Travels With Agatha Christie and Sir David Suchet S01 E01
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00:00In 1924, Agatha Christie published a rather different detective novel, set not in England,
00:17but in South Africa, a place she had visited herself.
00:25She writes gloriously in her books about what she sees.
00:32Listen to this.
00:36It made me catch my breath and have that curious, hungry pain inside that seizes one sometimes
00:44when one comes across something that's extra beautiful.
00:49And you know, I'm convinced that this is Agatha speaking through her heroine.
00:57And she goes on, South Africa, South Africa, you're seeing the world.
01:03This is the world, you're seeing it.
01:15In 1922, before Agatha Christie was famous, she traveled the world as part of a mission
01:21to champion an upcoming British Empire exhibition.
01:27Held in London, it was to be a resplendent celebration of empire and industry, designed
01:33to strengthen bonds and boost trade.
01:39Over a hundred years later, I'm following in her footsteps.
01:44I really feel that I'm back in time with her now.
01:47I'm David Suchet, and I played Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot for 25 years.
01:54Now with my trusty camera, I'm retracing her travels through Southern Africa.
01:59I've never seen anything like this.
02:01Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.
02:07Oh wow, that is extraordinary.
02:11And I'm even following her on holiday to Hawaii.
02:15She found this magical place in surfing, and it captured her heart.
02:20I want to find out how different life was in these places in the 1920s.
02:25There were 94,099 sheep, Sean, the year that Agatha was here.
02:33What?
02:34And explore the impact of colonialism a century on.
02:38We are still black, dispossessed, displaced, and landless.
02:42You can't understand why things are the way they are with Indigenous people in Canada
02:47if you don't look at what the history is.
02:50I'll see the world through the eyes of a writer, goodness me, I mustn't be tempted, who has
02:56been so pivotal in my own life.
03:00She embraced life for all it was worth.
03:04Wow, what a discovery.
03:08My great adventure is starting with a pilgrimage to Torquay, Agatha's hometown on the English
03:23River era.
03:28It's the site of an annual international festival where fans come to celebrate the world's best-selling
03:34novelist, someone who's very close to my heart.
03:38I can't separate Agatha or Poirot from each other.
03:43Both changed my life, changed my career.
03:47He became my very best friend.
03:49As soon as the moustache was placed from that moment, I would then be him and be him for
03:58the rest of the day, except at lunch when the moustache came off.
04:04When she was 31, Agatha Christie and her husband Archie were asked to help promote
04:10the upcoming British Empire exhibition.
04:14It was Archie's old schoolmaster, Major Ernest Belcher, who came with the most incredible
04:21offer.
04:22Would Archie, like a job travelling through various parts of the British Empire, to promote
04:27and prepare for the exhibition?
04:33Would his wife like to join him?
04:35Of course, Agatha said yes.
04:39It's very exciting for me.
04:41I've only known the mature Agatha Christie, rather shy and reclusive.
04:47In 1922, what was she like?
04:49What was she like before she became famous?
04:54I'm looking forward to meeting a lady that I've not known in any way before.
05:01I can't wait.
05:06First, I'm meeting Christie expert, Dr Mark Aldridge.
05:11I'm very excited about this adventure you're going on.
05:14I know.
05:17At the Grand Hotel, where the newly married Christies spent their honeymoon.
05:23I'm keen to know where Agatha was in her life as she embarked on this incredible journey.
05:30She has a young daughter.
05:31Her and Archie are happily together.
05:34And frankly, she's not Agatha Christie the writer yet.
05:37She has published.
05:38No.
05:39She's Mrs Christie.
05:40She doesn't go as a famous writer at all.
05:43One novel.
05:44Yes.
05:45Albeit the Poirot novel.
05:46It wasn't a good novel.
05:47Yes, a pretty good start.
05:48I've actually got a really nice article.
05:50Have you?
05:51This is the Palmal Gazette.
05:52It is, well, an interview with Agatha Christie just before she sets off on her tour.
05:59She says, once you adopt crime, it's difficult to give it up.
06:02I know I can never do so.
06:04Oh, fascinating.
