1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:08,640 300 miles east of Alice Springs, Australia, Bill DeCarly and I stand on an impressive 2 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:14,160 stretch of quartz that he believes could be Lasseter's Reef, the legendary gold deposit 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,080 that has eluded seekers for nearly a century. 4 00:00:17,080 --> 00:00:18,080 There's quartz. 5 00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:19,080 There's quartz. 6 00:00:19,080 --> 00:00:20,080 Yep. 7 00:00:20,080 --> 00:00:21,080 Quartz. 8 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:22,080 Yep. 9 00:00:22,080 --> 00:00:23,080 Quartz. 10 00:00:23,080 --> 00:00:24,080 Yep. 11 00:00:24,080 --> 00:00:25,080 Quartz. 12 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:26,080 Yep. 13 00:00:26,080 --> 00:00:27,080 I mean, as far as you can see, it's just outcroppings of quartz. 14 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:28,080 Yep. 15 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:29,080 It's a reef. 16 00:00:29,080 --> 00:00:32,360 I think I might. 17 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:34,880 If this is the right spot, there has to be three hills. 18 00:00:34,880 --> 00:00:35,880 You saw those from the chopper. 19 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:36,880 There you go. 20 00:00:36,880 --> 00:00:37,880 One, two, three. 21 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:38,880 And you can't mistake them. 22 00:00:38,880 --> 00:00:43,880 They're the only hills that have that hill on top of a hill effect like a sunbond. 23 00:00:43,880 --> 00:00:48,920 Despite my initial skepticism, it's clear that Bill has indeed pinpointed a massive quartz 24 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:54,120 reef that actually does lie near an unusual formation of three hills. 25 00:00:54,120 --> 00:00:57,080 But whether it's Lasseter's Reef has yet to be proven. 26 00:00:57,080 --> 00:00:58,360 You still have to pass another hurdle. 27 00:00:58,360 --> 00:00:59,360 Okay. 28 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:00,360 Is there any gold in it? 29 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:01,600 That's what we're here to find out. 30 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:02,600 Right. 31 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:03,600 So, divide and conquer? 32 00:01:03,600 --> 00:01:04,600 Absolutely. 33 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:05,600 All right. 34 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:06,600 Let's find some gold. 35 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:07,600 Come on, man. 36 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:23,960 We combed through the area for over an hour, looking for anything that sparkles yellow 37 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:28,960 amidst all this bright white. 38 00:01:28,960 --> 00:01:32,640 Oh, Bill. 39 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:35,240 Bill, come here. 40 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:39,760 Bill, what is this? 41 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,760 That looks like very, very suspicious. 42 00:01:43,760 --> 00:01:47,560 What is it? 43 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:49,880 That's gold, mate. 44 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:50,880 That's gold. 45 00:01:50,880 --> 00:01:51,880 That's gold. 46 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:52,880 You're sure? 47 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:53,880 Absolutely. 48 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:57,600 That's the first flicker of gold from Lasseter's Reef. 49 00:01:57,600 --> 00:01:58,600 Totally. 50 00:01:58,600 --> 00:02:04,920 It ain't much, but that's gold. 51 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:07,120 That is gold. 52 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:08,600 Congratulations. 53 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:10,600 Well done. 54 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:11,600 Unbelievable. 55 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:12,600 Great job. 56 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:17,040 This may not be a huge nugget of gold, but when you think about this whole reef. 57 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:18,040 That's exactly right. 58 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:25,320 The miles of this fort. 59 00:02:25,320 --> 00:02:26,320 And you're doing pretty good. 60 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:28,840 Somewhere in this reef is the mother load. 61 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:29,840 Right. 62 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:31,160 And this may be a little piece of it. 63 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:32,160 And you've got it. 64 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:33,160 Unbelievable. 65 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,320 You've just got yourself a piece of Lasseter's Reef. 66 00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:36,320 I'm sold. 67 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:37,520 You know, what else do you need? 68 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:38,520 There you go. 69 00:02:38,520 --> 00:02:40,000 I'm taking this entire section home with me. 70 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:41,840 Okay, so we're staying here, are we? 71 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:42,840 All the rocks going... 72 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:43,840 We're living here now. 73 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:44,840 This is it, Bill. 74 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:45,840 You and I live here. 75 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:54,040 Gold and then their hills, officially. 76 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:58,800 Mark Twain once wrote that Australian history does not read like history, but like the most 77 00:02:58,800 --> 00:02:59,800 beautiful lies. 78 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:04,880 While that may apply to the story of Harold Lasseter's lost reef, you can't deny that 79 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:10,280 I'm standing on rock solid proof that Bill DeCarly's interpretation of the clues has 80 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:12,880 led to gold in the outback. 81 00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:19,040 But since it's on private land, we don't know how much is here or when it will be excavated. 82 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:24,520 I came to Australia on an expedition, but found myself on an odyssey across a mythic 83 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,080 landscape filled with the unknown. 84 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:32,520 My passionate guides and I followed the trail of a character as mysterious as his treasure, 85 00:03:32,520 --> 00:03:34,640 Renaissance man or con man. 86 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:40,600 Either way, he's undeniably Australian, a dreamer who, like the country itself, forged 87 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:44,640 his destiny through passion and sheer determination. 88 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:49,400 In the end, we don't know for sure if the gold Lasseter claimed to find is in the east, 89 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:51,920 the west, or just in his own mind. 90 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:57,400 But as long as the legend of Lasseter's reef endures in a place as wild as the outback, 91 00:03:57,400 --> 00:04:00,800 I'd say anything is possible. 92 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:01,800 Ow! 93 00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:04,800 Hey, it works! 94 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:09,720 What do we have to go on? 95 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,200 He was always mysterious and the clues that we have aren't mysterious. 96 00:04:14,200 --> 00:04:16,680 It's a siren's call. 97 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:18,200 It's the lure of gold. 98 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,160 Alright, I'll bait him. 99 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:23,960 He gave his life for gold. 100 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:32,240 A man does not die for nothing. 101 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:33,240 Let's check it out for sure. 102 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,240 We should be getting close now, Josh. 103 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:36,760 Josh, look at this. 104 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:37,760 I'm ready. 105 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:38,760 Let's go. 106 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:39,760 You believe me now? 107 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:40,760 I think I might. 