No water for miles: Primal Survivor star on new season, Extreme African Safari

Sara-Jayne King catches up with survival expert Hazen Audel, who hosts National Geographic's Primal Survivor. The new season, shot in East Africa's Great Rift Valley, premieres on 22 November.

National Geographic's Primal Survivor series has made host Hazen Audel an audience favourite around the world.

In the latest season titled Extreme African Safari, the wilderness explorer and survival expert braves the elements in East Africa's legendary Great Rift Valley.

Sara-Jayne King gets a taste of the extreme adventure with Audel on Weekend Breakfast.

Survival expert Hazen Audel in National Geographic's Primal Survivor: Extreme African Safari
Image supplied — Survival expert Hazen Audel in National Geographic's Primal Survivor: Extreme African Safari Image supplied

While Africa is an enormous continent, Audel remarks, one area that catches the attention around the world is the fabled Great Rift Valley and Serengeti.

He says planning this particular expedition was a two-year process.

It's been a full-time job for a handful of people in the office making sure the permits are set up, everything's going to happen... but from there you can plan as hard as you can, but it's one of the wildest placesleft on earth and part of what an adventure is, is the unexpected... and you have to really roll with the punches.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

There's so much more of Africa that needs tons of attention, but we kind of went to the most obvious first...
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

Neither he nor the team he works with take this incredible experience for granted, Audel emphasizes.

While it's hard sometimes to explain to people in words why he chooses this hardcore lifestyle, they just need to watch the series to understand what it's about he says.

I've been doing this since I was 19... One person said I'm most comfortable when I'm uncomfortable, and in fact that's just what it takes to see the things that I want to see.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

My real agenda is to see wildlife in its wildest, most pristine state... and some of these hard-to-get-to animals are in the really isolated corners of the planet, the Rift Valley being one of them.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

Primal Survivor has become what is my lifestyle, what has become my passion... and all of the blood and scabs and everything that goes along with doing what I do - I don't even think about that because I just have this laser-like focus in doing what I love and that's... well, what you see when you watch the programme.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

Audel relates the experience of being virtually saved by the local Gabra people when he struggled to find water in the area around Lake Turkana in the Kenyan part of the Rift Valley.

"It was one of the most spectacular things, that just happened right off the bat", he exclaims.

They were essentially on an overland search for water, so they had all of their belongings strapped to their camels and it was almost like a parade of this tribe doing this migration in search for water. I met up with them and was allowed to join their caravan.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

I will say, right from the get-go it was the local people, the tribes that were keeping me alive. They were pointing me in the right direction and they were absolutely the crucial asset for me to be able to make this expedition possible.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

Audel was struck in particular by the diversity found on the continent, even just in this one part of it.

During the four months of filming he came across at least 35 different language groups, he says.

There was no river for miles and miles, but I just got thrown into how magical and exotic and colourful Africa is... and how incredibly diverse.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

It was mind-opening - even though I was in the trenches day and night for four months straight, you realise that you're just touching the very surface of the wildness of the diversity that Africa has.
Hazen Audel, Host - Primal Survivor

Primal Survivor: Extreme African Safari premiers on National Geographic on Wednesday 22 November at 9 pm.

Get a taste of what's to come in the video below: