1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,000 We are airborne. We're starting to reconnaissance right now. 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:07,000 It's a massive expense of nothingness. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:09,000 I mean, we're in the middle of absolutely nowhere. 4 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Yeah, if you want to find a lost city, it's not going to be on a paper road. 5 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:16,000 We're looking for old structures, like old buildings. 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:17,000 Is that a ruin? 7 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:18,000 It certainly looks like it. 8 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Ooh, ooh, ooh, look at that. 9 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:23,000 It makes it a little hard to search for a lost city 10 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:25,000 when you could actually be eaten while looking. 11 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:27,000 Woo-hoo! 12 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:29,000 Holy s***! 13 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Look at this! That's man-made. 14 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:33,000 What's that rock? 15 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:36,000 Okay, let's go find a lost city. 16 00:00:44,000 --> 00:00:47,000 In this age of GPS satellites in turn-by-turn directions, 17 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:51,000 it seems like any location in the world can be found with the push of a button. 18 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:56,000 But if the tale of a swashbuckling 19th century explorer is to be believed, 19 00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:59,000 there's an entire city out there that's lost. 20 00:01:01,000 --> 00:01:08,000 In 1885, a hugely popular acrobatic daredevil and circus pioneer named G.A. Farini 21 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:14,000 undertakes a daring expedition into the vast dunes of Africa's Kalahari Desert. 22 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:18,000 When he returns to civilization, Farini made a remarkable claim 23 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:24,000 that he came across the ruins of a lost city half buried in the scorching sands. 24 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:30,000 Many believe he had stumbled upon a never-before-described civilization. 25 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:36,000 To others, he was branded a liar, a circus showman full of tall tales. 26 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,000 But the promise of a lost city lured explorers into the unforgiving desert. 27 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:44,000 Many followed in Farini's footsteps. 28 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:49,000 All came up empty-handed, and some will somewhere never heard from again. 29 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,000 But now, a modern explorer is launching a bold new expedition, 30 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:58,000 and he's bringing some 21st century technology to the table. 31 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,000 The heart of Africa has been the setting for many a fabled expedition. 32 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,000 And now, I get to join the ranks of Stanley and Livingston, 33 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:12,000 as I go in pursuit of the long-lost ruins of the Kalahari Desert. 34 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:22,000 My name is Josh Gates. 35 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000 With a degree in archaeology and a passion for exploration, 36 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,000 I have a tendency to end up in some very strange situations. 37 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,000 God, Lord! 38 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,000 My travels have taken me to the ends of the earth, 39 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,000 as I investigate the greatest legends in history. 40 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:43,000 We're good to try, let's go. 41 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,000 This is Expedition Unknown. 42 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:53,000 My quest for the truth behind the lost city of the Kalahari 43 00:02:53,000 --> 00:02:57,000 begins by following the trail of the man who claimed to find it. 44 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,000 So I'm traveling to the starting point of his expedition, the same way he did. 45 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:03,000 Welcome to South Africa! 46 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:07,000 To the south is the Cape of Good Hope and the southern tip of the continent, 47 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 and dead ahead is the city of Cape Town. 48 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,000 It was originally sighted by Porto-Torre, 49 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,000 but it was not. 50 00:03:15,000 --> 00:03:17,000 The head is the city of Cape Town. 51 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,000 It was originally sighted by Portuguese explorers in 1486, 52 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,000 and it's where a very unlikely explorer, a man named Ferini, 53 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:30,000 arrived by ship from England on January 29th, 1885. 54 00:03:34,000 --> 00:03:38,000 I sail into the same port that's been welcoming explorers for over a century. 55 00:03:39,000 --> 00:03:43,000 But once ashore, I find a modern Cape Town that bears little resemblance 56 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:46,000 to the far-flung outpost that Ferini saw. 57 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,000 The Cape Town of today is magnetic and multicultural, 58 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:57,000 warmly embracing traditions from around the continent and around the world. 59 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,000 And where are you from? 60 00:03:58,000 --> 00:03:59,000 Palestine. 61 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,000 So you are a Palestinian in South Africa making Mexican food? 62 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:04,000 Absolutely. 63 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:05,000 Marlon is town. 64 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:08,000 While strolling the streets, 65 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,000 Ferini may have encountered traditional tribal beats, 66 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,000 but I doubt he got a taste of Dixie Jazz. 67 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,000 Or whatever you call this catchy tune. 68 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,000 Nice work, boys. Nice work. 69 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,000 I take the applause and leave the saxophone. 70 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,000 My next gig is only a quick stroll away 71 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:46,000 at the National Library of South Africa. 72 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,000 I'm here to meet historian Michael Main, 73 00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:53,000 who can hopefully shed light on whether the lost city is real or just legend. 74 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,000 The story of the lost city, 75 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,000 it seems to me, has been a very long journey. 76 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,000 I'm here to meet the story of the lost city, 77 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,000 the story of the lost city. 78 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,000 It seems to me, has everything to do with this guy, Ferini. 79 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,000 The man who trekked through Africa and found the lost city and all of that, 80 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:15,000 I think to understand that, you've got to go back and try and understand the man himself. 81 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:16,000 Right. 82 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,000 Most of his life moved into the world of theatre. 83 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:23,000 Born in 1838 as William Leonard Hunt, 84 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,000 he reinvented himself as the great Ferini, 85 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,000 a self-taught high-wired daredevil who enthralled audiences around the globe. 86 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Ferini, the showman, says in his later life 87 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:39,000 that showmanship is all about deception. 88 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,000 And deceive he did. 89 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,000 Ferini even devised an act where his adopted son Lulu 90 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:47,000 passed himself off as a female acrobat, 91 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,000 to the utter amazement of unsuspecting fans. 92 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:53,000 He was the quintessential showman, 93 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:55,000 and a wonderful example of this. 94 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:57,000 He decided to walk across Niagara, 95 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,000 wearing a washing machine on his back. 96 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:05,000 I mean, this is obviously brave, but also seems kind of crazy. 97 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,000 I mean, was he a madman? 98 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:08,000 He wasn't a madman at all. 99 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,000 He was so gifted in so many fields, 100 00:06:10,000 --> 00:06:13,000 he helped invent the parachute. 101 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,000 He helped invent the parachute. 102 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,000 He invented flip-up theatre seats. 103 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:19,000 Wait a minute. 104 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:21,000 So every time I go to the movies, I have Ferini to thank. 105 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,000 Thank you, Ferini. 106 00:06:23,000 --> 00:06:24,000 Wow. 107 00:06:24,000 --> 00:06:25,000 He's an extraordinary man. 108 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:26,000 So here's the question. 109 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,000 How does this guy end up in the deserts of Africa? 110 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:32,000 He was always looking for new acts, 111 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:36,000 and he'd heard about pygmies in Africa. 112 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,000 Ferini was fascinated by these people. 