108 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:45,040 Oh my God, hold on a second. 109 00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:54,360 What is that? 110 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:58,840 They say the desperate times call for desperate measures and at the height of the Great Depression, 111 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:04,000 an Australian named Harold Lasseter mounted one of the most daring and brazen expeditions 112 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:09,680 of all time in search of the richest gold claim in history. 113 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:15,640 He becomes a legendary explorer, Australia's equivalent of Daniel Boone. 114 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:20,880 As a young man, Lasseter claims to have seen a massive outcropping or reef of gold deep 115 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,820 in the Australian outback. 116 00:05:22,820 --> 00:05:27,240 Years later, in 1930, he assembles a team to relocate the treasure. 117 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:32,880 But the expedition seems cursed from the outset and ends with Lasseter being left to die in 118 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:34,880 the desert. 119 00:05:34,880 --> 00:05:39,240 Lasseter leaves behind a mysterious diary, cryptic clues, and one of the world's most 120 00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:45,560 fascinating legends, a winding tale of greed, betrayal, and death. 121 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:52,240 Recently, a long lost document written by Lasseter himself resurfaced in a Sydney attic 122 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:58,680 and now a renowned author and a determined treasure hunter are mounting their own expeditions. 123 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:03,840 So saddle up because we're headed down under to find the true location of Lasseter's 124 00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:09,080 Reef. 125 00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:10,560 My name is Josh Gates. 126 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:11,560 Look at that! 127 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:17,960 With a degree in archaeology and a passion for exploration, I have a tendency to end 128 00:06:17,960 --> 00:06:20,920 up in some very strange situations. 129 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:21,920 This is horrible. 130 00:06:21,920 --> 00:06:23,320 This is officially horrible. 131 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,160 My travels have taken me to the ends of the earth. 132 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:41,240 As I investigate the greatest legends in history, this is Expedition Unknown. 133 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:44,080 Australia, the land down under. 134 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:49,760 Our mission to walk in Herald Lasseter's footsteps starts in the jewel of the country's crown. 135 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:55,240 Once a rough and tumble British penal colony, today Sydney is a breathtaking mosaic of modern 136 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:57,240 and ancient influences. 137 00:06:57,240 --> 00:07:03,760 Right, softly into this beautiful instrument. 138 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:05,760 Okay. 139 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:08,960 All right. 140 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:09,960 Thanks folks. 141 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:10,960 I'll be here all week. 142 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:15,640 Have no fear, all of the cultural cliches are here. 143 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:16,640 The boomerang. 144 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,640 Okay, here's the idea. 145 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:21,840 Into the wind, slight angle. 146 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:22,840 Good grip. 147 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,840 Baby should come right back to me. 148 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:31,240 Nope, that's a lie, that thing. 149 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,840 It's pretty obvious why Sydney's nickname is the Harbor City. 150 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:40,480 With 150 miles of shoreline, this spectacular natural wonder is anchored by two of the most 151 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,560 iconic feats of architecture on earth. 152 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:48,320 The Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge. 153 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:51,840 It is the largest and widest steel arch bridge in the world. 154 00:07:51,840 --> 00:07:54,600 Nearly 53,000 tons. 155 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,760 Supporting eight lanes of traffic, two rail lines, there's a bike path. 156 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:02,000 And if you're feeling you need some cardio, there's a staircase that goes all the way 157 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:03,000 to the top. 158 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,000 Here we go. 159 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:09,320 Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down. 160 00:08:09,320 --> 00:08:10,480 Just keep walking. 161 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:12,720 Just keep walking. 162 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:17,200 Looking out today, Sydney really appears kind of like an urban paradise. 163 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:18,560 You know, the great cities of the world. 164 00:08:18,560 --> 00:08:25,040 But in a time of Harry Lasseter, things weren't quite so bright here. 165 00:08:25,040 --> 00:08:28,520 The Great Depression didn't stop at North America and Europe. 166 00:08:28,520 --> 00:08:31,520 It devastated Sydney's economy. 167 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:35,760 The construction of the Harbor Bridge created jobs but not nearly enough of them. 168 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:38,040 Aussies were in need of a miracle. 169 00:08:38,040 --> 00:08:41,360 Enter Harry Lasseter. 170 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:46,320 Harold Bell Lasseter was well-spoken, self-educated and self-aggrandizing. 171 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,440 An inventor and amateur engineer. 172 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:50,040 Some called him brilliant. 173 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:51,040 Others a con man. 174 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,760 You know, Lasseter really saw himself as a Renaissance man. 175 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:58,960 In fact, he tried to take credit for the design of the Sydney Harbor Bridge, though the story 176 00:08:58,960 --> 00:09:01,560 is dubious at best. 177 00:09:01,560 --> 00:09:05,640 To find out about the real man behind the myths, I'm heading to the oldest library 178 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,680 in Australia to meet Lasseter expert Warren Brown. 179 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:09,680 Warren. 180 00:09:09,680 --> 00:09:10,680 Good day, Josh. 181 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:11,680 How are you, mate? 182 00:09:11,680 --> 00:09:12,680 I'm good. 183 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:13,680 How you doing? 184 00:09:13,680 --> 00:09:14,680 Right to see you. 185 00:09:14,680 --> 00:09:15,680 Nice to meet you. 186 00:09:15,680 --> 00:09:19,200 I'm Richard Lasseter's gold and probably knows more than anyone about the mystery of 187 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:20,200 his golden treasure. 188 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,840 When does the world really learn the name Harold Lasseter? 189 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:24,600 When does he come on the scene, really? 190 00:09:24,600 --> 00:09:28,920 In 1929, Harold Lasseter writes a letter to the government, the Australian government, 191 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:37,160 and says, oh, by the way, 30 years ago, I found a highway of gold that stretches to the horizon. 192 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:42,520 Lasseter tells authorities that back in 1897, when he was just 17 years old, he stumbled 193 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:47,400 upon a massive quartz deposit known as a reef deep in the outback. 194 00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:51,840 Embedded in the quartz was a fortune in gold. 195 00:09:51,840 --> 00:09:57,480 Using whatever landmarks he could see, Lasseter noted the reef's location and vowed to return, 196 00:09:57,480 --> 00:10:02,440 which he claims he did three years later, with a surveyor named Joseph Harding. 