It was a nail-biting finale. After 50 days and more than 15,000 kms, during which they had crossed eight borders and six seas, the two leading teams were both within touching distance of victory. Friends Owen and Alfie sped towards the IndonesianThe country consists of over 17,000 islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. island of Lombok in a speedboat, while mother-and-daughter team Eugenie and Isabel followed in another close behind.

Once on shore they had to find their way to a mosque - then a badminton court - and finally a beach. Just eight minutes ahead of their rivals, Owen and Alfie arrived at a table with a book on it, containing a message:

"Congratulations. You have successfully reached the finish line. Please sign in overleaf to find out if you have won the race and £20,000."

Full of anticipation, they turned the page. Were they the first contestants to have got there? YES!

Starting in Japan, this was the fourth series of Race Across the World. The show has been a huge hit, attracting audiences of over 7 million.¹ It has been shown in Australia, the US and Hong Kong; other countries are making their own versions.

The format is a clever one. Contestants are not allowed smartphones or credit cards, and can only travel by land or sea. They are given money equivalent to the air fare to their destination, which they can supplement by working as they go.

They are also given a map of the world, a travel guide with ads for local jobs, and a GPS device to help them find specified points along the way.

In a review for The Daily Telegraph, Benji Wilson called the show "the perfect antidoteA cure for something. It originally meant a medicine against poison. to an ever-shrinking world that we all fear will end up being just a screen in the palm of your hand. Without phones or the internet, without likes or subscribes or followers or fake friends it asks: 'Who are you? Where are you going and how are you going to get there?'"

Humans have travelled since the dawn of our species. Scientists have established that the earliest ones came from Africa, but a jawbone found in Israel indicates that they had already left the continent 180,000 years ago.² And according to one expert, Christopher Ryan, for most of history "we've lived as nomadicPeople who move around and do not live in one place are nomadic. hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people".³

One of the most famous travellers of all time was Marco Polo, who left Venice in 1271 at the age of 17 and travelled to Shangdu in China with his father and uncle. He wrote a book about his experiences which fascinated other Europeans.

Throughout the ages, establishing trade routes and finding new lands to settle in have been major incentives for travellers. Religion has played an important part too: in the Middle Ages many Christians made their way on foot from England to Rome, and Muslims today are encouraged to visit MeccaIslam's holiest city and the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. Only Muslims are allowed into the city, and millions make pilgrimages there. .

But above all it is the thrill of travel and discovering new things that drives people. Some have suffered incredible hardships along the way, as Wilfred ThesigerA British army officer known for his travel books. did when he crossed the desert of Arabia's Empty QuarterOffically the Rub' al Khali, the sand desert covering 250,000 square miles of the Arabian peninsula. by camel and foot.

Are human beings born to travel?

Yes: Most of us enjoy going to new places and gaining what the writer Henry Miller called "a new way of looking at things". Just staying at home gives us a very limited view of the world.

No: If we were, we would all be nomads and never have created settlements. The term "civilisation" derives from the Latin word for city, and the expansion of cities is a key feature of modern life.

Or... It is not just human beings. You only have to watch migrating birds, or sheep trying to escape from a field, to realise that very few creatures are content to remain in the same place for long.  

Indonesian - The country consists of over 17,000 islands in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Antidote - A cure for something. It originally meant a medicine against poison.

Nomadic - People who move around and do not live in one place are nomadic.

Mecca - Islam's holiest city and the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. Only Muslims are allowed into the city, and millions make pilgrimages there.

Wilfred Thesiger - A British army officer known for his travel books.

Empty Quarter - Offically the Rub' al Khali, the sand desert covering 250,000 square miles of the Arabian peninsula.