113 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,000 He and his son Lulu set off on a journey of discovery 114 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:44,000 into the Kalahari. 115 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,000 Somewhere along the way, 116 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:50,000 Ferini's expedition encounters a fantastic set of ruins. 117 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 That is, if you believe the word of a professional circus showman, 118 00:06:53,000 --> 00:06:56,000 which many, not surprisingly, do not. 119 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,000 In terms of seeing if we can verify this story, 120 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,000 how do we do that? 121 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:03,000 All right, there are really three things you can use. 122 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:04,000 Let's start with this. 123 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:06,000 This is his book. 124 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:07,000 Ferini's book. 125 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,000 This is Ferini's book through the Kalahari. 126 00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:13,000 The second source, guard this with your life. 127 00:07:13,000 --> 00:07:17,000 This is an original transcript of the lecture 128 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:22,000 that was given at the Royal Geographical Society in July 1886. 129 00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:23,000 After the expedition, 130 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,000 Ferini submits a presentation to the Royal Geographical Society in London. 131 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:32,000 It contains the first ever mention of the lost city of the Kalahari. 132 00:07:32,000 --> 00:07:36,000 The report also contains something else, a hand-drawn map. 133 00:07:38,000 --> 00:07:42,000 The map illustrates that Ferini undertook a thousand mile journey 134 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,000 from Cape Town far north into what is now Botswana to Lake Ngami, 135 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:48,000 where he turned around and came back. 136 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,000 He even marks the location of the lost city. 137 00:07:51,000 --> 00:07:52,000 The only problem? 138 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:55,000 The map is rife with geographical errors, 139 00:07:55,000 --> 00:07:58,000 and there's nothing at the spot where he marked the ruins. 140 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:01,000 But there is physical evidence of Ferini's journey. 141 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,000 His son, Lulu, took these very fine photographs. 142 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,000 If you look at this one, you can see the two of them there. 143 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,000 This is extraordinary, because this really is, more than anything else, 144 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,000 a visual record. 145 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:15,000 And it's unimpeachable. 146 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:17,000 You could go there and verify it. 147 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:18,000 Right. 148 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:19,000 They didn't take any photographs of the lost city. 149 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:23,000 What we do have is sketches that Lulu did there's one there. 150 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,000 So this is what Ferini claimed to see. 151 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:27,000 Exactly. 152 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:31,000 And why do you think that so many people have gone to look for this place? 153 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:33,000 Because we love a mystery like this. 154 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:34,000 We love this. 155 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:35,000 Right. 156 00:08:35,000 --> 00:08:36,000 That's what we're about. 157 00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:37,000 I mean, it is cool. 158 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,000 We're driven by curiosity. 159 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:39,000 I like a challenge. 160 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:40,000 You'll enjoy it. 161 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:41,000 Hey, thank you very much. 162 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:42,000 I really appreciate it. 163 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:46,000 Armed with original copies of Ferini's own materials, 164 00:08:46,000 --> 00:08:49,000 I begin my quest to determine if the lost city is real, 165 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:53,000 or whether Ferini's theatrical nature duped the world. 166 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:58,000 The trail begins at Cape Town's iconic 3,000-foot edifice, Table Mountain. 167 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,000 After Ferini arrives in Cape Town, 168 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,000 his son, Lulu, the photographer, 169 00:09:03,000 --> 00:09:07,000 comes up here and snaps what really are the first of the photos 170 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,000 from their now legendary expedition. 171 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,000 These photos are a way for us to track Ferini 172 00:09:11,000 --> 00:09:13,000 because we actually see what he saw. 173 00:09:13,000 --> 00:09:15,000 And this is where it all starts, right here. 174 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,000 Using Ferini's photos and writings as a guide, 175 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,000 I can literally walk in his footsteps. 176 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:22,000 By doing that, 177 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,000 I can see where he really went, 178 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:28,000 and hopefully figure out if he actually made a discovery. 179 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,000 And I'm not the only one using this approach. 180 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,000 I'm not the only one using this approach. 181 00:09:34,000 --> 00:09:37,000 I'm not the only one using this approach. 182 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:40,000 My plan is to meet with an explorer 183 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,000 about halfway up Ferini's route, 184 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:44,000 who may be on the cusp of determining 185 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,000 whether the lost city is fact or fiction. 186 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,000 To reach him, 187 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,000 I'm going to need something a bit more rugged 188 00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:53,000 than the open-topped ox carts that Ferini used. 189 00:09:54,000 --> 00:09:56,000 If you're going to go into the Kalahari Desert, 190 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:58,000 you need the right vehicle for the job. 191 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,000 This is a custom land cruiser that has been outfitted 192 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:02,000 for serious expeditions. 193 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,000 Comes with everything you might need along the way, 194 00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,000 including a full mobile refrigerator, 195 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,000 as well as an entire mobile kitchen, 196 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,000 stove, 197 00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:15,000 cutlery, 198 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:16,000 glassware. 199 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:18,000 It's also got propane tanks 200 00:10:18,000 --> 00:10:21,000 that fuel a full hot shower. 201 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:25,000 This is really your all-in-one lost city vehicle. 202 00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:31,000 Okay, here we go. 203 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:34,000 On the wrong side of the car. 204 00:10:43,000 --> 00:10:45,000 Important note to self, 205 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:47,000 the steering wheel is on the right, 206 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:50,000 so remember to drive on the left side of the road. 207 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:51,000 And with that, 208 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:53,000 I'm embarking on an adventure 209 00:10:53,000 --> 00:10:55,000 to find a daring explorer, 210 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:58,000 and hopefully the lost city of the Kalahari. 211 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:00,000 All right, goodbye Cape Town. 212 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:02,000 Desert, here we come. 213 00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:10,000 Cape Town, South Africa. 214 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,000 I'm setting off to meet an explorer 215 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,000 determined to figure out if the lost city of the Kalahari 216 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,000 is the stuff of legend or an undiscovered reality. 217 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,000 Okay, tricked out 4x4. 218 00:11:21,000 --> 00:11:23,000 Check. Food, water, fuel, check. 219 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,000 Now we're going to drive north. 220 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,000 And then we're just going to keep driving north. 221 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:28,000 The plan? 222 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:31,000 To drive through the last vestige of civilization 223 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:32,000 in the city of Uppington, 224 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:34,000 then into the vast Kalahari Desert 225 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:37,000 to meet adventurer Adam Cruz. 226 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,000 The further I get from Cape Town, 227 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,000 the rougher the journey, literally. 228 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:45,000 Okay, there goes the paved road. 229 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:48,000 It is going to be dirt roads from here. 230 00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,000 This is an area known as the Karoo. 231 00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:55,000 It's a word that has a lot of different interpretations. 232 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,000 Now the definition I like best is empty. 233 00:12:00,000 --> 00:12:03,000 Out here there aren't exactly drive-through Starbucks. 