Steve Backshall - Expedition: Adventures into Undiscovered Worlds

For Logan

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BBC Books, an imprint of Ebury Publishing,
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BBC Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.

Text Steve Backshall Limited 2019
Photography True To Nature 2019

Cover design by Two Associates

Steve Backshall has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

First published by BBC Books in 2019

This book is published to accompany the television series entitled Expedition with Steve Backshall first broadcast on Dave in 2019. Selected episodes were broadcast on BBC Two under the title Undiscovered Worlds with Steve Backshall.

Expedition with Steve Backshall is a True To Nature production.

Executive Producer: Wendy Darke
Series Producers: Susanna Handslip and James Brickell
Series Director: Rosie Gloyns

Illustrations by Ella McLean

penguin.co.uk

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 9781473531642

In the 21st century, if you want to be an explorer, you want to be a cave diver. There are untold miles of cave as spectacular as this that have never been explored before.The aerial view showed us the scale of promise in Yucatan, forests filled with potential.Getting down into the abyss affectionately nicknamed Backshalls Backdoor!This jaguar mural was emblazoned in charcoal over a thousand years ago the location took many hours of caving to get to.This was one of the most decorated caves Ive ever seen, with Mayan artefacts, and a shimmering undived lake at its furthest reach.Picking our way through the leads between the pack ice.First thing in the morning; its glassy calm and were breaking a crispy crust of ice on the surface with every paddle stroke.As climate change leads to ice breaking up earlier and forming later, more desperate bears will be brought into uncomfortable contact with people.Dragging our gear up onto a vast Greenland glacier and towards a range of unclimbed peaks.By using skins on the underside of our skis, we could get up all but the steepest slopes.2.30am, standing on the summit of the mountain I named after my first-born son; an emotional and exhausted moment.Icebergs are some of the most transfixing and terrifying of natural structures, unstable and liable to fracture or roll at any moment. We kept our time near them to a minimum.Looking down in Jebel Shams, the Grand Canyon of Arabia.Despite its diminutive size, the saw-scaled viper is one of the few snakes that are a significant danger to human health.Majlis al Jinn is a true forgotten natural wonder; at the right time of day beams of light create a breathtaking spectacle.The stand-up paddleboard was a revelation on our Suriname river expedition, giving me a better perspective on our route and wildlife spotting.The moment we walked out of the forest to the unexpected sight of an unmapped, unknown and unrecorded waterfall.Dropping over the edge of our falls on the Tafelberg; much more dangerous than any of us had expected.Our paddling team from left to right, Chencho Drukpa, Karma Galleg, me, Kinley Dorji, Tshewang Rinzin and Sonam Dendup.We lost count of how many rapids we ran for the first time in Bhutan; some like this were exhilarating, others were just plain horrifying.My Bhutan team Aldo to my left, then continuing clockwise; Sal my saviour, Briony, world champ James Pring, Darren, boss Sanna and cameraman Graham.