Naked and Afraid XL (2015–…): Season 2, Episode 9 - Out of Africa - full transcript

[ Elephant trumpets ]

Narrator: These 12
"naked and afraid" veterans

took on the greatest
challenge of their lives --

to endure 40 days
and 40 nights...

Man: Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

...stranded in the
South African bush.

Man: Hey!

-Go!
-Oh, my god! Ah!

There's lions. I
can hear the lions.

Narrator: Now
their story continues

through
never-before-seen-footage.



28 pounds.

Narrator: They take
you behind the scenes...

Steven: The rangers told us
that the lions are pretty upset

and don't move until
they see anything.

[ Lion snarling ]

Narrator: ...And
reveal unseen moments

that were both absurd...
Cheers to turtle testicles.

...and alarming.

[ Buffalo snorting ]

Oh. Ohh.

Growled at us.

Narrator: For the first
time since leaving Africa,

the survivalists offer
a new perspective

on the highs...
Yeah! I got dinner!



-Whoo!
-Whoo-hoo!

Narrator: ...And
lows of their journey...

There's just this huge
loss of morale, loss of hope.

From a survival
challenge few completed...

I'm in so much pain.

Something's wrong.

Make the pain stop, please.

[ Screaming ]

Narrator: ...And
none will forget.

-Yeah!
-Yes!

-Yeah!
-Whoo!

Narrator: This is
"naked and afraid xl:

captions paid for by
discovery communications

Clarence: Negative 20.

I don't know how I'm gonna
acclimate to South Africa.

Narrator: For the
12 survivalists,

preparations begin
long before they depart.

Great last hike with Karma dog.

Barefoot hiking in the desert.

Every day, I'm walking
on my bed of lava rocks.

Check it out.

Oh, yeah, that sucks.

It's a good suck, though.

That means it works.

I'm just exposing
my skin a little

to the natural environment

so I don't burn
on the first day.

Ah! Ah! Ah!

Narrator: The
survivalists took off

from all corners of America,

bound for the other
side of the world.

They changed hemispheres

and, after 10,000 miles,
finally landed in south Africa,

where they got an immediate
idea of what lay ahead.

Because of the extreme
dangers of the area,

local rangers insisted on
advising the survivalists

before they entered the bush.

Tawny: We're all
sitting in this classroom,

and we have the
head of the rangers.

And he's looking at us
like we're crazy, first of all.

And he begins to
go into vivid detail

about what to do with
each specific type of animal

if it should charge you.

The rangers do not measure

the speed of a charge of
a leopard in miles per hour.

We measure it in
stitches per second.

Stitches.

[ Laughter ] Get it? Okay?

Stitches per second
-- which terrified me.

You don't tell that to somebody

right before you go to sleep
naked in the middle of Africa,

but he did.

Angel: I usually don't
get scared of nothing,

but when they're talking
about hyenas not killing you,

but just wanting a
piece of your body,

that -- that was kind of freaky.

When the ranger's talking
about hyenas coming in

and, you know, grabbing
people's arms and yanking them off,

I was like, "all right, sweetie,
that's gonna happen."

But the thing is,

was when I left that
challenge and got a newspaper,

the cover of it was actually
"man mauled by hyena,"

and the hyena
reached into a tent

and grabbed a man by his
face and dragged him out.

So, I'm kind of glad I didn't
see that newspaper before.

Ryan: I think my
biggest fear out here

are probably some
of the big cats,

especially the leopard,

because by the
time you see them,

they've already
been watching you

for a good half-hour.

Ryan: During that meeting

is the only time I've ever
second-guessed myself

and thought about going home.

Alyssa: I know that
when nighttime comes

I'm gonna be very
worried about snakes.

I remember coming away
from that conversation.

And I know everyone was
thinking at that moment,

"what did I get myself into?"

In my whole life,

I've never been as
afraid in any environment

as I am over here in Africa.

Angel: I was sweating bullets,

and I'm like, "where
are they taking us?

What are they doing to us?"

Narrator: To protect the crew,

armed rangers accompany
them into the bush,

but the survivalists were
left to fend for themselves.

It's a bit crazy, actually,

to consider coming out here
naked and try and survive.

The class is clearly
not very experienced

in what we call the bushveld.

I can't see how most of them

are gonna last more
than two weeks maximum.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

After 14 days,

there will probably be
five that's gonna make it.

Yeah, best of luck to them.

Well, yeah, the rangers
were skeptical of us.

Carrie: These are
people from the area.

They're like, "no, no
one goes out in the bush.

No one stays the
night out in the bush.

It's dangerous. It's terrible.

The bugs, the
lions. It's not normal."

All right.

Kim: And, I mean, we're
some kids from America

that are coming out here
with our egos and being like,

"yeah, we can do this.
This is gonna be great.

This is an adventure.
Oh, my god," you know.

And they're just like,

"you guys have no idea
what you're getting into."

[ Leopard snarls ]

The dangers are there
every day, every night.

You're always on guard,
and it was an eye-opener

because this is the most
evolved continent on the planet.

We're not on the
top of the food chain,

and it's intimidating
and terrifying.

Steven: Do you smell something?

[ Sniffing ]

I'm trying to find it, though.

Carcass in the
tree or something?

Holy [bleep]

Would you look at that?

God.

Look at that little guy.

It sucks it's so freaking rancid

and absolutely covered
in maggots right now,

but that's freaking crazy.

[ Lions snarling ]

[ Elephant trumpets ]

Narrator: To protect themselves,

the survivalists had to hurry

to construct defensive
perimeters, or bomas.

Oh, god, I'm so butch.

Jake: There's a lot of
hungry things out here,

so our plan of attack

is to chop down as
many of these saplings

and prickly, large
branches that we can

to just build something
that's both high,

but also pretty thick.

It's looking good.

Just, like, 40 more trees.

Tawny: The first
night was crazy,

and we didn't
get a shelter built.

We didn't get a boma.

We were in real danger.

Alyssa: The shelter
didn't happen

we had a little bit of a
boma going on the first night,

but really it was nothing.

It was probably like a
few sticks around us.

[ Laughing ] I know. Tawny:

I was just thinking
about that, too.

Phaedra: We chose
not to build a shelter.

[ Laughter ] I know.

And we just had
the [bleep] shelter.

It was the worst.

There was, like,
nothing protecting us.

[ Laughter ]

Alyssa: Do you want to cut
down stuff for the shelter?

Gotcha. Thank you.

Stacey and I will
keep doing firewood.

Narrator: For the survivalists,

the boma provided a life-saving
sanctuary on a daily basis.

But on day 38, they had company.

[ Lion snarling ]

Man: [Bleep]

Damn it.

Narrator: After two lions
tried to ambush a producer,

rangers took the
extraordinary step

of ordering all crew
into the cast camp

and to close off the perimeter.

So, like, they're super close,

and they're intimidating
the -- like, the rangers.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I just got a radio call
from one of the rangers

that just let us know

that a couple of male
lions are in the area.

These male lions might
be a little more territorial.

They're growling, a
little more aggressive.

And so the rangers have
urged us to find a safe place.

Well, the safest place
for us to be right now

is inside the cast
boma with the cast.

Kind of unusual, but better
to be safe than lion food.

Narrator: Meanwhile, the
shaken producer and rangers

track the lions to
another hiding spot.

[ Lions snarling ]

Man: That was probably
the most intense moment

I've ever
experienced in my life.

We just turned this corner,

and you just feel
it in your bones --

this deep, guttural growl.

That is why we have rangers

on "naked and afraid
xl" in South Africa.

[ Lions snarling ]

Okay.

Hey, hey, hey.

Hey.

Steven: Ah [bleep]

Yeah. You see him?
Yeah. He's big as hell.

Steven: These cape buffalo
surrounded it was crazy.

We couldn't get away from them.

[ Buffalo snorting ]

Oh. Ohh.

Darrin: They talk about
how bad the ticks are here.

Kim, look at these
ticks. You see all these?

This guy is just
filled with them.

One there, one there, one there.

There's probably like 30, 40
of them around his eyeballs.

Kim: Oh, geez.

Kim: The ticks were awful.

They were relentless.

At some points,

I was convinced that
there wasn't any dirt.

It was all just ticks.

Darrin: Really? Kim: Mm-hmm.

Ah, you little [bleep]

Out here, they say there's
a tick fever that they got

that, like, literally
knocks you in the dirt

for two straight weeks.

