AFRICA HIGH AND WILD
Face of Stone - Heart of Ice
by Beyond Productions

The war with Eritrea is over. Mengitsu is in exile. In the mountain stronghold of the Ethiopian Highlands, peace again prevails and life has all but returned to normal. We join Wilby, Ciantar and Getenet Akalu on the edge of the spectacular Simien escarpment, impossible sheer cliffs rise above and fall below them, single drop waterfalls plunge a thousand metres into darkness, a troop of several hundred rare gelada baboons cascade over the lip of a gorge and disappear into the depths of a blackened chasm.

Rather than concentrating their Ethiopian climb on one single mountain, they have chosen to explore the length of a little known but nonetheless magnificent, sparsely populated range. Challenging our pre-conceptions to the max, we will glimpse a country full of fertility and promise, meet not a people defeated by fate, but a nation determining its own destiny - a proud, highland race as joyful and light-hearted as they are stalwart.

We will experience both Muslim and ancient Coptic Christian traditions in action, observe the daily tasks and trials of highland children, share the incredulous laughter of curious villagers finding more than they usually bargain for at their Saturday market - reactions run high as they spy Westerners for the very first time!

Straight from this last remarkable scene, we cut to Kilimanjaro - to a designer-dressed crowd of tourists jetting in to climb the most popular (by virtue of its accessibility) high mountain in the world. Tourism is big business here, and people from all over the world have come to crown their 'African Adventure' with the fulfillment of a life-long dream.

Capturing the cosmopolitan flavour of the peak, we will meet people from all walks and talks of life. Swedes, Germans, Japanese, Americans - aged from 17 to 70. We will follow them through moss-draped forests, heath land and scree, see first hand how their collective aspiration and en masse presence have changed the face of the mountain and the lives of those who live beneath its shadow forever. In a departure from the normal Kilimanjaro experience, Wilby and Ciantar will re-find solitude in the unsullied, incredible icy realm of the crater.