234 00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:06,000 About the closest thing I find is this. 235 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:10,000 An eclectic mom and pop operation 236 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,000 that looks like it's right out of Mad Max. 237 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,000 Except without guys in bondage gear 238 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:16,000 chasing me with a flamethrower. 239 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:17,000 How's it going boys? 240 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:18,000 Good. 241 00:12:18,000 --> 00:12:22,000 I'm headed north, up into the Kalahari. 242 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:23,000 Never been there. 243 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:24,000 Give me a preview, what's it like? 244 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,000 It's actually less than this. 245 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:27,000 Less than this? 246 00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:28,000 Yeah. 247 00:12:29,000 --> 00:12:31,000 There's nothing out here, how can it be less than this? 248 00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,000 It's nothing less than a... 249 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:37,000 That's the Kalahari. 250 00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:38,000 That's the Kalahari. 251 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:39,000 Alright, got it. 252 00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:45,000 I get back on the road, 253 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:46,000 and after a few more hours 254 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:49,000 I eventually arrive in the town of Uppington. 255 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:50,000 I duck into the local library 256 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:52,000 to take a peek in their archives. 257 00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:54,000 The newspapers from Farini's Day 258 00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,000 have been preserved on microfilm. 259 00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:01,000 I scan the 130 year old papers 260 00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,000 for any clues to the mystery. 261 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:06,000 Baking powder is on sale for five cents, 262 00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:08,000 so that's a pretty good bargain. 263 00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,000 Eventually, I find just what I'm looking for. 264 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:11,000 Here it is. 265 00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:15,000 So, this is from the Cape Argus newspaper. 266 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,000 This is Wednesday, July 22nd, 1885. 267 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:21,000 This is just after Farini comes out of the Kalahari desert 268 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:22,000 after his expedition. 269 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,000 Mr. Farini and his son have just arrived 270 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:26,000 after their journey to the Kalahari. 271 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,000 He gives a striking description 272 00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,000 of magnificent falls on the Orange River. 273 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:32,000 Talks a little bit about the natives. 274 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,000 The really strange part about this is that 275 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,000 he actually makes no mention of this lost city. 276 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:39,000 You know, if you think about this, 277 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,000 he's just come out of the desert. 278 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:44,000 He's met this reporter, and he's giving this account. 279 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,000 The reporter says he's all too happy 280 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:48,000 to talk about this incredible expedition, 281 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:50,000 and yet, he doesn't tell the guy 282 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:53,000 that he's found this crazy lost city trapped in the sand. 283 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,000 That doesn't come up at all in this interview. 284 00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,000 That's really weird. 285 00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:00,000 The fact that Farini didn't shout his fine 286 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,000 from the rooftops is suspicious. 287 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:05,000 But then again, he was planning a book and a presentation, 288 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,000 and maybe he was keeping his incredible find a secret. 289 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:12,000 To find out, I press on to the north 290 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,000 and enter the great untamed Kalahari desert. 291 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,000 Out here, there are no towns and no people, 292 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:21,000 but that doesn't mean it's deserted. 293 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,000 Everywhere I look, there's wildlife. 294 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:27,000 Looks like a couple of hemspots coming across the road. 295 00:14:27,000 --> 00:14:29,000 Some pretty serious horns there. 296 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:30,000 I'm gonna let those guys go. 297 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:33,000 I'm pretty sure this officer wants to race me. 298 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,000 You want a piece of this? Bring it. 299 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,000 Most of the residents are exotic, but relatively harmless. 300 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,000 Others, not so much. 301 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,000 Oh, oh, oh, look at that. 302 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,000 That is 30 feet from the car. 303 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,000 Full-grown male African lion. 304 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,000 Literally, that thing is just ripping out here in the wilderness. 305 00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Makes it a little hard to search for a lost city 306 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,000 when you could actually be eaten while looking. 307 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,000 Hoping to avoid becoming dinner, 308 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,000 I carry on and arrive at my rendezvous point, 309 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,000 a fenced-in lodge where I'm set to meet 310 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:09,000 with veteran explorer Adam Cruz. 311 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:10,000 Adam. 312 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,000 Josh. 313 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,000 How are you, man? 314 00:15:12,000 --> 00:15:13,000 I'm very well. 315 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,000 Nice to meet you. 316 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:15,000 My pleasure. 317 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,000 So are you gonna show me the way to the lost city? 318 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:18,000 Well, at least I'm gonna try. 319 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:19,000 Yes. All right. Good. You ready? 320 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:20,000 No, I'm ready. 321 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:21,000 Let's do it. Come on. 322 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:22,000 Okay. 323 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:26,000 Adam has crisscrossed the Kalahari 324 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:29,000 and is a seasoned expert on Ferini's expedition. 325 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:31,000 He's even authored a book on the subject. 326 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:34,000 Adam, what drew you to the Ferini story, 327 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:35,000 the lost city legend? 328 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,000 Well, it started when I was very young. 329 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,000 I mean, like all boys, I love the stories of Tarzan 330 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,000 and King Solomon's mind and all those great stories. 331 00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,000 And then as I got older, I started realizing 332 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,000 that some of these stories were real. 333 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:50,000 And then I read a book by a South African author, 334 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:52,000 a famous South African author, 335 00:15:52,000 --> 00:15:54,000 who went on this harebrained scheme into the desert 336 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,000 to look for this lost city. 337 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,000 And that was the first time I heard about it. 338 00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,000 And then I got hooked. 339 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,000 And then I discovered that a lot of people 340 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:02,000 have gone out to try and find us. 341 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,000 I read somewhere that there had been more than 30 342 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,000 just kind of full-scale expeditions. 343 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,000 Definitely more than 30 documented expeditions. 344 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,000 I reckon there are probably hundreds of people 345 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,000 going out there looking on their own capacity, 346 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,000 trying to find us. 347 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,000 The area that this lost city is situated in, 348 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,000 it's vast. 349 00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,000 It's a massive expanse of nothingness. 350 00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000 I mean, we're in the middle of absolutely nowhere. 351 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,000 Despite Ferini's career as a circus showman, 352 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,000 Adam has become convinced that he didn't invent 353 00:16:33,000 --> 00:16:34,000 the lost city. 354 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:38,000 After all, in Ferini's 400-page book on the Kalahari, 355 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:41,000 the mention of the lost city takes up less than two pages. 