Stephen Tompkinson (Wild at Heart) embarks on the journey of a lifetime across the African continent with a hot air balloon. His first hand experiences provide viewers with a colourful perspective on the amazing abundance and diversity of wildlife, but also the scarcity of some species, as he explores the relationship between Africa’s animals and its people.
Inspired by Jules Verne’s first novel, Five Weeks in a Balloon, the documentary series follows Stephen as he travels coast to coast visiting Tanzania, Rwanda, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia.
Stephen’s route takes him and his hot air balloon through the Serengeti, past Victoria Falls, and over the Okavango Delta before finishing his journey on Namibia’s Skeleton Coast.
But the nature of ballooning means he goes where the wind takes him, so the unexpected forms part of the adventure.
Stephen experiences everything from crash landings and close encounters of a dangerous kind to crocodile hunting and tracking wild elephants, all amid the spectacular scenery across the continent.
Tuesdays 7:30pm, from February 2