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Activity on the building site is intense.
The rainy season is fast approaching and the roof still needs to go on.
Everyone's pulling their weight to complete on schedule.
The roof is tiled with sago-palm leaves
and rolls of tree bark make the floor and walls.
In two weeks, with 42 workers, countless felled trees,
30 bundles of palm leaves, 1 6 rolls of bark and 5 kilometres of twine,
the new home is complete.
It's time to move in.
As always, modesty dictates a strict entrance policy.
Everything must be carried up, even family pets
and it's a long way back down if you forget something.
The first fire is ceremonially lit,
an interesting way to bless a wooden tree house,
but health and safety regulations have yet to reach these parts.
Parents are surprisingly relaxed
as their children explore their limits in the new home.
Through knowledge, skill and ingenuity
rainforest people have mastered their environment.
They live in tune with their surroundings
and show it a respect that's being lost elsewhere.
Their remarkable lives remind us that we are nothing without nature.
Documenting the Papuan tree house build
was the most challenging shoot for the Jungles team.
They came prepared for two weeks filming in the tree-tops,
but when things went wrong, it was the Korowai who saved the day.
This shoot took cameraman Gavin Thurston, researcher Rachael Kinley
and producer Tom Hugh-Jones
to some of the least explored jungles in the world.
We're about five days into the trip,
we had a safe flight in, we had a very good welcome committee,
and I believe it's about a three-day walk from here.
No going back now.
Though local porters help lighten the load,
trekking through the swampy jungle proves tougher than expected.
Well, I thought, if he's going in, we've got to show willing, haven't we?
I was going to come and help, but I've just fallen in.
But with only two weeks'filming, they have to push on.
The crew eventually arrive at Lahayu's village to a warm welcome,
Korowai style.
This is Ninkana, and we are beginning the five minutes of handshake
that seems to be necessary when you meet someone.
Then it's time to talk business.
Gavin's already spotted some local wildlife in unusual places.
This is Nasai, if I've got his name right.
He's got these amazing, um,
apart from an amazing hornbill...
*** sheath,
he's got these feathers on the side here.
Yakob. I think that's the sulphur-crested cockatoo.
(IMITATES COCKATOO) Noisy, yeah?
What else?
Mambro. (IMITATES PIGEON)
Pigeon?
And the hornbill?
Pfff...
There we are, so that's today's nature lesson!
The crew go to inspect the ironwood tree the Korowai have chosen.
Well, the Korowai have found a really good tree.
It's probably about 70 feet up to where they plan
to build the tree house. It's looking good.
A line is fired into a nearby tree to rig a camera position
but the rope gets caught.
One of these guys has just shinned right up there.
It's an unbelievable bit of climbing.
All I can say is, if that was anybody else up there,
my heart would be in my throat, but he just looks so at ease.
Problem solved, thanks to the Korowai.
Now the ropes are up, it's Gavin's turn to impress.
I think these guys are fascinated
by how much paraphernalia we need to get up a tree.
Especially when I can't do it properly.
The Korowai begin building at an astonishing rate,
leaving Gavin struggling to keep up.
Just as he gets into the swing of things, rain stops play.
It's been raining for 1 7 hours solid, I can't believe it.
When it's this wet it's not safe for them to climb,
the logs are really slippery.
The water table has risen so much now
we've got standing water everywhere,
and the other detail you probably don't want to know
is that the long drop too is completely full.
With work at a standstill, the crew are invited for a social visit.
It's a childhood dream.
It's one of my first memories - when I was about six or seven,
building a tree house about four foot off the ground
in an apple tree in the garden
and here I am coming to film the world experts.
All Korowai houses are split into gender zones...
...and, on the women's side, Rachael's attracting a lot of attention.
They seem to be wanting to get me to dress a bit like them.
Before long she's going native.
A little more than expected.
With the skirt safely fastened,
all that's left is for her to lose her trousers.
We've had two hours of bonding with these people.
It's just been really nice to sit down and get to know the tribe
and to share some jokes with them, let them laugh at us
and see a bit of their life.
When the rain stops, the Korowai get going
but Gavin's being encumbered by all his gear.
I wonder if anybody's ever filmed a heart attack on a rope before.
Once at the top of the tree, Gavin's kit comes into its own.
This is quite a clever device, called a tree pod.
It's got a couple of spikes
and when you strap it to the tree you get a really good solid base.
The camera goes on top of there.
The tree they've chosen to put the tree house in,
turns out it's the tallest tree for a good few hundred metres.
And one of the things we wanted to do is be able to see the tree house
in its environment, up in the canopy, and give a sense of height.
It must be getting on for ten storeys high
and just made out of sticks and rattan.
It's quite an incredible bit of engineering.
The whole time they've been building this tree house,
there've just been really scary moments.
Right now there's quite a large tree they're trying to fell
but they are worried it might fall towards the tree house
and take out the ladder.
So instead of everybody getting out,
there's three guys with long poles just pushing it out the way
and they've got two more down here with a bit of rattan
pulling it, in the hope that it will go away from the platform,
but if it goes the wrong way, those three guys are going to die!
(WHOOPING)
Another tree falls. This time it's a little too close for comfort.
Well, luckily they judged that one right and it didn't come our way.
The building's near completion, but Gavin still has to shoot the big reveal.
We've set up a line from the tree the tree house is in
across to where I was filming from the tree pod.
We're going to put the cable dolly on and get a really nice pull back
to reveal the tree house right up in the canopy.
(BEEPING)
Please, baby.
It won't go anywhere.
- What has happened? - (BEEPING)
It's died!
For the first time ever.
Oh, (BLEEP)!
Yet again the Korowai come to the rescue.
Traditional Korowai craftsmanship,
a stick with another little bit of stick tied on the end.
Come on, baby!
Gavin retrieves the camera dolly in time for supper.
Food supplies are running low so the Korowai serve up a local delicacy.
Sago grubs.
They're basically giant beetle grubs that live inside the sago palms.
And they are a delicacy.
The crunch at the end when you chew their teeth perhaps isn't the best.
But other than that they are all right.
GAVIN: You kept saying you wanted protein.
He's gagging!
RACHAEL: I think they taste like caviar. It's got that pop in your mouth.
- Do you like them? - Mmmm.
- You can have the rest, then. - Ah! Thanks. Some more!
GAVIN: The verdict on the sago grubs is, they are edible
but they are actually pretty disgusting!
I'm still chewing!
It's the final day and Gavin's last chance to shoot the grand finale.
Today, it's all come together. The sun's shining,
the guys are being really helpful and the cable dolly is behaving itself
and hopefully this is the end shot for the sequence and the programme.
It's just been incredible seeing the whole process
of how they build the house this high up in the canopy.
They all seem to have settled in very well. Most of them are asleep now.
I'm knackered as well, actually.
Spending time with the Korowai
has given Gavin a different perspective on life.
I find I judge my own inadequacies against their expertise and knowledge.
You come here and you've got boots on in case of snake bites,
you've got sun cream on because of the sun,
you've got twin safety ropes to make sure, if one fails,
you are caught on the other one.
And these guys, OK, maybe they have a higher mortality rate,
but they're much freer in their lifestyle.
You know, they're shinning up and down these trees.
I think I'd much rather live a shorter, fuller life, like they do out here.