197 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:07,440 Harding later dies, but to prove the story is true, Lasseter produces a gold-filled 198 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:12,080 piece of quartz for authorities, convincing them that he can lead them back to the mother 199 00:10:12,080 --> 00:10:13,080 load. 200 00:10:13,080 --> 00:10:16,720 So what year did the expedition get underway? 201 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,680 Well, the expedition sort of took off in the Australian winter, the middle of the year 202 00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:25,040 in 1930, and it was an extraordinary expedition. 203 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:32,120 I mean, it utilized the cutting edge of technology, aircraft, six-wheeled trucks, portable wireless, 204 00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:35,320 which in 1930 was, it was science fiction. 205 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:40,320 It was, in fact, the best-prepared, gold-prospecting expedition ever. 206 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:42,920 And so how does it go? 207 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:47,080 Well, it goes badly. 208 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:53,160 Several months in, the expedition yields exactly zero gold. 209 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:57,960 Descent sets in among the ranks. 210 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:02,720 And when Lasseter is accused of having no clue where he's going, push comes to shove, 211 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:07,080 the crew abandons him in the desert. 212 00:11:07,080 --> 00:11:12,440 So how much of what happens to Lasseter once he's left alone is hearsay and rumour, and 213 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,680 how much of it is something that we know? 214 00:11:14,680 --> 00:11:19,640 Well, that is a fantastic question, because I'll have something really special I want 215 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:20,640 to show you. 216 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:21,640 Okay. 217 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:22,640 Let's have a look at this. 218 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:23,640 Yeah. 219 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:35,080 This is the most extraordinary piece of the Lasseter puzzle. 220 00:11:35,080 --> 00:11:38,720 What you're looking at here is Harold Lasseter's diary. 221 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:40,320 Wow, look at that. 222 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:41,320 That's incredible. 223 00:11:41,320 --> 00:11:46,520 Wow, look at that. 224 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:50,400 And it's just filled page after page. 225 00:11:50,400 --> 00:11:55,200 After being forsaken by the rest of his team, Lasseter eventually becomes sick and takes 226 00:11:55,200 --> 00:12:00,600 shelter in a cave where he writes a diary detailing his innermost thoughts. 227 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:05,400 When Lasseter makes a final Hail Mary trek toward the nearest town, he leaves the diary 228 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:07,700 behind. 229 00:12:07,700 --> 00:12:09,720 So what's contained inside the diary? 230 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:10,960 Well, all sorts of things. 231 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,200 There are stories about how he's perishing. 232 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:17,200 He's talking to his wife, darling, I want you to remember me as when we first met, and 233 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:18,880 not the scarecrow that I am now. 234 00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:22,760 The flies have nearly eaten my face. 235 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:27,880 But one thing is very clear in this document and that is he's unflinching belief in the 236 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:29,520 reef, in the gold. 237 00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,880 And this is one of the most insightful bits of the story here. 238 00:12:32,880 --> 00:12:36,040 And he says, what good a reef worth millions? 239 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:38,320 I would give it all for a loaf of bread. 240 00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:39,800 I mean, that's Shakespeare. 241 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:40,800 Indeed. 242 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:41,800 He's my kingdom for a horse. 243 00:12:41,800 --> 00:12:42,800 It is, it is. 244 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:43,800 She's Prince Richard III. 245 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:45,440 I mean, this is like pure tragedy. 246 00:12:45,640 --> 00:12:48,560 Recently, another artifact surfaced. 247 00:12:48,560 --> 00:12:55,000 A letter Lasseter wrote to his wife was found in an elderly couple's estate near Sydney. 248 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,000 What does the letter say? 249 00:12:56,000 --> 00:13:00,240 There's this sort of sense of urgency, this calamity that's going on. 250 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,640 It's the writing of someone who's clearly in distress. 251 00:13:02,640 --> 00:13:08,160 So it's a tragic, tragic snapshot of his last moments. 252 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:13,160 Warren is determined to use the clues in the diary and the letter to retrace Lasseter's 253 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:17,560 steps, starting at the end and working backwards to find the gold. 254 00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:19,920 But there's one major obstacle. 255 00:13:19,920 --> 00:13:25,840 Where Lasseter Country is, if you want to call it like that, is in incredibly sacred Aboriginal 256 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:26,840 land. 257 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:32,520 But I'm really delighted to say that I've been able to get permission for us to go into 258 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,720 off-limits Aboriginal sites to go and explore Lasseter Country. 259 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:37,720 When do we leave? 260 00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:38,720 First thing tomorrow morning. 261 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:42,680 Oh man, alright, let's do it. 262 00:13:42,680 --> 00:13:47,360 The next day we board a flight that takes us 1300 miles to the center of the continent 263 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:52,360 and to the outback town of Yolara. 264 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,440 In other words, we're officially in the middle of nowhere. 265 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,480 Willmite, welcome to Central Australia. 266 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:01,280 Good to be here. 267 00:14:01,280 --> 00:14:05,400 The first order of business is hooking up with Warren's local contact Clive, who will 268 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,360 serve as a critical guide for our expedition. 269 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:17,000 We choose the most conspicuous and, well, only meeting spot within 200 miles. 270 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:21,240 Once known as Ayers Rock, the proper name is Uluru. 271 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:25,080 Landmarks don't get any bigger than this. 272 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:29,440 It sticks out like a big red sore thumb in the featureless desert landscape. 273 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:34,280 It's magnificent isn't it? 274 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:35,280 Huge. 275 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:36,280 The pictures do it no justice. 276 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:37,280 No, no. 277 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:39,280 It's just absolutely enormous. 278 00:14:39,280 --> 00:14:45,280 G'day mate, how are ya? 279 00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:46,280 There you go. 280 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:48,120 Josh, this is a very good mate of mine. 281 00:14:48,120 --> 00:14:49,120 This is Clive. 282 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:50,120 Hey Clive, nice to meet you. 283 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,000 I'd have to say this is one of the most stunning backdrops I've ever seen. 284 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:56,200 Yeah, it is the absolutely awesome place. 285 00:14:56,200 --> 00:15:00,960 This is the gateway to Lasseter Country. 286 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,720 Lasseter's expedition traveled in this direction. 