Man vs. Wild

I love this show. I’ve had some wild adventures, but this guy is insane.
I caught an episode recently where adventurer Bear Grylls body boarded down the Zambezi River, which flows between Zimbabwe and Zambia.
I’ve been on that river. During an excursion to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, I signed up for a day of whitewater rafting. And I was terrified. It wasn’t the cold water I was so concerned about, though it was near freezing. It wasn’t swimming I was concerned about. I’m fairly adept in the water.
No, it was the crocodiles.
I made clear to my guide that if he flipped us over a rapid, I would personally see to it that he would be the appetizer.
Baby crocs occasionally fall over the falls and get washed into the river channel below. Sounds cute, but they grow up to become big, mean, nasty, hungry crocs. And I wanted no part of it. In theory, the overgrown reptiles stay in calmer waters, avoiding the rapids. But no one could guarantee that rapids are enough of a deterrent to keep the hungry beasts away.
And yet Bear Grylls was facing the same river, the same rapids, and the same crocs with no protection at all. Nothing but a board to help keep him afloat.
He’s won my respect and admiration. And I watch his show like I’d stare at a train wreck- waiting for something grizzly, and totally unable to look away. For any adventure seekers out there, this is the show to watch.
In his next episode, he’ll be parachuting out of a helicopter into the Yukon- some of the most inhospitable terrain on the planet.
Catch it January 19th at 10pm on the Discovery Channel.