06:05How right she was.
06:06And it's her voice, isn't it?
06:07Yes.
06:08You can hear her speaking.
06:09Yes, yes.
06:10What does she say here?
06:11I'm not sure that the people in the overseas dominions are going to like me.
06:15They may find my love of crime objectionable.
06:19It cannot be helped.
06:20Isn't that lovely?
06:21And of course, the empire at this time is still geographically very large.
06:25But structurally, it's very weak.
06:27There's a lot of change happening here.
06:30Interesting that, yes.
06:34Agatha's empire journey also interests me because it came before a great crisis in her
06:39life.
06:40In 1926, her mother died and her husband, Archie, asked for a divorce.
06:47Deeply upset, she famously went missing for 11 days.
06:53I think it destabilised her hugely.
06:56She very much withdrew from interviews in the press.
06:59She certainly changed.
07:01But at this stage in her life, I think that she is much more confident.
07:05Yes.
07:06She really loved to meet different people.
07:09And that is always the core of her storytelling.
07:11She says, the tools of my trade are going around the world with me, typewriter, notebooks,
07:17and heaps and heaps of paper.
07:18Yes.
07:19She's not stopping here.
07:20I'm really looking forward to this.
07:22It's been marvellous talking to you.
07:24I'm so envious.
07:25So if you've got room in your suitcase, I'll come with you.
07:27Thank you so much.
07:28Thank you, Daniel.
07:32In January 1922, the RMS Kildonan Castle set sail from England with Agatha and Archie Christie
07:41on board.
07:44Ahead of Agatha, lay adventures to some of the furthest reaches of the world.
07:50After a two-and-a-half-week voyage, the ship docked at their first destination, Cape Town.
08:04A lively, bustling city, framed by the magnificent Table Mountain.
08:12It's iconic, isn't it?
08:14It's as though someone's come along with a big knife,
08:17and just taken the top right off.
08:25Agatha's two-month-long visit here came after four British colonies had combined
08:31to form the Union of South Africa, a self-governing dominion of the British Empire.
08:39And whilst in Cape Town, Agatha stayed at the colonial era Mount Knob.
08:47The Nelson Hotel.
08:54Wow, an avenue of trees. Very elegant.
09:03Oh my goodness, there's the hotel.
09:06I don't think I've ever seen a pink hotel before.
09:11That's huge.
09:18So, David, welcome to Mount Nelson Hotel.
09:22I'm so happy. Pleased to come through.
09:25Gabby Palmer has worked for the hotel for ten years.
09:29Let's go outside into the beautiful gardens.
09:35Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it?
09:38And what a beautiful day it is, too.
09:41Tell me about the hotel.
09:43The first thing you might have noticed is the pink.
09:45Yes.
09:46The pink is the celebration of the end of World War I,
09:50and pink is the colour of peace, hope, joy, love, passion,
09:54all the positive emotions.
09:56And it's been the same pink ever since 1918.
09:59So it looks lovely, doesn't it?
10:01Yes, it really does.
10:02Shall we go?
10:03Yes.
10:06The hotel opened in 1899,
10:10and belonged to the owner of the Union Castle shipping line,
10:14which took mail and passengers from Britain to South Africa.
10:22And in the dining room,
10:24the chairs come from the same Union Castle ships
10:27that brought visitors to Cape Town.
10:30Agatha Christie would have sat in something like that.
10:33She would have.
10:34Oh, that's fascinating.
10:36Do you want to sit down and see what it feels like?
10:38Yes, I do. Thank you.
10:43That is very comfortable.
10:45Exceedingly so.
10:46It was only for the first-class passengers.
10:48It certainly wasn't for any other of the classes.
10:51Lucky Agatha.
10:59My Agatha adventures are off to a great start,
11:03and this trip means so much to me in a number of ways.
11:10This book was her very first book,
11:12Mysterious Affair at Styles, first Poirot book.
11:16This was published in 1920,
11:18and led her writing Poirot books for the best part of 50 years,
11:23thankfully, because I was able to be in every one of them.
11:26My family, in a sense, comes from South Africa.
