Pole to Pole

7.7

1992•50m

Michael Palin undertakes an epic journey of 23,000 miles, traveling from the North to the South Pole across 17 countries with a minimum of air travel, all on a tight deadline.

Production

Seasons

8 Episodes • Premiered 1992

1. Cold Start

The first leg takes Michael Palin from the North Pole to the gates of Russia.

2. Russian Steps

Second leg of the journey: Palin has 12 days to cross Russia and reach the port of Odessa.

3. Mediterranean Maze

Palin travels from Istanbul to Aswan on the Nile.

4. Shifting Sands

In this part of the journey Michael Palin crosses the Sudan. He crosses the Nubian desert in the north of the country and traverses a region ravaged by drought, poverty, famine and civil war. Unable to follow the line of 30 degrees east, he is forced to take a route along the border with Northern Ethiopia.

5. Crossing the Line

Having struggled through the Sudan, Michael Palin is now faced with the difficulty of getting across Ethiopia, where the armed remnants of the fallen dictator Mengistu's defeated army roam. He makes a dash to Addis Ababa with a military escort. He continues his journey to reach the Kenyan border and travels on to Lerata. He passes Mount Kenya, the significance of which is that now he has completed half of his journey.

6. Plains and Boats and Trains

Michael Palin begins this week with a tented safari in a Kenyan game park. He travels via the Ngoronoro Crater and arrives at Lake Tanganyika.

7. Evil Shadow

In this week's episode, Michael crosses Zambia and Zimbabwe towards Johannesburg.

8. Bitter End

Michael Palin fails in his attempt to get a berth on board the SA "Agulhas" on its once yearly sail to the South Pole. The search is on to find some other way of reaching the South Pole, abandoning all self-imposed restraints such as following 30 degrees east or using only surface transport.