Sunday night on The History Channel, go out of your way to watch the premiere of the amazing new series Expedition Africa (from executive producer Mark Burnett). The show follows 4 explorers (a journalist named Kevin, a survivalist named Benedict, a wild life expert named Mireya, and navigator named Pasquale) and their team of porters as they follow the path that Henry Morton Stanley followed in 1871 in an attempt to find the missing explorer, and national hero, David Livingstone (he discovered Victoria Falls).
The mission starts out in Zanzibar, but really gets underway in the town of Bagamoyo, the oldest city in Tanzania. From there, the team plans to follow Stanley’s 8 month journey, but get it done in only 30 days. What I love about this show, from the get go, is the fact that it not only follows this incredible journey, and shows us some of the wild life of Africa that we may not know very much about it. It is 100 percent about the personal aspect, the social aspect of keeping your calm under pressure, when you’re having trouble getting along with someone in your group.
At it’s most basic level, it’s a real life Survivor, with the camps on the move. On day one, they lose someone; by day two, they’re pushing themselves too far, and completely at each other’s throats. By day six, people are dropping like flies. The heat is stifling in some places, cold weather freezing in others; the terrain is unforgiving, and the cobras are literally just hanging out waiting to spit in your eyes. It’s one of the most intriguing shows I’ve seen, and 2 episodes in (plus a sneak preview into later in the season), I’m completely hooked and can’t wait to see what happens next!
Don’t miss this show, and get yourself the companion game application on your iPhone!
EXPEDITION AFRICA premieres this Sunday at 10pm after the Season 3 premiere of Ice Road Truckers.
Production still from History’s new explorer series, Expedition Africa: Stanley and Livingstone. The eight-part series follows four adventurers as they retrace journalist Henry Stanley’s 19th century search in Africa for missing explorer David Livingstone. (History/Brent Stirton)