287 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:08,680 This team used a cutting-edge truck known as a thornycroft that, despite its size, was 288 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:14,000 eventually disabled in the desert sands. 289 00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:19,120 They also used a plane to search for the reef, but it too crashed, not far from this very 290 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:20,120 spot. 291 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:25,360 The outback, it seemed, outmatched Lasseter's team at every turn. 292 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:29,280 How different is this territory today from Lasseter's time? 293 00:15:29,280 --> 00:15:32,440 The land is still the way the land was as Uluru is. 294 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,960 There's a strong Aboriginal culture, but there are no European settlements between 295 00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:38,200 here and where we're going. 296 00:15:38,200 --> 00:15:39,880 Wow, so still a really wild place. 297 00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,440 Yeah, and look, that's why Clive is so important to us. 298 00:15:42,440 --> 00:15:44,720 He has the respect of the Aboriginal people here. 299 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:45,720 He can speak the language. 300 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:47,960 He's the guy he'll be able to get us through. 301 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:49,160 So Clive is our man in Havana. 302 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:50,640 Oh, our man in Uluru. 303 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:51,640 Our man in Uluru. 304 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:52,640 Exactly. 305 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:56,440 Happy to have you aboard Clive. 306 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:01,080 And as we drive away, the mystical Uluru gives us a sign that we're on the right track. 307 00:16:03,160 --> 00:16:07,320 A stunning atmospheric send-off toward the proverbial Pot of Gold. 308 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,520 Now we're heading directly west to Lasseter's Cave. 309 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,400 It's one of the only true landmarks we know where we can get to to strike out from there 310 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:18,400 to find his gold. 311 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,400 OK, got it. 312 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,920 It's 150 miles to Lasseter's Cave. 313 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:32,000 But once we hit this rocky dirt road, it feels like forever. 314 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,520 So we pass the time with a traditional outback sing-along. 315 00:16:35,520 --> 00:16:42,520 Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong under the shade of a cooler bar tree. 316 00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,040 And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boiled. 317 00:16:47,040 --> 00:16:50,920 You'll come a-wall-sing the tilde with me. 318 00:16:50,920 --> 00:16:52,920 Wall-sing the tilde. 319 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:54,920 Wall-sing the tilde. 320 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:57,920 You'll come a-wall-sing the tilde with me. 321 00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:02,840 He sang as he sat and waited till his billy boiled. 322 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,840 You'll come a-wall-sing the tilde with me. 323 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:07,840 How many verses are there? 324 00:17:07,840 --> 00:17:08,840 Four. 325 00:17:08,840 --> 00:17:09,840 Oh, good. 326 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:11,840 Wall-sing the tilde. 327 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:13,840 Wall-sing the tilde. 328 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:15,840 Wall-sing the tilde with me. 329 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:23,840 After six plus hours of sand, singing, and more sand, we finally close in on our destination. 330 00:17:23,840 --> 00:17:25,840 Josh here on the list. 331 00:17:25,840 --> 00:17:27,840 That, that, there. 332 00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:29,760 That is it. 333 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:30,760 Stop. 334 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:31,760 That is it. 335 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:33,760 Wow, look at that. 336 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:34,760 The spot. 337 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,760 That is the spot we've come all this bloody way. 338 00:17:37,760 --> 00:17:44,760 And this is the most tangible, geographical point we can link to Lasseter. 339 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:50,760 This is where Lasseter's journey to find the gold tragically ended, but where ours is just beginning. 340 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:57,680 I'm in the unforgiving Australian outback, following the legend of Harold Lasseter's 341 00:17:57,680 --> 00:17:58,680 lost gold. 342 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:04,680 We're about to enter the place where a dying and deranged Lasseter wrote his final words. 343 00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:05,680 That's Lasseter's cive. 344 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:06,680 That's it. 345 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:07,680 That is it. 346 00:18:07,680 --> 00:18:10,680 So he came here really in, in the sorryest of states. 347 00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:14,680 Well, it was, but he kind of passed this cive and he became horribly ill. 348 00:18:14,680 --> 00:18:18,680 And he sets up a camp in here and he lives here for a year. 349 00:18:19,600 --> 00:18:22,600 We know that this is a real place. 350 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:24,600 This is a marker. 351 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:26,600 So where is the gold from here, do we think? 352 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:28,600 Well, I mean, the gold is somewhere to the west. 353 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:33,600 I mean, according to Lasseter's writings, he made his way as far as Lake Christopher, 354 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:35,600 which is about a hundred miles. 355 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:40,600 In the diary, Lasseter alleges that before taking refuge in the cave, he located the 356 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:45,600 reef and notes the lake and other natural rock features as bearing points. 357 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:51,520 Somewhere between here and that lake and that hundred miles or so hypothetically is 358 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:52,520 the reef. 359 00:18:52,520 --> 00:18:53,520 Yes, that's exactly right. 360 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,520 But this is the final act in the Lasseter story. 361 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:58,520 And now he's alone. 362 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:00,520 But Lasseter isn't truly alone. 363 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:05,520 A local aboriginal community takes note of a strange white man who's apparently taken 364 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,520 up residence in the cave. 365 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:12,520 They offer assistance and food, but Lasseter is weak and nearly blind. 366 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,440 With their help, he attempts to walk back to civilization. 367 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:20,440 He makes it 30 miles to a riverbed, but he's too far gone. 368 00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:25,440 He collapses, dies, and is buried in a shallow grave. 369 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:34,440 Hoping our desert expedition has a happier ending, we leave the cave and drive west 370 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:37,440 toward the area around Lake Christopher. 371 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:40,440 But where we're going, there are no roads. 372 00:19:41,360 --> 00:19:46,360 We drive as a range to meet a local contact with a fleet of highly advanced off-road vehicles. 373 00:19:46,360 --> 00:19:47,360 Is this your guy? 374 00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:49,360 Yeah, this is him. 375 00:19:49,360 --> 00:19:51,360 Look at that! 376 00:19:55,360 --> 00:19:57,360 Alright, that's the wine of travel in the desert. 377 00:19:57,360 --> 00:19:58,360 That's for sure. 378 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,360 The original four-wheel drive. 