11:31And I brought a picture of my late grandfather on my father's side.
11:37If you were to put a little moustache on that man,
11:43I wonder who he'd look like.
11:45Hercule Poirot.
11:47He was known as the best-dressed man in Cape Town.
11:51He moved here from Lithuania,
11:56and my father was born here.
11:59I always carry my camera wherever I go.
12:02My late maternal grandfather, he was a Fleet Street photographer.
12:07This camera is based on the first Leica, the M3,
12:11that my grandfather gave me.
12:13He taught me on that camera.
12:15So, yeah, very personal, very emotional,
12:19and I'm looking forward to it very much.
12:26MUSIC
12:39To start my journey, I'm following Agatha Christie
12:43to Cape Town's renowned wine region.
12:49Dutch colonists planted the first vines here in the mid-17th century,
12:54using slaves to work the farms.
13:00Agatha toured the area with the Empire Mission,
13:03who were interested in its wine and fruit industries.
13:09Craig is giving me a tour of Klein Constantia.
13:13Hello, Craig. Sir David, welcome.
13:16One of the oldest winemaking estates in South Africa.
13:20Terrible weather. Yes.
13:25Just stop for two seconds. I just want to catch...
13:28Can you switch the wipers off just for a minute?
13:31There we go. Thank you.
13:33Shall I wipe quickly, get it clear, and then you can take a shot?
13:36Yeah. Ready? Wipe. Off.
13:38Thank you. Teamwork.
13:43Craig, tell me, why this particular area?
13:46It's a bit more sheltered from the wind. We're in a bit of a valley.
13:49It's a little bit richer, a little bit deeper.
13:51There's an abundance of water.
13:53We have over 1,000 mls of rain on average in the year.
13:57Yes.
13:59There was a time when the dessert wine from Constantia
14:02was the most famous wine in the world.
14:05Constantia wine was highly prized,
14:08but at the end of the 19th century,
14:11vineyards across the world were decimated
14:14by a deadly insect pest, Phylloxera.
14:17Did you put this vineyard out of business? Absolutely.
14:20Fruit trees are resistant to Phylloxera,
14:22which is why fruit trees were planted.
14:24So apples, pears, plums, peaches, in this specific area.
14:28Yes.
14:32By 1922, when the mission came to this area,
14:35they would have found a flourishing fruit industry
14:38alongside recovering vineyards.
14:43And both offered potential for inter-empire trade.
14:48I'm meeting wine historian Joanne...
14:51Bye-bye.
14:53..to learn more about the mission's visit here
14:56and perhaps, like Agatha, taste some wine.
14:59Hello, Joanne. Hello, Sir David.
15:01Hello. Come in.
15:08I don't know if you've seen this. No, I haven't.
15:11This is a British Empire exhibition, 1924, official guide.
15:16I want to read something inside,
15:18because this was on display in the actual South African pavilion
15:24in the Great Exhibition.
15:27And it almost sounds as though it's where we are now.
15:32In a little Dutch house,
15:34looking out on a vineyard scene at Constantia,
15:37are displayed South African wines,
15:40which equal and are said by many
15:42to surpass European vintages of a similar nature.
15:47Amazing. Isn't it?
15:50Constantia wine was world-famous during the 18th century.
15:55Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
15:57had more Constantia in their cellar at Versailles than Burgundy.
16:01My goodness. Would you like a taste of...
16:04Yes, I would. Certainly would.
16:06You've made me very thirsty.
16:08So this is Van de Constance,
16:10which is Klein Constantia's recreation
16:13of the famous, legendary sweet wine of Constantia.
16:20Oh, my goodness.
16:22It's very perfumed, isn't it?
16:25Yes, it is. And it is very sweet.
16:28It's usually drunk as a dessert wine.
16:30I know what I'm going to order next time.
16:33This one is Clara,
16:35after the woman who owned Klein Constantia
16:38when Agatha Christie visited in the 1920s.
16:41It's a dry wine. I'll give you a taste.
16:44I haven't drunk this much in one go for a long time.
16:50It's very different. That is different, isn't it?
