tarp that I can use so I think I'm just gonna go out in the rain as it is and get it here and then get underneath it otherwise I'm just sitting under some branches here getting dripped on the whole time in between thunder clouds here I'm gonna do this sort of without rhyme or reason I'm just gonna cut something off I can use just to get me through the night yeah yeah just give me 15 20 minutes Terry 15 minutes three okay that's the wolf come on with me the lower section of the balloon itself is made of wool which will be really handy but all my movement out in the open like this can attract dangerous predators now it can rain the coolest thing the bottom of this basket has a big foam sponge so that's gonna give me a nice cushion to lie on and that'll help the propane canisters are just in the way for now but they'll come in handy once the nice [Music] padding that's good I'll make it a little easier for sleeping it's not gonna stop a lion but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve yet for protection at least I'll be dry in here tonight anyway the advantage of having the ripstop nylon balloon material and the basket for a survival situation is huge not having to build a rain proof shelter out of the bush saves me an incredible amount of time and energy time to test my line of defense and something comes at me from the front here's what I can do oh yeah baby that'll do with the Sun dropping down I'll let you know my challenge this time it's first to survive here in the plains of Africa then make my way through very dangerous lion territory go up to the top of that plateau in behind me where my crew will rendezvous with me seven days from now [Music] like being in a little wicker home right now probably the most comfortable I've ever been surviving moon is intense tonight I'm gonna stay inside here my fireball flinging jets the front door all night long the thunder in the distance rumbled so I'm hoping that I can get away without having another downpour to deal with [Music] [Applause] here we go day 2 in Africa it's a long uphill climb to the plateau so obviously I can't carry the basket with me but there's a lot inside of it that I can use what's left of a small bottle of water my multi-tool in this area they call it a panga machete I also got myself an air horn that will hopefully at least freak out the odd lion if he wants to come in close and lastly I figure if I'm gonna have to get into real up-close hand-to-hand combat with a 750 pound lion I might as well have some kind of advantage so I asked for and picked up a big old belt knife now that's a knife well crash landing in a hot-air balloon at least leaves you with a number of supplies that come with the balloon the basket itself has given me a fantastic shelter and it is full of a treasure trove of supplies that I can use just a whole whack of cables and rope and wires and webbing it's gonna be just fantastic this hot-air balloon came with its own first aid kit and there wasn't much in it just a few band-aids and some medication believe it or not simply combining some basic medications will give me an edge on survival it's day 2 stranded in the African plains the weather has cleared so it's time to head back out and see what else I can cannibalize from the balloon not really certain what it is I'm doing here maybe this'll work [Music] just a ton of rope came out of this balloon this is good this is really good plan is to make myself a hammock it may seem like such a small thing but having the knowledge of various rope knots can greatly improve my chances of survival when coping with a situation like this I now have a hammock before I go anywhere one thing I could and should do while I'm here immediately is set myself up with a sort of a protective pool walking stick and I can even maybe lash on my knife and turn this into a real protective spear so the point here is I want to extend my reach with this knife that formidable spear when stuck in one place it'll give me a great advantage to know what's around me that's we're doing a proper patrol comes in it's all about distance and time making a patrol map is not complicated all you need is a watch a pen and paper every time you come upon a distinct landmark you make a note of that landmark and how much time has passed since the previous one if it's an actual trail that you see make a note of its direction north and south or east and west this technique originates with the military but it's very effective in any survival situation whoo this is what I like to see it's not super clean but it's moving your sand and there's life the waters probably fine probably one of the best things I can do in this kind of heat is get a cool bandana on me but what a best place to put it really there's not up around your head in your face but actually if you can wrap it around your neck look at your carotid arteries take the coolness cattail rolls all over the world hmm excellent think about the cattail you can eat a different part of it almost every season of the year hmm is unfortunate I was hoping this might be a termite nest that I could shout down on and get in there and get some termites to eat the lunch but it seems to be riddled with snake holes old termite holes are a favorite haunt of the formidable black mamba snake plenty of room for it to wind up it's up to 14 foot lengths of body and if this is its home it'll shoot out with great aggression to defend its territory a man once woke up to realize that a Mamba had slipped into his sleeping bag by the time his friends had grabbed his shoulders and pulled him out which took only about three seconds the mama had bitten him 13 times he didn't make it okay the results of my patrol map were great because of this map now I can find my way to and from the small River the creek with the flowing water whenever I need to fill up and get a drink and get rehydrated this way I can find my way there and back even when I'm not