Africa's Cursed Lake of Gold is the 17th episode in Season 3 of Expedition Unknown.
Plot Synopsis[]
Josh Gates explores Namibia's Lake Otjikoto to find a long-lost World War I treasure. Lake Otjikoto, one of only two natural lakes in Namibia, is rumoured to be bottomless and even cursed.
Historical Context[]
"In a remote corner of Africa, amidst Namibia's sweeping deserts, is an unexpected sight, an enigmatic lake that hides a dark past. Local tribes believe it's cursed, a place of certain death. European colonists even thought it was bottomless. Perhaps that's why Lake Otjikoto was the perfect place for retreating German soldiers to dump their weapons during World War I. But what if they hid more than just guns? For nearly a century, a legend has persisted that the German high command also ordered the sinking of a safe filled with 6 million gold Marks."
- Josh Gates
Summary[]
Josh heads to Windhoek, Namibia where he meets Theo Schoeman, the president of the Namibia Scientific Society and the second man to ever dive in Lake Otjikoto. They drive through the desert to the lake where Josh meets Theo's team - Chris, Johan, Richard, and Evan. They go out on the lake and use sonar to scan it for the first time ever. They analyse the results and pinpoint the anomalies which they will dive too. While diving, they see cannons that Theo has previously discovered and Josh finds an empty German ammunition box.
Before they are able to dive again, Theo takes Josh to meet Andre and Kyle Schoeman, farmers, who have found German artefacts on their farm which is located near where the Germans surrendered in Namibia. They go to a local cave and head down into it by way of a series of latters. Inside they find a colonial iron spade head and a bent section of iron, which gives evidence to the theory that the treasure may be on land.
The next morning, they meet Ilse Schatz, a local historian, who met a retired German soldier who showed her where they threw the box in the lake and points it out to Theo and Josh. They go back to the lake and meet the team again. Since some of the anomalies are over 300 feet deep only a specialised team of divers including Chris, Johan, and Evan are able to go down. The divers find animal bones and an old wooden boat.
Final Words[]
"Our African adventure has been a thrilling and dangerous quest. Cutting-edge sonar is giving us the first-ever look at the true size and shape of this otherworldly lake. Our dives illuminated World War I cannons, ammunition containers, and a perfectly preserved historic boat and on land, colonial-era artefacts could mean the golden treasure is tucked away deep in a forgotten cavern. For now, the puzzle of the treasure lives on, as does the will to solve it. The men risking their lives to explore Otjikoto are as rugged and persistent as the wilderness they live in and perhaps with time and technology, they may just crack the case. But a creeping feeling came over me in the dark waters of the so-called bottomless lake. It felt to me like a place man isn't meant to be. Even if the treasure is down there, something tells me the lake wants to keep it for itself."
- Josh Gates
Notes & Trivia[]
- Richard Bates is also featured in India's Atlantis and Origins of Stonehenge.
Quotes[]
- "And if there's a live-action of 'The Lion Kings' in the works, it would do nicely for that, as well."
- "Warthogs are weird for me, because Disney made them so cute and then you see them in person, and they're not actually all that cute. Sorry, Pumbaa."
- "I look up to see Theo who's considerably older than me yet moving twice as fast while wearing sandals."