356 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,000 It's not a big sort of description. 357 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:45,000 There's no fanfare to it. 358 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,000 He drops it in in a couple of paragraphs 359 00:16:47,000 --> 00:16:49,000 and then continues on with his story. 360 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:50,000 Right. 361 00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,000 It's not like he leveraged it into some big, you know, 362 00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,000 money-making scheme. 363 00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:55,000 But the book isn't really about the lost city. 364 00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,000 The book is just about the Kalahari. 365 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,000 Certainly. 366 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,000 That's exactly what it is. 367 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:01,000 So it's very plausible and very possible 368 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,000 that this lost city is still out there. 369 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,000 I'm starting to think that Adam might be right, 370 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:08,000 especially when I see where he's led us. 371 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:09,000 Okay, Josh, just pull over up here. 372 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:10,000 This is it? 373 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:11,000 Yeah, this is it. 374 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,000 Let's do it. 375 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:16,000 Is that a ruin? 376 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:28,000 In the deserts of South Africa near the border of Botswana, 377 00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:30,000 I'm gazing at towers of rocks that look a lot 378 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,000 like the fabled lost city of the Kalahari. 379 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:37,000 Looks like a toppled fortress. 380 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:39,000 Chinese wall after an earthquake. 381 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:41,000 That was Farini's description, right? 382 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:42,000 That was Farini's description. 383 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:45,000 In Farini's writings, he describes the lost city 384 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,000 as a tumbled down wall made of tightly fitted, 385 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:49,000 squared-off blocks. 386 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,000 We hike in through a dry riverbed 387 00:17:51,000 --> 00:17:54,000 and try to make sense of the stones ahead of us. 388 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,000 So look at these. 389 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,000 This is what I want to show you. 390 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:02,000 A lot of experts have thought that based on these square blocks, 391 00:18:02,000 --> 00:18:07,000 that Farini must took these as man-made and hence a lost city. 392 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:08,000 So what do you think? Case closed? 393 00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:10,000 Okay, what do you think, Josh? Does this look natural? 394 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,000 Does this look man-made to you? 395 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,000 For a quarter of a mile out, it fooled me, sure. 396 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:16,000 Because it does. 397 00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,000 It comes out of nowhere. 398 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,000 You're looking at this flat horizon, 399 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,000 and you see this, what looks like blocks. 400 00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:23,000 But once you're up on top of it, 401 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:25,000 no, to me, it looks natural. 402 00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,000 There's lots of rounded stones here, 403 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:28,000 and they all look very weathered, 404 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:30,000 and really, even though the lines are quite straight, 405 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:32,000 they're not perfectly straight, 406 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,000 and there's no real evidence of tool marks. 407 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:37,000 So, no, I think it looks pretty natural. 408 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:39,000 Farini might have been a circus guy, an entertainer, 409 00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:41,000 but he certainly was no fool. 410 00:18:41,000 --> 00:18:43,000 I mean, he was an accomplished botanist, 411 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:47,000 he was an inventor, he could speak a dozen languages. 412 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,000 If you and I can think this is natural, 413 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:52,000 Farini would have thought this is natural as well. 414 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,000 I think the lost city is somewhere else. 415 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000 So the question is where? 416 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:57,000 Well, I think the problem is, 417 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,000 is everybody looking for this city 418 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:02,000 has based their search on Farini's map. 419 00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,000 But we know that Farini's map is very unreliable. 420 00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:06,000 It is flawed. 421 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,000 So we've got to try a different plan of attack. 422 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:10,000 We've got to figure out where they were, 423 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:11,000 what route they took. 424 00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,000 And where do you think that will lead us? 425 00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:15,000 Well, I think it's not to the north, 426 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:18,000 I don't think it's here, I think it's to the south. 427 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:19,000 To the south? 428 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:20,000 To the south. 429 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,000 Okay. 430 00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:26,000 According to Farini's map, 431 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:28,000 his route took him from Cape Town 432 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,000 to the remote shores of Lake Ngami and back, 433 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:33,000 except that's almost certainly not true. 434 00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:35,000 So you don't think he went all the way to where he's heading? 435 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,000 No, the time frame doesn't match. 436 00:19:36,000 --> 00:19:38,000 I mean, there's no way he could have covered that distance 437 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,000 in the time he was in the area. 438 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,000 Farini's steamship tickets confirmed 439 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,000 that his journey lasted eight months, 440 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,000 which means he would have had to cover 441 00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:50,000 more than 40 miles a day in an ox cart, 442 00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:51,000 in the desert. 443 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:52,000 It's all but impossible. 444 00:19:52,000 --> 00:19:55,000 But we know that Farini made at least part of the journey. 445 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,000 The best case scenario, he probably went as far as 446 00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,000 southern Botswana. 447 00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,000 In all the photos that Lulu took, 448 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:04,000 are clearly of the area up until that point. 449 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:05,000 Right. 450 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:07,000 Adam believes that instead of traveling 451 00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:08,000 all the way to Lake Ngami, 452 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:10,000 Farini traveled only part of the way 453 00:20:10,000 --> 00:20:12,000 and turned back earlier, 454 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:13,000 then embellished his journey 455 00:20:13,000 --> 00:20:16,000 to make it seem even more far-flung. 456 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,000 But consequently, every expedition 457 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,000 that has sought the lost city 458 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,000 has looked in the heart of the Kalahari Desert, 459 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,000 in an area that Farini probably never reached. 460 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:27,000 Let's rule out all the areas to the north. 461 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:30,000 We're not sure whether Farini went all the way up. 462 00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:31,000 That's right. 463 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,000 Adam believes that Farini saw his lost city 464 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:35,000 much farther to the south, 465 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,000 so that's where we're headed. 466 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,000 But with the sun setting low on the horizon, 467 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,000 we're going to need to hunker down for the night. 468 00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,000 Good as spot as any, right? 469 00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,000 Yep. 470 00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:46,000 Okay, here we are. 471 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:48,000 Home sweet home. 472 00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:51,000 I try to forget that we're camping 473 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:54,000 in what amounts to a zoo with no cages. 