379 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:02,360 Alright, let's load them up, yeah? 380 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:04,360 Take it coming down. 381 00:20:04,360 --> 00:20:07,360 We transfer our gear from the truck to the camels. 382 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:12,280 We're pressed to find a Walmart around here, so we pack up everything we'll need to trek 383 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,280 and just generally not die. 384 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,280 I'll let you in on a little secret. 385 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:20,280 I hate camels. 386 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:25,280 They're foul-tempered, horrible beasts. 387 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,280 They spit, they bite, they do whatever the hell they want to do. 388 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:34,280 But with no other option to move ahead, I'm going to maintain a positive attitude. 389 00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,200 Well, that lasted five seconds. 390 00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,200 He seems really friendly. 391 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:42,200 Up! 392 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:49,200 Stand. 393 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:55,200 And we're up. 394 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,200 Alright, Lasseter's Reef, here we come. 395 00:20:58,200 --> 00:21:01,200 Or, you know, death in the desert. 396 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,200 One of the two. 397 00:21:05,200 --> 00:21:12,200 In terms of clues Lasseter left behind, what do we have to go on from here on out? 398 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:17,200 Well, he was always mysterious in the clues that we have on, mysterious. 399 00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:22,200 A map has never been found, so we're following a handful of cryptic clues from the diary, 400 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:28,200 as well as hints Lasseter reportedly dropped in conversation with his expedition mates. 401 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:34,200 Lasseter claimed that the reef is located 300 miles from the outback town of Alice Springer, 402 00:21:35,120 --> 00:21:40,120 and also 800 miles from a place called Canarvan, which should put us somewhere in this general 403 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:43,120 vicinity, and then it gets weird. 404 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:46,120 He mentioned a couple of really interesting landmarks. 405 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:48,120 So what are we looking for? 406 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:52,120 Well, we're looking for what he describes as some mountains that look like three women 407 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:54,120 in sunbonds talking to each other. 408 00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:58,120 He calls them the Three Sisters, which is a very odd thing. 409 00:21:59,040 --> 00:22:04,040 According to Lasseter's description, the reef lies southeast of these Three Sisters 410 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,040 in sunbonnets. 411 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,040 Warren, you see these rocks up over here? 412 00:22:08,040 --> 00:22:09,040 Yes. 413 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:10,040 I don't know how far in that goes. 414 00:22:10,040 --> 00:22:12,040 We might want to go in there and check it out. 415 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:15,040 It might also give us the ability to get our bearings if we can get up on some high rocks 416 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:16,040 there. 417 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:18,040 Clive, you want to hang with the camels for a minute? 418 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:20,040 We're going to go have a look at this. 419 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,040 Push, Gizma. 420 00:22:22,040 --> 00:22:24,040 Let's go have a look, Warren. 421 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:29,960 I guess the key really to finding the gold is finding quartz. 422 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:34,960 I think the biggest landmark in Lasseter's whole story is the reef itself. 423 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,960 For gold prospectism and quartz is the dead giveaway. 424 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:41,960 As soon as you find that, there's a chance that you can find gold. 425 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:43,960 Eyes open for quartz. 426 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:44,960 We can do that. 427 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:45,960 We're in the money. 428 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:47,960 It should be like a brilliant white. 429 00:22:47,960 --> 00:22:49,960 Just see it from a distance. 430 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,960 Wow, there it is. 431 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:57,880 We push deeper into the canyon and suddenly we realize we might actually be in the right 432 00:22:57,880 --> 00:22:58,880 spot. 433 00:22:58,880 --> 00:22:59,880 Oh my God, look at this. 434 00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:00,880 Oh, yeah. 435 00:23:00,880 --> 00:23:01,880 It's rarer than gold. 436 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,880 Deep in the Australian outback, we're on the hunt for a legendary fortune. 437 00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:19,380 A massive quartz reef filled with gold that was reportedly found and then lost by Harold 438 00:23:19,380 --> 00:23:22,300 Lasseter more than 100 years ago. 439 00:23:22,300 --> 00:23:26,800 Lasseter died trying to retrace his steps to the treasure and we're hoping to avoid 440 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:28,800 the same fate. 441 00:23:31,300 --> 00:23:37,400 After five hours on camelback, Lasseter expert Warren Brown and I find the first indication 442 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:39,400 we might be on the right track. 443 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:44,400 Oh my God, look at this. 444 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:45,400 Oh, yeah. 445 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:46,400 Rarer than gold. 446 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:48,400 Oh, this is a fantastic find, Josh. 447 00:23:48,420 --> 00:23:50,420 This is what they call a rock hole. 448 00:23:50,420 --> 00:23:55,620 Water sources are incredibly scarce in the outback and it's a solid bet that prospectors 449 00:23:55,620 --> 00:24:00,420 like Lasseter pass through areas like this where they could replenish their supplies. 450 00:24:00,420 --> 00:24:04,260 All right, so I think along with keeping our eyes peeled for quartz, we should have a look 451 00:24:04,260 --> 00:24:06,420 around for any signs anybody camped out here. 452 00:24:06,420 --> 00:24:08,420 I'll scan the banks up here if you want to have a peek up on this side. 453 00:24:08,420 --> 00:24:09,420 Yeah, sure. 454 00:24:09,420 --> 00:24:11,420 Okay, let's do it. 455 00:24:11,440 --> 00:24:18,440 We carefully explore the canyon surrounding the rock hole, scanning for any evidence 456 00:24:18,440 --> 00:24:20,440 of a human presence here. 457 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,440 Josh, look at this. 458 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:31,440 Look what I found. 459 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:32,440 What is it? 460 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:33,440 This is a billy tin. 461 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:34,440 What is a billy tin? 462 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:36,440 A billy tin is what a swaggy would boil his team. 463 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:38,440 You know, it's a kind of... 464 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:39,440 What? 465 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:40,440 I can't understand a word you're saying. 466 00:24:40,460 --> 00:24:42,460 What's a swaggy? 467 00:24:42,460 --> 00:24:43,460 A swaggy. 468 00:24:43,460 --> 00:24:45,460 You know, a swaggy is short for a swagman. 469 00:24:45,460 --> 00:24:46,460 A swagman. 470 00:24:46,460 --> 00:24:47,460 What's a swagman? 471 00:24:47,460 --> 00:24:48,460 This is going to go 100 levels deep. 472 00:24:48,460 --> 00:24:52,460 A swagman is like a bushman who would travel throughout the outback through the scrub 473 00:24:52,460 --> 00:24:54,460 with a niviniva with a swag on his back. 474 00:24:54,460 --> 00:24:55,460 A niviniva. 475 00:24:55,460 --> 00:24:56,460 A niviniva. 476 00:24:56,460 --> 00:24:57,460 And now you're making big sums. 477 00:24:57,460 --> 00:24:58,460 No, I'm not. 478 00:24:58,460 --> 00:24:59,460 Is it heat exhaustion? 