I watched
Those ex-military Brits
Go on an expedition
They climbed Mandela
A 15,000 foot mountain
In New Guinea
They had to travel
Into unexplored territory
They were there
On a tourist passport
Even the local tribes
Could not give them too much
Information
About where
They were going
They found
Four or five porters
From a local village
One kind hearted man
They named him "Superman"
He spoke one of the dialects
Of The first tribe they encountered
They spotted boys across
The river
Picking berries
And then the elders came
They explained to these tribal leaders
Their mission
They told them to leave their land
Or they would be dead in the morning
They were moving into unchartered territory
The cannibalism had stopped completely in some
Of the tribes in the 50's
Others still maintained that practice into the 70's
They journeyed farther into the jungle
Heavy packs
And they had to carry two sets of gear
One for the jungle
And one for the mountain terrain
Hardy Brits they were
Rugged too!
One a retired Royal Marine
Who was more accustomed
To carrying a heavy pack
The other a retired tank commander
They had been on many expeditions together
One suffered from a type of trenchfoot
Oh the wet conditions!
And leeches too were a nuisance
They left most of their food at
A storage dump
And took four days supply
As they scouted ahead
They were down to just nine bananas
Only the local "Superman"
Would accompany them
Were they were going
The other porters stayed
They came across a family
In a house on stilts
In the middle of the jungle
And my you should have seen
The look of shock on their eyes
As they peered down on those Brits!
They were tapping their heads
And pointing to the sky
The coming of the white man
Their guide told them
That to them this could mean
The end of the world
The Brits and their guide
Mimicked their gestures
And bowed to them on their knees
To show they meant no harm
One villager in the home
Pointed a bow
At one of our courageous travelers
They decided it was best to turn back
Better not to end up as part
Of the evening stew after all
They finally reached the foot of the mountain
And the porters were not sure
If these men had the strength
To summit the 15,000 foot mountain
They were weary from making their way
Through the jungle
The struggling with heavy packs
The porters had often built bridges
Out of sticks
To help them cross streams
And they described what a simple
Type of living it was
Their comrades the porters
Helped them accomplish the task
And enjoyed helping them too
They did reach the summit
And one shouted, "bullocks"
Just for the fun of it
They had grown beards
And had lost quite a bit of weight
One proclaimed
He knew he would be there one day
After seeing Mandela Mountain
On a map
Thank you for filming your journey
This one was en expedition
For the ages
Bless you and your comrades
For you are
The Brits
Who Braved Mandela Mountain