AKA: Remarkable secrets of Ngukurr. Les Hiddins explores Arnhem Land, and northern Australia, traveling from the Carpentaria coast to Katherine. He learns Aboriginal survival methods along the way.
Northern Territory: south west of Darwin - Daly River to Port Keats - monsoon growth after 4 weeks rains - the wet January to April - mud 'roads' under water for miles and miles - excellent Land-Rover scene running along flooded tracks - everything comes to life - high grass growth and lush bush, fruit growing everywhere - wet weather, well sourced base camp needed - rebuilds favorite base camp at Port Keating - sets up sappling racks, benches, roof supports, clothes hangers, clothes line, bush strainer - works on foot - best way to gather specimens despite rain and - leeches caution - fish handline and bait/fruit from Syzyieum tree - fruit is tangy - polynesian arrowroot bulb - native grapes - root is local snake bite cure untested - clear sunny mornings mostly leading to afternoon rainstorms - high daytime temps, mid 40°C, builds sauna conditions - perspire 4 litres daily - lightning show every evening during wet - locals compete with birds and animals to harvest fruit, bird eggs etc - basis of nomadic culture relates to food chain - local Johnnie Tchula and family from Wadeye - excellent Land-Rover scene, tackling mud on boggy track - show tucker gathering in mud 'n mangroves - mud crabs - eats Teredo or mangrove tree worm (mollusc) - Les not impressed - back to base camp - considers this time of year so stirring - "When the time comes to leave, I'll be flat-out dragging myself 'way from th' place..."
Northern Territory: central Australia west of Alice Springs - Papunya - desert types - dry times - no wet season for some years - need tribal knowledge to find water - fierce competition for food - Honey ants well adapted - also part of local women's culture, Kaparis fruit - blue tongue lizard, goanas - water signs - tribal engraving for waterhole - Yuendumu and local stories - Harts Range and small water catchment with bush bananas for midday meal with locals - melting spinifex resin to repair jerrycan - firestarting lesson using condey's crystal and sugar to ignite cotton wool - shows use of a signal mirror - using eucalypt tree wraps leafy branches in the sun and waits for condensation inside the plastic - catch life-saving water without expending much energy. Last scenes on fringes of Tanami Desert - Lajamanu - local men do the hunting but women do the food gathering... so Les does most of his research using knowledge learnt from the women - wichety grubs cookup.
Northern Western Australia: (end of wet season - start of dry) by chopper into the Kimberly sandstone plateaus - Prince Regent River gorge - boab tree and nuts - carved history on trunk by sailors from HMC "Mermaid" 1820 (Capt. King) - bush passionfruit introduced from Argentina scattered around all over northern Australia - ill-fated exploration in 'The Wet' by George Grey expedition from north to south WA - kept journal but didn't use bush tucker such as mangrove snails - Les climbs escarpment escaping the salt water crocodile - superb lookout over huge St George Basin - isolation and stillness - tucker amongst lush vegetation in the gullies - famous Vitamin C content in Terminalia fruit - eating lemon/lime ants - also the superb Kalumburu almonds Les' favorite bush tucker - food water and shelter needs - rocky overhangs littered with ancient tools and indications of life - bush tucker of the area baby pandanus - vine growth pointing to underground yam (tuba) - dogs nut berry called 'rubbish tucker' by local men - Grey's journal - mystery of the wandjina paintings - bush secrets lost forever - so much to explore - King's Cascades - uses lure in the waters of the gorge for barramundi whilst awaiting chopper ride out.
Far North Queensland: dry season in rainforest near Cooktown, similar to where Les grew up and started Bushtucker studies - Les used rainforest experience in Vietnam - Meg Waterfall, fast flowing river drops 1000m to coastline on horizon - abseiling - Tin mining ruins, edges of "Big Scrub", north of Townsville - lacked understanding - tried to grow bananas, chilli - local food, water, shelter - ginger pips - ginger roots as strong flavouring - but in general the looks of fruits etc can be deceptive - looking for something to add to stew - caution on rainforest stinging leaves - travels further north, out of rainforest near Cooktown, Black Mountains volcanic granite - caves and crevices - legends of convicts and lost tribe of locals - mud road to Cape York - excellent Land-Rover scene crossing Cape York creek - open savanah country, Iron Range a great undisturbed rainforest - makes natural shelter in cane frame and banana leaves - leaves a yabby trap in the creek a few hours - eels, turtle, fish, yabbies, water snakes, nocturnal animals - boils the billy and makes yabby stew with rice and ginger - candle nuts as high energy food and 'candles' - sets up candle nuts.