Like, that would ruin
the challenge for us,

if we got that fever.

Tick-bite fever,
if left untreated,

can be absolutely
life-threatening.

A person can die from it.

Just one second
-- it's sitting on you.

Okay, this tick I just
found on the cameraman.

So, they are in the millions

in every corner you
walk in this place.

Darrin: These ticks in Africa --

because there's so
much large game there

for them to feed
off of and breed,

their numbers are extraordinary.

You walk 100 feet,

and there's 40 ticks
on you in some places.

[Chuckles] Unstoppable.
David: The ticks are just

literally have had scores,
maybe hundreds of ticks on us.

I mean, they're on -- they're
feasting on each other.

Rob: Oop! One just
went down his pant leg.

Hey, Rob, you're laughing,

but you got them all
over you, too, buddy.

Rob: He's dropped
down inside me trousers.

[ Sighs ]

Another day in Africa.

Not for the faint-hearted.

Stacey: Oh, my god!

Oh, god! No wonder.

Holy [bleep]

Okay, world,

you want to see
something really disgusting?

Okay, so, my eye has been
bothering me for a while,

and I'm like, "I
think I have a sty."

Well, that has been
under my eyelid,

and look how engorged it is.

Stacey: The ticks were horrible.

You wouldn't know
they were there

until they were so engorged
that they became visible.

And that you actually
had to have a stranger

pull ticks off of your
[bleep] is insane.

Tawny: What do you need?

Oh, okay.

Yeah. One time, I couldn't
get a tick off of my anus.

And tawny pulled
it off of me for me.

[ Chuckles ] I'm good to go!

I've made some
really close friends --

really close friends.

I think we might
have to re-angle

with some closed-legs positions

'cause I don't want to feel
like I'm... Giving me a --

...looking at the
eye of the devil.

[ Laughs ]

Not that it's the devil, but...

It's a chocolate doughnut, okay?

[ Scoffs ] Oh, my god.

This is what hell must be like.

[ Birds squawking ]

It's crazy how
hungry I still feel.

Tawny: Do you guys
still feel really hungry?

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

I mean, you're catching up on

several weeks
worth of malnutrition.

Alyssa: I would hope
you're still hungry.

Day 21, I was like,
"yeah, I'm a badass.

I made 21 days."

And then you're like,

"[bleep] I have 19
more days to go."

Narrator: With
the constant threat

and stress to the body,

the survivalists received
periodic medical checkups,

including a
mid-challenge weigh-in.

Woman #1: Okay, let's
do this weight-scale thing.

Woman #2: Yeah.

-Go ahead.
-All right.

Man: All right. Step up there.

Let me break this box here.

Oh, my god.

180 pounds. 181 pounds.

-28 pounds.
-28 pounds.

You've lost 24 pounds.

-Wow!
-Whoa! You were close.

Man: Wow.

Oh, sorry. 137.

You lost 29 pounds.

-Wow.
-No [bleep]

-No way.
-Yeah, skinny bitch.

[ Laughter ] Stacey: God.

Do I get a drum roll? Yes.

You do it on your own.

Jake was 212. He's 181.

He's lost 31 pounds.

I won! Whoo! Woman: Yeah!

Wow. What?

You've lost 25, as well.

Aw, man.

Narrator: Despite the
playful competition withi

the effect that such
dramatic weight loss

could have on their survival
chances was sobering.

Alyssa: You lost the
most for women, right?

29 pounds?

Stacey: When you
drop that much weight

and you have those
kind of challenges,

as far as getting nutrition
and maintaining nutrition,

it's probably one of the
worst feelings in the world.

Are you okay, Alyssa?

You look super bummed.

It was very difficult
to go through all that

and just be --

not knowing what's gonna
happen next to my body.

Narrator: Unfortunately
for the group,

one second. Everything's black.

Stacey: The blackouts
are all a part of the challe

things start to
dim and black out,

and it's like being in a tunnel.

I feel -- I feel
that it's starting to

turn into the
energy roller coaster

at this point, like...
-Yeah.

When I'm standing up
and blacking out now,

it's -- I'm almost falling over.

Well, that's what
I'm concerned about.

You know, everybody, start
being careful around the fire

when you get up.
-Yeah.