16:53It's a different grape variety, Sauvignon Blanc.
16:58Oh, it's lovely.
17:01I've learned such a lot.
17:06MUSIC
17:11During their stay in Cape Town,
17:14the mission visited the house of a controversial man...
17:19..who, in 1922, still cast a long shadow 20 years after his death.
17:26Cecil John Rhodes was an imperialist, businessman
17:30and Cape Colony prime minister
17:33who forever changed the face of South Africa.
17:38Dr Rader Becker is the curator at his former home.
17:43Sir David, how nice to see you.
17:45Hello.
17:46And welcome to Hruderskerp. Thank you.
17:48Would you like to come inside? Yes, I'd love to.
17:53Rhodes came from England to South Africa in 1870 as a sickly boy.
18:00But in ten years, became one of the richest
18:03and most powerful men in the world, intent on empire building.
18:10Sir David, this is the president's office.
18:14Oh.
18:15And I would like you to sit at the desk, if you don't mind,
18:18because Rhodes sat at this desk.
18:20All the premiers throughout the 20th century in South Africa
18:23sat at this desk. And I'm now sitting at the desk.
18:26And you're sitting at the desk.
18:28And I'm fascinated by all those books in that bookcase.
18:32Come and have a look.
18:34Rhodes was a classical scholar.
18:36His two favourite books were Marcus Aurelius's Meditations
18:41and Gibbons's The Clown and Fall of the Roman Empire.
18:44Oh, wonderful.
18:45These are translations into English, covered in rock and leather.
18:49Clearly, he was passionate for the ancient classical world.
18:54Yes.
18:55And for Marcus Aurelius, who was a philosopher,
18:58imperialist, if you like.
19:01Rhodes' fervour for emperors continued in a Roman-style bathroom.
19:07Look at that bath!
19:09That is one piece of solid granite.
19:13Oh, magnificent.
19:15Even the bath has imperial echoes.
19:18However, how much hot water are you going to have to get this to be warm?
19:22It was fine for Rhodes because he didn't mind a cold bath,
19:26but tough luck on the visitors.
19:28My goodness.
19:32Rhodes' dream was to connect the British Empire in the Cape
19:36to its territories further north in Egypt.
19:41So, David, this was and always was Rhodes' bedroom.
19:46And importantly, the map has got some red marks on it
19:51which indicate the ambition of building a railway from Cape Town to Cairo.
19:56One of the reasons was to claim the centre of Africa for the British.
20:00He added a million square miles to the British Empire.
20:03He was an arch-imperialist.
20:05He was dreaming of this in his bed.
20:10In pursuit of his ambitions,
20:12Rhodes carved out huge swathes of African territory,
20:16exploiting the indigenous black population
20:20and laying the foundations of racial segregation.
20:27He leaves behind a complex and contested legacy.
20:32Cecil Rhodes owned the whole of this land?
20:36Yes, he did, but he leaves this whole estate to the nation
20:41and it's been state property ever since then.
20:44So what does the nation feel about Rhodes now?
20:47Well, I think it's a bit of a disappointment,
20:51because he is seen as an imperialist.
20:55He did not really see black people as equals.
20:59He starts the Grey Act, which is a forerunner to apartheid.
21:03I think he does amazing things for this country,
21:06but he does do damage to society as a whole.
21:17Members of the mission were taken to the Rhodes Memorial,
21:21a huge monument overlooking Cape Town.
21:26It's totally symmetrical, which I love, but it's also bizarre.
21:32I mean, those Doric columns, almost to, I don't know,
21:37like an emperor or Caesar.
21:40Today, sites like these are contested spaces.
21:45Azza, Lindo and Kumani are founders
21:49of the Rhodes Must Fall movement,
21:52which confronts the impact of colonialism.
21:56It started in 2015, when Kumani,
22:00then a student at the University of Cape Town,
22:03threw himself into the fight against colonialism.
22:07It was a protest at the University of Cape Town
22:11through human excrement at a Rhodes statue,
22:14the university grounds.
22:19It was a potent symbol of impoverished black life
22:23in South African townships and prevailing inequality.
