Shaba Ready For The Arrival Of The "Survivors"
Shaba Game Reserve, site of the Born Free and Queen of the Jungle movies, but still the least known and visited of Kenya's game sanctuaries, is again to be a speck on the global map.
It will from next week be the location of the filming of the world's most popular TV series, Survivor III. And America is transfixed.
The epic Born Free movie was about the life and times of the wild cats heroine, Joy Adamson. Survivor III is a contest in endurance and perserverance. But both meet at Shaba, a scrubland intersersed with ranges, and home to a unique species of lions.
Survivor's 16 heroes selected from 60,000 applicants arrive tomorrow, and the filming of the weekly series aired by the American broadcaster, CBS TV, is likely to follow three days later, deep in the reserve's wilds, about 350 Km northeast of Nairobi.
Shaba is set, and the Survivor crew has undertaken a reconnoitre of the shooting area, preparing for the ultimate take-off of a project that could re-open the floodgates of tourism closed four years ago when politically-instigated ethnic clashes and economic mismanagement contrived to push out a bulk of the one million tourists Kenya traditionally received annually.
Three-quarters of the 256 Sq.Km game sanctuary will be cordoned off to everyone, except the actors, the crew and, of course, the wildlife, during the preparation and actual filming, and the subsequent editing of the movie.
A contingent of 118 security personnel drawn from paramilitary units -- regular police, administration police, KWS game rangers -- and civilian guards are on the ground to ensure safety for the 16 actors, the filming crew and support staff; altogether 400 people.
"We have to keep our people safe," says Greg Piligian, the co-executive producer. A locally-assembled company, Mwandiga Productions, is coordinating the logistics.
An airspace "embargo" on the area has been slapped by authorities, to guard against paparazzi snooping around. A number of international journalists are already in Kenya ostensibly to feed their news agencies back home on the shooting of the movie.
However, the organisers are concerned that any leak could remove the thrill out of Survivor III and consequently jeopardise the viewership.
"The show is about suspense. We have to be secretive on how it goes, so that we can surprise our audience," says Greg. Nanyuki Airbase will ensure the airspace restriction is hardly flouted over the 50-day period the movie will be shot.
Although the Survivor series is yet to reach Kenyan viewers, it has a near-cultic following at home in US, and organisers claim about 40 million people watch the program weekly.
The storyline is about endurance and native instincts of survival. Essentially, it is a game of wits and physical endurance, where the actors -- 16 -- are dropped in a very harsh area. Barely equipped with a compass, the actors only live off a ration of rice, and wild fruits and animals.
Even in their fatigued and famished condition, they are made to compete in enduring sports. Unlike Survivor II and Survivor III, this time round, the competitors will not kill any wildlife for food but are likely to live off the wild fruits and insects.
But their troubles will go beyond just food. Shaba's terrain is rough, and the Uaso Nyiro river which traverses the reserve known to have the highest concentration of lions, is croc-infested.
Perhaps their consolation will be that Shaba will offer them the opportunity to view the 365 species of birds, leopards, hippos, elephants, reticulated giraffes, gravy zebras and bongos. There are numerous permanent water springs and good sites for tented camping.
Frail contestants either voluntarily or otherwise drop out from the movie. But the last person to outlive the 50-day physical and mental ordeal, wins one million dollars (about Sh79 million). This big take-home attracted 60,000 applicants this year but the number was whittled down to 16.
Almost $5 million (Sh395 million) will be sunk in Survivor III, and already, a state of the art equipment, including dozens of cameras and editing machines, have been ferried in the country from the US. The site camp is directly in communication with the world through satellite link.
Kenya becomes the third country after Malaysia and Australia to be picked as the location of the filming of the 13-part weekly Survivor series expected to be viewed weekly by at least 40 million Americans. "It is the biggest and most watched programme in US," says Greg.
The quasi-statutory marketing body, Kenya Tourist Board, expects the movie to market Kenya abroad, such as did Born Free and the charbuster, Out of Africa, which opened a floodgate of tourists in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "We are going to see another boom (of visitors)" says Betty Buyu, the KTB managing director.
Kenya used to receive about a million tourists each year, who pumped in the economy Sh25 billion. Now tourism, once a key foreign exchange earner, has plunged to almost the base and porospects for improvement are dim.
Despite its potential in promoting Kenya, the world's most popular movie has faced snipes of controversy unleashed by a non-governmental organisation ÐÐ Waso Trust Land Group ÐÐ that questions the level of compensation to the community and the likely environmental impact of the project.
Earlier reports had quoted the lobby representative Hassan Guyo Shano demanding that the agreement between Survivor III organisers and Isiolo County Council, who are the custodians of the game reserve, to be reviewed.
"Councelors and chief officers who negotiated the shooting of the film are not technically qualified to handle this matter. A new agreement that will involve experts like lawyers, environmentalists wildlife managers and locals should be made afresh," he was quoted in the news last week.
Hardly many agree. Everything is above board, say the movie directors, the county council and Kenya tourism officials. "We are known to be eco-friendly, everywehere we go," says Greg. "Whatever I bring here, I will leave with it," adds unit manager Dick Beckett.
Claims about environnmetal degradation hardly hold water. A visit to the site this week by the Nation revealed little, if any, influence on the ecosystem. The water that feeds the camps is drawn from nearby springs and disused oils are ferried to Nairobi, 300 Km away, for disposal.
The council was paid Sh18 million by the movie organisers. In addition, other benefits include casual employment to the locals, and the rehabilitation of park roads.
"We are comfortable. This is good money because the most we make in Shaba is Sh15 million a month," says council chairman Hussein Abduba.