feeling really good if I'm disoriented and if I wanted to if I was with somebody I can say here here's the location to the water they can take it head out to the water and find their way back patrol maps there they're worth their weight that's for sure [Music] as the skies darken the sounds of Africa are keeping my senses on high alert okay I am listening to something very large growl and moan and groan not too far from here I would say at the most a quarter of a kilometer about you know two-tenths of a mile sort of thing I have no way of knowing whether it's a wildebeest buffalo leopard or a lion so I am going to test my secret weapon [Music] I'll keep a leopard or two away from me tonight morning of day three thought I was gonna storm up by batten down the hatches never did rain though thundered a lot I'm gonna get on the move today I have three days left before I have to rendezvous with the crew and that means I have to get moving today heading towards the plateau through lion territory if I could I would take all of the advantages of the hot air balloon with me but there's only so much I can carry on my back it's not so easy to leave a place of security [Music] [Music] all right what have we here I think I see a spot I can use all day I've been hiking in the brutally hot Sun and that's enough so we got this tree and that tree over there I'm gonna use my hammock there we go now this is survival I'm gonna fashioned the corners of this big square tarp so that I can tie to them put it inside like this take it around like that that and like that do a clove hitch clos pitch that works really well when you're doing this tie off for good measure see and here it comes turning right back on me oh shoot okay fortunately for me the heavy winds were just a false alarm there'll be no storm this day I'm not far maybe about 100 yards from where I've set up the hammock and uh nice dry riverbed here I could pull some water from so this is a definitely a good spot to get some water not necessarily this muddy water I suppose if I really had to I could drink it but my assumption is that the ground is be saturated with probably animal feces and urine what the heck is that oh there's some big holes on the side there and I better be careful because it could easily be snakes in those holes so I want to be able to get fresh water out of this you can see it's pretty much just mud what I'm gonna do is dig myself a hole scoop out it's already starting to fill in water it's really as simple as that while I let the water seep in I want to satisfy my curiosity about some of the holes in the mud wall big mistake that gave me a fright maybe a stupid move on my part a some deep holes in this cliff side and my situation probably not smart to try poking in them I think I just woke up a hornet's nest in the other hole [Music] nice juicy and the ant bums hmm quite tasty protein come on Sean the little ant bums the docile ants don't go after the aggressive ants the little docile ants the big ones with the big bums protein this might just seem a little bit casual but in truth conserving energy at the right time is vital to survival you can't just be up all the time building things running around trying to catch game trying to find water the old saying is if you don't have to stand up sit out if you don't have to have to sit down lie down and besides I'm not actually sleeping through the nights anyway so my stomachs growling something's growling out there [Music] let's go see how my waters making out if I had to I could just simply drink this as it is but what I can do is of course use my bandana and get some water that way that ought to clean the system out I haven't had a fire in nearly three days and believe it or not the medication in my first-aid kit can help remedy that rhino dung potassium permanganate an antiseptic glycerin for diarrhea watch what happens when you put them both together [Music] oh yeah that's what happens when you put the two of them together now that I no longer have my big jet flamethrowers to protect me this fire will go a long way towards keeping any curious leopards in the area at bay no shortage of dry material around here let me tell you now I can boil some water up using the plastic bottle [Music] all right I've been drinking that chocolate milk muddy water so far but I'm going to show you that you can boil water in a plastic bottle if you really had to if you really needed to purify your water as long as the flames only lick the bottle where it's filled with water I should be okay good red-hot coals would work even better the danger is obviously that I might burn right through leaving me without a water carrying container or even putting my fire out [Music] [Applause] that's pretty cool getting water to boil in plastic its deformed it but it works and that helps to purify any bad water you might be able to collect even if all you have is a plastic bottle something big out there hoping is just a wildebeest if it's a buffalo I'm in serious trouble okay now there's two of them [Music] you think [Laughter] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] maybe they're not music lovers [Music] so slow hammock and I used to get the wool blanket I took off of the hot-air balloon good believe it or not that good it cool oh I took the bottom part of my pant legs off and then I got to cool that's night go figure I should be moving on today we'll see you see how the rain will take this fantastic byproduct of getting rained on fresh cleaning water oh I'm gonna guzzle up as much of this as I can benefits of rain all right well I don't know whether it's because I'm refreshed from all this fantastic rainwater mmm or it was just because it is a little brighter but I've got to make my way and I think I'll take the chance [Music] the teardown the first time ever I've decided during one of these survival odyssey's that I'm going to leave behind the camera case it's just too much stuff