1 00:00:01,902 --> 00:00:07,040 DEEP IN THE KALAHARI DESERT, AN OASIS OF LIFE ABOUNDS. 2 00:00:07,074 --> 00:00:09,944 IT’S A PLACE STEEPED IN HISTORY, 3 00:00:09,977 --> 00:00:16,283 FROM EARLY CIVILIZATIONS TO MYTHOLOGICAL ROCK ENGRAVINGS. 4 00:00:16,316 --> 00:00:17,984 GLITTERING CITIES NOW STAND 5 00:00:18,018 --> 00:00:22,222 WHERE EXPLORERS ONCE TREKKED ON FOOT. 6 00:00:22,256 --> 00:00:25,059 AND WATER CHANNELS SURGE THROUGH PARCHED SAND 7 00:00:25,092 --> 00:00:29,263 WHERE FISH EAGLES STILL SOAR. 8 00:00:29,296 --> 00:00:33,300 THE DESERT ERUPTS INTO AN EXPLOSION OF LIFE... 9 00:00:33,333 --> 00:00:36,102 AS MODERN AIRCRAFT GLIDE IN 10 00:00:36,136 --> 00:00:39,373 AND TOURISTS HAVE THE BEST SAFARI ON EARTH. 11 00:00:39,406 --> 00:00:41,541 FROM THUNDERING HERDS OF ANIMALS, 12 00:00:41,575 --> 00:00:44,111 TO FLOCKS OF MIGRATORY BIRDS, 13 00:00:44,144 --> 00:00:49,149 THIS IS THE WILD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF BOTSWANA. 14 00:00:49,182 --> 00:00:54,054 ♪ 15 00:00:58,825 --> 00:01:00,660 THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNFORGIVING 16 00:01:00,694 --> 00:01:02,696 AND DESOLATE PLACES ON EARTH. 17 00:01:02,729 --> 00:01:08,468 ♪ 18 00:01:08,502 --> 00:01:12,673 THE KALAHARI DESERT. 19 00:01:12,706 --> 00:01:15,542 IT HARBORS THE LARGEST SAND BASIN IN THE WORLD, 20 00:01:15,576 --> 00:01:19,880 WHICH SPANS 460,000 SQUARE MILES. 21 00:01:21,982 --> 00:01:23,750 THE BASIN IS SO VAST; 22 00:01:23,784 --> 00:01:25,152 IT EXTENDS THROUGH ABOUT 23 00:01:25,185 --> 00:01:26,820 20 DEGREES OF LATITUDE, 24 00:01:26,853 --> 00:01:27,854 AND CUTS ACROSS 25 00:01:27,888 --> 00:01:31,825 SIX AFRICAN COUNTRIES. 26 00:01:31,858 --> 00:01:32,859 GEMSTONES BUILT 27 00:01:32,893 --> 00:01:34,528 THE COUNTRY OF BOTSWANA, 28 00:01:34,561 --> 00:01:39,533 AND ONE LIFE-GIVING TREASURE CONTINUES TO SHAPE ITS CULTURE. 29 00:01:41,268 --> 00:01:43,437 FOR AT LEAST 40,000 YEARS, 30 00:01:43,470 --> 00:01:45,605 THE ONLY HUMANS TO SURVIVE THE DESERT 31 00:01:45,639 --> 00:01:48,809 WERE THE SAN HUNTER-GATHERERS. 32 00:01:48,842 --> 00:01:50,444 THEY WERE A NOMADIC PEOPLE 33 00:01:50,477 --> 00:01:55,782 WHO FOLLOWED THE SEASONAL FLOW OF WATER AND LARGE ANIMAL HERDS. 34 00:01:55,816 --> 00:01:59,253 THEY LIVED IN TEMPORARY STRUCTURES LIKE THIS ONE, 35 00:01:59,286 --> 00:02:00,954 BUILT WITH NATURAL MATERIALS 36 00:02:00,988 --> 00:02:04,492 EASY TO FIND AND FAST TO DISMANTLE. 37 00:02:04,524 --> 00:02:06,860 THEY CALLED THE DESERT KGALAGADI-- 38 00:02:06,893 --> 00:02:08,461 LAND OF THIRST. 39 00:02:08,495 --> 00:02:13,467 AND THE NAME HOLDS NO SURPRISES. 40 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:16,069 RAINFALL IS LESS THAN SIX INCHES A YEAR, 41 00:02:16,103 --> 00:02:21,342 AND TEMPERATURES CAN TOP 130 DEGREES. 42 00:02:21,375 --> 00:02:25,946 IT WAS UNKNOWN TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD UNTIL 1841, 43 00:02:25,979 --> 00:02:29,883 WHEN DR. DAVID LIVINGSTONE, A SCOTTISH MISSIONARY DOCTOR, 44 00:02:29,916 --> 00:02:33,787 WAS SENT TO BOTSWANA TO SPREAD THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. 45 00:02:36,189 --> 00:02:41,061 HIS THIRD MISSION STATION IN BOTSWANA WAS HERE IN KOLOBENG, 46 00:02:41,094 --> 00:02:44,598 AT THE EDGE OF THE KALAHARI DESERT. 47 00:02:44,631 --> 00:02:48,935 HERE HE BUILT BOTSWANA’S FIRST SCHOOL, CHURCH, CLINIC, 48 00:02:48,969 --> 00:02:50,671 AND FOUR-CORNERED HOUSE 49 00:02:50,704 --> 00:02:54,474 IN 1847. 50 00:02:54,508 --> 00:02:57,878 IT WAS THE SITE OF A TERRIBLE TRAGEDY. 51 00:02:57,911 --> 00:02:59,312 AT THE HEIGHT OF A DROUGHT, 52 00:02:59,346 --> 00:03:04,852 LIVINGSTONE LOST HIS INFANT DAUGHTER TO BRONCHITIS. 53 00:03:04,885 --> 00:03:08,489 THEN A CONFLICT BETWEEN EUROPEAN SETTLERS, THE BOERS, 54 00:03:08,522 --> 00:03:11,258 AND THE LOCAL BAKWENA CAUSED AN ANGRY MOB 55 00:03:11,291 --> 00:03:16,062 TO BURN DOWN THE MISSION AND SURROUNDING SETTLEMENT. 56 00:03:16,096 --> 00:03:18,231 HE SENT HIS FAMILY BACK HOME TO ENGLAND 57 00:03:18,265 --> 00:03:21,101 AND ABANDONED THIS MISSION. 58 00:03:21,134 --> 00:03:23,303 BUT IT WAS A SMALL BUMP IN THE ROAD 59 00:03:23,336 --> 00:03:26,339 FOR A MAN WHO WAS PREPARED TO RISK LIFE AND LIMB 60 00:03:26,373 --> 00:03:28,675 TO ABOLISH SLAVERY, 61 00:03:28,709 --> 00:03:32,780 AND HE HAD WON GREAT RESPECT FROM LOCAL TRIBES. 62 00:03:34,514 --> 00:03:36,583 THE SAN HUNTER-GATHERERS TOLD LIVINGSTONE 63 00:03:36,616 --> 00:03:41,354 ABOUT A VAST BODY OF WATER THAT LAY IN THE HEART OF THE DESERT. 64 00:03:41,388 --> 00:03:44,658 LIVINGSTONE LAUNCHED HIS NEXT MISSION. 65 00:03:44,691 --> 00:03:45,926 HE WAS LED TO A RIVERBED 66 00:03:45,959 --> 00:03:49,796 SAID TO BE THE CORRIDOR TO THE VAST LAKE. 67 00:03:52,099 --> 00:03:55,569 IT’S CALLED THE BOTETI, 68 00:03:55,602 --> 00:03:57,604 AND AT 1,000 FEET ACROSS, 69 00:03:57,637 --> 00:04:00,039 THE RIVER SUPPORTS COMMUNITIES AND AGRICULTURE 70 00:04:00,073 --> 00:04:03,476 ALONG ITS FLANKS. 71 00:04:03,510 --> 00:04:07,714 BUT IN LIVINGSTONE’S DAY, IT WAS NOTHING BUT DUST. 72 00:04:09,616 --> 00:04:15,622 IT TOOK HIM NINE WEEKS TO NAVIGATE THE 600 MILES OF DESERT 73 00:04:15,655 --> 00:04:17,190 WITH THE HELP OF TRIBESMEN, 74 00:04:17,224 --> 00:04:22,229 HORSES AND 80 OXEN RAISED IN THESE TRADITIONAL HOMESTEADS. 75 00:04:24,998 --> 00:04:27,000 BUT THE HEAT WAS DREADFUL. 76 00:04:27,033 --> 00:04:29,536 ANIMALS TRUDGED ALONG HAULING HEAVY CARTS 77 00:04:29,569 --> 00:04:33,740 THROUGH THE DESERT SAND; MANY DIED OF THIRST. 78 00:04:35,776 --> 00:04:37,211 TO ADD TO HIS TROUBLES, 79 00:04:37,244 --> 00:04:40,347 LIVINGSTONE’S SAN GUIDE FREQUENTLY LOST HIS WAY 80 00:04:40,380 --> 00:04:42,582 IN THE DIZZYING HEAT. 81 00:04:42,616 --> 00:04:44,952 AS THEY CONTEMPLATED THEIR NEXT MOVE, 82 00:04:44,985 --> 00:04:49,823 THEY SPOTTED SMALL CLUMPS OF TREES ON THE HORIZON. 83 00:04:49,856 --> 00:04:52,892 BUT THE DISTANCE WAS DECEIVING. 84 00:04:52,926 --> 00:04:55,495 THE EXPLORERS THEN REALIZED THEY WERE WALKING TOWARDS 85 00:04:55,529 --> 00:04:59,867 AN ISLAND OF MYSTERIOUS GIANTS... 86 00:04:59,900 --> 00:05:03,670 THESE ANCIENT BAOBAB TREES. 87 00:05:03,703 --> 00:05:07,574 THE TREES SURVIVE BY STORING UP TO 37,000 GALLONS OF WATER 88 00:05:07,607 --> 00:05:09,509 IN THEIR TRUNKS. 89 00:05:09,543 --> 00:05:14,081 IT SAVED THE THIRSTY EXPLORERS FROM CERTAIN DEATH. 90 00:05:14,114 --> 00:05:17,250 THEY HARVESTED WATER FROM THE CLEFTS OF LARGE BRANCHES 91 00:05:17,284 --> 00:05:21,555 AND CHEWED THE SPONGY BARK FOR MOISTURE. 92 00:05:21,588 --> 00:05:24,458 ONE OF LIVINGSTONE’S FELLOW EXPLORERS, THOMAS BAINES, 93 00:05:24,491 --> 00:05:26,393 WAS A VICTORIAN ARTIST. 94 00:05:26,426 --> 00:05:29,396 HE USED LESS THAN A GALLON OF WATER AND PAINT COLOR 95 00:05:29,429 --> 00:05:33,733 TO PRESERVE THESE TREES IN PAINTINGS. 96 00:05:33,767 --> 00:05:38,238 THE EXPLORERS OFTEN FACED EXTREME HUNGER, THIRST, ILLNESS, 97 00:05:38,271 --> 00:05:41,741 AND GUIDES TAKING OFF WITH SUPPLIES. 98 00:05:41,775 --> 00:05:45,178 BUT DESPITE ALL THE DIFFICULTY, BAINES WROTE, 99 00:05:45,212 --> 00:05:48,182 "I CONFESS I CAN NEVER QUITE GET OVER THE FEELING 100 00:05:48,215 --> 00:05:50,284 THAT THE WONDERFUL PRODUCTS OF NATURE 101 00:05:50,317 --> 00:05:54,454 ARE OBJECTS TO BE ADMIRED RATHER THAN DESTROYED." 