Survivorman | Beyond Survival | Season 1 | Episode 3 | The San Bushman of the Kalahari | Les Stroud

In approximately 3,000 BC, the fields of the Sahara transformed slowly into desert. At that time, the animals and hunters who had enjoyed these lush hunting grounds were pushed south. The Kalahari San aka Bushmen similarly migrated and have been living and surviving in this inhospitable landscape ever since. Record of the trance dance dates back to this time, when the San Bushmen were free to roam the great wilds of the Kalahari untouched by modern civilization and the laws of land ownership. The ritual of the trance dance served as a direct communion to the spirit world, the souls of the Bushmen journeying through space and time to the world of the Ancients to gain insight and healing for their day-to-day survival, individually or for the community at large. Les will be the first Westerner to participate in this physically and mentally exhausting three-day trance. Accepted into the tribe itself, he will learn the delicate and deadly art of poison arrow hunting, track porcupine, hike the great sand dunes of the Kalahari and gather honey from desert bees. The physical and mental toll of desert survival will test Les to his limits and beyond.

With award winning, never before seen ceremonial and survival footage, Les Stroud crafted this stunningly beautiful and compelling series about connecting to the earth through survival and ancient ceremonies with indigenous cultures around the planet.


Directed By Les Stroud
Starring Les Stroud