22:29Kumani's act led to the removal of Rhodes statue at the university
22:34in the UK.
22:36Hey, David. Hey, Dad.
22:38Kumani, Lindo and Azza. Nice to meet you.
22:41Let's sit down over in these steps.
22:44Lindo, can I come to you first?
22:46Would you tell me how this all began,
22:49the Rhodes Must Fall movement?
22:51It began with Kumani's heroic act, I always say.
22:56Rhodes, as a symbol, this was an opportune moment
23:01to discuss the serious legacies of colonialism
23:06that are still not only lingering in the country,
23:09but are continuing to reproduce themselves.
23:13At UCT, the University of Cape Town,
23:17inequality in education is a focus of the campaign.
23:21You've got a university in Africa that majority is of a lot of white people
23:27and white students and white lecturers and so on.
23:29Claiming that UCT was a land that was donated by Rhodes.
23:33And, of course, this sort of discussion
23:36was almost insulting to us as black students.
23:39Rhodes, out of anything else,
23:42is the centre of our problems in Southern Africa,
23:46from imperialism to colonialism and apartheid.
23:49So, in a sense, what you're saying is all roads lead to Rhodes.
23:54Yes. OK.
23:56Asa, where do you see the future for your movement,
24:01which, to be honest, is going global?
24:04The statue has fallen and the questions are still lingering.
24:07We need to really interrogate the effects of the empire
24:11because education in South Africa is still a privilege.
24:15If you have money, you can study.
24:17If you don't have money, you cannot study.
24:19We are still black, dispossessed, displaced and landless.
24:23Change must be seen, not just heard,
24:26but it must be seen happening.
24:29We want to tell our own stories.
24:31We want that which belongs to Africa to return back to Africa.
24:36Thank you very much, all of you.
24:38You've helped me understand a lot more.
24:43Cecil Rhodes knew in his lifetime that his record was contentious
24:48and it's remained so ever since.
24:51He continued to feature on the Empire Mission as travel itinerary.
24:57But today, I have met a generation
25:00determined to be the impetus for lasting change.
25:05Agatha Christie's adventures soon took her away from Cape Town
25:09and nearly 1,000 kilometres northeast to Kimberley,
25:14where Cecil Rhodes made his vast fortune
25:17and founded De Beers Diamonds.
25:23In the early 1800s,
25:25the city was under the control of the British Empire.
25:29I've come to a mine called the Big Hole.
25:32It's now a museum
25:34and draws tourists from all over the world to the Northern Cape.
25:40Historian Steve can tell me more.
25:43Hello, Steve.
25:44Sir David, so lovely to see and to meet you.
25:47Well, it's lovely to meet you too in this iconic location.
25:50It's a beautiful place, isn't it?
25:52Yes, it's a beautiful place.
25:54Sir David, so lovely to see and to meet you.
25:57Well, it's lovely to meet you too in this iconic location.
26:01Tell me about it.
26:03The famous Big Hole of Kimberley.
26:05It's one of the largest man-made pick-and-shovel dug holes in the world.
26:12The discovery of Kimberley Mine in July of 1871
26:15had brought some 40,000 people within a 48-hour period.
26:1940,000 in 48 hours?
26:22In 48 hours.
26:23The diamonds saw this instant town.
26:25You can imagine with 40,000 people, you've got to feed them.
26:28You've got to get water.
26:30The nearest water is 13, 14 miles away.
26:33Soon, Kimberley Town was up and running
26:37with rail links and utilities
26:40for those trying their luck at the mines.
26:46Some 14.5 million carats worth of diamonds came out of this hole.
26:50That's quite something.
26:54Cecil Rhodes made vast sums of money from the Kimberley diamond mines.
27:01But it was dangerous work for the predominantly black miners
27:06and countless lives were lost on his watch.
27:12Before long, Rhodes came to control 90% of the world's diamond production.
27:19Rhodes was fortunate to get some good financial advisors
27:22and had the backing of the Rothschilds,
27:24so I think once you've got that in your back pocket,
27:26I think you're going to do all right.