102 00:05:57,290 --> 00:06:00,426 BAINES WOULD BE PROUD TO KNOW THAT THESE TREES HAVEN’T CHANGED 103 00:06:00,460 --> 00:06:04,664 SINCE HE IMMORTALIZED THEM 150 YEARS AGO. 104 00:06:06,633 --> 00:06:09,269 MODERN EXPLORERS NOW RETRACE THEIR STEPS 105 00:06:09,302 --> 00:06:12,705 AND REVEL IN THIS TIMELESS DESERT. 106 00:06:16,309 --> 00:06:19,412 THEIR TRUCKS CRUNCH TRACKS INTO AN ANCIENT LAKEBED 107 00:06:19,446 --> 00:06:21,181 AS THEY HEAD SOUTHWEST, 108 00:06:21,214 --> 00:06:25,318 EVENTUALLY REACHING AN ISLAND RISING OUT OF THE SAND. 109 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,190 IT’S CALLED KUBU ISLAND. 110 00:06:31,224 --> 00:06:32,859 KUBU MEANS HIPPO 111 00:06:32,893 --> 00:06:37,631 AND SPEAKS OF A TIME WHEN THE GREAT LAKE LAPPED ITS SHORES. 112 00:06:37,664 --> 00:06:40,367 NOW A GHOSTLY SILENCE HANGS IN THE AIR 113 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:44,771 WHERE WATERBIRDS ONCE FLOCKED. 114 00:06:44,804 --> 00:06:47,106 SOME ROCKS ARE COVERED IN FOSSILIZED DUNG 115 00:06:47,140 --> 00:06:49,776 OF BIRDS THAT NESTED HERE. 116 00:06:51,478 --> 00:06:53,313 THESE BAOBABS HAVE BEEN CARBON DATED 117 00:06:53,346 --> 00:06:55,949 TO OVER A THOUSAND YEARS OLD. 118 00:06:55,982 --> 00:06:58,651 A SAN LEGEND SAYS, IN THE BEGINNING, 119 00:06:58,685 --> 00:07:04,124 GOD HANDED OUT SEEDS TO ALL THE ANIMALS TO PLANT. 120 00:07:04,157 --> 00:07:05,792 THE HYENA WAS PICKED LAST, 121 00:07:05,825 --> 00:07:09,629 AND WAS SO MAD THAT HE PLANTED THE BAOBAB UPSIDE DOWN 122 00:07:09,663 --> 00:07:13,167 WITH ROOTS EXPOSED. 123 00:07:13,199 --> 00:07:15,702 WHEN DAVID LIVINGSTONE ARRIVED AT KUBU ISLAND, 124 00:07:15,735 --> 00:07:17,003 HIS HUNGRY DESERT PARTY 125 00:07:17,037 --> 00:07:21,942 THOUGHT THEY LOOKED JUST LIKE UPSIDE DOWN CARROTS. 126 00:07:21,975 --> 00:07:25,345 IN THE COOL DUSK, THEY DISCOVERED BAOBAB SEEDPODS 127 00:07:25,378 --> 00:07:26,813 PACKED WITH WHITE FRUIT, 128 00:07:26,846 --> 00:07:31,517 LIKE MANNA PROVIDED BY GOD TO NOURISH THE HUNGRY MEN. 129 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,722 IT OFFERED HIGH DOSES OF VITAMIN C 130 00:07:35,755 --> 00:07:38,791 AND OTHER MINERALS NECESSARY FOR THEIR HEALTH. 131 00:07:38,825 --> 00:07:41,328 THE WHITE, CREAMY SNACKS WERE A SOOTHING TREAT 132 00:07:41,361 --> 00:07:44,197 WHILE TRAVERSING THESE ARID PLAINS. 133 00:07:47,434 --> 00:07:50,871 AS LIVINGSTONE’S PARTY ETCHED TRACKS ACROSS THE DRY EARTH, 134 00:07:50,904 --> 00:07:53,473 HE RECORDED HIS TRAVELS IN DUSTY JOURNALS 135 00:07:53,506 --> 00:07:58,411 AND WAS A PIONEER IN MAPPING THIS DESOLATE PLACE. 136 00:07:58,445 --> 00:08:02,149 BY 1849 LIVINGSTONE HAD BECOME THE FIRST EUROPEAN 137 00:08:02,182 --> 00:08:06,053 TO CROSS THE KALAHARI DESERT. 138 00:08:06,086 --> 00:08:08,055 THE TALES OF HIS TRAVELS WERE CELEBRATED 139 00:08:08,088 --> 00:08:13,594 WITH THE SAME WONDER AS SPACE TRAVEL IS TODAY. 140 00:08:13,626 --> 00:08:17,263 THE BRITISH HAILED HIM AS A NATIONAL HERO. 141 00:08:17,297 --> 00:08:18,965 BUT LIVINGSTONE WOULD NOT REST 142 00:08:18,999 --> 00:08:23,637 UNTIL HE FOUND THE FAMED DESERT OASIS TO THE NORTH. 143 00:08:23,670 --> 00:08:26,773 HE SHARED THE GOSPEL WITH AFRICANS AS HE TRAVELED. 144 00:08:26,806 --> 00:08:31,611 HIS TEACHINGS OF LOVE AND GRACE WON THE HEARTS OF LOCAL TRIBES. 145 00:08:31,644 --> 00:08:36,382 ♪ 146 00:08:36,416 --> 00:08:40,086 THE KING OF THE BANGWATO TRIBE, KHAMA THE THIRD, 147 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:45,025 CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY AND BUILT THIS CHURCH. 148 00:08:45,058 --> 00:08:48,295 BUT IN 1902 THE TRIBE MOVED TO THEIR CAPITAL, 149 00:08:48,328 --> 00:08:52,933 AND THE CHURCH WAS DISMANTLED TO BUILD A SCHOOL. 150 00:08:52,966 --> 00:08:58,205 KING KHAMA PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN BOTSWANA’S HISTORY. 151 00:08:58,238 --> 00:09:03,944 UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP BOTSWANA BECAME A BRITISH PROTECTORATE. 152 00:09:03,977 --> 00:09:09,683 HIS GRANDSON SERETSE KHAMA WAS SENT TO SCHOOL IN ENGLAND. 153 00:09:09,716 --> 00:09:12,752 HE GREW UP TO LEAD THE COUNTRY TO FULL INDEPENDENCE, 154 00:09:12,786 --> 00:09:17,324 BECOMING BOTSWANA’S FIRST PRESIDENT IN 1966. 155 00:09:18,992 --> 00:09:23,330 IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST PEACEFUL TRANSITIONS IN AFRICAN HISTORY. 156 00:09:23,363 --> 00:09:28,201 HE LIVED UP TO HIS NAME, WHICH MEANS "THE CLAY THAT BINDS." 157 00:09:30,737 --> 00:09:34,074 TODAY RURAL VILLAGES LIKE THIS ONE AT MANYANA 158 00:09:34,107 --> 00:09:36,910 GRAPPLE WITH POVERTY. 159 00:09:36,943 --> 00:09:41,047 BUT IN 1966 BOTSWANA WAS ONE OF THE TEN POOREST COUNTRIES 160 00:09:41,081 --> 00:09:42,749 IN THE WORLD. 161 00:09:42,782 --> 00:09:46,986 THERE WERE NO HIGH SCHOOLS, INDUSTRY OR ECONOMY TO SPEAK OF. 162 00:09:47,020 --> 00:09:52,659 IN THE ENTIRE COUNTRY THERE WERE ONLY FIVE MILES OF PAVED ROADS. 163 00:09:52,692 --> 00:09:56,296 BUT IN 1967 THE YOUNG NATION DISCOVERED A TREASURE 164 00:09:56,329 --> 00:09:58,998 THAT WOULD DAZZLE THE WORLD. 165 00:09:59,032 --> 00:10:01,401 PROSPECTING IN AN ANCIENT VOLCANO, 166 00:10:01,434 --> 00:10:07,040 THE DE BEERS COMPANY FOUND A RICH VEIN OF GEMSTONES. 167 00:10:07,073 --> 00:10:08,474 ROCKS BLASTED FROM THE PIT 168 00:10:08,508 --> 00:10:11,845 SPARKLED WITH DIAMONDS OF INCREDIBLE CLARITY. 169 00:10:11,878 --> 00:10:14,781 IT’S NOW THE WORLD’S LARGEST DIAMOND MINE, 170 00:10:14,814 --> 00:10:16,983 SPANNING OVER 300 ACRES, 171 00:10:17,016 --> 00:10:22,154 AND STILL PRODUCES 19 BILLION CARATS OF DIAMONDS A YEAR. 172 00:10:24,090 --> 00:10:29,162 IN 2015 MINERS FOUND A DIAMOND THE SIZE OF A TENNIS BALL. 173 00:10:29,195 --> 00:10:32,465 IT WEIGHED OVER A THOUSAND CARATS. 174 00:10:32,499 --> 00:10:34,501 BOTSWANA’S LOVE AFFAIR WITH DIAMONDS 175 00:10:34,534 --> 00:10:39,139 HAS MADE IT ONE OF THE WEALTHIEST NATIONS IN AFRICA. 176 00:10:39,172 --> 00:10:41,875 THE GLAMOROUS FACETS OF GEMSTONES ARE REFLECTED 177 00:10:41,908 --> 00:10:46,913 IN THE SKYLINE OF THE NATION’S CAPITAL... 178 00:10:46,946 --> 00:10:48,781 GABORONE. 179 00:10:48,815 --> 00:10:50,950 IT WAS BUILT HERE DUE TO ITS PROXIMITY 180 00:10:50,984 --> 00:10:57,257 TO THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILWAY AND A RELIABLE WATER SOURCE. 181 00:10:57,290 --> 00:11:02,428 BUT CHASING WATER IN BOTSWANA CAN BE A DANGEROUS DECEPTION. 182 00:11:02,462 --> 00:11:08,435 ♪ 183 00:11:08,468 --> 00:11:10,003 THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO 184 00:11:10,036 --> 00:11:13,306 THIS DUSTY VALLEY BRIMMED WITH WATER. 185 00:11:14,908 --> 00:11:17,344 IT’S NOW KNOWN AS DECEPTION VALLEY, 186 00:11:17,377 --> 00:11:20,614 THE TWILIGHT ZONE OF THE KALAHARI. 187 00:11:22,615 --> 00:11:26,085 MYSTERIOUS LAKES ON THIS HORIZON LURED THIRSTY EXPLORERS 188 00:11:26,119 --> 00:11:30,023 INTO THE VALLEY’S SILENT DEPTHS. 189 00:11:30,056 --> 00:11:34,761 DESPERATE MEN STOOD STUNNED IN THE DEAFENING SILENCE. 190 00:11:34,794 --> 00:11:36,629 THEY HAD BEEN CONNED BY HEAT WAVES 191 00:11:36,663 --> 00:11:39,499 MASQUERADING AS WATER. 192 00:11:41,467 --> 00:11:44,003 THEIR SKIN WAS BLISTERED BY THE DRY HEAT, 193 00:11:44,037 --> 00:11:46,072 AND THOSE TOO THIRSTY TO MAKE A RETREAT 194 00:11:46,105 --> 00:11:49,241 PERISHED ON THE CRACKED EARTH. 