If anything, turn around
and take your time,

get your blackout stick.

Kim: Towards the end,
we all carried our Spears

because it was getting
to the part where,

if you stood up, your vision --

you would just black out for
like a good six, seven seconds.

Everyone needs a blackout stick.

Ugh.

Everyone, hold on.

Ride this train.

Tawny: Anytime you stood
up, everything goes black,

and you have to stop
and close your eyes

and hold your face for
a good 10, 15 seconds

until everything
becomes clear again.

It was just an everyday thing,
and it got worse every day.

Like, it got pretty ridiculous.

My strategy for
avoiding blackouts

is just stand on my feet
as much as possible.

Woman: Sleep on your feet.

And then if I am
down, I brace myself.

I do a kind of...
-Yeah.

...this stance... [ Chuckles ]

...for the first 30
seconds or so,

until I'm cleared for takeoff.

[ Laughs ]

[ Buffalo snorts ]

Wow. A huge water buffalo.

Narrator: In their
weakened state,

the survivalists were no match

for the giant animals
that roamed the bush.

I'd say the scariest animal
in Africa was the cape buffalo.

I mean, they'll trample
you. They'll spook.

They're aggressive.
And they're big.

If they're coming for you,

and you can't get out of
the way, you're screwed.

[ Buffalo snorting ]

Steven: Ah [bleep]
yeah. You see him?

Yeah. He's big as hell.

[ Squawking ]

Go on! Go on!

Get!

Steven: These cape buffalo
surrounded it was crazy.

They were on the
hill above our boma,

where we collect our firewood.

They were at the
water next to our camp.

They were down at the riverbed,
where I go fishing all the time.

We couldn't get away from them.

It was eerie and scary.

Alyssa: Oh, damn.
I was just there.

Uh, might want to go in
the boma for a little bit.

Alyssa: I saw so
many animals that

you see it on, like -- you
know, on TV and everything,

but when you
see it in real life,

it's a whole
different experience,

and you're like, "I'm
gonna be walking barefoot

right beside all
of these animals."

Oh. Ohh.

He growled at us.

They are very aggressive,

and he is standing
his ground right now.

The cape buffalo is one
of the big five in Africa,

and they call them the big five

'cause those are what
kill the people the most.

Steven: You don't
want to mess with them.

They're aggressive as hell,

and they have no
problem attacking humans.

We were just gonna go get
water and firewood that morning,

and instead we
figured, "you know what?

Let's just kind of
wait this one out."

So, yeah, maybe it's boma time.

Boma time for a little bit. Yep.

Ryan: There's two eggs in there.

Darrin: Hey, Ryan,
when there's two of them,

that's usually nuts, not eggs.

Sorry, guys.

Testicles.

[ Chuckles ]

Alyssa: It's a well-known fact

that elephant dung
has seeds in it.

Cheers. Cheers to elephant poop.

[ Crunching ]

Jake: Day hasn't
even really begun yet.

That's how you do it.

That's awesome.
Look at the size of that.

This is some of the best
meat that I've had out here.

It is still a half-hour
before sunrise,

and day's already
off to a good start.

Bit of terrapin
turtle for breakfast.

Jake: That's awesome.

Narrator: In the
wilds of South Africa,

any food is good food,

even when it's
not what it seems.

Ryan: There's two eggs in there.

Jake: Yeah, I would
love to try half an egg

or a piece of an egg.

I have not tried egg.

Darrin: Hey, Ryan,
when there's two of them,

it's usually nuts, not eggs.

-Oh, really?
-[ Laughs ]

-Never mind.
-I'll eat them anyway.

They -- but...
-Are they yellow? -Aw.

They probably are balls.
-[ Laughs ]

-No way.
-Yeah, those are testicles.

Sorry, guys -- testicles.

-I'll eat it.
-I would love to try a testicle.

"I would love to share
a testicle with you."

Ryan: I would love to share
a testicle with you, Jake.

[ Laughter ]

-Oh, my god.
-If I had a dollar.

[ Laughs ]

Anybody else want
to try a testicle?

Alyssa: I might pass
on the testicles today

if you guys aren't
offended by that.

I'm willing to try
anything once out here.

Cheers to turtle testicles.

