INTERVIEW: Enjoy the wilds of an African safari from your living room
Top photo: SOUTH AFRICA — A patient mother carries her baby to safety. Photo courtesy of Brent Leo-Smith.
Nat Geo WILD is set to kick off its weeklong Safari Live programming Sunday, Feb. 4 at 10 p.m. Viewers will have the chance to experience the tranquil beauties and thrilling dangers of an African safari throughout the week. Cameras will head Kenya’s Maasai Mara and South Africa’s Sabi Sands Game Reserve, no doubt finding plenty of lions, elephants, rhinoceroses, leopards, baboons, giraffes and buffalo. Oh my!
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Dan Salerno, vice president of programming and scheduling for Nat Geo WILD, who also serves as executive in charge of Safari Live. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audience members expect from Safari Live?
When the Super Bowl ends, the real game begins. Safari Live will deliver all that is the African wild. From the wide open spaces of Kenya’s Maasai Mara to the scrub bush of Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa, we’re bringing you face to face with the most majestic creatures on the planet — cheetahs, leopards and lions, of course, but also hyena, elephant, buffalo, giraffe, hippo and so many more. The thrill of the hunt as a lion pride zeroes in, tales of survival as the impala escapes the fastest land animal on earth and endearing moments as the leopard cubs look curiously to Mom before they venture out in the morning mist. It’s a viewer experience that none will forget.
What are the logistics like to film Safari Live?
It’s been said that it would be easier to broadcast television from the Space Station than the African bush. So true! In addition to five safari vehicles in two locations a thousand miles apart, we’ll be featuring views from a hot air balloon in Kenya, drones and a rover in South Africa, and best of all, two guides braving the African bush on foot in Sabi Sands. Feeds go into a Final Control in South Africa and then via London to Washington and [Los Angeles]. Africa comes alive from more locations and in more ways than ever, and it’s all live.
What do you believe is the thrill of safaris that keep tourists and TV viewers hooked?
Live television means it’s real, and it’s unknown. The cheetahs could hunt. The hyenas can steal a meal from the leopard. A newborn hippo takes a ride on his mother’s back. The anticipation of action, sometimes more than the action itself, is what keeps you glued to the screen. On any safari on any day, anything can happen, and our viewers know it.
In addition, the Safari Live experience is interactive. Via Twitter, viewers interact directly with our guides, having their questions answered live on the broadcast. Thousands of miles away in the African bush, this is your personal safari. The direct relationship with our viewers is what makes Safari Live such a unique television event.
Have you ever been on safari? Where?
Yes! I visited our camp in Kenya’s Maasai Mara during our series event last summer. Couldn’t stop saying, “Wow.” I fell in love with the elephants — simultaneously powerful and gentle.Being immersed in the African landscape gives one a perspective that truly lasts a lifetime. I highly encourage everyone to make the journey, but if you can’t, taking part in Safari Live on Super Bowl Sunday is the next best thing to being there!
What’s the social media element to this weeklong TV event?
Viewers are able to interact with our guides and ask them questions in real time on Twitter using #safarilive. Also, throughout the week, they will have a chance to win a real safari trip by playing our online interactive game Safari Live Bingo, courtesy of National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures. Each time a viewer gets bingo, he or she is entered into the raffle for an epic trip to Africa … and they can play as many bingo boards as they would like throughout the week. The more viewers play, the better their chances to win. Bingo boards and rules will be available at natgeo.com/safarilive starting on Sunday morning.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Safari Live will premiere Sunday, Feb. 4 at 10 p.m. on Nat Geo WILD. Click here for more information.
