Expedition: Search for the Nile

In the first episode, Adventurers Ben Fogle and Dwayne Fields, arrive in Africa and start to immerse themselves into the Victorian expeditions that raced for the source of the Nile. Changing out of their modern clothing, they take on the mantle of the great explorers of that era, wearing the same clothes, eating the same food and using some of the same equipment. They start by following in the footsteps of Dr David Livingstone, perhaps the most famous of all explorers. His early journey, which is said to have kick started the scramble for Africa and the race for the source of the Nile was his Trans-Africa expedition of 1855, crossing the continent from West to East along the mighty Zambezi river. Ben and Dwayne follow their own path, facing close encounters with lions and elephants, surviving the scorching heat of the vast dry Savannah and camping wild, before reaching the natural wonder of Victoria Falls, the world's largest waterfall. They also look at the impact and legacy, both good and bad, that these expeditions had on the continent. Slavery was rife and colonization was rearing its head as a land grab followed these early pioneers. The effects still reverberate across most of the continent today. Ben and Dwayne gather an entourage of 20 porters and set out in search of the source of the Nile, in the footsteps of Burton and Speke's 1857 Lake Tanganyika expedition, which led to a bitter Victorian rivalry and the untimely the death of one of the men. Burton and Speke faced disease and severe illness, one having to be carried for months, the other nearly losing his sight. But they prevailed and reached Tanganyika and what Burton believed was the source of the Nile. Ben and Dwayne then follow Speke's brief side trip to Lake Victoria, which he instead claimed was the source of the Nile, igniting a tragic rivalry. Ben and Dwayne stand on the shores of Africa's largest Lake and gaze in wonder at what could be the source of the the world's longest river. But was it? The puzzle was far from solved and years and many more expeditions would pass before the source could be finally declared.

As Victorian rivalries peaked and feuds intensified over the true source of the Nile, Adventurers Ben and Dwayne set out with a train of Ox Carts heading for the shore of Lake Victoria, hoping to find the answer. They discover a complex history of conflicting opinions, claims, counter claims and backstabbing. They face their own perils, heading deep into impenetrable and deadly jungles, struggling across disease ridden swamps and experiencing firsthand the struggles that the great Victorian explorers, such as Livingstone, Speke and Stanley faced over 150 years ago, deep in the heart of Africa. Struggles that led to failure for many, death for some and victory for one. When Livingstone disappears for nearly a decade, a young Welshman by the name of Stanley is dispatched to track him down. He hears of an old white-haired man living in a small village, in central Africa. In one of the world's most famous meetings he finds the missing, presumed dead Livingstone, uttering the immortal words "Dr Livingstone I presume?", second only to Neil Armstrong's famous phrase when he landed on the moon. Together Livingstone and Stanley go onto disprove Burton's Lake Tanganyika theory, leaving only two other possible sources up for grabs. But tragedy overtakes Livingstone and one of the World's greatest explorers dies in Central Africa, his embalmed body is carried thousands of miles back to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral. But the Source of the Nile is still unsolved and Stanley, now a seasoned African explorer sets out to reveal the source once and for all. Our modern-day adventurers Ben and Dwyane cross scorched African Savannah, bash through thick tropical jungles, wade through deep swamps to eventually reach the mighty Nile, the world's greatest river, seeing for themselves just how spectacular it is. Finally, years after the Victorian race for the Nile began, they arrive at the location which would eventually be proven and accepted as its source, solving one of the world's greatest geographical puzzles though one of the greatest yet deadliest feats of exploration. The legacy of what these men achieved, not necessarily heroes but men who performed heroic deeds, is summed up as Ben and Dwayne set sail down the world's greatest River, the Nile.