to carry in this heat so I'm gonna just pick the most important stuff leave behind my telephoto lens my third big camera and just go with the bare essentials so I don't have to carry too much nice not to be traveling in the heat of the Sun [Music] the plateau is an easy target to head for it's a clear landmark in the distance beyond the lower plans look at this little bugger this guy is going right for a sensitive spot there have been ticks on me since I started this thing big ones small ones fast ones slow ones ones with straight legs ones all red fortunately not too many of them are carrying a lot of diseases my nerves are now on high alert I'm out of the plains and into the forested area where the Predators have more hiding places I knew from scouting this area in advance that this particular location had a pride of lions in it led by a huge 750 pound male and the guides in the area told me they are particularly aggressive pride when it comes to humans this tree here is where I'm gonna make my shelter I've chosen it because it's a strong enough tree for me to climb on if I had to get up out of the way of a lion and it looks like I should be able to climb it quickly there's an obvious huge advantage having the balloon material as a tarp in Lion territory still though it always amazes me that you can feel almost protected from lions or even bears for that matter with just a thin piece of nylon it really just is a false sense of security but I'll take it for now really by all standards it's a paradise what I'm usually used to I'm still very exposed here very wide open to Lions if if were they to come in so there's something else I can do here that most people do to protect your shelter from lions and that's fine some good solid thorn trees and circle the whole perimeter with Oren trees that's the first time I've ever made a door out of a thornbush let me tell you [Music] it's the idea as I climb inside pull this last thorn tree in behind me and I'm effectively surrounded by acacia thorn trees apparently that's a barrier for lions at least it buys me a little bit of time just enough time for the lion to get a little bit more hungry [Music] alright something else I can do thick rope came from the hot-air balloon I was wondering when I was gonna get a chance to use it and this would be the perfect place I'm gonna loop the Rope up to the tree there dang let down into my shelter that way hopefully not but if I do have to make a quick escape up the tree I've got a climbing rope to help me ok here we go I even put a couple of loops in it which will give me something to grab onto with my hand or step into it's good any advantage I can have against a 750 pound lion I'll take [Music] well I'm getting closer I plateau up there there's a a nice even way up to take me to where I have to rendezvous with the crew but I am still for now stuck right in the middle of lion territory so I should talk quieter little Marty about it's clean oh yeah that's lucky I got myself little crab oh yeah buddy you are now nicknamed dinner and don't nip on anything when you're in there there we go I got myself a meal however small it might be this is a great spot for fresh water just seeping out of the ground here I know it's gonna be clean but it's a horrible spot for snakes make this quick always surprises me to find nice clean water seeping out of the ground high up in the hills I get asked a lot if I ever get sick from drinking water you know the truth of it is the bad water is around the cities and towns 99% of the time out in the wilds you know you can dig a hole beside a beside a warthog watering hole and let the water seep through and it'll be clean and drinkable and you're not filling yourself up for the parasites and diseases rehydrating rehydrating yourself and living so I don't worry too much about water and in the remote wilderness areas a lot better than it is around the cities the potassium permanganate and glycerin are working great for getting any fire going easily there we go that's what I like to hear a fire in Lion territory is controversial some feel it keeps them away but many others feel it actually attracts them since they're naturally curious I'm gonna cook me up a crab dinner where are you going come back here gotcha whoa guests go into the fire he goes this is gonna be good well I cook him let me tell you a couple of things first of all it's clear to understand that this thorn bush that I have around my shelter is probably fairly inadequate it should be thicker and higher there's not much more thorn bush around here secondly it's not a barrier it's a deterrent not a barrier the line wants to get in here he's coming in same thing goes for this fire might be a deterrent but it's not a barrier okay oh I think you sucked actually when is this small he probably just eat shelling off I will go for the legs hmm a little sandy but good I never thought I'd beat fresh crab while surviving in Africa when you're this hungry everything tastes good I'm just eating the shell a claws everything for the night soon spend all night listening for lions a night in lion territory is not likely one where I'll see much sleep [Music] I always feel like I'm hearing something morning can't come soon enough [Music] hmm right I made it through night in lion territory and I did get attacked by about seven or eight ticks through the night hungry little buggers well I'm not out of danger yet I've still got to get out of here and head up to an area where in truth here it seems the danger was more at night where I'm going the danger is more as I travel because it's a heavy Buffalo and elephant territory and all of them are pretty ornery along with their little slithering friend the black mamba little being anywhere from 6 to 14 feet here so gonna get up get on my way and see how I do making it through that territory [Music] this is my little rocky knoll I think for sure for the night I'm gonna check it out for