Cheers.

It's a really good testicle.

Yeah, I was surprised
that turtle testicles tasted

so delicious.

You know, who would've thought?

-That's amazing.
-Not bad, yeah.

-Honestly.
-Wow.

I was put on the spot.

I was more than willing
to try anything once,

and I'm glad I did because
they were quite tasty.

-Yeah.
-Testicle balls for the win.

Jake: [ Laughs ]

[ Elephant trumpets ]

Oh, hey, here's some
nuts that we can roast.

Alyssa: Found some nuts?

Oh, in the dung?
-Mm-hmm.

You found some in the dung?

Phaedra: Yeah.

Alyssa: That is huge.

Like, what was he
eating and how big is he?

Alyssa: It's a well-known fact

that elephant dung
has seeds in it.

So, they eat these
berries, and they process it

through the stomach,

but it doesn't break
down the entire seed.

And they have these
extremely large poops.

And you just go
digging for them,

for the seeds that
didn't break down,

and they're actually delicious.

Alyssa: We're planning to
eat these nuts that we find

'cause they have
a shell over it,

and so you're not really
eating the elephant poop.

You're just eating
what's under the shell.

Phaedra: I plan
on cooking it, too.

Oh, yeah.

Plus I don't really care.
Elephants are cute.

Phaedra: They just
have great flavor.

You know, I really don't
even feel bad about eating it.

It doesn't even,
like, bother me at all.

[ Laughs ]

Cheers to elephant poo dung.
-I wish we had more.

-Cheers to elephant poop.
-Cheers.

[ Seed crunches ]

Tastes exactly like popcorn.

Tawny: I never thought
that I would be naked

in the African bush and
having two of my girlfriends

digging through elephant [Bleep]

I mean, how deep does
it go is the real question.

[ Elephant trumpets ]

I pooped!

[ Cheering ]

-Yay!
-Lucky.

Narrator: Thanks
to their high-protein,

low-fiber diets, the
survivalists experienced

significant changes in
their normal bodily functions.

Jake: We would do
regular poop status updates.

It's not something that
I would do in daily life,

but out there it felt
very appropriate.

Jake: I can't believe
I'm pooping every day.

-Yeah?
-It's a miracle.

I was like, "where did all
that [bleep] food come from?"

-[ Laughs ]
-I'm eating like

three tablespoons a day
and [bleep] out like six pounds.

Yep, I think I'm gonna go poop.

-Are you?
-At least gonna give it a go.

I don't know. I don't
want to think about it.

When you suffer together,
that's a bond in itself,

and when you're just
eating protein all day

and you ain't got no grains,

you're looking in
for a hell of a ride.

[ Buffalo snorts ]

Just had my first poop
in 20 days, and it was --

you know, you'd think
something like that would be

a pleasurable experience,

and it was the farthest
from that as possible.

[ Sighs ] I'm a little winded.

I feel like I've worked
out, and I'm a little tender.

I need to sit down, hydrate,

definitely move
some stuff around.

Phew! Glad that's over with.

As hard as it was to
stay healthy on the inside,

it was even tougher to stay
presentable on the outside.

Everybody's got to
have fresh breath.

I tried to brush my teeth on
a daily basis with charcoal,

and I looked like gollum...

[ Chuckles ] It
looks so horrible.

...with, like, black putrid
crap in my -- I looked terrible.

But it worked.

Oh, my god. I can't
even right now.

You're like the
oreo spokesperson.

Ryan: Feeling that one side.

Angel: What are
you making, Ryan?

A beard brush.

Going into this
40-day in South Africa,

one of my bigger concerns
was how am I gonna maintain,

you know, this epic
beard right here?

I'm utilizing these
three-inch death thorns.

I split a, you know,
half-inch diameter stick,

put them in the center,
notch them all out,

and once I get, you
know, a dozen or more

put in between here,
wrap it with my twine,

and I'll have a nice brush.

-This is so fascinating.
-See, I got nothing

against grooming and trimming.

-He's all about...
-[ Laughs ]

Stacey: That is so
lovely. Look at that thing.

This was a beard saver,

and it kept this beard
nice and dreamy.

So, I've got no
complaints about it.

Kim: Let's just say
hygiene was kind of a joke.