195 00:11:50,710 --> 00:11:52,979 THIS PHENOMENON STILL OCCURS TODAY 196 00:11:53,012 --> 00:11:56,983 AND DECEIVES EVEN THE MOST EXPERIENCED ADVENTURERS. 197 00:11:59,018 --> 00:12:02,455 BUT THE CONDITIONS THAT PROVE MURDEROUS FOR EXPLORERS 198 00:12:02,488 --> 00:12:05,758 IS A BLESSING FOR WILDLIFE. 199 00:12:05,792 --> 00:12:07,460 DECEPTION VALLEY NOW LIES WITHIN 200 00:12:07,493 --> 00:12:10,796 THE CENTRAL KALAHARI GAME RESERVE. 201 00:12:10,830 --> 00:12:15,001 IT’S THE SECOND LARGEST RESERVE IN THE WORLD. 202 00:12:15,034 --> 00:12:16,435 THE HARSH CLIMATE HAS MADE IT 203 00:12:16,469 --> 00:12:21,641 ONE OF THE MOST PRISTINE WILD SPACES ON THE PLANET. 204 00:12:21,674 --> 00:12:23,743 LARGE BREEDING HERDS OF ELEPHANTS 205 00:12:23,776 --> 00:12:27,246 REQUIRE TONS OF VEGETATION TO PROVIDE SUFFICIENT MILK 206 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:31,251 FOR YOUNG CALVES TO SURVIVE. 207 00:12:31,284 --> 00:12:33,887 THIS ABUNDANCE MAKES IT A PERFECT SANCTUARY 208 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:36,055 FOR THE SAN HUNTER-GATHERERS 209 00:12:36,089 --> 00:12:40,026 WHO STILL HUNT FOR FOOD WITH A BOW AND ARROW. 210 00:12:40,059 --> 00:12:42,361 BUT MODERN CULTURE IS PUTTING A SQUEEZE 211 00:12:42,395 --> 00:12:45,031 ON THE SAN WAY OF LIFE. 212 00:12:48,901 --> 00:12:52,004 THE MANYANA HILLS, A SACRED SAN SITE, 213 00:12:52,038 --> 00:12:55,708 BEARS TESTAMENT TO THE DISAPPEARING TRIBE. 214 00:12:59,045 --> 00:13:04,384 THESE GRANITE BOULDERS ARE DECORATED IN ANCIENT ROCK ART. 215 00:13:04,417 --> 00:13:07,053 BEAUTIFUL PAINTINGS SKETCHED ON THE ROCK FACE 216 00:13:07,086 --> 00:13:12,425 SHOW A DETAILED RECORD OF WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE 2,000 YEARS AGO. 217 00:13:15,395 --> 00:13:17,163 BUT THE SAN AREN’T THE ONLY PEOPLE 218 00:13:17,196 --> 00:13:20,299 WHO LEFT AN IMPRESSION IN BOTSWANA. 219 00:13:20,333 --> 00:13:25,171 ♪ 220 00:13:25,204 --> 00:13:28,541 BOTSWANA IS NAMED AFTER THE TSWANA PEOPLE, 221 00:13:28,574 --> 00:13:32,812 AND LEGEND HAS IT THAT IT ALL STARTED HERE. 222 00:13:34,714 --> 00:13:37,750 A ONE-LEGGED GIANT CALLED MATSIENG, 223 00:13:37,784 --> 00:13:39,986 SAID TO BE A TSWANA ANCESTOR, 224 00:13:40,019 --> 00:13:43,489 LED HIS PEOPLE FROM THE CENTER OF THE EARTH. 225 00:13:46,159 --> 00:13:48,161 HE EMERGED AT THIS FOOTPRINT, 226 00:13:48,194 --> 00:13:50,730 A NATURAL ROCK FORMATION BELIEVED TO BE 227 00:13:50,763 --> 00:13:56,168 BETWEEN 3,000 AND 10,000 YEARS OLD. 228 00:13:56,202 --> 00:14:00,406 THIS FOOTPRINT IS PRESERVED IN SOLID ROCK AND FOLK LAW, 229 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:04,878 BUT THE SAN HUNTER-GATHERERS FACE A LESS CERTAIN FUTURE. 230 00:14:04,911 --> 00:14:11,284 ♪ 231 00:14:11,317 --> 00:14:14,353 50 YEARS AGO, 5,000 SAN LIVED HERE 232 00:14:14,387 --> 00:14:16,923 IN THE CENTRAL KALAHARI RESERVE. 233 00:14:16,956 --> 00:14:21,561 NOW, AFTER A CONTROVERSIAL RELOCATION MOVEMENT IN 2005, 234 00:14:21,594 --> 00:14:25,865 ONLY 300 REMAIN. 235 00:14:25,898 --> 00:14:29,335 THEY NOW STRADDLE THE DIVIDE BETWEEN ANCIENT TRADITION 236 00:14:29,369 --> 00:14:33,373 AND THE NEW WORLD POPPING UP AROUND THEM. 237 00:14:33,406 --> 00:14:34,874 SOME EARN EXTRA CASH 238 00:14:34,907 --> 00:14:37,209 BY PERFORMING CULTURAL SPIRIT DANCES 239 00:14:37,243 --> 00:14:40,113 AND SELLING CRAFTS TO WEALTHY VISITORS. 240 00:14:40,146 --> 00:14:42,682 OTHERS ARE SAFARI GUIDES. 241 00:14:42,715 --> 00:14:46,953 THEY WORK THE RESERVE’S 51,800 SQUARE MILES 242 00:14:46,986 --> 00:14:50,590 IN SEARCH OF THE LEGENDARY KALAHARI BLACK-MANED LIONS 243 00:14:50,623 --> 00:14:54,827 WHOSE FAVORITE PREY IS THE BLUE WILDEBEEST. 244 00:14:54,861 --> 00:14:57,630 VULTURES TRAVEL HUNDREDS OF MILES EVERY DAY 245 00:14:57,663 --> 00:15:00,866 TO FEED ON CARCASSES LEFT BY LIONS. 246 00:15:00,900 --> 00:15:03,770 THEY WASH OFF AT WATERHOLES LIKE THIS, 247 00:15:03,803 --> 00:15:07,707 AND THEN THE STUFFED BIRDS WAIT FOR A PERFECTLY TIMED UPDRAFT 248 00:15:07,740 --> 00:15:10,209 TO GIVE THEM A LIFT. 249 00:15:11,778 --> 00:15:14,681 THESE MASTER AVIATORS SPIRAL SKYWARD 250 00:15:14,714 --> 00:15:19,452 BEFORE GLIDING EAST TO THE MOREMI GORGE. 251 00:15:19,485 --> 00:15:24,223 IT’S A REFRESHMENT STATION FOR NATURE’S CLEANUP CREW. 252 00:15:24,257 --> 00:15:26,059 THE GORGE WAS CARVED INTO THE HILLS 253 00:15:26,092 --> 00:15:30,330 BY SEASONAL RIVERS FED FROM NATURAL SPRINGS. 254 00:15:30,363 --> 00:15:32,999 IT’S KNOWN FOR ITS INCREDIBLE ROCK FORMATIONS, 255 00:15:33,032 --> 00:15:36,903 SOME UP TO FOUR BILLION YEARS OLD. 256 00:15:36,936 --> 00:15:39,572 HERE WATERFALLS TUMBLE INTO ROCK POOLS 257 00:15:39,605 --> 00:15:41,640 SURROUNDED BY LUSH FERNS, 258 00:15:41,674 --> 00:15:44,911 A RARE DESERT FEATURE. 259 00:15:44,944 --> 00:15:46,879 WHITE STAINS OF VULTURE DROPPINGS 260 00:15:46,913 --> 00:15:49,849 GIVE AWAY THEIR OVERNIGHT ROOSTING SPOTS. 261 00:15:49,882 --> 00:15:52,885 AT FIRST LIGHT THEY READ THE WINDS. 262 00:15:52,919 --> 00:15:56,456 IF THE CONDITIONS ARE GOOD, THEY LEAVE THE SAFETY OF THE GORGE, 263 00:15:56,489 --> 00:15:59,692 HEADING NORTH TO THE NXAI PAN RESERVE, 264 00:15:59,725 --> 00:16:01,327 WHERE HERDS OF ANIMALS GATHER 265 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:05,531 IN ANTICIPATION OF MUCH NEEDED RAIN. 266 00:16:05,565 --> 00:16:08,935 TOURISTS REGISTER FOR ENTRY AT THE PARK GATE. 267 00:16:08,968 --> 00:16:11,370 ALL VEHICLES MUST BE ACCOUNTED FOR; 268 00:16:11,404 --> 00:16:15,475 A BREAKDOWN IN THIS VAST PARK COULD PROVE FATAL. 269 00:16:19,078 --> 00:16:22,748 THE GAME RESERVE IS A 15-SQUARE-MILE FOSSIL LAKEBED 270 00:16:22,782 --> 00:16:26,452 SURROUNDED BY GRASSLAND AND BUSH. 271 00:16:26,486 --> 00:16:28,855 WHEN IT RAINS, THE DRY LAKE IS TRANSFORMED 272 00:16:28,888 --> 00:16:32,158 INTO A MASSIVE BODY OF WATER, 273 00:16:32,191 --> 00:16:36,729 DRAWING IN STAGGERING HERDS OF ZEBRA, ELEPHANTS, ANTELOPE, 274 00:16:36,762 --> 00:16:38,597 AND HUNGRY PREDATORS. 275 00:16:38,631 --> 00:16:41,868 EVAPORATION IS EXTREME, AND WATER LEVELS DROP 276 00:16:41,901 --> 00:16:45,505 BY AS MUCH AS SEVEN FEET IN A YEAR. 277 00:16:45,538 --> 00:16:49,809 THAT’S NEARLY HALF THE HEIGHT OF A FULL-GROWN GIRAFFE. 278 00:16:49,842 --> 00:16:52,311 THAT’S WHY MOST DESERT ANIMALS HAVE ADAPTED 279 00:16:52,345 --> 00:16:56,950 TO SURVIVE ON MOISTURE FROM VEGETATION. 280 00:16:56,983 --> 00:16:59,352 GIRAFFES SPEND ABOUT 80% OF THEIR DAY 281 00:16:59,385 --> 00:17:01,654 FEEDING ON THE SMALL ACACIA TREES 282 00:17:01,687 --> 00:17:04,456 ALONG THE EDGE OF THE PANS. 283 00:17:04,490 --> 00:17:06,792 THEY CAN LAST FOR OVER THREE WEEKS 284 00:17:06,826 --> 00:17:08,161 WITHOUT DRINKING WATER, 285 00:17:08,194 --> 00:17:12,265 EVEN LONGER THAN A CAMEL. 286 00:17:12,298 --> 00:17:17,336 BUT ELEPHANTS NEED GALLONS OF WATER TO SURVIVE. 287 00:17:17,370 --> 00:17:20,473 MATRIARCHS LEAD THE HERD TO SECRET WATER STASHES 288 00:17:20,506 --> 00:17:24,910 DUG OPEN BY THEIR ANCESTORS. 289 00:17:24,944 --> 00:17:27,079 THEY LUMBER BETWEEN THIS WATER SOURCE 290 00:17:27,113 --> 00:17:28,848 AND THE DRY LAKES TO THE SOUTH, 291 00:17:28,881 --> 00:17:33,486 IN THE CENTRAL KALAHARI RESERVE. 