‘Eco-Challenge’ Is the Adventure TV We Need

The Wainibokasi River flows languidly past tropical trees and taro fields for about seven miles across Viti Levu, the largest of Fiji’s 300-plus islands, before it eases into the Pacific not far from the capital, Suva. On a muggy September morning, I’ve traveled here to watch 264 adventure racers from 30 countries gather near its banks. Overhead, a twin-engine BK 117 helicopter circles and then crabs in low. Bear Grylls, the survivalist and adventure-television icon, leaps out the door and into the sand. 

Grylls, 46, carrying a daypack with a big knife strapped to the side, storms up onto a small wooden outdoor stage erected near the river. The racers gather round. 

“You ready?” Grylls prods them, and the crowd explodes with glee. 

Behind Grylls stretches a giant map that shows a cruelly twisted red line traveling across Viti Levu, with loops to outlying islands. It summarizes the suffering in store: the 41.... Continue Reading at Outside Online