We're growing our armpit hair

and all the hair
all over the body.

Show them your
armpit hair, phaedra.

Oh, my god,
that's, like, so bad.

Mine, you can barely see.

Check it!

Phaedra: No, but
here's the thing -- I win.

I win with mine.
-No, you don't. Look at it.

Wait. Go down a little.

-No.
-Look at that.

No, no, no, no,
no. Look at that.

Unh-unh.

My pits were the
worst out there.

[ Laughs ]

That's the fact.

Looks like there's some
dirty [bleep] in this camp.

[ Chuckles ]

[ Chuckles ]

You know, I'm not gonna say
any names as far as people

who didn't bathe,
but I'll give you a clue.

His name starts with "Darrin."

Let's see if we
can out-dirty Darrin.

He's got years of
experience on us.

He smelled like teriyaki.

He [bleep] stinks so bad.

I couldn't even be near him.

Steven: It's kind of
like a rotten-eggplant,

tilapia-face,
water-buffalo dung pile.

Phaedra: Every once
in a while, I hit this smell,

and it smells like the L.A. zoo.

I heard that.

Darrin: I like to
play in the dirt.

It just really didn't
bother me what they felt

about me being
dirty at that point,

'cause we were all pretty
damn dirty and nasty.

Bathing in muddy water didn't
make that big of a difference.

Phaedra: Your turn, Darrin.

For what? To take a bath?

I was just like, "no,
have you bathed today?"

"I'll do it tomorrow."

And I'm like, "no,
tomorrow is today.

Like, you need to do it today."

The tribe has
spoken -- bath time.

-[ Sighs ]
-Should just throw him in.

[ Fanfare plays ]

Narrator: After
weeks of resistance,

Darrin finally gave in to
the wishes of his teammates.

Darrin about to take a
bath after some-teen days.

Darrin: 12 days.

You're gonna see some fish
go belly-up here in a minute.

The [bleep] catfish
are biting me.

This is why I don't bathe.
The catfish bite you here.

Tells you how nasty I am

when the fish are
trying to eat me.

[ Hog snorts ]

Stacey: Oh [bleep]

Alyssa: Oh, my
god, is your hair wet?

Did you fall in?

Oh, I scrubbed.

[ Chuckles ]

I even dunked and
scrubbed my hair twice.

Oh, Darrin.

You must feel amazing.

See?
-Darrin looks cleaner.

I don't know if I'm
gonna be willing

to get close
enough to smell him.

Still good, wow.

That almost tastes
like ice cream.

Jake: Don't eat the fruit!

-What?
-What?

Oh [bleep] god.

I know what it's
like to give birth,

and it was 10 times worse.

[ Wretches ]

[ Groans ]

[ Screams ]

[ Lion grunts ]

Steven: Oh, this is where it
all kind of went down, huh?

Stacey: Yeah, we must be
getting close to that tree soon.

There's that tree,
the woolly caper one

that poisoned half of our crew.

Alyssa: Oh, my god.

Narrator: After four weeks
of battling heat, disease,

and deadly predators, it
was the contaminated fruit

of a single tree that
took the greatest toll.

And it all started on day 28.

Day 28, going
solo, it was probably

one of the greatest
days of my life

up until a certain point.

And look at that.

Literally just found
this fruit here.

I look up, and there's a tree.

Hello.

Is still good, wow.

That almost tastes
like ice cream.

I mean, if you could stick
this thing in the freezer

for 20 minutes, it would
be just like ice cream.

All over the ground.

[ Slurps ]

It was unlike anything
I've ever had in my life.

I probably ate between
a dozen to 15 in one day.

I just can't believe this
fruit. What a blessing.

It went from the
greatest day of my life

to one of the worst nightmares
of my life in a matter of hours.

[ Lion growls ]

I felt it. I felt it coming on.

I felt the nausea. I felt
something wasn't right.

[ Vomits, coughs, spits ]

God.

9 out of 10 pain.

10 out of 10, I'm passing out.

[ Groans ]

[Bleep]

Narrator: After being
removed from the challenge

and stabilized, Ryan
was left to ponder

how quickly one's fate
can change in the bush.

[ Indistinct conversations ]

[ Sighs ] No.

Man: [ Chuckles ]

I know I got this.