292 00:17:33,519 --> 00:17:35,388 THEY DOMINATE THE WATERHOLE, 293 00:17:35,421 --> 00:17:39,258 SUCKING UP GALLONS OF WATER IN THEIR TRUNKS. 294 00:17:39,292 --> 00:17:41,795 THEY HEAD OUT ON ANCIENT MIGRATORY ROUTES 295 00:17:41,827 --> 00:17:44,463 SNIFFING THE AIR FOR FRESHWATER. 296 00:17:44,497 --> 00:17:50,103 ♪ 297 00:17:50,136 --> 00:17:52,005 BUT TWO MILLION YEARS AGO, 298 00:17:52,038 --> 00:17:55,575 THEIR TRUNKS WOULD HAVE BEEN MOST USEFUL AS SNORKELS. 299 00:17:55,608 --> 00:17:58,778 THIS WHOLE AREA WAS A GIANT LAKE. 300 00:17:58,811 --> 00:18:01,447 THEN, 10,000 YEARS AGO, 301 00:18:01,480 --> 00:18:04,850 EARTHQUAKES STOPPED THE FLOW OF RIVERS. 302 00:18:04,884 --> 00:18:10,156 THE LAKE STARVED, AND FRESHWATER TURNED TO BRINE. 303 00:18:10,189 --> 00:18:14,994 IT FORMED SALT FLATS THE SIZE OF PORTUGAL. 304 00:18:15,027 --> 00:18:16,695 THEY LOOK DEAD AS THE MOON, 305 00:18:16,729 --> 00:18:21,267 BUT MINERALS BURIED HERE HELP BOTSWANA’S ECONOMY THRIVE. 306 00:18:23,002 --> 00:18:25,905 SODA ASH IS A VITAL GLOBAL COMMODITY, 307 00:18:25,938 --> 00:18:28,407 AND THIS FACTORY IS ONE OF THE LARGEST PRODUCERS 308 00:18:28,441 --> 00:18:31,044 OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOUND. 309 00:18:33,312 --> 00:18:36,081 IT’S MAINLY USED TO MANUFACTURE GLASS, 310 00:18:36,115 --> 00:18:38,050 BUT MEDICINE AND INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS 311 00:18:38,084 --> 00:18:42,789 ARE OTHER APPLICATIONS FOR SODA ASH. 312 00:18:42,822 --> 00:18:45,825 IT’S EXTRACTED BY PUMPING BRINE OUT OF THE DEEP WELLS 313 00:18:45,858 --> 00:18:49,695 SUNK INTO UNDERGROUND AQUIFERS. 314 00:18:49,729 --> 00:18:51,197 FROM THERE IT MOVES THROUGH A SERIES 315 00:18:51,230 --> 00:18:54,433 OF VAST EVAPORATION PONDS. 316 00:18:56,502 --> 00:19:00,039 THE FACTORY PRODUCES CLOSE TO 800,000 TONS 317 00:19:00,072 --> 00:19:03,943 OF SODA ASH EVERY YEAR, 318 00:19:03,976 --> 00:19:07,847 AND LARGE QUANTITIES OF PURE TABLE SALT. 319 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:10,750 THESE TRUCKS COLLECT THE RAW SALT AND DUMP IT HERE 320 00:19:10,783 --> 00:19:14,754 TO BE PROCESSED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. 321 00:19:14,787 --> 00:19:18,224 THIS GIANT FACTORY IS NECESSARY TO PRODUCE MINERALS 322 00:19:18,257 --> 00:19:20,960 ON AN INDUSTRIAL SCALE. 323 00:19:20,993 --> 00:19:23,529 BUT THESE SMALL BUILDINGS ARE CLUES 324 00:19:23,562 --> 00:19:28,133 TO A STORY OF A ONCE FAMOUS MINING BOOMTOWN. 325 00:19:28,167 --> 00:19:36,342 ♪ 326 00:19:36,375 --> 00:19:41,280 IN 1865, RUMORS OF GOLD DEPOSITS IN THE SOUTH OF BOTSWANA 327 00:19:41,313 --> 00:19:43,682 GARNERED INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION. 328 00:19:43,716 --> 00:19:48,854 PROSPECTOR KARL MAUCH SCOURED THE AREA FOR GOLD. 329 00:19:48,888 --> 00:19:52,692 HE DISCOVERED A GOLD FIELD ON THE BANKS OF THE TATI RIVER. 330 00:19:52,725 --> 00:19:58,097 THE ALLUVION GOLD FIELD STRETCHED FOR 80 MILES. 331 00:19:58,130 --> 00:20:00,666 IT WAS HAILED AS AFRICA’S OPHIR, 332 00:20:00,700 --> 00:20:04,304 A PLACE RENOWNED AS A SOURCE OF LARGE QUANTITIES OF GOLD 333 00:20:04,336 --> 00:20:08,106 OF THE FINEST QUALITY DURING BIBLICAL TIMES. 334 00:20:10,109 --> 00:20:12,144 PROSPECTORS FLOODED THE AREA, 335 00:20:12,178 --> 00:20:16,082 HAILING FROM AUSTRALIA TO AMERICA. 336 00:20:16,115 --> 00:20:20,086 IN A FEW YEARS, A SMALL VILLAGE ROSE ON THE BANKS OF THE RIVER 337 00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:23,556 AND WAS NAMED FRANCISTOWN. 338 00:20:23,589 --> 00:20:27,026 AT THE TIME, THE TOWN WAS NOTHING BUT ONE MAIN STREET 339 00:20:27,059 --> 00:20:30,529 LINED WITH WESTERN-STYLE SALOONS. 340 00:20:30,563 --> 00:20:34,200 BLUE JACKET STREET WAS THE ORIGINAL ROAD THROUGH THE TOWN 341 00:20:34,233 --> 00:20:37,670 AND IS NAMED AFTER SAM ANDERSON, 342 00:20:37,703 --> 00:20:39,805 A PROSPECTOR WHO GAINED FAME 343 00:20:39,839 --> 00:20:43,309 FOR ALWAYS WEARING HIS BLUE DENIM JACKET. 344 00:20:45,611 --> 00:20:46,812 DAVID LIVINGSTONE WAS LOOKING 345 00:20:46,846 --> 00:20:49,749 FOR A DIFFERENT KIND OF TREASURE. 346 00:20:49,782 --> 00:20:53,653 THE DRY BOTETI RIVER WOULD FINALLY LEAD HIM TO THE JEWEL 347 00:20:53,686 --> 00:20:56,489 HE HAD SO LONGED TO FIND. 348 00:20:59,058 --> 00:21:01,294 THE OKAVANGO DELTA IS KNOWN AS 349 00:21:01,327 --> 00:21:04,330 "THE RIVER THAT NEVER FINDS THE SEA." 350 00:21:04,363 --> 00:21:10,636 EVERY YEAR, 12 BILLION TONS OF WATER ENTERS THE DELTA. 351 00:21:10,669 --> 00:21:13,338 BEFORE IT DIES OUT, THE RIVER FANS OUT 352 00:21:13,372 --> 00:21:16,575 INTO THE LARGEST INLAND OASIS IN THE WORLD, 353 00:21:16,609 --> 00:21:20,713 AND SUSTAINS THE GREATEST WILDLIFE SHOW ON EARTH. 354 00:21:20,746 --> 00:21:26,151 ♪ 355 00:21:26,185 --> 00:21:31,991 WHEN LIVINGSTONE SAW IT FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE ALMOST COLLAPSED. 356 00:21:32,024 --> 00:21:33,359 HE WROTE, 357 00:21:33,392 --> 00:21:37,596 "THERE LAY SPREAD BEFORE ME AN IMMENSE SHEET OF WATER, 358 00:21:37,630 --> 00:21:39,866 ONLY BOUNDED BY THE HORIZON-- 359 00:21:39,899 --> 00:21:42,668 THE OBJECT OF MY AMBITION FOR YEARS, 360 00:21:42,701 --> 00:21:45,704 AND FOR WHICH I HAD ABANDONED HOME AND FRIENDS, 361 00:21:45,738 --> 00:21:48,307 AND RISKED MY LIFE." 362 00:21:52,478 --> 00:21:54,313 SINCE LIVINGSTONE’S DISCOVERY, 363 00:21:54,346 --> 00:21:57,783 THE DELTA HAS REMAINED RELATIVELY UNCHANGED. 364 00:21:57,817 --> 00:22:02,355 BUT THE METHOD OF TRAVEL HAS EVOLVED IN LEAPS AND BOUNDS. 365 00:22:04,557 --> 00:22:08,094 THIS IS MAUN, THE TOURIST CAPITAL OF BOTSWANA 366 00:22:08,127 --> 00:22:11,263 AND THE NATION’S THIRD LARGEST TOWN. 367 00:22:13,499 --> 00:22:16,569 SAFARI OPERATORS STOCK UP ON SUPPLIES FOR LODGES 368 00:22:16,602 --> 00:22:22,274 THAT LIE TUCKED AWAY IN THE DEPTHS OF THE DELTA. 369 00:22:22,308 --> 00:22:26,145 PASSENGER JETS ARRIVE WITH VISITORS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD 370 00:22:26,178 --> 00:22:30,883 TO EXPERIENCE "THE JEWEL OF THE KALAHARI." 371 00:22:30,916 --> 00:22:35,120 BUT ONLY THE BEST BUSH PILOTS GET TO FLY INTO THE DELTA. 372 00:22:35,154 --> 00:22:37,189 THEY ARE SKILLED AT TAKING OFF AND LANDING 373 00:22:37,223 --> 00:22:40,493 ON RUNWAYS MADE OF DIRT 374 00:22:40,526 --> 00:22:45,231 AND MUST BE ABLE TO PULL OFF AN UNASSISTED EMERGENCY LANDING. 375 00:22:47,099 --> 00:22:49,735 BUT DESPITE THE DANGERS OF LIGHT AIRCRAFT, 376 00:22:49,768 --> 00:22:52,237 IT’S EXHILARATING TO GLIDE LIKE A BIRD 377 00:22:52,271 --> 00:22:56,909 LOOKING DOWN ON THE RICH TAPESTRY OF LIFE BELOW. 378 00:22:56,942 --> 00:23:03,348 ♪ 379 00:23:03,382 --> 00:23:06,886 BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS SO WELL PRESERVED. 380 00:23:08,921 --> 00:23:13,025 BOTSWANA’S PARKS WERE BADLY OVERRUN BY THOUSANDS OF VISITORS 381 00:23:13,058 --> 00:23:18,230 WHO TRAMPLED THE ENVIRONMENT AND PAID VERY LITTLE. 382 00:23:18,264 --> 00:23:20,333 THIS HAD TO CHANGE. 383 00:23:20,366 --> 00:23:22,134 SO IN THE LATE 1980s 384 00:23:22,167 --> 00:23:27,139 THE GOVERNMENT MULTIPLIED ALL PARK FEES BY TEN. 385 00:23:27,172 --> 00:23:30,842 THE EFFECT WAS INSTANTANEOUS AND REVOLUTIONARY. 386 00:23:30,876 --> 00:23:33,045 WHILE THE NUMBER OF VISITORS DWINDLED, 387 00:23:33,078 --> 00:23:36,748 THE REVENUE KEPT COMING IN. 388 00:23:36,782 --> 00:23:40,953 IT GAVE NATURE A CHANCE TO CATCH ITS BREATH. 389 00:23:40,986 --> 00:23:43,956 ANIMAL NUMBERS AND DIVERSITY SOARED, 390 00:23:43,989 --> 00:23:46,792 AND WITH IT THE QUALITY AND EXCLUSIVITY 391 00:23:46,825 --> 00:23:49,461 OF A BOTSWANA SAFARI. 392 00:23:49,495 --> 00:23:53,666 THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS RESORTS LIE IN THE HEART OF THE DELTA. 393 00:23:53,699 --> 00:23:57,403 THEY ARE BUILT TO BLEND IN WITH THEIR NATURAL SURROUNDINGS, 394 00:23:57,436 --> 00:23:59,204 AND THEIR IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT 395 00:23:59,238 --> 00:24:02,541 IS CLOSELY MONITORED. 396 00:24:02,574 --> 00:24:05,077 EN ROUTE TO THE RESORTS, THE LIGHT AIRCRAFT 397 00:24:05,110 --> 00:24:07,546 ARE ABLE TO FLY CLOSE TO THE GROUND, 398 00:24:07,579 --> 00:24:12,984 GIVING TOURISTS A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE DELTA. 399 00:24:13,018 --> 00:24:16,154 TOURISTS ARE BUYING MORE THAN A LUXURY HOLIDAY; 400 00:24:16,188 --> 00:24:19,391 THEY’RE HELPING COMMUNITIES SURVIVE. 401 00:24:22,628 --> 00:24:25,698 BOTSWANA USES A SYSTEM OF ECOTOURISM, 402 00:24:25,731 --> 00:24:30,603 WHERE NATURE CONSERVATION IS IN THE HANDS OF LOCAL TRIBES. 403 00:24:30,636 --> 00:24:32,037 THE TRIBES LEASE THE LAND OUT 404 00:24:32,071 --> 00:24:36,943 TO PRIVATE OPERATORS RUNNING THE CAMPS. 405 00:24:36,976 --> 00:24:39,979 THEY ARE SOME OF THE BEST HOTELS IN THE WORLD, 406 00:24:40,012 --> 00:24:42,648 WITH PRICES TO MATCH. 407 00:24:42,681 --> 00:24:47,219 EXPECT TO PAY UP TO $2,700 PER NIGHT. 408 00:24:49,154 --> 00:24:51,523 THIS CAMP IS CALLED JAO. 409 00:24:51,557 --> 00:24:52,925 IT SITS ON ITS OWN ISLAND 410 00:24:52,958 --> 00:24:57,963 SURROUNDED BY THE PERMANENTLY FLOODED PART OF THE DELTA. 411 00:24:57,997 --> 00:25:00,733 IT’S THE PINNACLE OF LUXURY. 412 00:25:00,766 --> 00:25:02,668 THERE ARE ONLY NINE ROOMS, 413 00:25:02,701 --> 00:25:06,038 AND MOST OF THE FACILITIES ARE OPEN-AIR. 414 00:25:06,071 --> 00:25:10,142 RAISED WALKWAYS KEEP GUESTS OUT OF REACH OF HUNGRY PREDATORS, 415 00:25:10,175 --> 00:25:13,512 WHICH ARE MOSTLY NOCTURNAL. 416 00:25:13,545 --> 00:25:16,081 JAO PAYS FEES TO THE TRIBAL COMMUNITY, 417 00:25:16,115 --> 00:25:20,653 WHILE SOURCING THEIR WORKFORCE LOCALLY. 418 00:25:20,686 --> 00:25:24,623 THIS LIFTS THE WHOLE AREA OUT OF POVERTY. 419 00:25:24,656 --> 00:25:27,859 AND SINCE THE LOCALS DON’T HAVE TO HUNT FOR FOOD ANYMORE, 420 00:25:27,893 --> 00:25:32,598 ANIMAL POPULATIONS HAVE SKYROCKETED. 421 00:25:32,631 --> 00:25:34,333 SO HAVE THE NUMBERS OF WATERCRAFT 422 00:25:34,366 --> 00:25:39,071 USED AS VEHICLES FOR WATER SAFARIS. 423 00:25:39,104 --> 00:25:42,074 MOTORIZED BOATS TRANSPORT GUESTS BETWEEN LODGES 424 00:25:42,107 --> 00:25:46,111 ALONG THE DELTA’S DEEPER CHANNELS. 425 00:25:46,145 --> 00:25:48,114 SOME TAKE A TOUR THROUGH THE SHALLOWS 426 00:25:48,147 --> 00:25:52,284 IN A DUGOUT CANOE CALLED A MOKORO. 427 00:25:52,317 --> 00:25:55,153 ORIGINAL ONES ARE MADE FROM SAUSAGE TREES, 428 00:25:55,187 --> 00:25:57,856 BUT TODAY THEY’RE MADE FROM FIBERGLASS, 429 00:25:57,890 --> 00:26:02,194 TO SAVE THE TREES FOR NESTING BIRDS LIKE HORNBILLS. 430 00:26:04,063 --> 00:26:06,065 AND THIS IS AS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL 431 00:26:06,098 --> 00:26:08,834 TO WILD AFRICA AS IT GETS. 432 00:26:08,867 --> 00:26:15,140 ♪ 433 00:26:15,174 --> 00:26:18,377 CELEBRITIES AND ROYALTY APPRECIATE THE TRANQUILITY 434 00:26:18,410 --> 00:26:21,880 OF A BOTSWANA SAFARI. 435 00:26:21,914 --> 00:26:26,752 THEY VISIT LUXURY CAMPS LIKE THIS ONE, VUMBURA. 436 00:26:26,785 --> 00:26:31,390 IT OFFERS ICONIC VIEWS OF THE FLOODPLAINS. 437 00:26:31,423 --> 00:26:34,860 OPRAH WINFREY, MICHELLE OBAMA, BILL GATES, 438 00:26:34,893 --> 00:26:37,596 NELSON MANDELA, AND SUSAN SARANDON 439 00:26:37,629 --> 00:26:41,066 HAVE ALL COME TO BOTSWANA FOR A SAFARI. 440 00:26:43,035 --> 00:26:45,504 BRITAIN’S PRINCE HARRY AND HIS GIRLFRIEND CRESSIDA 441 00:26:45,537 --> 00:26:48,807 CAME HERE FOR A DREAM HOLIDAY. 442 00:26:51,043 --> 00:26:52,778 NICKY HILTON HONEYMOONED HERE 443 00:26:52,811 --> 00:26:57,049 WITH HER NEW HUSBAND, JAMES ROTHSCHILD. 444 00:26:57,082 --> 00:27:00,385 AND NO WONDER, WHEN YOU CAN WATCH SCENES LIKE THIS 445 00:27:00,419 --> 00:27:03,589 FROM YOUR BEDROOM DOOR! 446 00:27:03,622 --> 00:27:13,532 ♪ 447 00:27:13,565 --> 00:27:16,268 THE AREA TO THE NORTH OF THE OKAVANGO DELTA 448 00:27:16,301 --> 00:27:20,105 IS FED BY A NUMBER OF IMPORTANT WATERWAYS. 449 00:27:20,139 --> 00:27:23,876 THEY ENTWINE LIKE VEINS AND ARTERIES, JOINING RIVERS, 450 00:27:23,909 --> 00:27:28,881 LAKES AND MARSHES INTO A LIVING WHOLE. 451 00:27:28,914 --> 00:27:30,983 THIS IS THE SAVUTI CHANNEL. 452 00:27:31,016 --> 00:27:35,187 IT CARRIES WATER OVER 60 MILES FROM THE LINYANTI RIVER 453 00:27:35,220 --> 00:27:40,992 AND RELEASES IT INTO THE VAST SWAMPLAND TO THE SOUTH. 454 00:27:41,026 --> 00:27:43,428 THE CHANNEL’S FLOW IS SPORADIC. 455 00:27:43,462 --> 00:27:46,231 IT HAS DRIED UP AND RESTARTED SEVERAL TIMES, 456 00:27:46,265 --> 00:27:49,335 AND SCIENTISTS CAN’T EXPLAIN WHY. 457 00:27:52,671 --> 00:27:55,774 AFTER A DROUGHT SPELL LASTING 30 YEARS, 458 00:27:55,807 --> 00:28:01,279 THE CHANNEL BEGAN TO FLOW AGAIN IN 2008. 459 00:28:01,313 --> 00:28:07,252 MOST ANIMALS NEVER STRAY TOO FAR FROM THIS LIQUID LIFELINE. 460 00:28:07,286 --> 00:28:11,023 AND THE SAME GOES FOR TOURISTS AT THE SAVUTI CAMP, 461 00:28:11,056 --> 00:28:14,860 EAGER TO GET CAMERAS SNAPPING. 462 00:28:14,893 --> 00:28:17,996 SOME BELIEVE THAT ONCE AN ELEPHANT IS TOO OLD 463 00:28:18,030 --> 00:28:19,732 TO KEEP UP WITH THE HERD 464 00:28:19,765 --> 00:28:24,003 IT MOVES OFF TO DIE IN A SECRET ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD. 465 00:28:24,036 --> 00:28:26,071 ELEPHANTS’ MEMORIES ARE GREAT, 466 00:28:26,104 --> 00:28:27,839 AND THEY SHOW SIGNS OF COMPASSION 467 00:28:27,873 --> 00:28:30,442 FOR DEAD OR DYING ELEPHANTS. 468 00:28:30,475 --> 00:28:33,712 BUT THE ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD MYTH HAS BEEN OVER-PUBLICIZED 469 00:28:33,745 --> 00:28:38,750 BY BIG GAME HUNTERS AND FANTASY STORIES FROM MOVIES. 470 00:28:38,784 --> 00:28:42,821 SOME BELIEVE THE STORY STEMS FROM PILES OF BONES LEFT BEHIND 471 00:28:42,854 --> 00:28:45,990 BY GREEDY HUNTERS WHO SHOT ENTIRE HERDS 472 00:28:46,024 --> 00:28:49,561 TO HARVEST TUSKS FOR THE IVORY TRADE. 473 00:28:52,764 --> 00:28:56,801 ACTUALLY, WILD ELEPHANTS ARE NORMALLY FOUND DEAD IN NUMBERS 474 00:28:56,835 --> 00:28:59,671 WHEN THEY GET TRAPPED IN REMOTE PARTS OF THE BUSH 475 00:28:59,705 --> 00:29:04,677 WHERE THEY FIND THE LAST REMAINING WATER SOURCE. 476 00:29:04,710 --> 00:29:11,350 THE TIRED AND WEAK VENTURE OFF IN DESPERATION, DYING ALONE. 477 00:29:11,383 --> 00:29:14,853 OTHERS STAY TO EAT AND DRINK ALL THAT IS LEFT 478 00:29:14,886 --> 00:29:19,290 UNTIL THE RAIN OR DEATH ARRIVES. 479 00:29:19,324 --> 00:29:23,895 THESE DRYING MUD BATHS ARE DEATH TRAPS FOR ELEPHANTS. 