Tropic of Capricorn

Episode 1

Namibia to Botswana

A Capricorn adventure - Programme One The Tropic of Capricorn runs around the southern hemisphere for about 22,000 miles, crossing some of the most remote and unexplored regions of the world. Simon Reeve has embarked on an epic new adventure. In the first leg of Simon's journey across the Tropic of Capricorn he starts in Namibia, on a remote beach in the Namib-Nauklaft National Park. The spectacular desert scenery makes this area, like much of this huge country, a huge draw for adventure tourists. Simon's first stop is Swakopmund, Namibia's second largest city, and a place with strong German connections, where Mein Kampf and photos of Hitler are still on sale in the local curio shop. Namibia used to be a German colony and the country has a dark past - German colonisers killed tens of thousands of locals in a forgotten genocide, which Simon learns about from a local historian whose relatives suffered in German "concentration camps" in Namibia. Following an amazing encounter with a pack of hungry cheetahs and a French conservationist nicknamed "Catman", Simon arrives in the capital Windhoek, where he meets prostitutes infected with HIV (Namibia has one of the highest infection rates in the world) and witnesses at first hand the growing influence of China in Africa. Traveling across the vast interior of the country, he meets members of the Herero tribe, goes out on horseback to round-up cattle, and witnesses the Herero Holy Fire ceremony. Botswana confounds many of the stereotypes of poor Africa. Well-run, with cattle-patrols that keep stray cows off the roads, Botswana is making a fortune from tourism and a natural resource that never seems to lose its luster. The world's largest diamond mine, just south of the Tropic of Capricorn, produces millions of dollars worth of stones every week, funding universal education and extensive health care. The mining firm has forked out on anti-AIDS drugs to keep its workforce functioning in a country where HIV rates have rocketed up to 40%. Not all Botswanans are benefiting from the national prosperity, many of the legendary Bushmen of the Kalahari (or San people) have been moved out of the desert into depressing resettlement camps by a government that says it wants them to be part of the modern world. The government has provided basic huts and schools for them, who are among the poorest people in southern Africa, but many of the San are having difficulty adapting to the modern world. In a spectacular journey into the heart of the Kalahari Desert, Simon seeks out the remaining San who are still living in the desert alongside their lion "cousins". Some San have won a legal battle, and plan to return to live in their Kalahari homeland - but as Simon finds out, life can be tough in this beautiful, brutal environment.