(dramatic music)
- My name's Steve Backsaw, I'm a naturalist,
and, I guess, an explorer.
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Over the course of one calendar year,
we had the unique opportunity
to attempt 10 world firsts.
Absolutely endless amounts of
stalagmites and stalactites.
And the thought that we're the first people
ever to see them is almost beyond belief.
To be able to go on an expedition
with the very best in the world is a privilege.
It's an honor that someone at my level
would never normally have.
(laughing)
Thank you, John.
Thank you for keeping me safe.
I think it's quite humbling to spend time
with people who are almost superhuman,
some of the greatest explorers in their field, in history
and I've been able to count them as teammates and friends.
- Well done, I'm really proud of you.
- Stevie, boy.
- [Steve] Thank you all.
- [Woman] You did awesome.
- [Steve] Thank you all so so much.
- [Woman] Nice one guys.
- Thank you James.
- I think for me, the greatest highlight
of this series has been waking up each morning,
rolling out of my hammock or opening the tent door
and not knowing what that day has ahead.
Being on those jungle rivers, going around
every corner and not knowing if there could be
a jaguar sat at the riverside.
Or if you could find a huge tree blocking your path
that could take days to get around.
Having a tapir wander out of the bushes
and just, you know, stroll in between our boats.
No way, that is absolutely amazing.
Clearly no idea what we, as human beings, were,
'cause it hadn't seen a human being before.
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Standing on top of a mountain in the arctic,
as the first person to summit, the sense of achievement,
- Well done, great job everyone.
- the view, the vista.
We were looking out onto hundreds of mountains,
none of which had ever been climbed before,
and an entire environment where
there were no other human beings.
That sense of the unknown is what makes expeditions special.
For me though, the highlight of this whole expedition
was the last moment.
It was being in a cave in Borneo
which doesn't occur on any map, doesn't have a name,
and seeing, emblazoned over the walls and the ceiling,
memories of people having been there
tens of thousands of years before.
Those are really clear ones.
- [Explorer] And the scratching, and vivid.
- [Steve] Look at that!
- [Guide] It's very good.
- We've stood on the top of mountains
and looked around at the vista and seen,
there are plenty more for another couple of generations
of explorers to go out and explore for the first time.
Likewise with the rivers, the rainforests,
it's not all done, there are plenty more
final frontiers out there for people to push through.
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Inevitably on expeditions, you get worn down,
you get worn down by leeches, ticks, mosquitoes,
by the fact that fungus appears to be growing
on every inch of your body and you're chafing
and hot and humid and sweaty,
but, on expeditions like this, there's always something
that brings you back, that makes
you rediscover your enthusiasm.
It could be a harpy eagle sat in a tree,
it could be a stunning vista,
the reflections of the forest on the water around you.
(water)
It's absolutely spectacular.
There's something that reminds you
how lucky we are to be here
and how privileged to see these places for the first time.
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