27:28He's not well-liked these days.
27:30And do you think when Agatha came, she would have revered Rhodes?
27:34I don't think so.
27:36She would have certainly known
27:38about the controversy surrounding many of his deeds.
27:42Yes.
27:43By the time Agatha Christie visited Kimberley,
27:46the diamond industry was in the midst of a recession after World War I.
27:53When Agatha came here, the diamond mines were not operating.
27:56De Beers still existed, and all the mines were kept.
27:59They still had the sorting houses, sorting out the diamonds,
28:02so she would have gone into the sorting houses.
28:05Steve, this has been so interesting.
28:07Thank you so very much indeed.
28:09Absolute pleasure, Sir David.
28:11I have one other question.
28:12Yes, sir.
28:13May I take your photograph?
28:15Goodness, I can sign it for you too.
28:19So, if you would stand here.
28:22The big hole has remained shut since its closure in 1921.
28:33But diamond mining and processing is still prevalent in Kimberley.
28:41I'm visiting a cutting and polishing facility
28:44owned and run by black South Africans
28:47using ethically sourced natural diamonds.
28:52Hello, Desmond.
28:53Hi, Sir David. How are you?
28:54I'm very well.
28:55I'm good, thank you.
28:56Very nice to meet you.
28:58Welcome, welcome. Come in.
29:00After studying diamonds from the age of 18,
29:03Desmond developed a passion for Kimberley gems.
29:08Wow.
29:10So, is this the whole process that goes on?
29:13Yes.
29:14What the two ladies are doing right there,
29:17they are doing cutting and polishing.
29:19They are also giving it that sparkle and fine brilliance.
29:22How would a miner, you know,
29:24with all the dirt and the rocks and everything like that,
29:27how would they identify that, oh, there's a diamond?
29:30The miners would know because if they don't know the difference
29:33and they throw it away, then it won't be good for the business.
29:37No, quite.
29:38This is how a rough diamond would look like.
29:40You can have a look at it.
29:42You put it in there?
29:43Yes, yes.
29:44Wow. Do you know what strikes me immediately?
29:47This is far brighter.
29:49I'm surprised that it's shiny.
29:51Yes, yes.
29:52They are graded from D all the way to Z,
29:55D being your top colour.
29:57This colour, I would say it's about M,
29:59so it's your average to low quality.
30:02It looks pretty good to me.
30:04It is a pretty diamond.
30:06You cannot take away the prettiness from a diamond.
30:08No.
30:10Kediboni and Adresia are qualified polishers.
30:14They use powdered diamonds and a lot of skill
30:18to achieve a brilliant sparkle on each unique gem.
30:22So we've got two lovely ladies
30:25that are doing a wonderful job of transforming...
30:28Hello.
30:29..the diamonds from raw to bleached.
30:32Could you show me that one?
30:34Yes.
30:35Wow.
30:36So are you saying that that becomes that?
30:40Yes, it does.
30:41And would it start this size?
30:43Yes, it would start at that size.
30:45I can only lose about at least 40% of the time.
30:4940%?
30:50Yes, when polishing it.
30:52I can't lose more than that,
30:54or else I'm not going to make any profit.
30:56So how long would it take to get from this diamond
31:00to the finish?
31:02A day and a half.
31:03Once finished, the cut diamonds get certification
31:07before being sold or set in jewellery.
31:10My goodness.
31:12Wow, that's beautiful.
31:14That's about a 2.7 carat round brilliant, beautiful stone.
31:18And is this one in the box?
31:20Yes.
31:21Wow.
31:22Goodness me, I mustn't be tempted.
31:25LAUGHTER
31:31MUSIC
31:38What a backdrop.
31:42Can you imagine what this was like
31:44when diamonds were first discovered
31:47and 40,000 people came here in 48 hours?
31:54And we know that Agatha included diamonds in some of her books.
31:59You've got Death on the Nile,
32:01the famous fancy yellow Tiffany diamond,
32:04dug up at the Kimberley Mine,
32:06and then the man in the brown suit
32:09has a whole plot line about stolen raw diamonds
32:13that were hidden in a Kodak film canister.
