| Summary: | It is morning in the village of Kusra Wad, and Steve and Richard meet the village chief and his camels. He gives them warm camel's milk to drink, and Steve explains how camels are essential to the Afar's survival. Dougal, Richard and Sue set off on a three-day drive to the fissures of Dabbahu to view the newest geological phenomenon on the planet. The earth's crust is ripping apart, allowing volcanoes to shoot to the surface. Just two years ago, a series of earthquakes formed a vast new fissure, literally overnight. The aim is to descend into the fissure to take samples, which will be tested for new forms of life. No one has attempted this before. As Dougal and the others continue their journey to Dabbahu, Steve continues to work with the Afar's animals in Kusra Wad village, putting a GPS tracking device on a goat to see how it fends for itself in this most hostile environment. Kate attempts to learn about the lives of the Afar women, talking to them with the help of Australian nurse Valerie Browning - herself something of a phenomenon, having made her home in this extraordinary place some 20 years ago. Kate finds the constant presence of the Afar men inhibits the women's ability to speak out about the hardship of their lives. Mukul tends to two sick children, and is devastated to find that one of them has a heart murmur that he is unable to treat in situ. At Dabbahu, Richard rushes to gather soil samples before his shoes melt on the boiling earth, while Dougal's attempts to take a geological scan of the fissure face the insurmountable obstacle of the presence of hydrogen sulphide, a potentially fatal gas.
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