Charley Boorman's Extreme Frontiers - South Africa (2013)

Charley begins in Cape Town and abseils from the summit of Table Mountain before crossing shark-infested waters to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 18 years. At Gansbaai, he cage-dives while great white sharks are fed bait, then makes his way up the coast to the Shamwari Wildlife Reserve, where he is introduced to some of the lions and leopards rescued by the Born Free Foundation.

The intrepid traveller starts his second leg just south of Durban, where he tries his hand at surfing among some of the country's largest and fastest waves, before he and the team take a car up the treacherously steep and extremely icy Sani Pass, which connects Kwazulu-Natal and Lesotho. He then embarks on a challenging trek to the top of Tugela Falls - the world's second-highest waterfall - enduring biting winds before setting up camp on the summit.

Charley samples South African life from three differing perspectives – in the air, deep below ground and in the bush. He starts by taking to the skies as he learns how to parajet. Although delivering some of the most spectacular views of South Africa, this is an activity that requires great skill to master, as Charley finds out. He then heads underground in order to get to grips with one of South Africa’s oldest working gold mines, and tries his hand blasting for the precious metal himself. Charley rounds off the episode by visiting South Africa’s flagship Kruger National Park. Extending over 7,300 square miles, this is the country's largest game reserve. Charley is hoping to encounter rhinos, hippos, elephants, crocodiles and giraffes. On a ‘wilderness experience on wheels’, he spends three days traversing the Lebombo Eco-Trail, enjoying the sounds and scents of the bush, getting up close to Africa's greatest wild animals and enjoying traditional bushveld dinners around the campfire.

This week, Charley meets a research team who study scorpions and risks life and limb learning how to handle one of the world’s most venomous creatures. Heading into the centre of the country, Charley gets behind the wheel of some of the giant trucks and machines used in the open iron ore mines. Moving west, the team spends two nights learning the way of the nomad with the San tribe in the desolate Kgalagadi National Park, before reaching the western coast. Venturing into the ocean once more, Charley goes diving in the open waters for diamonds, before ending the episode, and the series, in true Boorman style – leading a convoy of over 300 bikers from the Meer lust Winery through the beautiful mountains and beaches of Cape Town, to Signal Hill, renowned for its spectacular views.