Movie: Wild Africa 3D IMAX Melbourne

No matter how it’s presented, Africa’s landscape and wildlife always looks stunning.  Shown on an IMAX screen featuring 4K laser digital technology, it’s even more spectacular.

Thanks to the technology used by BBC Earth in its documentary, Wild Africa 3D, you also feel immersed in the action.

While there are plenty of animals highlighted in the documentary, it also provides a fascinating insight into Africa’s geographical features by focussing on major waterways.

We see and learn about the impact of water on both the landscape and wildlife.

We fly along the Great Rift Valley, follow fast flowing rivers, watch water holes evaporate and see what happens under the huge waves of the surrounding ocean. We also explore the highest snow-covered mountains in Kenya, wide-open savannahs and desolate deserts.

Equally as stunning as the filming of the landscape are a number of 3D wildlife scenes. Some are delightful- such as watching a family of mountain gorillas playing in a Rwandan rainforest. Other footage is harder to watch – such as elephants struggling in search of water during a drought and wildebeest being hunted riverside by crocodiles.

Then there are some bizarre scenes such as the ‘dating and mating’ habits of thousands of flamingos in the volcanic Lake Bogoria. Here we also learn why flamingos are pink.

As we discover, there’s just as much happening in the sea as there is on land.  And while there’s not that many species of animals in the desert, those that are there have adapted brilliantly – and amusingly – to their surrounds.

It’s the educational component of Wild Africa 3D together with the stunning wildlife footage and the technology that at times makes you feel you could reach out and touch the scenery, which ensures the 45 minute documentary is extremely interesting, entertaining and suitable for any age group.

Wild Africa 3D is now showing at IMAX Melbourne. Visit the IMAX website for screening times and more information.

*Jenny Burns attended a preview of Wild Africa 3D as a guest of Melbourne Museum.

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