Set to be a hit … Bear Grylls’ Man vs Wild, first shown on the Discovery Channel on Foxtel, is proving successful for SBS.
SURVIVALIST Bear Grylls has endured some of the most dangerous terrains in the world filming his Discovery Channel show, “Man vs. Wild,” but his second trip to Australia, which aired in the US last week, made him more nervous than usual.
The famous adventurer was dropped from a cargo plane into the Northern Territory outback and had to find his way back to civilization.
“With scorching heat and dangerous snakes, it is no surprise that people struggle to survive here,” the 35-year-old said.
But it was the crocodiles that had the usually calm, composed Grylls jumping at the slightest sound.
“Faced with an aggressive predator, my nerves are on edge. Even the smallest ripple makes me wonder what’s lying below,” he said while skirting around crocodile-infested waterways.
Heading north from his drop off point – towards the coast and civilization – the adventurer was forced to cross several rivers and travel on a makeshift raft.
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“It’s not human if you don’t feel a little bit scared floating down a river that’s got a lot of crocs in it when you’re just on a little raft,” he said.
“You are definitely not the king in waters like this. That title belongs to the salty. But it’s all about trying to use that fear.”
While fishing from his raft, Grylls came face to face with a saltwater crocodile that stole his meal, but he said he wasn’t about to fight the toothy reptile.
“When you’re fishing in waters teaming with predators, you’re never going to be the fastest hunter … that’s one battle I don’t mind letting him win.”
In the soaring temperatures of the Australian outback, having eaten snakes and spiders while trying to avoid leaches, mosquitoes and crocodiles, the wildlife warrior admitted it had been one of his more difficult challenges.
“My nerves are going to be a wreck at the end of this trip,” he said.
Is Australia really that scary? Join the debate at the NT news.
The season five episode will not air on Australian television until early 2011, according to a Discovery Channel spokeswoman.
The trip was Grylls second visit Down Under – he explored Western Australia’s Kimberly region in an episode that aired in 2007.
“Man vs. Wild” is a Discovery Channel show in which former U.K. Special Forces trooper Edward Michael Grylls – nicknamed Bear – is dropped into isolated, often dangerous areas where he demonstrates survival skills.
The series is called “Born Survivor: Bear Grylls” in the U.K. where it is broadcast on Channel 4, “Man vs. Wild” in Australia, Canada and the U.S. and “Ultimate Survival” on the Discovery Channel in Europe, Asia, and Africa.