480 00:29:23,929 --> 00:29:26,365 THEY SIMPLY CAN’T RESIST MUD. 481 00:29:26,398 --> 00:29:30,535 IT COOLS DOWN THEIR BODIES AND RIDS THEM OF PARASITES, 482 00:29:30,569 --> 00:29:35,574 BUT THEIR BULKY WEIGHT QUICKLY TURNS FRIEND TO FOE. 483 00:29:37,776 --> 00:29:41,213 ELEPHANTS SLIP EASILY IN MUD AND BREAK LIMBS, 484 00:29:41,246 --> 00:29:46,184 OR GET STUCK IN VERTICAL SINKHOLES WITH NO WAY OF ESCAPE. 485 00:29:49,254 --> 00:29:54,826 AS THE MUD DRIES, THE ANIMAL IS ENTOMBED IN THE CLAY COFFIN. 486 00:29:54,860 --> 00:30:00,232 THIS ELEPHANT IS YOUNG, SO THIS COULD BE LEARNING, THROUGH PLAY. 487 00:30:02,934 --> 00:30:06,304 BUT IT’S A STRIKING EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF WATER, 488 00:30:06,338 --> 00:30:10,776 BOTH FOR LIFE AND DEATH IN THIS ECOSYSTEM. 489 00:30:10,809 --> 00:30:15,113 ♪ 490 00:30:15,147 --> 00:30:17,783 DURING THE DRY SEASON ELEPHANTS GATHER HERE 491 00:30:17,816 --> 00:30:23,722 AT THE LINYANTI MARSH, ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING WATER SOURCES. 492 00:30:23,755 --> 00:30:27,892 LARGE HERDS MOVE DOWN THIS RIVER AT THE START OF THE DRY SEASON, 493 00:30:27,926 --> 00:30:33,498 AND ONLY MOVE BACK INLAND ONCE THE RAINS ARRIVE. 494 00:30:33,532 --> 00:30:37,236 THEY TRAVEL MORE THAN 120 MILES IN ONE DIRECTION, 495 00:30:37,269 --> 00:30:39,605 SOMETIMES BREAKING THROUGH MAN-MADE BORDERS 496 00:30:39,638 --> 00:30:43,642 TO FIND FOOD AND WATER. 497 00:30:43,675 --> 00:30:47,212 FENCES ARE NO MATCH FOR THESE SIX-TON BULLDOZERS, 498 00:30:47,245 --> 00:30:51,082 BUT MEMORIES OF LANDMINES AND GUNFIRE IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES 499 00:30:51,116 --> 00:30:54,753 PLAGUE THESE ELEPHANTS. 500 00:30:54,786 --> 00:30:57,689 SOME WITNESSED THE CIVIL WAR IN ANGOLA, 501 00:30:57,723 --> 00:31:01,126 OTHERS THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE IN NAMIBIA. 502 00:31:01,159 --> 00:31:06,931 MANY WERE WOUNDED BY SOLDIERS HUNTING TO FEED HUNGRY TROOPS. 503 00:31:06,965 --> 00:31:10,836 THE MEMORY OF RAPID GUNFIRE AND THE SMELL OF SPENT CARTRIDGES 504 00:31:10,869 --> 00:31:13,872 HAS MADE SOME ELEPHANTS EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE, 505 00:31:13,905 --> 00:31:18,643 AND MOST ATTACKS ON HUMANS ARE FATAL. 506 00:31:18,677 --> 00:31:20,445 BUT THEY AREN’T THE ONLY WILD ANIMALS 507 00:31:20,479 --> 00:31:23,983 THAT POSE A THREAT TO HUMANS. 508 00:31:24,015 --> 00:31:27,285 A SUBMARINE CREATURE LURKING IN THE DEEPER POOL 509 00:31:27,319 --> 00:31:29,888 IS JUST AS DEADLY. 510 00:31:34,059 --> 00:31:36,695 THEY WEIGH CLOSE TO 4,000 POUNDS 511 00:31:36,728 --> 00:31:39,231 AND COMMUNICATE WITH BOOMING GRUNTS 512 00:31:39,264 --> 00:31:44,503 THAT CAN BE HEARD ABOVE AND BELOW WATER. 513 00:31:44,536 --> 00:31:50,142 THE HIPPOPOTAMUS GIVES KINGS POOL ITS FAME. 514 00:31:50,175 --> 00:31:53,578 THEY ARE VERY TERRITORIAL AND HIGHLY AGGRESSIVE; 515 00:31:53,612 --> 00:31:55,948 HARDLY SURPRISING WHEN ONE CONSIDERS 516 00:31:55,981 --> 00:32:01,453 THAT EVERY ANIMAL WANTS A TASTE OF THEIR TERRITORY. 517 00:32:01,486 --> 00:32:04,356 AND THEIR CLOSEST NEIGHBOR, THE NILE CROCODILE, 518 00:32:04,389 --> 00:32:08,994 LIKES TO SNACK ON BABY HIPPOS. 519 00:32:09,027 --> 00:32:13,598 HUMANS ENTERING THIS WATERWAY IN MOKOROS SHOULD BEWARE. 520 00:32:13,632 --> 00:32:19,738 HIPPOS CAN CRACK A CANOE IN HALF IN JUST ONE SNAP OF THEIR JAWS. 521 00:32:19,771 --> 00:32:23,108 AND IF THEIR FOOT-LONG TEETH DON’T SLICE YOU IN HALF, 522 00:32:23,141 --> 00:32:27,345 HUNGRY CROCODILES COULD FINISH YOU OFF. 523 00:32:27,379 --> 00:32:29,748 DURING THE DAY, CROCODILES LAZE AROUND 524 00:32:29,781 --> 00:32:33,752 THE BANKS OF THE WATERWAYS TO ABSORB HEAT FROM THE SUN, 525 00:32:33,785 --> 00:32:35,820 IN PREPARATION FOR A NIGHT OF HUNTING 526 00:32:35,854 --> 00:32:39,291 IN THE COOL, MURKY WATER. 527 00:32:39,324 --> 00:32:41,726 BUT DON’T LET THEIR SUNBATHING FOOL YOU. 528 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:44,930 THE SOUND OF SPLASHING WATER TURNS A LAZY CROC 529 00:32:44,963 --> 00:32:47,098 INTO A COLD-BLOODED KILLER. 530 00:32:47,132 --> 00:32:50,068 THEY’VE EVEN BEEN KNOWN TO ATTACK ELEPHANTS! 531 00:32:50,101 --> 00:32:58,476 ♪ 532 00:32:58,510 --> 00:33:02,848 SOME OF THE BIGGEST CROCS ARE FOUND IN THE CHOBE RIVER. 533 00:33:02,881 --> 00:33:04,282 IT SERVES AS A BORDER 534 00:33:04,316 --> 00:33:06,885 BETWEEN BOTSWANA AND NAMIBIA. 535 00:33:09,688 --> 00:33:11,290 ZEBRAS GALLOP TOWARDS THE RIVER 536 00:33:11,323 --> 00:33:15,961 ON FERTILE FLOODPLAINS COVERED WITH NEW GROWTH. 537 00:33:15,994 --> 00:33:19,231 IT’S THE END OF THEIR ANNUAL MIGRATION, 538 00:33:19,264 --> 00:33:23,034 BUT THE START OF A FEEDING FRENZY. 539 00:33:23,068 --> 00:33:26,705 CROCODILES MIMICKING DRIFTWOOD SAIL DOWNSTREAM, 540 00:33:26,738 --> 00:33:30,575 GNASHING AT THE STRIPY UNGULATES. 541 00:33:30,609 --> 00:33:32,244 BUT THEY AREN’T FUSSY FEEDERS 542 00:33:32,277 --> 00:33:36,348 AND SUPPLEMENT THEIR DIET BY TAKING DOWN TASTY BEEF CATTLE 543 00:33:36,381 --> 00:33:39,918 GRAZING ON THE NAMIBIAN SIDE OF THE RIVER. 544 00:33:41,920 --> 00:33:45,724 THE DEEP CROC-INFESTED RIVER SEPARATES DOMESTIC LIVESTOCK 545 00:33:45,757 --> 00:33:47,359 FROM THE WILD ANIMALS, 546 00:33:47,392 --> 00:33:50,562 ENSURING THAT DISEASE IS NOT SPREAD TO THE BUFFALO HERDS 547 00:33:50,595 --> 00:33:52,897 ON THE BOTSWANA SHORE. 548 00:33:55,367 --> 00:33:58,770 BY 1853, EXPLORER DAVID LIVINGSTONE 549 00:33:58,803 --> 00:34:02,373 HAD CROSSED THE VAST EXPANSE OF THE KALAHARI DESERT 550 00:34:02,407 --> 00:34:05,911 AND DISCOVERED THE FAMED OKAVANGO DELTA. 551 00:34:05,944 --> 00:34:11,650 BUT HE WAS DEEPLY SADDENED BY WHAT HE SAW AT THE CHOBE RIVER. 552 00:34:11,683 --> 00:34:15,520 HE MET TRIBES THAT HAD NEVER SEEN A WHITE MAN BEFORE. 553 00:34:15,554 --> 00:34:17,756 THEY LEARNED TO TRUST LIVINGSTONE, 554 00:34:17,789 --> 00:34:23,728 BUT OTHER LESS NOBLE WHITE MEN WREAKED HAVOC ON THE TRIBES. 555 00:34:23,762 --> 00:34:27,266 THE PORTUGUESE RAIDED THE INLAND, CAPTURING SLAVES, 556 00:34:27,299 --> 00:34:29,568 AND BUYING OTHERS FROM LOCAL SLAVE TRADERS 557 00:34:29,601 --> 00:34:33,238 WITH BEADS AND GUNS. 558 00:34:33,271 --> 00:34:35,640 MANY AFRICANS WERE SENT TO BRAZIL 559 00:34:35,674 --> 00:34:39,845 AND SOLD TO SLAVE OWNERS ALL OVER THE WORLD. 560 00:34:41,580 --> 00:34:46,185 VILLAGES WHERE DESTROYED AND FAMILY BONDS SHATTERED. 561 00:34:48,720 --> 00:34:52,857 LIVINGSTONE WATCHED IN HORROR AS A STRING OF SLAVES PASSED BY, 562 00:34:52,891 --> 00:34:55,727 TIED TOGETHER BY CHAINS. 563 00:34:57,696 --> 00:35:00,532 A MAN GRABBED A YOUNG BOY FROM HIS MOTHER, 564 00:35:00,565 --> 00:35:02,400 DRAGGING HIM KICKING AND SCREAMING 565 00:35:02,434 --> 00:35:06,004 INTO A LIFE OF SLAVERY. 566 00:35:06,037 --> 00:35:08,873 IT WAS A DEFINING MOMENT FOR LIVINGSTONE. 567 00:35:08,907 --> 00:35:14,346 HE WORKED TIRELESSLY TOWARDS ENDING SLAVERY FOR GOOD. 568 00:35:14,813 --> 00:35:18,817 THE TRADE WAS FINALLY ABOLISHED IN AFRICA IN 1870, 569 00:35:18,850 --> 00:35:22,620 BUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING REMAINS A PROBLEM ACROSS THE GLOBE. 570 00:35:24,623 --> 00:35:27,626 IT IS CLOSELY TIED TO THE ILLEGAL WILDLIFE TRADE 571 00:35:27,659 --> 00:35:29,361 THAT IS FED BY POACHERS 572 00:35:29,394 --> 00:35:34,966 TRADING IN RHINO HORN, LION BONES AND ELEPHANT TUSKS. 