I can stay another 40 days

if it wasn't for any
sort of medical reason.

I'll take this pain all day,

but I can't take
the pain of having

to drop out of this challenge.

Even though the woolly
caper bush fruit was edible,

there must've been
something wrong with it.

No, I can't -- I'm not weak.
I can't leave this challenge.

So, what I'm gonna do is

I'm gonna -- you stay there.
-[ Sighs ]

I'm gonna put this
board underneath.

I can walk out of here.

Yeah, but you're not gonna walk.

I can't even look at a
picture of this fruit anymore

without physically
getting nauseous,

but I'm starting to feel
nauseous right now,

actually, literally thinking
about this damn fruit.

[ Chuckles ]

[ Groans ]

[ Siren wailing ]

Man: Ryan!

Ryan: [ Groans ]

Oh, my god.

This hurts so bad.

Oh, my god.

Phaedra, Kim, and Jake soon
met the same fate as Ryan.

Jake: Don't eat the fruit!

-What?
-What?

What?

Oh [bleep] god.

I know what it's
like to give birth,

and it was 10 times
worse than any pain

I've ever experienced in
my chest and in my gut.

And it was just like... It
took your breath away.

And I remember just,
like -- just wanted to get

that pain out of me, and I
was just clawing at myself.

[ Screams ]

Your eyes are
turning a bit jaundice,

which is on the yellowish side.

Uh-huh.

I know as much as
you want to stay here,

it's gonna be my
call to tell you do not.

You know, I don't know if
it's my stubbornness or what,

but I felt like I was so
close to the end point

that I could kick this.

Of course, I was very wrong.

[ Siren wailing ]

I had an eight-day vacation

in this weird African
hospital by myself.

Those were the worst days ever.

All I dream about is
having to set snares.

I dream that the hallway
outside my hospital room is

a heavily trafficked game path,

so if that's any idea of
where my mind's at right now,

you know... I just
wanted to get out of there

and get back to the
states at that point.

It's just crazy to think that
we lost half of our group

in one night to these things.

Stacey: It was very surreal
because it wasn't that long ago

we had all been standing
there contemplating

whether or not this fruit was
worth a [bleep] you know?

If we're eating them, and
they're edible, you know,

everything else is
eating them -- monkeys,

monkeys piss on them.
-Yeah, I mean, we see monkeys

every day here.
-You know, it's...

There was some bat evidence,
there was some bird evidence,

and, you know, there
could be a number of things,

and none of it
makes sense to me.

It made perfect sense to
me then like it does now

that that fruit was
contaminated, not toxic.

Steven: It was weird.

It was just a very just
ominous, bad, foreboding place.

It brought up memories
of the screams.

[ Screams ]

It was humbling, you
know, because, you know,

the ones that made
it, we were lucky.

Darrin: You guys all ready?

-Ready!
-Yeah.

Darrin: Yeah. Everyone's ready.

Let's go.

See you on the other side.

Narrator: After
weeks of embracing th

some "naked and afraid"
survivalists found inspiration

in their animal neighbors.

Giraffes' legs are so long
they can't just simply bend down

to drink water.

They swing one leg out one
way and then another to the next,

and it's kind of like
they're doing a little split.

And I just, you know, we
were all having a good time

enjoying each other's
company, and I was feeling good,

so I thought, you know,

why not impersonate
a giraffe right now?

You want me to show you
how a giraffe goes to water?

A giraffe drinks water
-- -wait, I want to see!

[ Laughter ]

And there's that tick
he was looking for.

Jake: Found it!

I feel like I nailed it.

I feel like I was basically
a giraffe that day.

Alyssa: It is day 40.

We're walking out soon.

This is my last journal entry.

So, I'm gonna leave you
with my favorite quote,

and that is... "And
in the end" -- wait.

It's the sunset of day 40 --

it's the sunrise of day 40.

I had a really good quote.

"And in the end, all
you can do is commit

to the ones that you
love, hope for a little luck

and some nice weather."

See you on the other side.

Darrin: You guys all ready?

-Ready!
-Yeah.

Darrin: Yeah. Everyone's ready.

Let's go.

Alyssa: We were living
like cavemen for 40 days.

I was 105 pounds
when I walked out,

and I was just saying to
myself, "I will never do this again."

