Stephen Tompkinson's African Balloon Adventure

The Wild at Heart star journeys across Africa in a hot-air balloon, observing wildlife and meeting people who work to preserve animal habitats, beginning in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. The actor crash-lands into dense vegetation and is rescued by the local Maasai, before he practises his veterinary skills back on terra firma. Stephen then takes a tribal chief for a ride in his balloon and treks through Rwanda's dense forests in search of mountain gorillas.

The actor visits Rwanda's Parmasor Orphanage and takes some of the children up in his hot-air balloon, before heading further west to the Victoria Falls where technical problems and bad weather hinder his skyward trip with a local chief. Stephen also explores Shiwa Ng'andu, a grand English-style country house, and rides a helicopter in Botswana to observe leopards and other animals in the Okavango Delta.

The actor makes the final stops on his hot-air balloon journey, catching a crocodile in the Okavango Delta with the help of researcher Vince Shacks, before heading west to Namibia, where he and elephant expert Keith Leggatt observe the local herds. Stephen also finds himself flying into a forbidden area on his way to the Skeleton Coast and finds out about hunting from professional Volker Grellmann.