573 00:35:35,000 --> 00:35:37,970 BOTSWANA IS A LEADER IN WILDLIFE CONSERVATION, 574 00:35:38,003 --> 00:35:40,005 BUT DUE TO ITS POROUS BORDERS, 575 00:35:40,038 --> 00:35:45,443 POACHERS OFTEN ENTER AND LEAVE WITHOUT BEING NOTICED. 576 00:35:45,477 --> 00:35:49,181 THANKFULLY, MOST VISITORS TO BOTSWANA PLUNDER THE LANDSCAPE 577 00:35:49,214 --> 00:35:51,683 TO TAKE PICTURES AND MAKE MEMORIES 578 00:35:51,716 --> 00:35:55,386 WHILE THESE MAJESTIC BEASTS STILL WALK THE EARTH. 579 00:35:57,122 --> 00:35:59,291 THE CONSTANT FLOW OF WATER IN THE CHOBE 580 00:35:59,324 --> 00:36:02,527 DRAWS IN LARGE HERDS OF ELEPHANTS. 581 00:36:02,560 --> 00:36:06,464 THEY NEED TO EAT CLOSE TO 600 POUNDS OF FOOD A DAY, 582 00:36:06,498 --> 00:36:11,203 BUT IN ORDER TO DO SO, THEY DESTROY TONS OF VEGETATION. 583 00:36:11,236 --> 00:36:13,638 DEAD TREES LIE FALLEN ALONG THE RIVERBANKS 584 00:36:13,672 --> 00:36:16,808 WHERE ELEPHANTS HAVE DESTROYED THEIR ROOTS. 585 00:36:18,810 --> 00:36:21,613 IT’S A FINE BALANCE THAT REMAINS CLOSELY MONITORED 586 00:36:21,646 --> 00:36:23,481 BY PARK OFFICIALS. 587 00:36:23,515 --> 00:36:25,384 IF THE FOOD-TO-THE-ELEPHANT RATIO 588 00:36:25,417 --> 00:36:27,586 TIPS THE WRONG END OF THE SCALE, 589 00:36:27,619 --> 00:36:31,389 THERE COULD BE A MASS DYING-OFF OF ELEPHANTS. 590 00:36:31,423 --> 00:36:36,862 ♪ 591 00:36:36,895 --> 00:36:41,533 POLICE AND PARK OFFICIALS PATROL THE RIVER BY BOAT, 592 00:36:41,566 --> 00:36:44,102 WHILE LARGER RIVER CRUISERS FERRY TOURISTS 593 00:36:44,135 --> 00:36:47,105 ALONG A STRETCH OF 60 MILES OF THE RIVER 594 00:36:47,305 --> 00:36:51,276 GIVING UNPRECEDENTED ACCESS TO GAME PARKS. 595 00:36:51,309 --> 00:36:52,877 BY LATE AFTERNOON, 596 00:36:52,911 --> 00:36:56,148 REGAL LION PRIDES PATROL THE SHORES, 597 00:36:56,181 --> 00:37:01,653 USING CLUMPS OF TREES TO AMBUSH UNSUSPECTING PREY. 598 00:37:01,686 --> 00:37:04,222 HOLIDAY MAKERS ABOARD THE ZAMBEZI QUEEN 599 00:37:04,255 --> 00:37:08,092 EXPERIENCE THE DIVERSITY OF LIFE UNFOLDING ON THE SHORES 600 00:37:08,126 --> 00:37:11,396 FROM A SAFE VANTAGE POINT. 601 00:37:11,429 --> 00:37:13,898 WITH BOTSWANA WILDLIFE ON ONE SIDE 602 00:37:13,932 --> 00:37:16,301 AND NAMIBIAN CULTURE ON THE OTHER, 603 00:37:16,334 --> 00:37:21,239 THIS WATERY NO-MAN’S-LAND IS A MODERN EXPLORER’S DREAM. 604 00:37:21,272 --> 00:37:24,342 BY SUNDOWN BOAT CAPTAINS FIND MOORING SPOTS 605 00:37:24,375 --> 00:37:29,180 ALONG THE RIVERBANKS, TREATING GUESTS TO A WILD NIGHT OUT. 606 00:37:29,214 --> 00:37:36,588 ♪ 607 00:37:36,621 --> 00:37:38,223 FURTHER ALONG ITS COURSE, 608 00:37:38,256 --> 00:37:43,962 THE CHOBE FUSES WITH THE ZAMBEZI AND OKAVANGO RIVERS. 609 00:37:43,995 --> 00:37:47,131 THEY SLICE THROUGH THE LANDSCAPE FORMING NATURAL BORDERS 610 00:37:47,165 --> 00:37:50,935 AT THE MEETING POINT OF FOUR COUNTRIES. 611 00:37:50,969 --> 00:37:52,838 THE CONVERGENCE OF THESE RIVERS 612 00:37:52,871 --> 00:37:55,440 PRODUCES A FLOW OF WATER SO GREAT, 613 00:37:55,473 --> 00:37:57,442 IT TRUMPS THE COMBINED FLOW 614 00:37:57,475 --> 00:38:01,112 OF ALL OTHER RIVERS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA. 615 00:38:02,714 --> 00:38:04,983 BUT THERE ARE NO BRIDGES. 616 00:38:05,016 --> 00:38:09,053 YOU NEED A BOAT TO CROSS THESE BORDERS. 617 00:38:09,087 --> 00:38:11,423 THE KAZUNGULA FERRY TRANSPORTS VEHICLES 618 00:38:11,456 --> 00:38:15,560 BETWEEN ZAMBIA AND BOTSWANA. 619 00:38:15,593 --> 00:38:18,663 THE VERY FIRST FERRY WAS BUILT FROM SCRAP METAL 620 00:38:18,696 --> 00:38:22,633 SALVAGED FROM A PAPYRUS-CUTTING MACHINE. 621 00:38:22,667 --> 00:38:26,371 THE LONG GRASS STRANDS OF PAPYRUS GROW NATURALLY HERE 622 00:38:26,404 --> 00:38:28,306 BUT CAN CHOKE UP WATERWAYS, 623 00:38:28,339 --> 00:38:32,577 MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR BOATS TO NAVIGATE THE RIVER. 624 00:38:34,179 --> 00:38:38,483 BUT HERE AT KAZUNGULA, THE WATER RUNS DEEP AND TRUE. 625 00:38:38,516 --> 00:38:41,352 TRAVELERS HEADING SOUTH USE THIS ENTRY POINT 626 00:38:41,386 --> 00:38:44,589 TO VISIT THE TOWN OF KASANE. 627 00:38:44,622 --> 00:38:46,757 THERE ARE NO FENCES BETWEEN KASANE 628 00:38:46,791 --> 00:38:48,960 AND THE SURROUNDING GAME PARKS. 629 00:38:48,993 --> 00:38:51,963 SO IT’S NOT UNUSUAL TO SEE AN ELEPHANT OR HIPPO 630 00:38:51,996 --> 00:38:55,132 WANDERING THROUGH THE TOWN. 631 00:38:55,166 --> 00:38:57,335 AND IT’S ALWAYS OPEN TO TOURISTS, 632 00:38:57,368 --> 00:39:02,039 ESPECIALLY WORLD FAMOUS ACTORS. 633 00:39:02,073 --> 00:39:03,708 IN THE 1970s, 634 00:39:03,741 --> 00:39:06,644 FILM STARS ELIZABETH TAYLOR AND RICHARD BURTON 635 00:39:06,678 --> 00:39:10,882 DECIDED TO REMARRY HERE. 636 00:39:10,915 --> 00:39:13,084 AND FAMOUS PEOPLE KEEP COMING, 637 00:39:13,117 --> 00:39:15,386 TO SEE THE TRUE STARS OF BOTSWANA 638 00:39:15,420 --> 00:39:19,257 AS LIVINGSTONE DID HUNDREDS OF YEARS AGO. 639 00:39:19,290 --> 00:39:23,561 ♪ 640 00:39:23,595 --> 00:39:26,364 THIS IS WHAT THE OKAVANGO DELTA LOOKED LIKE 641 00:39:26,397 --> 00:39:29,867 IN DAVID LIVINGSTONE’S TIME. 642 00:39:29,901 --> 00:39:35,006 THE RICH WATER SYSTEM SPANS 8,500 SQUARE MILES. 643 00:39:37,141 --> 00:39:39,310 IT FLOODS EVERY YEAR, 644 00:39:39,344 --> 00:39:45,283 TRIPLING IN SIZE AS THE WATERS SURGE FROM THE NORTH. 645 00:39:45,316 --> 00:39:48,186 A TRIBESMAN TOLD LIVINGSTONE THAT THE FLOODING WAS CAUSED 646 00:39:48,219 --> 00:39:51,189 BY A CHIEFTAIN THAT KILLED A MAN EVERY YEAR 647 00:39:51,222 --> 00:39:54,158 AND THREW HIS BODY INTO THE WATER. 648 00:39:56,027 --> 00:39:58,663 THIS, HE SAID, WOULD APPEASE THE RIVER GODS 649 00:39:58,696 --> 00:40:03,367 AND RESTART THE SEASONAL MIRACLE. 650 00:40:03,401 --> 00:40:06,004 BUT NO LIVES WERE SACRIFICED. 651 00:40:06,037 --> 00:40:08,606 ACTUALLY, THE FLOODWATERS COME FROM RAIN 652 00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:14,079 THAT FALLS 500 MILES UPSTREAM IN THE HIGHLANDS OF ANGOLA. 653 00:40:16,281 --> 00:40:19,484 IT CAN TAKE SIX MONTHS FOR THE WATER TO REACH THE DELTA 654 00:40:19,517 --> 00:40:24,789 AT THE VERY TIME THE KALAHARI EXPERIENCES A SEASONAL DROUGHT. 655 00:40:26,824 --> 00:40:30,361 AS IT SLOWS, THE WATER FORMS A MAZE OF CHANNELS 656 00:40:30,395 --> 00:40:35,667 ENCAPSULATING HIGHER GROUND, FORMING ISLANDS. 657 00:40:35,700 --> 00:40:40,171 SMALL ISLANDS LIKE THESE ARE SHAPED LIKE ICEBERGS. 658 00:40:41,973 --> 00:40:46,044 TWO THIRDS OF THE STRUCTURE EXPANDS BELOW GROUND, 659 00:40:46,077 --> 00:40:49,547 FORMING COMPLEX TUNNELS AND FERMENTATION CHAMBERS, 660 00:40:49,580 --> 00:40:54,685 BUILT WITH A MIXTURE OF CLAY, SALT, SAND, AND SALIVA. 661 00:40:56,621 --> 00:40:59,090 THE TURRETS, AS STRONG AS CONCRETE, 662 00:40:59,123 --> 00:41:01,459 JUT TEN FEET INTO THE AIR, 663 00:41:01,492 --> 00:41:06,597 REACHING ABOVE THE WATER LIKE A SNORKEL FOR VENTILATION. 664 00:41:06,631 --> 00:41:10,768 THEY ARE FORMED BY ONE OF THE DELTA’S MOST HUMBLE CREATURES-- 665 00:41:10,802 --> 00:41:12,837 THE TERMITE. 666 00:41:12,870 --> 00:41:15,673 THEY CARRY PLANT DEBRIS INTO THE UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS 667 00:41:15,707 --> 00:41:18,543 TO FARM FUNGUS FOR FOOD. 668 00:41:18,576 --> 00:41:23,281 THE WARM CONDITIONS UNDERGROUND HELP SEEDS GERMINATE. 669 00:41:23,314 --> 00:41:26,951 AS SAPLINGS SPROUT, NEW ISLANDS ARE FORMED. 670 00:41:26,985 --> 00:41:32,491 THEY VARY IN SIZE FROM A FEW FEET TO SEVERAL MILES ACROSS. 