474 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:55,000 We build a fire for safety, 475 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,000 and I cook, or at least heat up 476 00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,000 some fancy 21st century instant meals. 477 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,000 Cuban black beans and coconut. 478 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:03,000 Oh, very nice. 479 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,000 A classic African dish. 480 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:07,000 Perfect for the Kalahari. 481 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,000 How does our setup here 482 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,000 compare to Farini, do you think? 483 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,000 Well, he would have had something pretty similar 484 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:14,000 for 1885. 485 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:17,000 So, he had the latest vehicle of the day. 486 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,000 It was a buck wagon towed by a whole team of oxen. 487 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000 But he had all the latest things on it. 488 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,000 He had an awning that came over the side for shade. 489 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,000 He would have had servants walking along next 490 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,000 to it, making sure that, you know, 491 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:32,000 when we'd stop like this, they would be all around. 492 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:33,000 What kind of guy do you think Farini was? 493 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000 Farini was larger than life. 494 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:36,000 He loved the scenery. 495 00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:38,000 He loved, especially he loved the local tribes 496 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,000 he came across. 497 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:41,000 And he always went out of his way 498 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:43,000 to meet them and greet them, 499 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:46,000 which for his age was beyond his age, 500 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:48,000 because most Europeans in those days 501 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,000 didn't treat the local people like that. 502 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000 Right. 503 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:53,000 As much as I feel like we're looking for the lost city, 504 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,000 I feel like I'm looking for Farini as well. 505 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,000 This is a guy that leads rediscovery. 506 00:21:57,000 --> 00:21:59,000 I think his history needs to be written. 507 00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,000 Well, here's to Farini. 508 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,000 Here's to Farini. Cheers. 509 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:04,000 Cheers. 510 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:08,000 Oh, God, I'm gonna be pissed 511 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,000 if I get eaten by a lion tonight. 512 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:23,000 Daybreak, and I'm happy to report 513 00:22:23,000 --> 00:22:25,000 that nothing has turned me into a midnight snack. 514 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:26,000 Adam, good morning. 515 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:27,000 Good morning, morning. 516 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,000 How do you take your eggs? 517 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,000 Uh, over easy. 518 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,000 Uh, scrambled is the only thing I have available right now. 519 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,000 In fact, I'm starting to get pretty comfortable 520 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,000 out here in the Kalahari. 521 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:50,000 With my 4x4 camper transformer tucked back into highway mode, 522 00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:53,000 we make our way to Adam's targeted search area to the south. 523 00:22:57,000 --> 00:23:01,000 Now, Josh, this is the O'Crobby's Falls. 524 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:05,000 Unbelievable. 525 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:06,000 Look at that. 526 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,000 That is stunning. 527 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:09,000 Amazing. 528 00:23:11,000 --> 00:23:14,000 These, these I recognize from Farini's photos. 529 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:15,000 Yeah? 530 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:16,000 Yeah. 531 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:22,000 Those are the falls. 532 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:23,000 That is them. 533 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000 That's it, right? 534 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:25,000 Beyond that. 535 00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:26,000 And the other one, he's in, right? 536 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,000 That's Farini. 537 00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,000 That's Farini. 538 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:29,000 So that's over here somewhere, yeah? 539 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:30,000 Yes, uh... 540 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:32,000 That's under that lip right there, yeah? 541 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,000 Yeah, that's it. You're right. 542 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:34,000 Spot on. 543 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:35,000 So we've placed the man right there. 544 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,000 So the question becomes, 545 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:39,000 why look for the lost city here? 546 00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:41,000 Okay, well, as you said, Josh, Farini was here. 547 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:43,000 We can place the man right here. 548 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:45,000 So it's guaranteed. 549 00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,000 And there's questions about the rest of his journey. 550 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:49,000 Nobody searched the one place we knew 551 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,000 I had to go to. 552 00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,000 Right. 553 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,000 Okay, so how do we search it? 554 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:55,000 Well, that's going to be pretty hard. 555 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000 This is more terrain than we could cover on foot 556 00:23:58,000 --> 00:23:59,000 in a lifetime. 557 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,000 Thankfully, Adam has come up with a shortcut. 558 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:05,000 He directs me to a nearby dusty airstrip. 559 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:08,000 He's reached out to an aerial reconnaissance team 560 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,000 equipped with a special technology called LIDAR. 561 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,000 Looks like a legit operation here. 562 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:14,000 Yeah. 563 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:15,000 It's the boys. 564 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:16,000 They're the boys. 565 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:17,000 They're the boys. 566 00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:18,000 They're the boys. 567 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:19,000 Yeah. 568 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:20,000 It's the boys. 569 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,000 LIDAR is a laser scanning device 570 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,000 that pierces through vegetation, 571 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,000 revealing long forgotten features underneath. 572 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,000 How much ground can we cover in what time using the LIDAR? 573 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,000 We will cover about 2,500 acres in one hour. 574 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,000 2,500 acres in one hour? 575 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,000 In one hour. 576 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,000 That's crazy. 577 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,000 No expedition before ours has attempted to locate 578 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,000 Farini City using this technology. 579 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,000 Adam and the scanning equipment will operate from the plane, 580 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:47,000 while a pilot and I will perform some forward reconnaissance 581 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,000 in this. 582 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:51,000 Oh, no. 583 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,000 No, no. 584 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,000 What is this? 585 00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,000 It's called a gyrocopter. 586 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,000 This does not look like something that flies. 587 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:02,000 Initial glance doesn't instill a lot of confidence, 588 00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:04,000 but believe me, once we get out there, 589 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:05,000 I'm sure I'll change your mind. 590 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:06,000 Okay. 591 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,000 Here we go. 592 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,000 Even though I'm worried that my foot is going to punch a hole 593 00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:16,000 through the floor, I cross my fingers 594 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:18,000 and hope for the best. 595 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,000 Woo-hoo! 596 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:28,000 Unbelievable. 597 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,000 This is so cool. 598 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,000 Okay, let's go find a lost city. 599 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:41,000 Adam, we are airborne. 600 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,000 We're starting to reconnaissance right now. 601 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Our plan is simple. 