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8 Episodes 1996 - 1996
Episode 1
Les follows the forced landing of Australian hero Kingsford-Smith and the crew of the Southern-Cross aircraft on the banks of the Glenelg river in the far north Kimberley after encountering bad weather. Unable to contact searchers by radio, and ill prepared in terms of survival gear, they had to sweat it out and make do with the meagre food supplies on board and with what they could scavenge in the bush, until found several days later. One of the aircraft flying in to participate in the search, the Kookaburra, was forced down in the Tanami Desert with engine trouble. It was unable to take off again because of thick scrub and the crew of two, also ill prepared for such an event, perished before help arrived.
Episode 2
Alexander Pierce escaped the cruel prison colony of Sarah Island, Macquarie Harbour on Tasmania's bleak west coast, in the company of seven other prisoners. In their battle with dense scrub and rough country they found precious little to eat until they turned to cannibalism, eating the weakest in turn. Pierce was the only survivor. He was recaptured, and confessed all, but he was not believed as the authorities thought he has covering for his mates. Returned to Sarah Island, he escaped again with one companion-and ate him too. When recaptured he confessed and he was believed this time. He was tried and hung in Hobart.
Episode 3
Following the journey set out upon by the famous explorers Burke and Wills, Les heads from Bendigo up north to the Gulf Of Carpentaria. These explorers came so close to their destination, only to turn back and die a slow death of starvation. There are just some things that Les will not recreate, probably a wise thing.
Episode 4
Follow the footsteps of the determined explorer John McDouall Stuart who became the first European to cross the continent from South to North.
Episode 5
Les claims that there is proof that Australia was not first settled by the First Fleet, but by the Dutch. This Dutch settlement became more myth than fact as Les tried proving that he is more of a conspiracy theorist, following rumours to no avail.
Episode 6
Seeking a lost gold reef that Harold Lasseter was searching for, Les' appetite for gold gets him nowhere.
Episode 7
Retracing Ludwig Leichardt's 1844 expedition from Moreton Bay to Cape York and the Victoria settlement in Arnhem Land and the mystery of his final disappearance.
Episode 8
Les travels to the cape york peninsula in a manner that contrasts strongly with that of the cumbersome and fatal Edmund Kennedy 1848 expedition.