Episode 4
Simon travels through three of the world's most extreme environments: the salt flats of Bolivia, the Brazilian Pantanal and Paraguay's Chaco Forest. In Bolivia, Simon meets a family who makes a living carving salt from the vast white expanse of the Uyuni salt flats, so huge it is said to be visible from the moon. He learns that beneath the salt could lie huge reserves of lithium, the metal so crucial for the batteries that will fuel the next generation of electric cars. Crossing into Brazil, Simon visits the world's largest wetlands, the Pantanal, and has a close encounter with South America's apex predator, the jaguar. Drought and fire threaten the Pantanal, but so too does excessive flooding, and Simon meets a farmer who has spent years building dams to hold back the rising waters and save his family farm. The last leg of this journey takes Simon into the little-visited Paraguay, where he meets a unique community which, despite their small numbers, has had a huge impact on the economy and environment of the country. Mennonites originally hail from Europe but they have spread throughout the world. In Paraguay, many live in ultra-conservative communities and eschew many of the trappings of the modern world. They drive around in horses and carts and speak their own language, known as low German. Simon visits a school where traditionally clothed children are drilled in bible texts and there are no smartphones to be seen. But the Mennonites have been hugely successful farmers, embracing modern methods where necessary to found vast cattle ranches and soy farms. They have chopped and burned huge areas of the Chaco, the unique dry spiny forest, which is twice the size of Spain and dominates the centre of the South American continent. Perhaps inevitably, this economic miracle, which has turned Paraguay into a major player in the global food market, has had its victims and Simon ends this leg of his journey with the Ayoreo people. Following a history of persecution and having lost much of their land, the Ayoreo now mount armed patrols to defend what remains. Others have given up the modern world altogether and returned to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle of their parents and grandparents, living in the harsh dry forests of the Chaco.
Trailer
Recently Updated Shows
Providence Falls
In 1844 Ireland, Liam O'Conner, a rogue and a thief, falls in love with Cora McLeod, a fiery but sheltered aristocrat's daughter, who is promised in marriage to a man she barely knows. Their plan to make a new life together in America is thwarted, and the consequences of Liam and Cora's unlikely love ripples through time, causing everyone to relive the events of the past. Now the Angels of Destiny need Liam's help to set things right and if he doesn't succeed, his very soul is on the line. They transport Liam to present day to help this incarnation of Cora fall in love with Finn, the man she was destined to marry in 1844. Liam would give anything to reunite with his beloved Cora but only he retains the memories of their past together. Now a cop in Providence Falls, Oregon, Cora feels an inexplicable connection to Liam, who is introduced as her new partner. And as they tackle a big case together, Liam sees the same passion and adventurous nature in Cora that he had fallen in love with. With everyone's lives at stake, Liam must overcome unexpected and otherworldly obstacles in his mission. Perhaps none as powerful as his own undying love for Cora.
The War Between the Land and the Sea
When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.
Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins for Stand Up to Cancer
In the first ever celebrity series of SAS: Who Dares Wins, 12 well-known faces embark on one of the toughest tests of their lives, to raise money for Stand Up To Cancer. They're living and surviving together in an unforgiving ex-military base, high in the Chilean Andes. From the recruits' very first challenge - a terrifying backwards dive out of a helicopter - Ant Middleton and his team of ex-special forces instructors are determined to show them that no allowances will be made for their celebrity status.
Lost Treasures of Egypt
An immersive, action-packed series follows international teams of Egyptologists as they unearth the world's richest seam of ancient archaeology — Lost Treasures of Egypt. Through excavations and unprecedented access to the teams on the front line of archaeology, we follow these modern-day explorers as they battle searing heat and inhospitable terrain to make the discoveries of a lifetime.
The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch
Gaining full and unprecedented access to one of the most infamous and secretive hotspots of paranormal and UFO-related activities on earth, The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch will feature a team of scientists and experts who will conduct a thorough search of this infamous 512-acre property located in Utah's Uinta Basin. They will attempt to find out the truth behind more than 200 years of mysteries - involving everything from UFO sightings and paranormal activities to animal mutilations and Native American legends of a shape-shifting creature known simply as The Skinwalker.