We visited a desperate farming community today on the outskirts of Lusaka. To say it was grim would be an understatement – rubbish covered half the enclosures and whilst the calves, goats and pigs didn’t actually look too bad, the husbandry was a big issue. It was great to give all the animals some water – and they went mad for it – but what was really worthwhile was that all the children came over and started to clear up all the rubbish. Even the duck pong got some water put in it! Sue and her team are going to keep an eye on things and ensure that the farm does pick up and the changes we made get improved on, otherwise the animals will only get looked after for a few days!...Continue reading

Richard turned up. Not only did the street lad we chased down the road and rescued a puppy off him that he was illegally selling arrive for his first big day of rehabilitation – but he was actually brilliant. Really good with the dogs (no massive surprise there I suppose) but he was an amazing help to me and it was hard graft. We treated about 300 dogs and Richard helped me with all of them. He was injecting by the end of the day with easy confidence and was good company. He proved himself and Sue has given him a job!! Brilliant!!...Continue reading

Big day – started off arresting some street traders illegally selling puppies. One of the pups was quite sick from the heat and dehydration but soon perked up when back at the shelter. We had police support which made it easy and the agro was minimal....Continue reading

Nick survived the night. No dramas and despite the bed being a foot short, it was very comfortable and I woke up in the zone. Just as well as it was an action packed day. Off to Munda Wanga – a place that used to be a zoo but was taken over by a local crocodile farmer who wanted to set it up as a charity with strong conservation and education programmes. I have to admit being a little skeptical at first, crocodile farming is a far cry from charity and conservation work, but the efforts being made there by the team, particularly Fred – a Dutch ex pat who is running the centre – are impressive. They are very short of money and equipment but are nevertheless working hard on rehabilitation and release programmes – they have released over 300 rescued primates back into the wild. They are also committed to stem the illegal trade in exotic and wild animals and what LAWS do for the puppies and kittens, they are doing for the birds and monkeys.
 
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Turns out our Zambian driver Geoff is a mad fan of Chris de Burgh. This is where Bruce and I split our musical tastes. For some reason Bruce isn’t a fan of the classic ballad. Thankfully I know a lot of the words, so am working on getting Bruce into the zone. The guys are loving this of course....Continue reading

I had a moment of crises today. It wasn’t so much the fact that the plane bounced in turbulence to the extent everyone banged their heads on the ceiling of the aircraft, nor the fact that the pilot said it was the worst he had ever experienced; it was more the fact he told me if we had been in a smaller aircraft it would have flipped us and we would have undoubtedly crashed. Whilst the pilot radioed through to warn all the other light aircraft in the region, I gripped the wing seat with white knuckles and wondered if there was any other way we could get home on Friday. Apparently not. Fantastic....Continue reading

This trip is turning into one brilliant journey. We’ve had it all from a young illegal dog seller changing his ways and taking up a job at LAWS to a number of buffalo mysteriously dying on a river out in Kafue National Park. And then today our camera stopped working with an ominous “ERROR 02-327” message. After much head scratching, button pressing and frantic calls home to London (from the magical telephone tree – the only area in the park where we could get a mobile signal) we found out that the problem was terminal and we would NOT be able to use the camera.
 

But Adam never gave up hope and after one final attempt of ejecting the disc, removing the batteries and tapping the side it came back to life. Obviously there was an error with “ERROR 02-327”. And so we were able to return to the Elephant Orphanage Project, where we had been filming when the problem was first encountered, and get Luke to play with a baby pachyderm in the Zambian mud. It was one of those magical moments that TV was surely built for....Continue reading

We’re not having much luck with transport on this trip. Yesterday morning on the way to the airport (for our transfer to Kafue National Park) we had asked the hotel to book a minibus for all our equipment. However the receptionist had forgotten and so we were left in the hands of a Zambian minibus driver. He turned up asking to copy the music from our laptop onto his flash drive (we all looked bemused), a fuel tank on empty, drove at 120kmph as the bus lurched from one side to the other and then thought it was a great idea to pull into a bus garage to pick up more passengers. Nick the producer completely lost it and shouted at the poor fellow....Continue reading

Baby elephants exude such personality and character that it’s impossible not to like them instantly. The David Shepherd Foundation are sponsoring and supporting Game Rangers International in a project to run the one and only Zambian elephant orphanage and I had the privilege of meeting the incredibly committed and dedicated people who are running it. They are making a stand to champion and protect these magnificent animals in Kafue National Park and I really take my hat off to Sport, Rachel, James and their team who are tirelessly working to nuture and rehabilitate three orphaned baby elephants in the remote Zambian bush....Continue reading

Traveling out into the bush has been a joy and definitely a great way to finish the shoot. This morning we went on a drive safari in an effort to get some beautiful shots of elephants, buffalo, hippopotamus and hopefully some lions. What did we end up getting? Nothing. When the highlight of a four-hour drive is some pelicans circling above the vehicle and some wildebeest running around as specks in the guide’s binoculars you know it hasn’t been a very productive session....Continue reading