602 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,000 I'm looking for unusual formations around the canyons 603 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,000 and dry riverbeds where we know Farini traveled. 604 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,000 If I see anything, that's where Adam's LiDAR-equipped plane 605 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,000 comes in. 606 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:59,000 The LiDAR will scan the landscape with millions of laser pulses 607 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,000 and then analyze the data to look for anything man-made, 608 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:04,000 like a lost city. 609 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000 We're coming up in the area where Adam and I were on foot. 610 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:15,000 I can see the river and some of the canyons now coming off 611 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,000 our 11 o'clock. 612 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:19,000 This thing goes real low. 613 00:26:19,000 --> 00:26:20,000 We're going to head into the canyon. 614 00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,000 I'll let you know what we see. 615 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,000 Okay, copy that, Josh. 616 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,000 We are a few miles behind you. 617 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:26,000 We'll be there any minute. 618 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,000 Seeing some interesting features down here, Adam. 619 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:36,000 Looks like some rock formations next to these dry riverbeds. 620 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000 They look very different than other stuff that we've seen. 621 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,000 Let's get down here and check it out. 622 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:42,000 Excellent. 623 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:44,000 And steep turn left. 624 00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,000 Holy s***! 625 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:00,000 I'm soaring above the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, 626 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:03,000 scanning for evidence of a legendary lost city, 627 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,000 and we've just spotted some odd rock formations below. 628 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:09,000 Adam, get over here. 629 00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:10,000 We definitely got something. 630 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:11,000 Great news. 631 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:13,000 Okay, we are making our way over there. 632 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,000 We'll be there in any minute. 633 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:19,000 Adam's associates will use the Lidar laser scanners on his plane 634 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:23,000 and sweep back and forth over the target area like a paintbrush. 635 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,000 Okay, altitude looks good. 636 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:28,000 Speed looks good. 637 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:32,000 If there was anything there initially, we'll definitely pick it up now. 638 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:36,000 Meanwhile, my Kamikaze pilot and I survey the entire area 639 00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:39,000 and target additional spots for the Lidar to scan. 640 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,000 And after Adam's team finishes up their runs, 641 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,000 it's time for us to see if we've got any hits. 642 00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,000 Okay, let's get back on the ground and see what the data looks like. 643 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,000 Okay, we are headed back for the airstrip now. 644 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,000 Copy that. We're right behind you. 645 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:05,000 Back at the airport, the team has already started analyzing the data from our Lidar flight. 646 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,000 They invite Adam and I over to take a look. 647 00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:08,000 Did the Lidar turn anything up? 648 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:12,000 It did. What you can see, that's the canyon that you guys flew through. 649 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,000 These are all the mountains sitting here. 650 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:16,000 We remove all the vegetation. 651 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:20,000 And basically what we left with is what is actually on the ground itself. 652 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:23,000 The first thing we notice is that there's a small village in the area, 653 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,000 an indigenous community. 654 00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:28,000 So the community is basically sitting here in the north, 655 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,000 but then there was something really interesting I found just up here. 656 00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:33,000 Ah, now we're talking. 657 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:36,000 Look at this, Josh. An elliptical shape. 658 00:28:36,000 --> 00:28:38,000 Okay, that's wild. 659 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,000 Farini mentioned an elliptical wall, a circular wall. 660 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:44,000 That fits this shape over here. 661 00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:45,000 It totally does. 662 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:46,000 This is perfect. 663 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:47,000 Can you back it up a bit? 664 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:48,000 Sure, sure. 665 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,000 Okay, whoa, stop right there. Look at this. 666 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:53,000 Farini spoke about the ruins being at the base of a mountain. 667 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:54,000 Right. 668 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,000 That's a mountain, right? 669 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,000 That's it, yeah. 670 00:28:56,000 --> 00:28:58,000 This is pretty much what we're looking for. 671 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,000 I don't know if that's a lost city, but it doesn't look natural. 672 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:01,000 I think we should go look, Josh. 673 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,000 Yeah. 674 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,000 Without passable roads on the other side of Agrabi's Falls, 675 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:11,000 the only way to get to the elliptical formation is to use the river itself. 676 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,000 Okay, here we go. 677 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,000 The plan is to raft downstream toward the coordinates and then hike in from there. 678 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,000 But first, we'll need to get through a few bumps in the road. 679 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:27,000 This is quite big. 680 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,000 Okay, here we go. 681 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:30,000 Hang on. 682 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:35,000 To the left. 683 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,000 Yeah, keep it to the left. 684 00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,000 Whoa. 685 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,000 Watch the rock. 686 00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:53,000 Turn it forward. 687 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,000 Watch that rock. 688 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:01,000 Whoo. 689 00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:05,000 We're alive. 690 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:10,000 Adam and I survived the rapids, and downstream we find ourselves in pristine wilderness. 691 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,000 A dinosaur could push through those bushes, and I wouldn't be surprised. 692 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,000 It's like a lost world. 693 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:26,000 Here, in the midst of a desert, is a lush and primordial world. 694 00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:31,000 Eventually, we approach the closest point to the GPS coordinates and pull over to make a plan. 695 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:36,000 It looks like we're a couple kilometers from the Lidar Point. 696 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:37,000 I think we go straight up there. 697 00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,000 Yeah, through the riverbed. 698 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:39,000 Okay. 699 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:40,000 From the water to the desert. 700 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,000 There we go. 701 00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:50,000 Although it's only a bit more than a mile to reach the Crescent Anomaly, it's slow going on foot. 702 00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:53,000 Sandy in some places, and Rocky in others. 703 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:55,000 The terrain here looks like something from Mars. 704 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:07,000 So I think that peak that we saw in the Lidar is right there, yeah? 705 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,000 Yeah, I agree. 706 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:09,000 So we're just somewhere inside of that? 707 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:11,000 Yeah, we've got to go a little bit to that side. 708 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:15,000 The Lidar revealed a semi-circular rock formation. 709 00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:21,000 We hiked down over the ridge to approach the coordinates, and suddenly we see what we came for. 710 00:31:21,000 --> 00:31:22,000 Look at that! 711 00:31:23,000 --> 00:31:24,000 Wow. 712 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:26,000 Huge Crescent! 713 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:28,000 This is it. 714 00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,000 This is what we saw in the Lidar. 715 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,000 It does look like blocks too. 716 00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:34,000 It's really wild. 717 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,000 Yeah, it's this huge half-moon shape. 