I'm above the celeb C stretch of tropical water situated between Malaysia and the
Philippines.
Heading for a group of islands with almost no habitation on them.
Part of the biggest archipelago on Earth.
Right below me is part of the Coral Triangle and it's absolutely vast, almost the size of
Australia.
I'm going to show you how to stay alive on remote islands like these, where so many
castaways before me have failed.
Hey, we need altitude to take us up.
Okay. Let's go. This will be the ultimate challenge.
Okay. About 30s.
We're at 10,000ft.
This is one jump I've got to get right.
Okay. He's climbing out now.
Here it goes.
I'm at terminal velocity around 130 miles an hour.
What I'm looking for now is a safe point of entry close to the island.
I can't land on the island, just trees.
And cliffs.
The beach is too narrow and the reef will cut me to shreds.
I'm heading for deep water.
I need to learn this world.
It's difficult to judge distance with just ocean beneath me.
Impact.
You gotta fly it all the way in.
Now to get clear of this rig and make to the shore.
And it doesn't go very far from here.
But I've learned from experience, distances at sea can be deceptive.
What do you think? Might only be half a mile can often end up taking you ages.
Come on, Ely, stick with me on this bit.
I've got to watch myself on the coral reef.
One cut out here could spell bad news.
Steep sided islands like this are thought to be the remains of the cone of a volcano, most
of which has now been eroded away.
It's a remote and hostile environment that has had little human interference.
Nothing very beech and coconut about this island.
Look. The primary rainforest are hard places to survive.
Everything's just locked into a battle here.
The battle for Leyte, for survival.
That's what makes them tough.
Let's head up.
First to understand what's available on the island.
You need to get a clear view.
And for that, you need high ground.
Truly hellish terrain.
All of this. Everything grabbing onto you, cutting and pulling you back.
Never get up this late.
That is all just so slippy.
It seems fine. Hope it goes all the way to the top.
But it's way too thin to be able to hold on to that.
These ones are a bit thicker.
These roots fan out from the trunk.
Trying to get a purchase into the shallow soil.
Mat is definitely going to be strong enough for me.
Okay, let's give this a go.
It's around four storeys to the top.
Once I've committed, there's no turning back.
The best technique is to use your legs to drive your body upwards.
Rely on just your arms and you're going to exhaust yourself so fast.
These sort of things. You just gotta pace yourself.
Doing a climb like this is possible now, but as your body weakens with limited food and
water, it could soon become impossible.
Sorry.
I can't talk at the moment.
But comments have on this knee.
Try and get some bloody ocean back in the lungs.
Then work out the next day.
No getting away from it.
It's hard work getting out of that.
Yeah, it's a long way down there.
Okay. I want to get across to these thinner ones over here.
Get up that way. Okay.
It's getting right up to me first.
Jam in. Okay.
These thin vines feel strong enough to take my weight, but they're much more difficult to
climb, especially as my arms feel like lead weights now.
Pretty darn awkward position.
Up this bit.
Just got to get to the top and then I can sort out my next move.
It's good now. It's good.
Feel a bit like I've done one of those military rotations.
Thing is, you just can't see anything through all this canopy.
Just keep moving on.
Let's see if we can get a view out from over there.
So, so human under the canopy of the jungle here.
Working this hard can dehydrate you in less than 30 minutes.
This is sort of leaf that would have water in it.
It's clinging to the branch, and the rainwater is going to come down here and
collect in there.
But not in that one.
The survivor needs to build a mental map of where they are detailing resources and
layouts as you discover them.
This is more like it.
Than a proper view out over the jungle canopy.
Nice. We've got a big landmass over there.
Steep banks on both sides and then dense jungle canopy as well down below.
Get deserted on an island and you'll need a base.
The shoreline is a perfect place.
The shores where you'll find food and sea rescue if it comes your way.
And with a bit of luck, provide the island survival.
The most prized commodity of all.
Fresh water.
When it rains on the island, all the water's gonna go one way and that's down.
Might be my best chance of finding drinking water.
Look, it's another little island over there.
A lack of resources here means I've got a back up plan over there.
For the time being, though, we need to find out exactly what we've got on this island.
Okay. Come.
Scavenging is a key element to survival, and the shoreline is a great place to find
materials.
So much the survival is just about seeing things differently.
The clam shell great for collecting water when it rains.
Take that look.
Even this sort of thing.
What should one do with that?
But let me come back for that, even if it's only for firewood.
You may not need this stuff now.
That little bottle.
But it might come in use later.
One man's junk is another man's treasure.
It's a good haul.
Now, to move on, to see what else is Island has to offer.
Look, even rock pools like this are often good places to find fresh water.
Get all these, like pockets here.
And if it's rained after the tide has gone out, these will often be full of drinkable
water. But not that that's really salty.
No.
Successful survival involves four basic principles.
Protection systems to assist your rescue.
Water and food.
Your first priority is shelter.
A good bit of beach there, and instinctively that feels a nice place to make camp and
actually look. That's going to be a great place for a signal fire.
Really good 180 degree views.
Try and spot any passing ships.
So far my search for fresh water has been fruitless.
I'm looking for just signs of any seeps.
Trickles of rainwater.
It's dry now, but if it rains, this will make a good water trap.
Also reef.
And that's going to be my source of food.