
In the Rwenzori mountains, the wide source area of the Nile contains a spectacular feature. One snow-covered peak reaches 5000 metres (5500 yards) above sea level. Underneath its glacier, a fairy-tale forest expands, covered with Giant Lobelia and Aster plants. In this damp and cold world, the stunningly beautiful Lobelia Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird lives its life. The males defend their plants, until the female birds arrive from warmer climes for the mating season. Forests at lower altitudes provide a paradise for reptiles like the insect-hunting chameleons unique to these mountains. The source furthest away from the Nile delta lies in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park. Thirteen species of primates live there, most notably the truly acrobatic Angola Colobus.
In the Rwenzori mountains, the wide source area of the Nile contains a spectacular feature. One snow-covered peak reaches 5000 metres (5500 yards) above sea level. Underneath its glacier, a fairy-tale forest expands, covered with Giant Lobelia and Aster plants. In this damp and cold world, the stunningly beautiful Lobelia Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird lives its life. The males defend their plants, until the female birds arrive from warmer climes for the mating season. Forests at lower altitudes provide a paradise for reptiles like the insect-hunting chameleons unique to these mountains. The source furthest away from the Nile delta lies in Rwanda’s Nyungwe National Park. Thirteen species of primates live there, most notably the truly acrobatic Angola Colobus.

A few hundred kilometres after leaving Lake Victoria, the Nile plunges noisily over massive waterfalls and into the new territory of Murchison Falls National Park. Thousands of hippos enjoy the water. In the afternoons, elephant herds leave the savannah to drink and bathe. At the river banks, you can witness a curious partnership. Female crocodiles and tiny birds defend their eggs together against a thief, the Nile Monitor. The Nile’s greatest wilderness is situated in the crisis-torn South Sudan, where the river turns into the Sudd, Africa’s largest swamp. This is the perfect habitat for a fantastic variety of bird species, among them the extremely rare Shoebill. Giants, too, can make a living here. Some four hundred elephants live among the papyrus. With the help of a plucky helicopter pilot from Kenya, the film team succeeded in recording the great antelope migration of the South Sudan for the first time.