479 00:24:59,460 --> 00:25:00,460 You're just making words up now. 480 00:25:00,460 --> 00:25:03,460 I need like an American to Australian English translation dictionary. 481 00:25:03,460 --> 00:25:04,460 We're in the bloody niviniva. 482 00:25:04,460 --> 00:25:05,460 This is the niviniva. 483 00:25:05,460 --> 00:25:06,460 We're in the niviniva. 484 00:25:06,460 --> 00:25:08,460 And he carries something on his back called a swag. 485 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,480 And a swag, you lie down and you have a kip in. 486 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:12,480 A kip is a sleep. 487 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:13,480 So it's like a big bedroll. 488 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:14,480 Like a sleeping bag. 489 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:15,480 Sure. 490 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:16,480 You've heard of those, surely. 491 00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:17,480 Yes, yes. 492 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:18,480 That's the word. 493 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:19,480 Sleep and bag. 494 00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:20,480 You're a sleeping bag. 495 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:21,480 See, that makes sense. 496 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:26,480 So to review, out here in the Never Never, a swaggy would boil his tea in a billy tin 497 00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:28,480 before having a kip. 498 00:25:28,480 --> 00:25:32,480 Translation, Warren believes this was a very old campsite. 499 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:34,480 Maybe even Lassitors. 500 00:25:34,500 --> 00:25:38,500 This is promising. 501 00:25:38,500 --> 00:25:43,500 We scan the rest of the area and uncover even more rusted remains of a human presence 502 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:44,500 here. 503 00:25:44,500 --> 00:25:48,500 We're clearly following someone's trail and we climb back aboard our cantankerous 504 00:25:48,500 --> 00:25:50,500 camels to see where that trail leads. 505 00:25:54,500 --> 00:25:55,500 Hi Josh. 506 00:25:55,500 --> 00:25:56,500 Yeah. 507 00:25:56,500 --> 00:25:58,500 Can you see rocks through there? 508 00:25:58,500 --> 00:26:00,500 What, what rocks? 509 00:26:00,500 --> 00:26:02,500 Definitely see lighter colored rocks. 510 00:26:02,500 --> 00:26:03,500 Could be quartz. 511 00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:04,520 Let's check it out for sure. 512 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:09,520 We've spotted what appear to be light colored rocks, peeking out from the ubiquitous red 513 00:26:09,520 --> 00:26:10,520 sand. 514 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:11,520 Let's go check it out for a moment. 515 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:16,520 Clive secures the camels and Warren and I head out on foot. 516 00:26:16,520 --> 00:26:18,520 All this light colored rock in here. 517 00:26:18,520 --> 00:26:19,520 Look at that. 518 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,520 There's quartz all over the place. 519 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:22,520 Oh quartz here. 520 00:26:22,520 --> 00:26:23,520 Yeah, I got some too. 521 00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:24,520 You got quartz? 522 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:25,520 Yeah, yeah, yeah, look at that. 523 00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:26,520 It's everywhere. 524 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:27,520 Look at this. 525 00:26:27,520 --> 00:26:28,520 Look at this. 526 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:29,520 There's quartz all through here. 527 00:26:29,520 --> 00:26:30,520 Look at these big pieces coming up. 528 00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:31,520 All of this is just riddled with it. 529 00:26:31,520 --> 00:26:32,520 And look at this. 530 00:26:32,540 --> 00:26:33,540 Look at this. 531 00:26:33,540 --> 00:26:34,540 The size of that. 532 00:26:34,540 --> 00:26:35,540 Amazing. 533 00:26:35,540 --> 00:26:39,540 It's crazy to just be walking out in this desert for mile after mile after mile of nothing 534 00:26:39,540 --> 00:26:44,540 but red sand and then to find this bone white porch just sticking out of the hills. 535 00:26:44,540 --> 00:26:45,540 Absolutely. 536 00:26:45,540 --> 00:26:47,540 Let's hunt around and see how much of it's here. 537 00:26:47,540 --> 00:26:48,540 Okay. 538 00:26:48,540 --> 00:26:53,540 Finding this reef is a major victory because somewhere among all these rocks could be a 539 00:26:53,540 --> 00:26:55,540 vein of gold. 540 00:26:55,540 --> 00:27:03,280 So, one thing I think there's no doubt about, there's a ton of quartz here. 541 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,320 I mean, it runs this whole line here. 542 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:06,320 Oh yeah. 543 00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:07,520 The question is, is it Lassiter's quartz? 544 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:09,120 Could this be part of the reef that he found? 545 00:27:09,120 --> 00:27:11,280 Remember, we're not looking for gold nuggets. 546 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,720 We're looking for traces of gold within the quartz. 547 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:14,720 Small bits of gold. 548 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:16,720 Small bits of gold, but hate solvents. 549 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,440 All right, so how do we figure out if there's gold inside the quartz? 550 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:21,960 Well, we probably need to crush it up. 551 00:27:21,960 --> 00:27:24,160 And we just brought the dolly pot here. 552 00:27:24,160 --> 00:27:25,160 Dolly pot. 553 00:27:25,260 --> 00:27:26,500 So, what is a dolly pot? 554 00:27:26,500 --> 00:27:27,500 It's a crusher. 555 00:27:27,500 --> 00:27:30,740 We put the stone inside, crush it up, and then we compare it. 556 00:27:30,740 --> 00:27:32,740 All right, let's get crushing. 557 00:27:32,740 --> 00:27:38,300 All right, this seems like a pretty straightforward mortar and pestle situation. 558 00:27:38,300 --> 00:27:42,180 Drop in the quartz, give it some muscle, and pray for gold. 559 00:27:42,180 --> 00:27:46,420 Okay, maybe I overestimated my quartz crushing stamina. 560 00:27:46,420 --> 00:27:48,860 Now guys, I don't want to take all the glory here. 561 00:27:48,860 --> 00:27:50,580 Are you sure you guys don't want to come in? 562 00:27:50,580 --> 00:27:51,580 Oh, for goodness sikes. 563 00:27:51,580 --> 00:27:53,100 Let me show you how to do it. 564 00:27:53,100 --> 00:27:55,140 So, I let Warren take a turn. 565 00:27:55,140 --> 00:27:56,720 Let's figure out Tom Sawyer's style. 566 00:27:56,720 --> 00:27:58,220 Big yellow piece. 567 00:27:58,220 --> 00:28:01,220 At the bottom, I'm gonna get it. 568 00:28:01,220 --> 00:28:03,220 Come on. 569 00:28:03,220 --> 00:28:06,920 Break your bugger with a thing. 570 00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:07,920 Gold fever, it's real. 571 00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:11,240 I mean, these are the effects of madness with gold fever, obviously. 572 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,240 Shit, bitch. 573 00:28:13,240 --> 00:28:16,240 He's got me. 574 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,240 Hasn't beaten me, but it's... 575 00:28:19,240 --> 00:28:23,240 I'm done, it's all right. 576 00:28:23,820 --> 00:28:26,100 All right, let's pan this sucker, come on. 577 00:28:26,100 --> 00:28:31,700 We've mashed up enough quartz to start the panning portion of our program. 578 00:28:31,700 --> 00:28:33,540 The panning is laborious. 579 00:28:33,540 --> 00:28:37,820 It takes us hours to get through just a few pounds of quartz. 580 00:28:37,820 --> 00:28:44,180 Down at the bottom, we have a lot of quartz. 581 00:28:44,180 --> 00:28:48,740 We sift through nearly all of our crushed quartz when finally there's a glimmer of hope. 582 00:28:48,740 --> 00:28:50,740 Wait a minute, why did the panning look like this? 583 00:28:50,740 --> 00:28:51,740 Wait, wait, wait, wait. 584 00:28:51,740 --> 00:28:52,740 What do you got? 585 00:28:52,740 --> 00:28:54,240 A little tony flake. 586 00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:59,240 Hold on a second, what is that? 587 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,740 I'm somewhere in the middle of nowhere, Australia. 588 00:29:08,740 --> 00:29:13,940 Warren, Clive and I have searched, hickaxed and crushed our way through quartz in hopes 589 00:29:13,940 --> 00:29:18,240 of determining if this is Harold Lasseter's lost gold reef. 590 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:19,240 Wait a minute, why did the panning look like this? 591 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:20,240 What do you got? 592 00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:22,740 And now, the moment of truth. 593 00:29:22,740 --> 00:29:26,740 Hold on a second, what is that? 594 00:29:27,740 --> 00:29:28,740 It's sparkling. 