SBS - Wildest Africa (2012) Part 5 Virungas Land of Ice and Fire

Wildest Africa

Wildest Africa celebrates the continent on a majestic scale – its vibrant culture and incredible wildlife. This documentary showcases the land’s epic natural spectacles and staggering beauty that are truly wild at heart. This iconic and landmark series is a celebration of Africa’s most spectacular locations, showcasing the full African experience. It journeys from the cradle of human civilisation to the most awe-inspiring natural wonders of the world by going on safari to see the continent’s Big Five – lion, elephant, leopard, black rhino, white rhino and Cape buffalo. Wildest Africa discovers their secret locations, their cultural and wildlife issues, as well as how the natural wonders they live in are being threatened and what is being done to overcome these environmental pressures. With a cinematic scope to rival the land it films, Wildest Africa captures the breathtaking sceneries, stunning details and rich cultures that exist all over Africa.

Part 5: Virungas Land of Ice and Fire

Virunga National Park is notable for its chain of active volcanoes and the greatest diversity of habitats of any park in Africa: from steppes, savannas and lava plains, swamps, lowland and forests, to the ice fields of the Ruwenzori mountains, which culminate in peaks above 5000m. The great diversity of habitats harbors an exceptional biodiversity, including endemic as well as rare and globally endangered species, such as the mountain gorilla. The Ruwenzori or 'Mountains of the Moon', sit between the humid forests of the Congo Basin and the monsoon lands of East Africa. The Ruwenzori's glaciers, frozen at some 5,000m (16,500ft) above sea level drip feed bogs which in turn feed mountain streams, rivers and the great African lakes of Victoria, Albert, Edward and George.

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