671 00:41:32,523 --> 00:41:35,860 THEN THE TREES PERFORM A VITAL FUNCTION. 672 00:41:35,893 --> 00:41:37,895 THEY DRAW SALT OUT OF THE WATER 673 00:41:37,929 --> 00:41:42,333 ACTING LITERALLY AS DESALINATION PLANTS. 674 00:41:42,367 --> 00:41:47,138 AS THE SAND IS DEPOSITED AROUND THEIR ROOTS, THE ISLANDS EXPAND. 675 00:41:47,171 --> 00:41:49,340 THE WHITE PATCHES IN THE CENTER OF THE ISLANDS 676 00:41:49,374 --> 00:41:51,376 ARE CAUSED BY SALT DEPOSITS 677 00:41:51,409 --> 00:41:55,847 AND BUSY TERMITES HARVESTING YOUNG PLANTS. 678 00:41:55,880 --> 00:42:01,052 THE CHANNELS AROUND THE ISLANDS CAN FLOW FOR 100 YEARS OR MORE, 679 00:42:01,085 --> 00:42:06,223 BUT CAN EASILY BECOME SILTED UP OR JAMMED BY PAPYRUS. 680 00:42:06,257 --> 00:42:10,962 BUT THAT GETS TAKEN CARE OF BY NATURE’S PAPYRUS-CUTTER. 681 00:42:10,995 --> 00:42:14,298 HIPPOS BREAK THROUGH VEGETATION AND SILT, 682 00:42:14,332 --> 00:42:18,570 CREATING NEW CORRIDORS AND PATHS FOR THE WATER. 683 00:42:22,340 --> 00:42:25,243 AND JUST IN TIME FOR THE THIRSTY HERDS 684 00:42:25,276 --> 00:42:27,678 DRAWN TO THIS DESERT OASIS. 685 00:42:29,781 --> 00:42:31,283 ESPECIALLY ELEPHANTS, 686 00:42:31,315 --> 00:42:35,152 WHO DRINK UP TO 50 GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY. 687 00:42:35,186 --> 00:42:38,322 THAT’S ENOUGH TO FILL A BATHTUB. 688 00:42:38,356 --> 00:42:41,659 AND THIS NATURAL BATHTUB SUSTAINS MORE ELEPHANTS 689 00:42:41,692 --> 00:42:45,529 THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY ON THE PLANET. 690 00:42:45,563 --> 00:42:47,799 BUT IT WASN’T ALWAYS THAT WAY. 691 00:42:47,832 --> 00:42:52,670 IN THE 1830s, ELEPHANTS WERE HUNTED WITHOUT MERCY. 692 00:42:52,703 --> 00:42:54,905 IN LESS THAN 70 YEARS, 693 00:42:54,939 --> 00:42:57,442 THERE WERE NO MORE ELEPHANTS IN THE DESERT, 694 00:42:57,475 --> 00:43:01,245 AND HAD ALL BUT DISAPPEARED FROM THE DELTA. 695 00:43:01,279 --> 00:43:05,550 HUNTING WAS ONLY BANNED FROM RESERVES IN THE 1980s. 696 00:43:05,583 --> 00:43:08,653 THANKFULLY, POPULATIONS HAVE BOUNCED BACK. 697 00:43:08,686 --> 00:43:12,190 IN 1981, THERE WERE 40,000 ELEPHANTS, 698 00:43:12,223 --> 00:43:16,794 AND BY THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM HAD RISEN TO 105,000. 699 00:43:16,828 --> 00:43:21,900 THAT’S 3,000 INCREDIBLY CUTE ELEPHANT CALVES BORN EVERY YEAR. 700 00:43:21,933 --> 00:43:24,335 THEY ARE JOINED BY THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS, 701 00:43:24,368 --> 00:43:26,971 DRAWN IN FROM THE DRIER REGIONS OF THE DESERT, 702 00:43:27,004 --> 00:43:30,407 IN SEARCH OF FOOD AND WATER. 703 00:43:30,441 --> 00:43:33,344 THE DIVERSITY IS BREATHTAKING-- 704 00:43:33,377 --> 00:43:38,582 122 SPECIES OF MAMMALS, 71 SPECIES OF FISH, 705 00:43:38,616 --> 00:43:41,452 444 SPECIES OF BIRDS, 706 00:43:41,486 --> 00:43:45,523 INCLUDING STORKS, HERONS AND EGYPTIAN GEESE, 707 00:43:45,556 --> 00:43:48,492 64 SPECIES OF REPTILES, 708 00:43:48,526 --> 00:43:52,697 AND 1,300 SPECIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS. 709 00:43:52,730 --> 00:43:55,967 THE DELTA IS ALSO ONE OF THE FEW PLACES IN THE WORLD 710 00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,603 WHERE YOU CAN STILL SEE THE BIG FIVE-- 711 00:43:58,636 --> 00:44:03,508 THE LION, LEOPARD, RHINO, ELEPHANT, AND AFRICAN BUFFALO. 712 00:44:03,541 --> 00:44:05,143 THEY ARE CALLED THE BIG FIVE 713 00:44:05,176 --> 00:44:10,081 BECAUSE HUNTERS RATED THEM THE MOST DANGEROUS ANIMALS TO HUNT. 714 00:44:10,114 --> 00:44:15,753 BUT NO ANIMAL IS MORE PRIZED BY HUNTERS THAN THE RHINOCEROS. 715 00:44:15,786 --> 00:44:17,921 THEIR HORNS ARE PRICELESS, 716 00:44:17,955 --> 00:44:22,259 BUT BY THE 1980s, THEY WERE PRACTICALLY WIPED OUT. 717 00:44:22,293 --> 00:44:24,796 THE GOVERNMENT ONCE AGAIN STEPPED IN, 718 00:44:24,829 --> 00:44:28,032 DEPLOYING ARMED TROOPS TO PATROL THE DELTA. 719 00:44:28,065 --> 00:44:31,168 ANYONE FOUND POACHING WAS TREATED AS AN INSURGENT 720 00:44:31,202 --> 00:44:32,870 AND SHOT ON SIGHT. 721 00:44:32,904 --> 00:44:34,639 TODAY BOTSWANA PROTECTS 722 00:44:34,672 --> 00:44:39,143 OVER 2,500 CRITICALLY ENDANGERED RHINOS. 723 00:44:39,177 --> 00:44:47,585 ♪ 724 00:44:47,618 --> 00:44:49,286 BUFFALOES, ON THE OTHER HAND, 725 00:44:49,320 --> 00:44:51,956 ARE IN LESS DANGER OF BECOMING EXTINCT. 726 00:44:51,989 --> 00:44:57,862 THEY MOVE EN MASSE TO THE DELTA AS THE KALAHARI DRIES UP. 727 00:44:57,895 --> 00:45:01,866 THE BUFFALO MOVE ACROSS THE PLAINS LIKE A GIANT HARVESTER, 728 00:45:01,899 --> 00:45:03,401 MOWING DOWN VEGETATION 729 00:45:03,434 --> 00:45:06,003 AND TRAMPLING THEIR DUNG INTO THE SOIL, 730 00:45:06,037 --> 00:45:09,574 ENRICHING THE DESERT SAND AS THEY MOVE. 731 00:45:12,343 --> 00:45:14,345 THE DUST CLOUD IS A DEAD GIVEAWAY 732 00:45:14,378 --> 00:45:16,981 TO HUNGRY LIONS THAT MOVE IN, 733 00:45:17,014 --> 00:45:21,652 PICKING OFF THE YOUNG AND THE WEAK FROM THE HERD. 734 00:45:21,686 --> 00:45:24,822 BUT WHEN THE RAINS COME, THE BUFFALOES DISPERSE, 735 00:45:24,855 --> 00:45:28,926 SPLITTING INTO SMALLER FAMILY UNITS. 736 00:45:28,960 --> 00:45:30,628 THEY SPREAD OUT TO ENJOY 737 00:45:30,661 --> 00:45:33,998 THE FRESH FIELDS OF SWEET GRASSLANDS. 738 00:45:34,031 --> 00:45:35,766 MOTHERS GIVE BIRTH TO YOUNG 739 00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:40,338 BEFORE MOVING BACK TO THE SAFETY OF THE HERD. 740 00:45:40,371 --> 00:45:42,607 CATTLE EGRETS FEED ON INSECTS 741 00:45:42,640 --> 00:45:46,344 FLUSHED OUT OF THE GRASS BY THE BUFFALO HERD. 742 00:45:46,377 --> 00:45:50,214 IT’S THE LAST FEAST BEFORE THE SEASONAL FAMINE. 743 00:45:54,619 --> 00:45:59,390 AS WATER DRIES UP AROUND THE DELTA AND GRASS BECOMES SCARCE, 744 00:45:59,423 --> 00:46:03,360 ANIMALS MOVE BACK TO THE MAIN FLOW OF WATER. 745 00:46:03,394 --> 00:46:05,963 IT’S A TIME OF FAMINE FOR HERBIVORES 746 00:46:05,997 --> 00:46:08,566 TRAPPED TOO FAR FROM THE DELTA. 747 00:46:08,599 --> 00:46:13,571 EVERY DAY LIVED IS A HARD-WON PRIZE. 748 00:46:13,604 --> 00:46:17,308 BUT THIS IS WHEN SCAVENGERS PROSPER. 749 00:46:17,341 --> 00:46:21,378 MARABOU STORKS AND VULTURES PICK ON CARCASSES OF ANIMALS 750 00:46:21,412 --> 00:46:25,449 WHOSE BODIES SUCCUMB TO THE DROUGHT. 751 00:46:25,483 --> 00:46:30,755 THE CYCLE OF LIFE AND DEATH IN BOTSWANA IS EXTREME. 752 00:46:30,788 --> 00:46:35,426 BUT IT PRESERVES THESE WILD SPACES. 753 00:46:35,459 --> 00:46:39,096 PIONEERING EXPLORERS MAPPED THE KALAHARI... 754 00:46:41,599 --> 00:46:46,037 ...WHERE ANCIENT RELICS STILL STAND FIRM. 755 00:46:47,571 --> 00:46:51,508 SOME EMBRACE THEIR CHANGING WORLD, 756 00:46:51,542 --> 00:46:56,380 WHILE OTHERS MAINTAIN ANCIENT TRADITIONS. 757 00:46:56,414 --> 00:47:01,452 AS NEW WORLD GIANTS STRETCH TOWARDS THE SKY, 758 00:47:01,485 --> 00:47:05,356 LIFE CONTINUES TO FLOURISH BELOW. 759 00:47:08,092 --> 00:47:12,463 PRECIOUS MINERALS ARE FINITE, 760 00:47:12,496 --> 00:47:17,901 BUT THE OKAVANGO’S SOURCE SURGES ON. 761 00:47:17,935 --> 00:47:23,107 THE DELTA IS BOTSWANA’S ETERNAL JEWEL... 762 00:47:23,140 --> 00:47:28,612 AN IMMOVABLE GEM THAT PROTECTS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE. 763 00:47:28,646 --> 00:47:39,323 ♪ 764 00:47:39,357 --> 00:47:43,695 ♪ 765 00:47:43,728 --> 00:47:53,738 ♪ 766 00:47:53,771 --> 00:47:58,909 ♪