595 00:29:28,740 --> 00:29:30,240 It looks like gold. 596 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:31,740 Is it gold? 597 00:29:31,740 --> 00:29:32,740 Is it gold? 598 00:29:32,740 --> 00:29:33,740 What do you reckon? 599 00:29:33,740 --> 00:29:35,740 Sparkles like gold. 600 00:29:35,740 --> 00:29:38,240 I hate to say this guys, but I think it's pyrite. 601 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:39,240 Fool's gold. 602 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:40,240 Pyrite. 603 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:41,240 No. 604 00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:42,240 That is so frustrating. 605 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:43,240 But it looks like gold. 606 00:29:43,240 --> 00:29:45,740 It certainly does, that's how it gets its name, right? 607 00:29:45,740 --> 00:29:47,240 I mean, you see something like that? 608 00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:48,740 Well, you bet, you think you're the money. 609 00:29:48,740 --> 00:29:52,740 I guess it's true what they say, all the glitters really isn't gold. 610 00:29:52,740 --> 00:29:54,740 But here's the thing, how's your heart right now? 611 00:29:54,740 --> 00:29:55,740 Pale. 612 00:29:55,740 --> 00:29:56,740 I know, mine too. 613 00:29:56,740 --> 00:29:58,240 But that's the intoxication, right? 614 00:29:58,240 --> 00:29:59,240 Gold fever. 615 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:01,740 You can see how people would lose themselves looking for something like this. 616 00:30:01,740 --> 00:30:04,740 It's a sirens call, it's the lure of gold. 617 00:30:04,740 --> 00:30:06,740 And that's the whole story of Lasseter. 618 00:30:06,740 --> 00:30:12,740 I mean, he gave his life for gold and so many people believed in him afterwards and it's ruined lives. 619 00:30:12,740 --> 00:30:14,740 But, it's not going to ruin us though. 620 00:30:14,740 --> 00:30:15,740 No. 621 00:30:15,740 --> 00:30:16,740 But we should also keep looking for it, right? 622 00:30:16,740 --> 00:30:17,740 Absolutely. 623 00:30:17,740 --> 00:30:20,740 We're the next generation of Lasseters. 624 00:30:20,740 --> 00:30:22,740 Let's keep digging boys, come on, let's get back to it. 625 00:30:24,740 --> 00:30:26,740 And that's how the rest of the day goes. 626 00:30:26,740 --> 00:30:30,740 And the next day, before we reluctantly head back from whence we came. 627 00:30:37,740 --> 00:30:42,740 Our trip into the Never Never brought us to landmark locations from the Lasseter legend, 628 00:30:42,740 --> 00:30:47,740 as well as the remains of a lost campsite and even a large reef of quartz. 629 00:30:47,740 --> 00:30:51,740 Time and future expeditions might even discover gold out here. 630 00:30:51,740 --> 00:30:59,740 Meanwhile, I've got another expert to meet who claims he knows exactly where those glimmering riches are hiding. 631 00:30:59,740 --> 00:31:03,740 To find him, I make my way to the historic town of Alice Springs. 632 00:31:03,740 --> 00:31:14,740 A city built a thousand miles from nowhere on the backs of trailblazing pioneers. 633 00:31:18,740 --> 00:31:25,740 It was and still is a place for rugged souls and a welcome refuge in the unforgiving outback. 634 00:31:25,740 --> 00:31:29,740 It is also a place solemnly connected to the Lasseter story. 635 00:31:29,740 --> 00:31:34,740 His expedition set off from here and in some ways it ended here as well. 636 00:31:36,740 --> 00:31:39,740 This is the final resting place of Harold Lasseter. 637 00:31:39,740 --> 00:31:43,740 Emphasis on the word final since he certainly didn't die here in Alice Springs. 638 00:31:43,740 --> 00:31:46,740 Far from it, we know that he perished way out in the middle of the desert. 639 00:31:46,740 --> 00:31:52,740 But just like every other aspect of the Lasseter story, even his death is the stuff of legend. 640 00:32:00,740 --> 00:32:03,740 High Adventure with Lowell Thomas 641 00:32:03,740 --> 00:32:08,740 High Adventure is an American television series that ran for a few years in the mid-50s. 642 00:32:08,740 --> 00:32:16,740 The show's host, Lowell Thomas, was an adventurer who traveled far and wide in search of, well, high adventure. 643 00:32:16,740 --> 00:32:18,740 Wait, you mean I'm not the first to do this? 644 00:32:18,740 --> 00:32:26,740 In an episode called Australian Outback, Thomas, a.k.a. Josh 1.0, seeks out Lasseter's burial location. 645 00:32:26,740 --> 00:32:30,740 And then he actually digs up the grave to verify the story. 646 00:32:30,740 --> 00:32:35,740 Queue obligatory Hamlet reference in 3, 2, 1. 647 00:32:35,740 --> 00:32:38,740 Last Harry, I didn't know you well. 648 00:32:38,740 --> 00:32:44,740 For 28 years, the mystery of the disappearance of Harold Lasseter has shaken a continent. 649 00:32:44,740 --> 00:32:49,740 So why not take him to Alice Springs and reenter with a proper monument? 650 00:32:51,740 --> 00:32:58,740 Upon arrival in Alice Springs, Thomas' team is promptly arrested for, oh, I don't know, digging up a dead body? 651 00:32:58,740 --> 00:33:04,740 Eventually, they're released from jail and Lasseter is given a proper burial right here. 652 00:33:06,740 --> 00:33:17,740 Just up the street, an explorer named Bill DeCarly has agreed to meet me at a real Outback Steakhouse that celebrates Alice Springs' pioneering spirit. 653 00:33:17,740 --> 00:33:19,740 Bill. 654 00:33:19,740 --> 00:33:20,740 Josh, how are you, mate? 655 00:33:20,740 --> 00:33:21,740 I'm doing good, how you doing? 656 00:33:21,740 --> 00:33:23,740 Yeah, I'm doing great, great, great. 657 00:33:23,740 --> 00:33:26,740 Okay, talk to me about Lasseter's reef. 658 00:33:26,740 --> 00:33:27,740 What do you want to know? 659 00:33:27,740 --> 00:33:29,740 Well, I want to know where it is. 660 00:33:29,740 --> 00:33:35,740 First of all, I've been out in the desert, I have looked for the gold, and I sit before you, not a wealthy man. 661 00:33:35,740 --> 00:33:38,740 Well, that's because you went to the wrong place, just like everybody else. 662 00:33:38,740 --> 00:33:41,740 Okay, how is that possible? Because I went to the cave. 663 00:33:41,740 --> 00:33:45,740 How could I be in the wrong place if I was where Lasseter went, where Lasseter died? 664 00:33:45,740 --> 00:33:47,740 Because Lasseter was in the wrong place. 665 00:33:47,740 --> 00:33:48,740 He was in the wrong place? 666 00:33:48,740 --> 00:33:51,740 Absolutely. Lasseter had never seen the reef. 667 00:33:51,740 --> 00:33:55,740 So, how... 668 00:33:55,740 --> 00:33:58,740 Okay, now my whole world is falling apart. 669 00:33:58,740 --> 00:34:03,740 So, you're telling me that in 1897, Lasseter did not go out and find this big reef of gold? 670 00:34:03,740 --> 00:34:04,740 No. 671 00:34:04,740 --> 00:34:05,740 It never happened? 672 00:34:05,740 --> 00:34:06,740 Never happened. 673 00:34:06,740 --> 00:34:08,740 He couldn't have been in Australia in 1897. 674 00:34:08,740 --> 00:34:11,740 His own sister claims that he was heading to England. 675 00:34:11,740 --> 00:34:12,740 On a ship? 676 00:34:12,740 --> 00:34:13,740 On a ship. 677 00:34:13,740 --> 00:34:16,740 So, the very year that he's supposed to go out and find this reef, he's actually sailing to England? 678 00:34:16,740 --> 00:34:17,740 Absolutely. 679 00:34:17,740 --> 00:34:18,740 Then, isn't everything alive? 680 00:34:18,740 --> 00:34:19,740 No. 681 00:34:19,740 --> 00:34:21,740 Is the whole reef story now debunked? 682 00:34:21,740 --> 00:34:27,740 No, because he's repeating a story which was told to him by a man called Joseph Hardy. 683 00:34:28,740 --> 00:34:29,740 Remember Hardy? 684 00:34:29,740 --> 00:34:36,740 After Lasseter claims he found the reef as a young man, he said he went back a few years later with a surveyor named Joseph Hardy, 685 00:34:36,740 --> 00:34:40,740 who later died before he could attest to Lasseter's story. 686 00:34:40,740 --> 00:34:41,740 Well, that never happened. 687 00:34:41,740 --> 00:34:42,740 Okay. 688 00:34:42,740 --> 00:34:44,740 He couldn't have been out there in 1900. 689 00:34:44,740 --> 00:34:46,740 He was still in England. 690 00:34:46,740 --> 00:34:47,740 What do you have that shows that? 691 00:34:47,740 --> 00:34:57,740 Well, as you've got here, when he applies to the Army, he states that he spent four years in the Royal Navy, 692 00:34:57,740 --> 00:34:59,740 left England in 1901. 693 00:34:59,740 --> 00:35:02,740 He couldn't have been in the Royal Navy for four years at the same time. 694 00:35:02,740 --> 00:35:08,740 So, if he couldn't have been in the desert in 1897, and he couldn't have gone back out there in 1900, 695 00:35:08,740 --> 00:35:14,740 then it seems like the story should be a lie, except that he had these gold nuggets, right? 696 00:35:14,740 --> 00:35:15,740 That's right. 697 00:35:15,740 --> 00:35:16,740 So, where did those come from? 698 00:35:16,740 --> 00:35:18,740 From Joseph Hardy. 699 00:35:19,740 --> 00:35:23,740 Bill's research shows that Lasseter and Harding lived near each other, 700 00:35:23,740 --> 00:35:27,740 and in 1917, both found themselves in the same hospital. 701 00:35:28,740 --> 00:35:33,740 His theory is that the two men grow close, and when Harding realizes his days are numbered, 702 00:35:33,740 --> 00:35:38,740 he tells Lasseter about the gold-bearing reef and gives him a sample as proof. 