In Zambia Palin meets a witch doctor who tells him that he has an "evil shadow" and bad things lie ahead for him. He then is given a tree bark to "wash" with. This is supposed to help. Not really taking him seriously, Palin journeys down through Zambia, where long-time leader Kenneth Kaunda has just been politically ousted. He visits the Shiwa Ngandu estate, run by Lorna Harvey (daughter of original owner Sir Stewart Gore-Browne) and her husband John. Sadly, the Harveys were murdered six months after Palin's visit.
A case of stomach problems strikes Palin. Realising he probably should have taken the witch doctor more seriously, Palin takes the medicine given to him by the doctor. Palin then moves on to Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, where he goes whitewater rafting. Unfortunately, he also tries swimming through some rapids wearing a life jacket, resulting in a cracked rib. To add insult to injury, one of his suitcases has been lost by the local railway company.
Entering Zimbabwe he visits the tomb of Cecil Rhodes, for whom the country was originally named Rhodesia. Moving on to Bulawayo he meets up with another BBC—the Bulawayo Bowlers Club, and visits a local nightclub. Then he heads towards his last African frontier, between Zimbabwe and South Africa, where apartheid was just abolished four months earlier.
While in South Africa Palin attends a local football match. In Johannesburg he receives some bad news: the Agulhas, a scientific research ship they were scheduled to take to Antarctica has no space for them. While the BBC scrambles for alternatives, Palin visits Western Deep Levels Mine, the world's deepest gold mine. In Soweto he meets up with former South African neighbours of his from London. Then he catches the luxurious Blue Train to Cape Town. On top of Table Mountain he regards the southern tip of Africa and reminisces about how the continent changed him from an optimist to a realist. Unfortunately for him, the BBC's efforts to get him on the Agulhas have failed. It looks as if Palin will be unable to reach the South Pole.
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