The Australian coast; Cape York; Lockhart River.
Les Hiddins recalls an amazing story of survival in Queensland's gulf country
Les Hiddins joins a group of soldiers on an expedition into the Bush to learn first-hand about the survival techniques of Aborigines
The Top End of Australia is a fascinating place during the wet season. Les Hiddins takes us on a journey through Arnhem Land, the Gulf Country and Cape York Peninsula. He finds bush tucker including tennis ball fruit and a native grape. In exploring the wet lands of Cape York, Les shows us that even he gets bogged sometimes. Finally, he resorts to building a canoe from tree bark to explore an inland lake.
Les Hiddins heads west through Australia's Gulf Country to Jasper Gorge in the Northern Territory. Along the way he explores underground lava tubes, builds a bush washing machine, finds a 'lost city' and recounts the rich history of an old cattle route - the Marranji track. At Jasper Gorge, he seeks out a fascinating Aboriginal stone structure - a unique method of harvesting bush tucker.
Les Hiddins is back in the rugged Kimberley region of Western Australia - an area renowned for its beauty and isolation. He ventures as far as his vehicle will go, then backpacks to various historical sites, from the ancient rock paintings of first Australians to the coastal cave where two German airmen struggled to survive in 1932. Hiddins also visits a little-known landing site of Japanese soldiers in 1944, and proposes an interesting link between the huge boab tree and an early settlement of Madagascan people in the Kimberley.
This week, Bush Tucker Man Les Hiddins is in Australia's Northern Territory. He's on the Cobourg Peninsula in Arnhem visiting the failed British garrison at Port Essington. Hiddins also travels to the Aboriginal community of Maningrida, where the locals show him how to catch file snakes.
In this episode, Les travels to the Northern Territory's Mary River. He sets up camp (away from the crocodiles) and enjoys a relaxing break from life on the road. Les shows us how he sets up a comfortable camp without any fancy gear, and even makes his own flip toaster.
In this episode, Les is summoned to Wave Hill in Australia's Northern Territory to participate in a cricket match with his old club. He travels through the Simpson Desert towards the Tanami desert, locating handy sources of food and water along the way.
In this final episode of season 2, Les Hiddins sets out on foot to explore the eastern coastline of Australia's tip - Cape York Peninsula. Hiddins travels via the Jardine river across to the west coast, finding evidence along the way of cultural contacts with the people of Papua New Guinea.
This follows one of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith’s flights that didn’t quite reach its destination. Crashing in the remote region of northern Western Australia, Kingsford Smith and his crew had to survive for several weeks on what rations they had, and the plant life in the surrounding area. Les shows what food they did eat, and what they should have eaten. It is all a little too late to say this now, Les.
On the western coastline of Tasmania, a group of convicts in the early days of Australia escape and set out through the rugged bushland, only to find that there is very little food. In the end, the episode title comes into play, leaving only one left. Les goes along the same path that these convicts did, but does not resort to eating the flesh of his camera crew. Obviously they had a feast behind the cameras, therefore cheating their way through the episode.
Following the journey set out upon by the famous explorers Burke & Wills, Les heads from Bendigo up north to the Gulf Of Carpentaria. These explorers came so close to their destination, only to turn back and die a slow death of starvation. There are just some things that Les will not recreate, probably a wise thing.
A deceiving title. Right through central Australia, Les travels not only with his trusty Land Rover, but by train. Neither of these existed when John McDouall Stuart became the first person to make this trek.
Les claims that there is proof that Australia was not first settled by the First Fleet, but by the Dutch. This Dutch settlement became more myth than fact as Les tried proving that he is more of a conspiracy theorist, following rumours to no avail.
Seeking a lost gold reef that Harold Lasseter was searching for, Les' appetite for gold gets him nowhere.
A journey from Toowoomba to the north-eastern areas of Northern Territory, following a fellow named Leichardt. Once again, an explorer I was not aware existed, nor made this phenomenal journey.
Kennedy, an explorer travelling with his expedition to the northern tip of Queensland, comes to a disastrous end when he is killed by the local Aboriginals.