Man: There they are. I see them.

Stacey: Look, it's
a [bleep] plane!

Steven: Shut up. Is that it?

That's it. It's
coming towards us.

-Well, where do we go?
-Yo!

[ Cheering ] Over here!

-Yeah!
-Whoo!

[ Cheering ]

Yeah!

-Let's go!
-Let's run after it!

Let's go!

Stacey: Going from living
in a really primitive lifestyle

to, like, instantaneously
being rescued by a bush plane

was unbelievable.

That's our ride!

Narrator: After being rescued,
the final survivalists arrive

at a production base
camp where they are clothed

and given their first
much-deserved meal.

-Oh!
-Ohh!

Stacey: Our fantasy
has come true.

Stacey: Having all
that readymade food --

all these things were
just taken for granted.

Holy [bleep]

And now are something
that are just, like,

super cherished and things
that we went so long without.

I feel like a total fat cat.

This is the best meal.

Tastes never have
tasted like that before,

and it was crazy coming
back into the world.

I love you guys.

Alyssa: Love you, too.

Narrator: After a
32-hour, 5-leg journey,

all the survivalists arrive
home for a joyous reunion.

What's up, love?

Steven: After seeing
my girlfriend again

for the first time
-- it's amazing.

-I love you so much!
-I love you, too.

Steven: You know,
when you're that far away,

naked in the middle
of nowhere, you know,

it makes you realize
the important things.

Daddy! Mwah!

It was emotional.

I mean, it was the
biggest gift I could get

to be loved and to
be missed like that.

It was magical.

Narrator: Readjusting
to home life wasn't easy.

The rigors of the challenge
manifested themselves

in bizarre aftereffects.

Oh.

I'm losing a lot of
hair really quickly,

and I think it's because
of all the malnutrition.

I think the biggest shock
for me is I started losing

tons of -- like, clumps
of hair at a time.

Every time -- every
time I wash my hair,

this is what happens.

Every day is getting --

like, more and more
clumps are falling out.

I have to, like, comb
my hair in a certain way

so that it doesn't
show a bald spot.

Aah!

Look at this.

Look at that.

And it's terrifying because
if I keep losing all this hair,

I'm gonna be bald
for my wedding.

The price that I pay for
America to be entertained.

Yesterday, I thought that
my eye felt a little weird,

and if you notice
when I blink...

After getting home, I noticed

that only one side of my mouth
was going up when I smiled.

I looked like I had been
kicked by a donkey.

So, it appears that I'm
having facial paralysis.

I'm a bit of a vain person,

so having half my face
not work, it was tough.

We'll see.

[ Chuckles ]

Winkin' at you ding, ding, ding

[ as Elvis Presley ] Thank
you. Thank you very much.

[ Normal voice ] All
right, we'll talk soon. Bye.

Narrator: While their
bodies will recover with time,

the lessons of the
40-day challenge

will stay with the
survivalists for a lifetime.

The people that I
was with were the thing

that made the
experience what it was.

Aah!

Stacey: We are forever
bound in our weirdness

as far as being naked
in Africa together.

I'm on top of the world!

Ryan: I would say I still
think back on South Africa

on a daily basis.

What a great opportunity.
Such a beautiful country.

The animals that I
was able to interact with

and spend time observing.

Look at that.

Those are memories that,
you know, will never leave me

and that will always
stay close to my heart.

Steven: You know, the rangers
thought that we wouldn't last two w

and apparently they didn't
know that I am Steven Lee hall Jr.

And I'm kind of a big deal

because there was no
way I was gonna go home.

Steven Lee hall Jr.
-- kind of a big deal.

Thank you. Thank you,
ladies and gentlemen.

I don't think there's anything
that could replace that feeling

of actually being able to
complete the entire 40 days.

And it wasn't easy,
and it was hard.

And it was hard after day 30,
and it was hard after day 36.

And it was hard on day 39.

And the fact that I did
what I set out to do...

-Oh!
-I want high fives.

Stacey: ...That
accomplishment felt so good

that I would do it
again in a heartbeat.

-We did it!
-We did it!

[ Cheering ]

-Yeah!
-Whoo!

-Hell yeah!
-Yeah!

Steven: You're welcome!

[ Roars ]