Okavango

The Wild Frontier

Imagine trading in your culture, career, car, friends and urban way of life for the frightening but seductive unknown. That's just what the MacKenzie family did: Jessica, a spirited wife and mom; Jack, her off-beat attorney husband; and their two children, rebellious teenager Kyle; and young, wide-eyed Nealy. They travel from the predictability of Los Angeles to this remote, breath-taking new land with unexpected dangers and endless possibilities. And like the MacKenzies, your family will inescapably be swept up by the grandeur of Africa and the magic of Okavango.

The MacKenzies are an ordinary American family who make the extraordinary decision to give up the urban jungle for the African jungle. As his dying wish, Jessica's Uncle Bill, played by veteran star, Eddie Albert, implores the family to stay in Okavango to carry on his solitary work protecting the rapidly disappearing wildlife of Africa. We and the MacKenzies are captivated.

But the adjustment is far from easy. They arrive to the smoldering ashes of Uncle Bill's ranch house, mysteriously burned to the ground. They're met by suspicious locals, bitten by snakes, chased by rhinoceroses, attacked by crocodiles. What's more, J.D. Helms, who owns the local hunting lodge, continually connives to swindle the ranch out from under them.

Yet even in the face of adversity, the MacKenzies find that life at Okavango has many unexpected rewards. Saving the life of a cheetah, healing the wounds of a gazelle, reuniting an elephant family or assisting in the birth of an eland makes it worthwhile.

And with the help of a sage local tribesman and Okavango caretaker, Two Days, played by notable stage actor Fats Bookholane, they resolve to face the unknown together and to do their part preserving this last frontier. Maybe even their family will grow closer. Maybe. After all two parents and two children will confront family crises - even in Africa - even on Okavango.

In the midst of this beautiful but treacherously lush environment of hungry lions, regal elephants and spitting cobras, the MacKenzies also tackle all the normal family dilemmas made more complex by their exceptional surroundings. Jack contends with his role as family leader and the ever-changing father-son relationship Kyle struggles with coming-of-age and youthful independence Nealy encounters sibling rivalries and strange new friendships, and Jessica finally comes into her own as the family anchor. And they all learn the importance of pulling together as a family.

Shot in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Namibia, Okavango combines the family struggle of "Little House on the Prairie" with the expansive optimism of "Born Free." It offers gripping entertainment charged with emotion and brimming with discoveries for adults and kids alike - all underscored by fulfilling social and environmental themes.

Okavango is a land that evokes and inspires desperation and hope, treachery and loyalty, fear and resolve, where everyday tasks turn into unique adventures and where life's true values are brought to the fore. Okavango welcomes you.

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