Australia – ARD – TV program

Capturing the wildlife of the entire continent of Australia on camera is a mammoth task. From the desert to the tropical forests, from the coral reef to the mountain ranges. For the first time, German nature filmmakers have succeeded in presenting this diversity in a nature film series. The episode “Australia – The Adventure” shows how the film teams master many a challenge and experience many an adventure. The four men go to great lengths to shoot the best pictures and the most spectacular animal behavior. Within three years they drive more than 100,000 kilometers and spend around 620 days of shooting in the bush. Often they are disappointed. Despite their efforts, they rarely encounter wombats, cassowaries and tree kangaroos. Many of the animals have become so rare that they are already threatened with extinction. But again and again the animal filmmakers are rewarded with wonderful experiences: In the outback, Grospitz and Westphalen come across a record-breaking flock of budgerigars, which is a complete surprise. Only when it is dry do so many animals gather at a single waterhole. The air vibrates with flapping wings. It’s a sight the two men will never forget. Far more dangerous than all crocodiles and venomous snakes is Australia’s heat. Every year locals die who break down in their cars and don’t have enough water with them. Thoralf Grospitz and Jens Westphalen also constantly have to deal with flat tires. They often tremble as to whether they can make it to the next workshop with the second spare tire. And then the jack is threatening to fail. It’s often the “little things” that make the difference between the happiness and misfortune of wildlife filmmakers. Klaus Weißmann and Rolf Sziringer want to film the large landscapes at Lake Eyre when millions of small flies get in their way. The swarms buzz around their heads, sit down on the camera. With the buzzing tormentors in front of the lens, it’s no longer possible to take pictures, and then a fly crawls into Weißmann’s ear. A martyrdom begins for the wildlife filmmaker. The filmmaker Heiko De Groot, nominated for the Golden Camera, revives the adventures of the four men with the private recordings of the animal filmmakers, their breathtaking high-gloss shots and their stories. With a lot of sweat and deprivation, they master their challenges and show Australia’s wildlife like you’ve never seen it before.