Review of Long Way Down

I loved Long Way Round, solid 10 out of 10 travel and adventure Doc, so I had high hopes for long way down! At first however, I thought I was in for a disappointing ride. During the first African leg of the trip the crew have set themselves a strict deadline. This means for the first couple episodes they always just seem to be in a major rush, everyone is stressed and no one is really able to experience the country's they are travelling through, they stop at a couple major tourist destinations, which are great to see, but then they move on. I was hoping to experience the people and the culture, like in their first outing, as well as enjoy the biking and this did not seem to be the case. I persevered however and once they had meet and passed their deadline, everything fell back into place. No longer were they rushing through every country they got to, they were able to relax, enjoy and experience their adventure. Taking their time and adding a few extra aerial excursions to make up for lost experiences, the crew and the viewer are able to finally see the and feel the heart and soul of Africa, the cultures, the food, the wildlife and the landscapes as well as learn about the struggles and history of many of these countries. In the end, it was a worthy successor to LWR, slightly hampered by a rushed start.