The focus of the first part of the documentary is Serengeti and Massai Mara, home of the "Big Five": elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion. In East Africa, the Rift Valley divides into two arms. The eastern reaches from the north of Kenya to the south of Tanzania. Nowhere on earth have volcanoes, fire and ashes created more beautiful. Kilimanjaro and Ngorongoro Crater, Lake Nakuru and Lake Natron, Mount Meru and Mount Kenya are places millions of people dream of as the epitome of Africa. Serengeti and Maasai Mara are home to the "Big Five" - elephant, rhino, buffalo, leopard and lion. This region is at the center of the first part of the documentary and was the biggest challenge for director Harald Pokieser. No part of the earth was photographed by nature filmmakers more often. So what else can you offer the audience? Aerial photos of hunting cheetahs for example. "It was the most expensive idea I ever had," says Pokieser, "luckily nothing went wrong, otherwise I would be ruined now." The unique pictures of three cheetah brothers on the hunt were made by helicopter and special camera in the Maasai Mara in Kenya. Harald Pokieser also talks about people living in the eastern Rift Valley. There are, for example, the women and men of Iten, a small region in the Rift Valley of Kenya, from which much of the world's best marathon runners come from. A second story tells of the Maasai, the archetypal people of the Rift Valley, who live in the cool, rainy Ngorongoro Highlands as sedentary herdsmen and farmers. (Text: arte) Alternative title: Animal paradise among volcanoes /Im Paradies der Tiere.
The second part of the documentation highlights the role of water in the region. It makes the difference between the eastern and western parts of Rift Valley. The east of the Rift Valley lies in the rain shadow of the mountains, the dry season is long and hard. The western rift, on the other hand, is green, tropical and fertile, stretching from Lake Albert in the north to the cloud forests of the Ruwenzori Mountains and the Virunga Mountains to the Malawi Lake in the south. There are rainforests and the third largest freshwater lake in the world with a breathtaking variety of fish, Lake Tanganyika. Lake Tanganyika is more than 670 kilometers long, only 70 kilometers wide, and its deepest point is 1,740 meters below the water level. Here Harald Pokieser worked together with his friend and colleague Erich Pröll. The legendary nature filmmaker served the underwater camera in Lake Tanganyika and also delivered the fantastic shots of chimpanzees in the Mahale National Park. In the eastern Rift, with its shallow, salty lakes, only one animal family feels really well - the flamingos. They pull from one lake to the next in their millions and filter out tiny algae and bacteria from the salt water. At the Nakuru, British cinematographer Richard Jones gets one-off shots: he films hyenas hunting for flamingos. The second coup Jones landed in Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. He arrived in time for an elephant birth and filmed the first minutes of life and attempts of the little pachyderm. (Text: arte) Alternative title: On the shores of the Great Lakes /Sodaseen und Binnenmeeren.
In the third and final part of the documentary Harald Pokieser shows, among other things, probably the oldest settlement area of humanity on the shores of Lake Turkana. Presumably, the dramatic history of the Rift Valley began in the region of Ethiopia, which today is the mountains of the Simien Mountains. 35 million years ago, thin lava formed a highland and mighty shield volcanoes. As the inner fire subsided, wind and rain chiseled the Simien Mountains out of the volcanic rock. The highest peak is over 4,500 meters high. The most famous inhabitants of the Simien mountains are the Jeladas. They are among the rarest and probably the most unusual primates in the world. They live in large groups, only move on the ground and eat only grass. The males are constantly involved in rank-and-file struggles. Everyone wants to be the leader. Only then is he allowed to mate with the females of the family. The Rift Valley is considered the cradle of humanity. In the deserts and valleys between Ethiopia and Tanzania, scientists have found countless fossils of early humans over the past few decades. A walk with the anthropologist Louise Leakey on the eastern shore of Lake Turkana soon reveals the reason. The soil is littered with animal fossils, again and again, short rains and floods release new research material. In this region is probably the oldest settlement area of humanity. Also in the third and last part of the documentary you can see spectacular underwater photos. By far the most impressive moment: In Djibouti, the team suddenly appeared in the middle of a flock of whale sharks.(Text: arte) Alternative title: From Hellfire to the Holy Land / Vom Hoellenfeuer ins Heilige Land.