British Pathe

Various shots of flamingos flying over a lake while large flocks stand and walk in the water of Lake Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya in Africa. M/S of a car driving away from us along a red dusty road; it slows down to let a line of zebras walk across the road and up a grassy slope. Nice M/S...

Various shots of flamingos flying over a lake while large flocks stand and walk in the water of Lake Nakuru in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya in Africa. M/S of a car driving away from us along a red dusty road; it slows down to let a line of zebras walk across the road and up a grassy slope. Nice M/S of zebras standing in a field with tails a-swishing.

M/S of Colonel Mervyn Cowie, C.B.E. looking at a map on the bonnet of a land rover with another man. Commentator tells us dedicated men like the Colonel have the task of maintaining these vast territories (of Royal National Parks and National Reserves). One of the men points off camera and looks through his binoculars. Lovely M/S of four rhinoceroses lying down with their heads on their front legs in a dusty field. M/S of the men pointing and discussing; C/U of two of the rhinos with their faces resting on the ground. M/S of a woman filming the animals with a cine camera; a man in khaki safari clothes and a small boy also look out of the window of the land rover.

M/S inside the land rover as we drive along a field where hundreds of birds are standing and walking around; C/U of a group of them; they look a bit like large herons with longer beaks and red heads (I am reliably informed by Big Ron they are Maribou Storks); pan left to show the edge of a lake and a giraffe staring at us. M/S and C/U of more giraffes strolling around and eating. M/S of a rhino walking along and stopping a few yards from a small group of elephants on the Amboseli Reserve. Commentator tells us this view of them eating together is extremely rare.

M/S of a safari land rover travelling along a dirt track road, while a man and woman stand looking out of the top and pointing things out to each other; the man is taking photos with a long lens camera. M/S of the man in khaki driving. M/S of an elephant lolloping towards the camera, being followed by two white birds; he shakes his head and lots of dust flies out from behind his ears making the birds flutter.

The land rover is seen driving over land in the Nairobi national park. M/S of a beautiful lioness walking along; the woman films them with the cine camera again. M/S of the lioness and a (quite old) cub. M/S of a juvenile lion lying down; his mane is half grown.

Commentator says "Kenya is essentially a country of contrasts," as we see an aerial shot of snow-capped Mount Kenya, then M/Ss of a beautiful white sandy beach, with palm fronds in the foreground; then a spindly tree, panning right to show the rugged bush landscape, and a white Volkswagen Beetle in the distance! M/S of some swampy marshland.

C/U of a very high signpost with distances to various cities in the world; most are in Africa; tilt up to show the top of the signpost which has compass points on it and a sign reading 'Nairobi Airport'. M/Ss of the sign before the airport buildings; an East African Airways plane slowing to a halt on the tarmac. M/S of a small crowd of people on the observation platform; C/U of two African women and a young boy; a Caucasian woman stands beside them and a Sikh man with a small girl in his arms is seen behind them. Nice M/S of people coming down the stairway of the plane, taken from beneath the wing.

Fade into L/S of the city of Nairobi, with modern buildings and lots of cars moving along the main road. M/Ss of the traffic moving along the busy city road; a policeman is standing on a small trolley in the centre of the road directing them. We are told that hippos and occasionally the odd lion or leopard stray in from the river valleys. M/Ss of the modern New Stanley Hotel; some people sitting outside at the tables of a cafe; the diners are predominantly white and are served their drinks (seem to be soft drinks, including Coca Cola and Canada Dry) by an African waiter in traditional dress and fez.

M/S and C/U of an African woman weaving a brightly coloured basket while sitting in a garden; some Wakamba men (in western dress) are then seen in the garden, carving elephant and rhino ornaments and traditional masks from wood. C/Us of the figures they have carved; M/Ss of western tourists buying the finished, polished masks from a stall in the street. We see some African men weighing huge ivory elephant tusks on a large scale on the street; a man in a fez watches the scale meter spin round while another makes notes. Commentator talks of this important export industry.

L/S of a cruise liner taken from the land where some exotic plants and blossoms are growing. The ship is coming into Mombasa; the main port to Kenya. We see some tourists coming down a gangplank from the ship and getting into a car; the car drives off from the docks; C/U of an African man in uniform watching. M/S of a town road with a bizarre archway over a dual-carriage way; it looks like two pairs of huge ivory tusks crossing at the tips to form an arch; we are told it was erected to welcome Princess Margaret in 1956.

M/S of the modern Oceanic Hotel; it looks like it has dominoes stuck on the front. M/S of people having drinks on stripy chairs at tables beside the beach. Again, the tourists are white and served by an African waiter in traditional dress. M/S of two girls in shorts and strappy tops walking down to the beach. A tourist couple are rinsing their snorkels and flippers as they sail past on a catamaran boat steered by two African men. Some people are seen snorkelling and skin-diving; some have harpoons; underwater shots of coral and rocks. M/Ss of a small plane coming in to land on a white sandy beach. Two couples in swimwear get out and run to the sea, putting on flippers and snorkels.

C/U of a drum being played; M/S of a line of African men in traditional feathered costume with grass skirts, playing drums and dancing. Tourists sit and watch (some use cine cameras) with a group of African children.

Note: print used for telecine transfer is badly scratched; track neg is cut. Cuts exist - see separate records.