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Seven Worlds, One Planet - David Attenborough's latest series
Watch BBC1's brand new highly-anticipated nature series, Seven Worlds, One Planet, for a fascinating exploration of all seven of the world's continents. Presented by Sir David Attenborough.
Each episode takes us to a different continent, revealing the extraordinary wildlife stories and unseen wilderness, whilst also shining a spotlight on the impact of climate change.
The first episode kicks off to a chilly start, in our most hostile continent, Antarctica. A land of stark beauty where only the most resilient of creatures survive. From colourful starfish to huge colonies of king penguins it provides a captivating insight into one of the most mysterious parts of our planet. Antarctica is a place that inspires a genuine thrill of adventure and exploration. If like us, you are now inspired to follow in David Attenborough’s footsteps take a look at our three superb Antarctic cruises.
The second episode takes us on a journey through the world’s largest continent, Asia, and provides a fascinating look into this land of extreme contrasts. Asia covers about 30% of Earth's total land area and the wildlife there has had to become incredibly adaptable, as they face the hottest deserts, tallest jungles and highest mountains of anywhere on Earth.
We see grizzly bears in Russia, walrus gatherings in Siberia and snub-nosed, blue-faced monkeys in the Himalaya, making for fantastic viewing. Some scenes are difficult to stomach but important to see as David Attenborough highlights the devastating impact we are having on our environment with scenes of deforestation. But there's still hope in Asia's tropical waters, where endangered sharks gather to find food and get a helping hand from a surprising source.
In the spectacularly shot third episode, David Attenborough explores South America, the most species-rich continent on earth with some of the most unique landscapes. From rugged Patagonia where puma cubs hunt down a guanaco, to the dry deserts of Atacama where penguins face a crowd of sea-lions, to the lush cloud forests of the Andes, where endangered bears search for avocados. South America is full of surprises.
We're off to Australia, the land of weird and wonderful wildlife for episode 4. Here wombats the size of dogs trudge through snow, herds of kangaroos are on the run from predators and a kaleidoscope of colourful fish parade in its surrounding waters. Although making for an amazing spectacle, this episode has a somber message. Australia’s animals face a tough challenge as a result of humans with more species of mammals have been lost here than anywhere else on the planet.
The fifth episode of the series is a little closer to home, in the crowded continent of Europe and although it's one of the worlds smallest continents, it's certainly not short of extraordinary scenery and fascinating creatures. We see Bear cubs in Finland, wolf packs in The Alps and hundred of Great White Pelicans in Romania but the stars of the show are undoubtedly Vienna's cheeky, grave robbing hamsters!
In the penultimate episode we head to North America, a place defined by its extreme weather and seasonal changes with temperatures ranging from 50 degrees celsius to minus 40! In winter a pioneering lynx is on a desperate hunt for food in Canada's wild and mountainous Yukon, and in summer polar bears leap from rocks in Hudson Bay to catch the ultimate dinner.
Perhaps saving the best until last, the final continent in this magnificent series is Africa. With gripping footage from Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa and Malawi. This episode sees varied landscapes from vast unexplored tropical rainforest to active volcanoes and rich Serengeti grasslands. Serengeti is home to the largest herds of antelopes, wildebeest and zebras. But close behind them are their predators. We see a group of five cheetahs team up to form one of the largest cheetah coalitions ever seen for the best possible chance of a successful kill. In Malawi, watch out for some stunning footage of Lake Malawi with its amazing fish, plus a supporting cast of brown hyenas, white rhinos and Temminck's pangolin.
This episode, like all the rest is bursting with awe-inspiring moments that make you want to get out and explore the limitless wonders our planet has to offer.
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Autumn Inspiration
If the summer's let you down and you're still in need of some sunshine and good walking, then look no further than our latest enews. It features loads of holidays with autumn availability from Croatia to Nepal to Patagonia, so you could soon be out on the trail enjoying your next great adventure.
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Farewell to Wilderness Lectures
One summer’s day in 1987 Steve Berry (our MD) and fellow adventurer, Steve Marriott, were standing at the foot of the cliffs in Avon gorge. Having agreed that it was too hot to climb, they had been killing time in a ‘Wouldn’t it be great if…’ competition. This was when the fantasy of listening to the epic stories of their favourite heroes became a solid plan…
Since then, the two Steves and their caving friend Dick Willis, have organised more than 400 lectures whose general theme has been ‘Worldwide Adventure’. These epic stories have taken the audiences from the deepest point of the deepest ocean to the summit of Mount Everest, and from darkest, dankest inner spaces of our planet to even darker journeys in Outer Space. There have been mountaineers, sailors, cyclists, divers, balloonists, and even a man who cycled around the world on a penny farthing, and another who flew his car from Europe over the Straights of Gibraltar to Africa. There have been world famous explorers, record breakers, and people who have headed out into the remote unknown just for the hell of it.
Having run Wilderness for 36 years the three friends have decided to step back and retire so there will be no series this winter. However, they would be really happy if a younger individual, or a group of friends, would step forward to take over Wilderness and pick up where they are leaving off. If anyone is interested contact Wilderness Lectures here.
NEW Naar Phu Circuit Trek
We've just launched new tea house trek in the heart of the Annapurna Mountains in Nepal. An exhilarating, 18-day trekking trip, the Naar Phu Circuit takes you away from the popular trails of the Annapurnas, into a genuinely remote and truly spectacular region where access remains restricted.
Take a look at the full trip details here or speak to Harry in the Mountain Kingdoms office who completed the Naar Phu Circuit Trek earlier this year and rates it as the best he's ever done.