718 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,000 Amazing. 719 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,000 Oh, and look at that, Josh. 720 00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:42,000 Look at this! 721 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:46,000 That's man-made. 722 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:49,000 This is a wall. 723 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:51,000 That is a wall. 724 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,000 Signs of civilization right here. 725 00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,000 Absolutely. 726 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:59,000 It's not clear what this is, but it's something that's been constructed deliberately, and it's obviously old. 727 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:00,000 This could be a hut. 728 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:01,000 Yeah. 729 00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:03,000 It could be a cattle enclosure. 730 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:04,000 It's clearly very old. 731 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:05,000 Couple centuries at least? 732 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:06,000 At least a couple of centuries. 733 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,000 Maybe more. 734 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:08,000 Who knows? 735 00:32:08,000 --> 00:32:14,000 This enclosure is a clear sign that a society of some kind was living in these deserts hundreds of years ago. 736 00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:17,000 But we'll need to continue exploring if we have any more information. 737 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:22,000 We've just come across the largest ruin of the site, a wall that stretches for more than half a mile. 738 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:23,000 It just goes on and on. 739 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:30,000 What's really crazy is that so many people have been living in this area. 740 00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:35,000 They've been living in this area for about 30 years, and it's a very different area. 741 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:36,000 There's no one here. 742 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:37,000 There's no one. 743 00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:38,000 There's nothing. 744 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:39,000 There's no one. 745 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,000 We've just come across the largest ruin of the site, a wall that stretches for more than half a mile. 746 00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:44,000 It just goes on and on. 747 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:50,000 What's really crazy is that so much of it actually matches Farini's description. 748 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:51,000 This is very good. 749 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:55,000 Let's see how far we are from that community we spotted. 750 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,000 We've got to be fairly close to them, right? 751 00:32:57,000 --> 00:33:01,000 We are about three and a half clicks. 752 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:03,000 And that's going to be in that direction over there. 753 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:08,000 Let's make our way over there, see if they know of any other structures in the area, or see if they've seen anything else. 754 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,000 Good idea. 755 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:10,000 Yeah? 756 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:11,000 This is so cool. 757 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,000 The Lidar scan revealed a small indigenous community living a few kilometers from the rock formations. 758 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:25,000 We trudged across the sweltering sands for an hour, but finally we catch a break. 759 00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,000 Oh, there's people. 760 00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:29,000 Huh? Where? 761 00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,000 Yeah, see the guy. 762 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:31,000 Oh no, monkeys. 763 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:33,000 Hey! 764 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:35,000 Hey! 765 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,000 Hey! 766 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:48,000 I'm in Southern Africa trekking through the Kalahari Desert, 767 00:33:48,000 --> 00:33:50,000 hot on a trail of a lost city. 768 00:33:50,000 --> 00:33:53,000 We've just spotted the last thing I expected to see out here. 769 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:54,000 Oh, there's people. 770 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:55,000 Huh? Where? 771 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:56,000 Yeah, see the guy. 772 00:33:56,000 --> 00:33:57,000 Oh no, monkeys. 773 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:00,000 Hey! 774 00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,000 Hey! 775 00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:05,000 Hey! 776 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,000 Hey! 777 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:13,000 How are ya? 778 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:14,000 How are you guys doing? 779 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:15,000 Fine, how are you guys? 780 00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:16,000 Where are you coming from? 781 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:18,000 We're coming from the community, the first map. 782 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:20,000 You're the first people I've seen out here? 783 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:21,000 First people. 784 00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,000 It's very quiet out here. 785 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:24,000 Yeah. 786 00:34:24,000 --> 00:34:27,000 We're looking for old structures, like old buildings. 787 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,000 You understand? 788 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:29,000 Yes, yeah. 789 00:34:29,000 --> 00:34:31,000 Like man-made, anything like that around here? 790 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:34,000 I would ask my friend, they know better, but it's okay. 791 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,000 All structures, yeah. 792 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:41,000 All structures? 793 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:44,000 Yeah, maybe three kilometers from here. 794 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:45,000 What language are you speaking? 795 00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,000 We speak Dhamara Nama. 796 00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:48,000 Do you know this language? 797 00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,000 I don't know it, I know of it, but I don't understand it. 798 00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:52,000 It's like one of the click languages. 799 00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:53,000 It's got a click, you heard him speaking. 800 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:54,000 Yeah. 801 00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:55,000 He's speaking very good, hey? 802 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:56,000 Yeah, it's very cool sounding. 803 00:34:56,000 --> 00:34:57,000 Yeah. 804 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,000 You want a ride? 805 00:34:58,000 --> 00:34:59,000 Yeah, I'd love a ride. 806 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:00,000 Are you kidding? 807 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:01,000 In this heat? 808 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:02,000 Yes. 809 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:03,000 So we're happy to take a ride. 810 00:35:03,000 --> 00:35:04,000 Just climb up, hey? 811 00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:05,000 Yes. 812 00:35:05,000 --> 00:35:06,000 And we're in. 813 00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:07,000 Yes. 814 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,000 This is what we call the Kalahari Theraraj. 815 00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,000 I love it. 816 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:20,000 We're not exactly tearing across the desert, but it certainly beats walking. 817 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:25,000 We've only been riding for a few minutes when something catches Adam's eye. 818 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,000 Hey Josh, look at this tree here. 819 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:29,000 Sorry, don't you want to just stop here for a second? 820 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:30,000 Yes. 821 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,000 Just for a second, Josh, I just want to show you something. 822 00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,000 This is something interesting about Ferini. 823 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:40,000 Lulu took a picture of Ferini and somebody standing underneath a tree exactly like this. 824 00:35:40,000 --> 00:35:41,000 Really? 825 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:42,000 Yeah. 826 00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:43,000 Can you, can we have the photos? 827 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,000 Wait, I've got the photos in my backpack. 828 00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,000 Alright, let's have a look. 829 00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,000 Here we go, look at this. 830 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,000 That's almost a dead match. 831 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,000 Yeah, look at that. 832 00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:58,000 It's proof that Ferini at least passed through an area like this. 833 00:35:58,000 --> 00:35:59,000 At least he got this far. 834 00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,000 Oh, another clue checked off. 835 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:11,000 The fact that Ferini passed through this area, combined with the fact that we've already seen stone walls and structures, 836 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:13,000 might mean that we're on the right track. 837 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:16,000 The question now is what else is out here? 838 00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:23,000 Stop, stop. 839 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:24,000 Is this it? 840 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,000 Yes. 841 00:36:25,000 --> 00:36:26,000 Where, where is it? 842 00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:27,000 Yeah, it's done. 843 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:28,000 By the hill? 844 00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,000 Yes. 845 00:36:30,000 --> 00:36:31,000 I can show you. 846 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:32,000 That'd be great. 