703 00:35:40,740 --> 00:35:44,740 So, you think that Harding went out there, found the reef, brought back the samples, 704 00:35:44,740 --> 00:35:46,740 and that Lasseter kind of inherited the story? 705 00:35:46,740 --> 00:35:47,740 Absolutely. 706 00:35:47,740 --> 00:35:48,740 Okay. 707 00:35:48,740 --> 00:35:52,740 When Harding told him about the reef, how did Lasseter and everybody who followed him 708 00:35:52,740 --> 00:35:55,740 end up, as you think, in the wrong place? 709 00:35:55,740 --> 00:35:57,740 The one mistake, Knaven. 710 00:35:57,740 --> 00:35:58,740 Knaven? 711 00:35:58,740 --> 00:36:01,740 That was part of Lasseter's description of where the reef was, right? 712 00:36:01,740 --> 00:36:02,740 Yep. 713 00:36:02,740 --> 00:36:06,740 Lasseter pinpointed the reef as being 300 miles from Alice Springs, 714 00:36:06,740 --> 00:36:10,740 but also 800 miles from a place called Knaven. 715 00:36:11,740 --> 00:36:16,740 Now, on the western side is a Knaven, and there's also a Knaven on the eastern side in the Drick latitude. 716 00:36:16,740 --> 00:36:17,740 There are two Knavans. 717 00:36:18,740 --> 00:36:23,740 According to Bill, the reef isn't 800 miles from the Knaven in western Australia, 718 00:36:23,740 --> 00:36:28,740 but rather 800 miles from a different Knaven on the eastern side of the country, 719 00:36:28,740 --> 00:36:33,740 putting the gold 300 miles east of Alice Springs, not west. 720 00:36:34,740 --> 00:36:37,740 So, everyone went and took the bearings off the wrong town? 721 00:36:37,740 --> 00:36:38,740 Yes. 722 00:36:47,740 --> 00:36:52,740 Australian explorer Bill DeCarly believes he knows the location of Lasseter's reef, 723 00:36:52,740 --> 00:36:55,740 and it's nowhere near where legend says. 724 00:36:55,740 --> 00:36:58,740 Everyone went and took the bearings off the wrong town? 725 00:36:58,740 --> 00:36:59,740 Yes. 726 00:36:59,740 --> 00:37:03,740 How are you so confident that this alternate version is true, 727 00:37:03,740 --> 00:37:06,740 that somehow this reef lies to the east of Alice Springs? 728 00:37:06,740 --> 00:37:07,740 Because I've seen it. 729 00:37:07,740 --> 00:37:08,740 You have? 730 00:37:08,740 --> 00:37:09,740 13 miles with the reef. 731 00:37:09,740 --> 00:37:10,740 With your own eyes? 732 00:37:10,740 --> 00:37:11,740 With my own eyes. 733 00:37:12,740 --> 00:37:14,740 And so what are you doing sitting talking to me for? 734 00:37:14,740 --> 00:37:16,740 How come you're not retired on a private island somewhere? 735 00:37:16,740 --> 00:37:17,740 I wish. 736 00:37:17,740 --> 00:37:18,740 It's not that easy. 737 00:37:18,740 --> 00:37:20,740 Okay, what's missing then? 738 00:37:20,740 --> 00:37:25,740 Well, I haven't actually gone to the actual spot where Harding got the samples from. 739 00:37:25,740 --> 00:37:26,740 Where the gold came from? 740 00:37:26,740 --> 00:37:27,740 Where the gold came from. 741 00:37:27,740 --> 00:37:29,740 You've got to remember, this reef is huge. 742 00:37:30,740 --> 00:37:31,740 Right. 743 00:37:31,740 --> 00:37:32,740 It runs for 13 odd miles. 744 00:37:32,740 --> 00:37:35,740 So you have to find that spot where the actual gold is? 745 00:37:35,740 --> 00:37:36,740 Absolutely. 746 00:37:36,740 --> 00:37:37,740 Got it. 747 00:37:37,740 --> 00:37:38,740 But you're confident you can do that? 748 00:37:38,740 --> 00:37:39,740 Yes. 749 00:37:39,740 --> 00:37:40,740 And I can show you. 750 00:37:40,740 --> 00:37:41,740 I'm ready. 751 00:37:41,740 --> 00:37:42,740 This is it. 752 00:37:42,740 --> 00:37:43,740 Let's go. 753 00:37:46,740 --> 00:37:52,740 We head to the Alice Springs Airport, where Bill has chartered a plane to fly us nearly 300 miles to the east. 754 00:37:55,740 --> 00:38:01,740 Bill has examined parts of the reef before, but much of it is situated on privately owned land. 755 00:38:03,740 --> 00:38:08,740 This will be the first time anyone is allowed to search the section which he believes contains the gold. 756 00:38:08,740 --> 00:38:10,740 You ready to find the reef? 757 00:38:10,740 --> 00:38:11,740 I'm ready. 758 00:38:11,740 --> 00:38:12,740 Let's do it. 759 00:38:12,740 --> 00:38:13,740 Ha! 760 00:38:15,740 --> 00:38:20,740 If Bill is right, our next stop is Lasseter's Reef and all that gold. 761 00:38:24,740 --> 00:38:28,740 How many expeditions over the years have been out to this western area? 762 00:38:28,740 --> 00:38:30,740 We're all off and at least 300. 763 00:38:30,740 --> 00:38:31,740 At least 300? 764 00:38:31,740 --> 00:38:32,740 Absolutely. 765 00:38:32,740 --> 00:38:33,740 If not more. 766 00:38:33,740 --> 00:38:35,740 And how many people have looked out here to the east where you're headed? 767 00:38:35,740 --> 00:38:36,740 One. 768 00:38:36,740 --> 00:38:37,740 Just you? 769 00:38:37,740 --> 00:38:38,740 Yes. 770 00:38:38,740 --> 00:38:41,740 And so why do you think that this easterly one is more promising? 771 00:38:41,740 --> 00:38:46,740 Because what Lasseter describes fits in better on this side than what it does on the western side. 772 00:38:46,740 --> 00:38:49,740 You've got to find Lasseter's landmarks that he describes. 773 00:38:49,740 --> 00:38:51,740 So in terms of the landmarks, what are we looking for? 774 00:38:51,740 --> 00:38:55,740 You're looking at three hills according to Lasseter that look like women in sunbottoms talking to each other. 775 00:38:55,740 --> 00:38:56,740 Okay. 776 00:38:56,740 --> 00:38:58,740 And southeast of that is the reef. 777 00:38:58,740 --> 00:38:59,740 Okay. 778 00:39:01,740 --> 00:39:03,740 We should be getting close now, Joe. 779 00:39:03,740 --> 00:39:04,740 Okay, got it. 780 00:39:05,740 --> 00:39:10,740 We descend toward what barely passes for a landing strip, surrounded by pretty much nothing. 781 00:39:10,740 --> 00:39:13,740 I definitely don't see a quartz reef anywhere. 782 00:39:16,740 --> 00:39:17,740 We're down. 783 00:39:17,740 --> 00:39:21,740 It turns out that's because the charter flight is only step one. 784 00:39:21,740 --> 00:39:26,740 To reach the spot that Bill believes is Lasseter's Reef, we need to swap aircraft. 785 00:39:26,740 --> 00:39:29,740 This helicopter can land where a plane can't. 786 00:39:34,740 --> 00:39:35,740 Okay. 787 00:39:47,740 --> 00:39:52,740 Bill, what would you say to people who think there's no such thing as Lasseter's Reef? 788 00:39:52,740 --> 00:39:53,740 It was all made up. 789 00:39:53,740 --> 00:39:55,740 The man does not die for nothing. 790 00:39:55,740 --> 00:39:56,740 Right. 791 00:39:56,740 --> 00:39:59,740 And if it's not out in the west, then where is it? 792 00:39:59,740 --> 00:40:00,740 Right. 793 00:40:01,740 --> 00:40:04,740 And the most important thing, the whole lot, is the landmark. 794 00:40:04,740 --> 00:40:08,740 If you don't have the landmarks, you haven't got Lasseter's Reef. 795 00:40:08,740 --> 00:40:09,740 Got it. 796 00:40:12,740 --> 00:40:14,740 That's them, on the right. 797 00:40:14,740 --> 00:40:15,740 Right over there. 798 00:40:15,740 --> 00:40:16,740 Yep. 799 00:40:17,740 --> 00:40:21,740 Those are three hills in an otherwise pretty featureless landscape. 800 00:40:22,740 --> 00:40:24,740 Alright, I'm biting. 801 00:40:24,740 --> 00:40:25,740 Yep. 802 00:40:26,740 --> 00:40:29,740 Well, there's the little quartz running out through there. 803 00:40:29,740 --> 00:40:31,740 You can see it all in the distance. 804 00:40:31,740 --> 00:40:32,740 The white stuff? 805 00:40:32,740 --> 00:40:33,740 Yep, that's all quartz. 806 00:40:33,740 --> 00:40:34,740 That's all quartz? 807 00:40:34,740 --> 00:40:35,740 Yep. 808 00:40:35,740 --> 00:40:41,740 In the distance, a series of white outcroppings ripple through the landscape like a sea monster. 809 00:40:41,740 --> 00:40:44,740 Okay, Josh, this is the spot here. 810 00:40:44,740 --> 00:40:45,740 This is where we're going to land. 811 00:40:45,740 --> 00:40:46,740 This is it? 812 00:40:46,740 --> 00:40:47,740 Yep. 813 00:40:47,740 --> 00:40:48,740 Okay, let's put her down. 814 00:40:55,740 --> 00:41:04,740 All that white stuff up there is quartz? 815 00:41:04,740 --> 00:41:05,740 Yep. 816 00:41:05,740 --> 00:41:07,740 It's only the tip of the iceberg. 817 00:41:07,740 --> 00:41:10,740 And this is the start of Lasseter's Reef. 818 00:41:10,740 --> 00:41:16,740 As if out of nowhere, we're suddenly walking along what looks like a snaking river of quartz. 819 00:41:16,740 --> 00:41:21,740 Bright white stones rising and falling into the sand as far as the eye can see. 820 00:41:22,740 --> 00:41:23,740 Quartz. 821 00:41:23,740 --> 00:41:24,740 Everywhere. 822 00:41:24,740 --> 00:41:25,740 Yeah, I know, you like it? 823 00:41:25,740 --> 00:41:26,740 Look at it. 824 00:41:26,740 --> 00:41:27,740 Yep. 825 00:41:27,740 --> 00:41:29,740 Tons of it. 826 00:41:29,740 --> 00:41:30,740 It's all quartz. 827 00:41:30,740 --> 00:41:32,740 Yep, there's the quartz. 828 00:41:32,740 --> 00:41:33,740 Just keeps going. 829 00:41:33,740 --> 00:41:35,740 There's the quartz. 830 00:41:35,740 --> 00:41:36,740 There's the quartz. 831 00:41:36,740 --> 00:41:37,740 It keeps going. 832 00:41:37,740 --> 00:41:38,740 There's the quartz. 833 00:41:38,740 --> 00:41:39,740 It's all quartz. 834 00:41:39,740 --> 00:41:41,740 There's the quartz. 835 00:41:42,740 --> 00:41:43,740 It's a reef. 836 00:41:43,740 --> 00:41:44,740 Yep.