Travel
The adventurer and TV presenter on the beauty of the planet, what pushes him out of his comfort zone and filming his latest series.
ByKarlina Valeiko
Published January 26, 2024
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
In your latest series, you’re journeying to the planet’s wildernesses — the Congo Rainforest, Patagonia, the Pacific Ocean’s Coral Triangle and the Kalahari. Why focus on these areas now?
We have to know what’s going on in these destinations, because then we can start to understand and respect them and hopefully love them, too. I think this is just about the most important series I’ve ever made as we’re highlighting areas people know next to nothing about, but we’re fundamentally connected to them as they govern and help shape the weather systems that affect us all. Unless we know about these areas and care for them, we will ultimately lose them. For example, we’re not shying away from deforestation around the edge of the Congo Rainforest. I’m still a believer in the power of responsible, careful, sustainable travel in places like this, too. They need visitors to put some money into the local economy to protect and preserve the local nature.
What’s wilderness to you?
There’s nowhere that’s untouched by humanity. There’s plastic at the bottom of the ocean and at the top of our highest mountain, but I think it’s about the places where the human impact is low and where nature still makes the rules.
What did you learn from being out in the wild?
Probably, that there’s still a wild planet out there. It’s enormous and beautiful, and it’s life-affirming to be a part of it. When we were filming the Patagonia episode, we were up high spending a night on an ice field. At about four in the morning, I had to find a quieter spot away from the camp — so there I am at a ridge with my little portable potty and toilet roll, and I’m confronted by this incredible sight of dark mountains in front of me, illuminated by moonlight, wind howling. I was transfixed by this night-time view of the mountains and the utter rawness of this wild moment.
Do you have a standout moment from your travels?
Yes! I was crawling on the ground with two San [Indigenous hunter-gatherers in southern Africa] trackers in the heart of the Kalahari in 2008, while filming the series Tropic of Capricorn. I only had my GoPro and a small can of pepper spray to ward off any lions, should they fancy a nibble. We were trying to get up close to a herd of wildebeests and it felt as primal as anything I’ve ever done. It still sends a proper shiver down my spine thinking about that moment.
Your series tend to have people at the centre of them. What motivates you to tell the human stories in relation to nature and places?
I think it’s become my little niche, perhaps. I’ve been privileged to meet people with interesting stories to tell and we’ve had genuine interactions with people who love to share their stories. There’s always going to be a story out there because of incredible humans who do extraordinary things. When I’m eventually told to hang up the passport, it’s those interactions with people that I’ll remember the most.
Who’s left the most lasting impression on you?
The people of Bangladesh. It’s very poor, it’s packed, they get hammered by the natural world — flooding from the sea, flooding from the rivers. And yet there’s a certain charisma and feistiness about people there, and a warmth as well, which I absolutely love.
What gives you hope for the future of the planet?
There’s still a magnificent planet out there — we’ve not lost it, nor destroyed all of the nature yet. There’s still a planet worth learning about, caring for and fighting for. Living on this tiny island off the coast of Europe, we don’t realise the true scale of the world, how enormous some areas are and how many treasures they hold. And there are people such as Adams Cassinga [a wildlife activist who appears in the first episode of Wilderness with Simon Reeve]. He risks his life every day, running this undercover organisation to take down illegal poachers and smuggling gangs in the Congo. People like him, local conservationists, give me hope.
What does it take to push you out of your comfort zone?
I don’t like seeing children or elderly people suffering. I find that very difficult, where I feel impotent in a situation. One of my first TV journeys was in a former Soviet republic and an elderly woman came up begging at the table and she was the spitting image of my beloved grandma who had just died a few years earlier. I did the pathetic little I could and gave her the money I had but I was quite traumatised by that. It was utterly awful. I’ve had situations in areas of starvation where mothers tried to give me their babies. When you’ve had experiences like that, it gives you focus when you’re battling mosquitos or the cold. It develops a state of mind where you feel you’re just lucky to be there and thankful to be experiencing it.
Do you have any plans for your next adventure? Where would you like to go?
No plans, no expedition, no journey looming in the distance. The planet is constantly changing, growing, shaping and developing — and capturing that’s been the greatest honour of my little existence. I would love to go to Japan, travel in west Africa, travel more in Brazil, in Indonesia, the Philippines — it’s a wonderful planet and I haven’t scratched the surface yet.
Wilderness with Simon Reeve is on BBC Two and iPlayer now.
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