32:15So, with all the diamonds and the jewels in her stories,
32:21it all probably began here.
32:29MUSIC
32:39A new dawn has broken, and I'm ready for more adventures.
32:47After Kimberley, Agatha travelled over 1,000km north by train
32:52from Pretoria to her final destination in Zimbabwe,
32:57Pretoria Falls.
33:07Agatha wrote this very same journey
33:10into her South African set novel,
33:12where heroine Anne is on the trail
33:15of the mysterious man in the brown suit.
33:27The more I read this book, Man in the Brown Suit,
33:31the more I'm becoming aware of how many of Agatha's own experiences
33:35make their way into the plot.
33:37For example, Anne is travelling with the very grumpy,
33:42tempestuous, foot-stamping Sir Eustace Peddler.
33:46He's annoying to everyone around him,
33:49and it's very clear that Agatha is basing that character
33:53on the British politician's leader, Major Ernest Belcher,
33:57who was very annoying to everyone around him as well.
34:01And I believe that Belcher even asked Agatha
34:04if he could be cast as the murderer.
34:06Well, I'm not going to spoil the plot by telling you
34:09whether Agatha granted that request or not.
34:17Now, I'm doing the same trip that heroine Anne and Agatha did
34:22on a restored vintage train, for a flavour of that bygone era.
34:29Well, I suppose the last time I got on board a train similar to this
34:34would have been when I actually filmed Murder on the Orient Express,
34:39so, yeah, it would be very interesting to compare the two.
34:53It's all very luxurious, and even requires me to dress for dinner.
34:59Feed it, pull it, shape it.
35:04Voila.
35:06Poirot never, ever wore a straight tie,
35:09so he would have had it like that.
35:23MUSIC CONTINUES
35:33Well, I think I'm sitting here in the dining car
35:37in the most perfect location for the character
35:40I played for nearly a quarter of a century, Hercule Poirot.
35:45I read every single story that she wrote and made notes,
35:51and I came up with a list, which I've got here,
35:5693 details about the character.
35:59Belgium, not French.
36:01Drinks tisane, hardly ever tea, which he calls the English poison.
36:05He believes he's the best detective in the world
36:08and expects everyone to know him.
36:11And then thinks he's very modest.
36:14So, he's a wonderful little man.
36:18Being on this train and doing this journey,
36:23in a way, I feel Poirot's on my shoulder.
36:26I really do.
36:29Of course, it's not Poirot's footsteps I'm following in now,
36:33but those of Agatha and her heroine, Anne.
36:39And my next stop is Zimbabwe's city.
36:43It's the capital of Zimbabwe,
36:46the capital of Zimbabwe,
36:49the capital of Zimbabwe,
36:52the capital of Zimbabwe,
36:55the capital of Zimbabwe,
36:57Zimbabwe's stunning Matobo National Park.
37:04It has massive granite rock formations,
37:08river valleys and incredible wildlife.
37:17But it's also home to a controversial site.
37:21Accompanying me is park guide Ian.
37:25His family have lived in the area since the 1800s
37:29and the era of Cecil Rhodes.
37:32Ian, what's the significance of this extraordinary place?
37:36Well, David, it's the grave of Mr Rhodes
37:40and it's what we know as the Malindi Zimu,
37:43the dwelling place of the benevolent spirits.
37:46All the great kings and warriors that died would rest here.
37:49Rhodes had to gain permission for his burial at the grave site,
37:53which, of course, was given by the African people.
37:56When Rhodes died aged 48,
37:59thousands of people attended his funeral procession in Cape Town
38:04before he was taken by ceremonial train
38:08to be buried at his chosen spot.
38:11It is said that people lined the streets and the railway
38:14all the way from Cape Town to Bulawo.
38:17I have so many photos taken at the funeral.
38:213,000 people surrounded this grave.
38:35Rhodes called this spot the View of the World,
38:39a name that reflects his imperialist vision,
38:43the costs of which are still being counted.
38:47Many see his burial on this sacred site
38:51as a final display of power,
38:54and a debate continues over whether his grave should remain here.