847 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:33,000 Okay, let's go, come on. 848 00:36:33,000 --> 00:36:34,000 Let's go. 849 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:39,000 Our new friend Lionel agrees to take us to what he claims are man-made structures. 850 00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:43,000 Adam and I are incredibly curious to see what's hiding out here. 851 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,000 That is if the heat doesn't kill us first. 852 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:53,000 We're coming up on 5pm and it's as hot as it's been all day. 853 00:36:53,000 --> 00:36:54,000 Yeah. 854 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,000 It hasn't cooled off one degree. 855 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,000 Alright. 856 00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:59,000 How far, it's not far from here. 857 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:00,000 Not far. 858 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:03,000 Something up here. 859 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:05,000 Yeah, look at this. 860 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,000 That is really weird. 861 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,000 Definitely not natural. 862 00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,000 No. 863 00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,000 This is totally lined up here. 864 00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:20,000 Yeah, it's almost like it was like a floor or a pavement or something. 865 00:37:20,000 --> 00:37:22,000 Yeah, I was going to say it looks like a piece of road. 866 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:23,000 Yeah. 867 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,000 These are really fine stones. 868 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,000 Yeah, they're very flat, they're very smooth. 869 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,000 Yeah, and it almost looks like it was built as a platform or something. 870 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:31,000 Yeah. 871 00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:32,000 Right? 872 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:33,000 It's kind of what Ferini described. 873 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:39,000 Yet another strange structure, more evidence of a lost culture in the Kalahari. 874 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:41,000 Anything else that you think is man-made here? 875 00:37:41,000 --> 00:37:44,000 Man-made here is an artwork. 876 00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:45,000 Artwork? 877 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:46,000 Artwork. 878 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:47,000 Artwork? 879 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:48,000 Where? 880 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:51,000 Somewhere, 500 meters from here. 881 00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:52,000 That I want to see. 882 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:53,000 Let's go look. 883 00:37:53,000 --> 00:37:54,000 Here we go. 884 00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:03,000 As we continue through the blistering desert, Lionel guides us onto a jagged hill. 885 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,000 Really strange rocks. 886 00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:06,000 They all have funny, hey? 887 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:07,000 Yeah. 888 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:14,000 The environment looks more and more like Ferini's descriptions, and as we crest the ridge, 889 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:18,000 I can't help but feel as though we're on the cusp of answers. 890 00:38:24,000 --> 00:38:25,000 Look at this, Josh. 891 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:26,000 Look at this. 892 00:38:26,000 --> 00:38:27,000 How wild. 893 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:39,000 Atop a rocky outcropping in the Kalahari Desert, explorer Adam Cruz and I are searching for 894 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:43,000 signs of a lost city, and we've just hit the jackpot. 895 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:46,000 Look at this, Josh. 896 00:38:46,000 --> 00:38:47,000 Look at this. 897 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:51,000 These are wild. 898 00:38:51,000 --> 00:38:52,000 These are etchings. 899 00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,000 Now these are etchings, and these are really, really old. 900 00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,000 How old do you think these are? 901 00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:58,000 More than a thousand years. 902 00:38:58,000 --> 00:38:59,000 More than a thousand years. 903 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:01,000 You can make up the kinds of animals as well. 904 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:02,000 Right. 905 00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:03,000 This is a giraffe. 906 00:39:03,000 --> 00:39:04,000 Yes, yeah. 907 00:39:04,000 --> 00:39:05,000 Okay, I think this is a human. 908 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:06,000 Yeah, it's a human, right. 909 00:39:06,000 --> 00:39:11,000 This is typical of the hunter-gatherer society in southern Africa. 910 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:19,000 It goes without saying that thousand-year-old art carved with such skill is extremely rare 911 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:24,000 in this world, but finding it here in this remote, harsh environment is nothing short 912 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:28,000 of incredible, and this site is even more remarkable than we first realized. 913 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,000 This is very interesting. 914 00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:32,000 Oh, wow. 915 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:33,000 Okay. 916 00:39:33,000 --> 00:39:34,000 Totally different looking. 917 00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,000 You know, we've got this kind of star with a circle around it now. 918 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:38,000 Almost like a diamond. 919 00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,000 They're not just drawing what they see in the environment anymore. 920 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,000 They're actually doing something that's more imaginative. 921 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:44,000 Correct. 922 00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:45,000 That's exactly what it is. 923 00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:46,000 Yeah. 924 00:39:46,000 --> 00:39:47,000 This also tells us something else. 925 00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:52,000 It means that the societies are no longer hunter-gatherers. 926 00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,000 They're starting to become more sedentary. 927 00:39:54,000 --> 00:39:56,000 They're starting to stay in one place. 928 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:57,000 Right. 929 00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:00,000 And this is a sign of those walls that we probably saw earlier today. 930 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:01,000 Right. 931 00:40:01,000 --> 00:40:02,000 A sign of civilization. 932 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:03,000 Absolutely. 933 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:07,000 I have to say, I'm pretty stunned that we've arrived here. 934 00:40:07,000 --> 00:40:14,000 You know, we've gone from following this eccentric explorer, and really by following him, we've 935 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:18,000 come to this, which is a really significant discovery, actually. 936 00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:22,000 The rock walls, the circular huts, the paving stones. 937 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,000 All of them are clear signs of civilization. 938 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:29,000 Explorers have scoured the deserts for signs of some soaring, vanished empire. 939 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:33,000 But it turns out the lost city may have been right in front of them. 940 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:38,000 You know, 30 different expeditions may have just been walking over what Ferini found in 941 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000 the first place, which is extraordinary. 942 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,000 They were looking at it all the time, but what they were looking for was something that 943 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:47,000 was something, some grand European civilization, Mediterranean civilization. 944 00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:49,000 Right, some Greek temple. 945 00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:50,000 Correct. 946 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,000 Instead of an African civilization. 947 00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:53,000 And that's what this is. 948 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,000 Yes. 949 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:55,000 This is a lost city. 950 00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,000 This is a lost civilization. 951 00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:58,000 That's correct. 952 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,000 And that is what Ferini saw. 953 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:01,000 Right. 954 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:07,000 Analysis of the early rock art and stone structures we examined confirms that they were made more 955 00:41:07,000 --> 00:41:12,000 than a millennia ago, built by the hands of a little known African civilization. 956 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:17,000 As for the great Ferini, he may have exaggerated his route, but there's little doubt that he 957 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:20,000 saw these or similar stone structures. 958 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:27,000 His discovery is real, and he deserves credit for voyaging into one of the most punishing 959 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:31,000 environments on earth and for cataloging the wondrous things he saw there. 960 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:36,000 To me, Ferini, like the lost city, is in need of rediscovery. 961 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:39,000 He was a brilliant showman and an intrepid explorer. 962 00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:44,000 His journey, I hope, will inspire others to forge their own paths into the Kalahari 963 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:48,000 and to dig up the secrets still hiding in the sands.