a snake dens snake holes and any other dangers I've got a little spot here on the rocks somewhat shaded somewhat flat with a really good view to the front so I can see what's going on around me up on the heights I might be out of Lion territory but I'm not out of danger Buffalo are feared more than Lions in Africa for their intense aggressive behavior towards humans okay I swear I just heard something growl over there I'm gonna back away slowly it seems that the only answer to just about everything hey you know Africa has to back away slowly whether it's a black mamba or a lion or a buffalo if it's anything up here it's gonna be a buffalo and that's the last thing I want to come across see anything I have no idea what that grumble growl was but that was close enough for me before setting up my camp I better deal with this very obvious snake den I'll tell you what before I actually poke around in there with a stick Ola throw a couple of rocks at it see if that does anything nothing yet I'll try poking ok so I doubt there's anything in there it's just an old hole and hopefully nothing is coming back to its home later tonight normally I like this I just lay out on the rocks but this is very active Black Mamba territory so I'm just gonna get myself up off the ground now you might think that I could pretty much just grab any bug and eat it and get some protein it's not true this guy's a good case in point some of these bugs at the very least aren't palatable but often they'll even have toxic poison in them this guy I've got a couple things going against him number one he's got brightly colored legs so that's the first thing you want to look out for bright colors be careful usually means something toxic number two he's really cumbersome and just plodding along and just bumbling along right out in the open without issue and when they do that means they probably got nothing to worry about they're probably carrying some kind of a toxic poison with them and number three and I'm not even going to bother testing this one is do they smell bad and often they'll they'll have a horrible little odor to them so if they meet three of those or even just one of those three conditions then it's probably a good bug to stay away from [Music] okay I'm gonna do something that I should have done when I first started off survival that's the piece I want [Music] doing that or that throwing stick is about as primitive of a of a hunting implements as you can find pretty basic getting to Australia you know they're boomerangs everywhere else usually some sort of a curve like this it's good if you've got a bit of a ball on the end of the head there a throwing stick is an advantage but it's no guarantee [Music] there's always a danger of losing track of my bearings and getting lost when I go out hunting but I've only eaten a few ants a crab and some random wild edibles in four days and I think it's worth it to take a chance at getting some food just some very small leopard tracks very young one I saw lots of guinea fowl when I didn't have a drawing stick in my hand much bigger leopard tracks now it seen some small ones but that's a good sized cat it makes sense now to head back to camp all I still have a bit of daylight [Music] it's a starry night it's beautiful I'm an extremely active Black Mamba territory so my biggest concern is obviously snakes not too worried about leopards they should leave me alone especially with this fire going time to break camp and get going I'll try to hunt for food all along the way [Music] [Music] okay just over here there's some oil and guineas out my pack down very far see if I can get a shot at them I had this in the side of my pack I didn't want to have it in my hands carrying but I guess I will yeah so that whole time I was just talking to you it was one down here keep my spear and my what's the problem a throwing stick handy this time foolishly on the beginning of my truck I had tied my throwing stick to my pack so when I first saw the birds it took me too long to pull out the weapon and get a good shot away one simple wrong decision and that can make the difference between survival or not it's gonna keep guzzling water everywhere I find it this is it last time [Music] [Music] I had been planning to sleep under the stars tonight but it's Thunder rumbling and clouds pulling in boy six days with hardly any food and you can't stand up too quick you get very lightheaded and I'm all wobbly and dizzy but same token I gotta go get some food mind you it's come to this I'm chopping a termite mound like I can't even find the big juicy termites I'm gonna pick up on the little termites there we go for at once mm-hmm the dirts a bonus I'm kind of stuffed [Music] tell you the truth that much rather set this tent up like a dome with some bent branches it makes a much stronger shelter but it's my word of a lie to say I just don't have the steam anymore [Music] well that's it it's my last night in Africa and storms have passed everything's calmed right down my only real concern for tonight would be scorpions there's a lot of scorpion holes around here so I'm gonna hope that nothing decides to come in and sleep with me tonight and and snakes but I should get through one more night [Music] I'm actually not that far from an African Nature Reserve Lodge now but the deal was to meet my crew out on the plains and believe me the sight of that white truck gave me a great adrenaline rush so for now I head back to safety after a week on the African plains [Music]

Channel: Survivorman - Les Stroud

Views: 727,756

Keywords: Survivorman, Les Stroud, Survivorman TV, Survivorman TV Series, Survivorman Les Stroud, Outdoor Survival, 'Les, Survivorman TV Show, Stroud', Survivorman - Season 2 - Episode 4 - African Plains, Todd Standing, Logan Stroud, Sam Omik, Uzimann, Joseph McConnell, Bob Wilson

Id: 54h-Y6xGJnI

Length: 47min 25sec (2845 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 05 2020