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Beyond Boundaries is a reality TV series [1] produced by Diverse Bristol for BBC Two. Each series follows a team of adventurers with disabilities as they take on some of the toughest expeditions on the planet under the guidance of ex-SAS Major Ken Hames.
The first series of Beyond Boundaries Nicaragua follows a group of eleven men and women, [2] [3] each of whom have a physical disability, as they trek across the rainforests, deserts, rivers and mountains of Nicaragua. The arduous route takes the participants from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
They start on the treacherous Mosquito Coast, escorted by armed soldiers to protect them from bandits and drug traffickers. They then make their way through a jungle and crocodile infested rivers, and climb a live volcano to make it to their finish line – the Pacific Coast. They have twenty-eight days to cross two hundred and twenty miles.
The team included Ade Adepitan, Jane Atkinson, Amar Latif, Sophie Morgan, Daryl Beeton, Warren Wolstencroft, Karl Sacks, Glenn Kirk, Lorraine Pooley, Charlie Fennel and Toby Farrar – two in wheelchairs, one deaf, one blind, one double foot amputee, two arm amputees, one with spina bifida and the other three were single leg amputees. Only seven participants finished the expedition.
This series was first transmitted on BBC Two in October 2005.
Beyond Boundaries: The African Challenge follows a group of adventurers with disabilities on a 2,000 mile journey across continental Africa. They have to work together as a group to cross the two oldest deserts in the world, avoid lions and rhinos, and ride the world's most dangerous rapids at Victoria Falls before reaching their destination on the Skeleton Coast.
This series was first transmitted on BBC Two in October 2006.
10 teenagers with physical disabilities cross the Andes, one of the highest mountain ranges in the world. Over a period of four weeks and 400 km, these young people will have to fight their way from the edge of the Amazon Basin, climb to over 5000m to reach the snowline on Cotopaxi, the highest active volcano in the world, and then descend to sea level, wading through miles of swamp before reaching the Pacific Ocean.They are led by ex-SAS commando Ken Hames.
This series was first transmitted on BBC Two in May 2008.
The Republic of Colombia is situated largely in the north-west of South America, with some territories falling within the boundaries of Central America. It is bordered to the north-west by Panama; to the east by Brazil and Venezuela; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; and it shares maritime limits with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.
Nicaragua is a country in Central America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras. Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America in square kilometers.
The Bering Strait is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia-United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' 37" W longitude, slightly south of the Arctic Circle at about 65° 40' N latitude. The Strait is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish explorer in the service of the Russian Empire.
California is a U.S. state on the western coast of North America. Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km2), California is among the most geographically diverse states. The Sierra Nevada, the fertile farmlands of the Central Valley, and the arid Mojave Desert of the south are some of the major geographic features of this U.S. state. It is home to some of the world's most exceptional trees: the tallest, most massive, and oldest. It is also home to both the highest and lowest points in the 48 contiguous states. The state is generally divided into Northern and Southern California, although the boundary between the two is not well defined. San Francisco is decidedly a Northern California city and Los Angeles likewise a Southern California one, but areas in between do not often share their confidence in geographic identity. The US Geological Survey defines the geographic center of California about 7.1 miles driving distance from the United States Forest Service office in the Northern Californian city of North Fork, California.
The Seven Summits are the highest mountains on each of the seven traditional continents. Reaching the peak of these summits is considered a significant achievement amongst many mountaineers, alongside many other such goals and challenges in the mountaineering community. On 30 April 1985, Richard Bass became the first climber to reach the summit of all seven.
Serious, Serious Explorers in later series, is an observational documentary series made by the BBC and broadcast as part of their children's programming. It encompasses Serious Jungle (2002), Serious Desert (2003), Serious Arctic (2005), Serious Amazon (2006), Serious Andes (2007), Serious Ocean (2008) and two series of Serious Explorers (2011).
Norman Croucher is a British mountain climber, a double amputee with two prosthetic legs below the knee.
Adedoyin Olayiwola "Ade" Adepitan is a Nigerian-born British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. As a presenter, he has hosted a range of travel documentaries and sports programmes for BBC television. Adepitan is a disability advocate and one of the first physically disabled television presenters in the UK, with a career of over 20 years.
The Arica y Parinacota Region is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It comprises two provinces, Arica and Parinacota. It borders Peru's Department of Tacna to the north, Bolivia's La Paz and Oruro departments to the east and Chile's Tarapacá Region to the south. Arica y Parinacota is the 5th smallest, the 3rd least populous and the 6th least densely populated of the regions of Chile. Arica is the region's capital and largest city.
Tourism in Nicaragua has grown considerably recently, and it is now the second largest industry in the nation. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has stated his intention to use tourism to combat poverty throughout the country.
Extreme Dreams is a reality TV programme made by the independent British production company Ricochet and hosted by Ben Fogle. The premise behind the show is that deserving individuals are taken to unfamiliar and extreme environments and given the opportunity to participate in an adventure beyond their wildest dreams.
Andes to Amazon is a nature documentary TV series co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, England and Animal Planet, first transmitted in the UK on BBC2 in November 2000. In other territories it was broadcast under the title Wild South America
Wild Africa is a British nature documentary series created and produced by the BBC. It explores the natural history of the African continent. It was first transmitted on 7 November 2001 on BBC Two in the United Kingdom and comprises six episodes. Each concentrates on a particular environment. The producers use aerial photography and wildlife footage to show how natural phenomena such as seasonal changes influence the patterns of life. Wild Africa was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and narrated by Fergal Keane.
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their disability or combinations of disabilities. Like running, it can take place on a track or as a road race. The main competitions take place at the Summer Paralympics which wheelchair racing and athletics has been a part of since 1960. Competitors compete in specialized wheelchairs which allow the athletes to reach speeds of 30 km/h (18.6 mph) or more. It is one of the most prominent forms of Paralympic athletics.
Amar Latif is a Scottish entrepreneur, television personality and professional traveller. His blindness is due to the incurable eye condition retinitis pigmentosa. By his late teens he had 95 per cent sight loss.
John McFall is a British Paralympic sprinter and ESA Project astronaut. In November 2022, he was selected by the European Space Agency to become the first "parastronaut". ESA will do a feasibility study on him flying to space and what needs to be adapted for people with disabilities.
The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth is a BBC nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 19 January 1984.
RacingThePlanet (RTP) is an organizer of off-trail and rough-country endurance foot-races, including the 4 Deserts. The company also operates an outdoor products store and a dried foods company.
Disability sports classification is a system that allows for fair competition between people with different types of disabilities.
Sophie Morgan is a British television presenter and disability advocate who is paraplegic. She is a social media influencer. She became a presenter after appearing on reality television. In 2021, she was a lead presenter for Channel 4's TV coverage of the Summer Paralympics in Tokyo. She has been voted one of the most influential disabled people in the UK as part of the Shaw Trust's Disability Power 100. Morgan has been working on television for almost twenty years, following the first generation of disabled television presenters such as Ade Adepitan, Mik Scarlet, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Cerrie Burnell and Julie Fernandez.