38:59Southern Africa is grappling with the legacy of a man
39:04whose presence has loomed large on both Agatha's journey and mine.
39:17My rail trip through Zimbabwe is heading for Victoria Falls,
39:23a place of spectacular natural beauty
39:27that Agatha Christie visited with her husband Archie.
39:33And en route, I have another chance to do just as Agatha did,
39:38some souvenir shopping.
39:41Michael, you have some beautiful things.
39:44I'm looking for a giraffe.
39:46OK. This one is $8.
39:49$8. He's very nice.
39:51I really feel that I'm stepping right into the footsteps of Agatha Christie
39:55because I know that she bought giraffes from exactly this sort of place.
40:00$8. Thank you.
40:05Next, I'm going to visit a museum
40:09Next, the train crosses Zimbabwe's Hoange National Park
40:18before reaching Victoria Falls,
40:24where travellers are welcomed by traditional dancing and song
40:29rooted in Sulu culture.
40:39Good morning and welcome to Victoria Falls.
40:43Agatha must have been full of excitement
40:46at the prospect of seeing the falls.
40:49As am I.
40:51The Victoria Falls Hotel is where Agatha stayed with Archie.
40:55It was a little romantic interlude for them in this location.
40:59I don't think it's changed much at all.
41:08From the hotel, there's an increasingly tropical walk to the falls,
41:13which only serves to build the anticipation.
41:17It's very tantalising because I know the falls are just over there.
41:24But I must wait until I see them in all their glory, so I must have looked.
41:29I'm getting very excited.
41:38And they do not disappoint.
42:00I've never seen anything like this, ever.
42:11I find it really quite emotional.
42:18It's just the size of it, the power of nature.
42:30It's just wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
42:39Agatha had hoped to come back and make another visit, but she never did.
42:46She wrote something wonderful in her autobiography.
42:50There was something about her first memory
42:53which she kept like a treasure for the rest of her life.
42:58It's not what I expected to hear her say,
43:02but it was so poetic and magical.
43:07I'm glad I've never been back,
43:10so that my first memory of them remains unaffected.
43:14Great trees, soft mists of rain,
43:19its rainbow colouring,
43:22wandering through the forest with Archie,
43:26and every now and then the rainbow mist parting
43:30to show you for one tantalising second
43:34the falls in all their glory pouring down.
43:44Amazing, isn't it?
43:46What an impression they made on her,
43:49as they made on me.
43:56Quite extraordinary.
43:58Well...
44:03Sorry.
44:05I can't help it.
44:13Victoria Falls were given their English name in 1855
44:18after the British monarch and empress.
44:21But the people living nearby
44:23have a relationship to this natural wonder
44:26that long predates the first European visitors.
44:30Phyllistos is from Makuni village
44:33on the Zambian side of the falls.
44:39The falls represent the vision of beauty
44:43for the local people.
44:45That is the place where holy water is drawn.
44:48Holy water?
44:50It is for praying for the rain.
44:53It is a very spiritual place.
44:57What do you know it as, apart from Victoria Falls?
45:05And what does that mean?
45:07The smoke that thunders.
45:09The smoke that thunders?
45:11Yes.
45:12The falls has different names depending on its mode.
45:18When it is dry, it is called Nchungu Mofo,
45:22or silent falls.
45:24Silent falls?
45:26Yes.
45:28With their colossal power and beauty,
45:31it's little wonder the falls had such an impact on Agatha.
45:37Today has been very special for me, really,
45:40because I've come into the falls
45:42knowing how she felt about them,
45:45made an indelible impression on her emotional life.
45:50Well, I felt the same when I saw them.
45:54How would I feel now,
45:56if I were to see them again?
46:00Well, I felt the same when I saw them.
46:04How would I feel now if I never come back?
46:10I could never beat this first time.
46:13It was very emotional.
46:15I'd never seen anything on the scale of these falls,
46:21and I feel very grateful to have been given the chance.
46:25So I have to say thank you to Agatha.
46:30The Fall of Nchungu Mofo
47:00© BF-WATCH TV 2021