A Year On Planet Earth filming locations: Where was the Stephen Fry documentary filmed?
ITVX will air their first ever nature documentary series this year.
A Year On Planet Earth was filmed in more than 60 locations worldwide and will cover a wide range of animals across the seasons.
Where is A Year On Planet Earth filmed?
Iceland
Episode one is called Winter and begins in Iceland.
Iceland is famous for national parks, whale watching, geothermal hot water springs and the Northern Lights.
This episode will explore how the Earth's journey around the sun and its tilt on it's axis, creates the seasons and affects all living things.
Svalbard
Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, literally on top of the world.
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To some, Svalbard may seem barren and uninviting but to others, it is a winter wonderland.
Here they filmed the polar bears and their fight for survival.
Svalbard experiences the midnight sun phenomenon, when the sun never sets, from April 19 until August 23.
But from October 1 until February 28, Svalbard is in perpetual darkness, known as the "Polar Night".
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The only sources of natural light during this period is from the moon and the mystical Northern Lights.
Marion Island
On the other side of the world, Marion Island sits between Antarctica and South Africa.
The island is uninhabited except for a meteorological station established there in 1948.
Marion Island welcomes millions of penguins a year.
The programme followed king penguins that migrate here for their mating season.
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger of the two islands that make up Trinidad and Tobago.
It consists of three mountain ranges, numerous rivers, volcanoes and low-lying swamps.
Filming took place here to study the leatherback turtles that nest here every year.
Masai Mara, Kenya
Masai Mara is a renowned national reserve and conservation area in south west Kenya.
This conservation is home to wildebeests, lions, rhinos, African buffalos, giraffes and many more animals.
it is known for wonderful safaris across vast savannah land, rolling hills and river crossings.
When filming for the docuseries, they followed cheetahs in their natural habitat.
Kalahari
The Kalahari Desert is located in southern Africa.
It occupies almost all of Botswana and parts of Namibia and Northern Cape province in South Africa.
The sandy savannah has scorching summers and winter temperatures can drop below zero at night.
The desert is home to elephants who were filmed here for the series.
Other filming locations
- Botswana - African elephants
- Florida - blacktip sharks
- Norway's forests - red squirrels
- Yellowstone - red foxes
- Vietnam - red shanked douc
- Tibetan Plateau - Tibetan fox
- Southwest China - giant pandas
- Canada's Rocky Mountains - pika
- Northern Australia - hooded parrots
- Christmas Islands - crabs
- Mexico - monarch butterflies
- Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe - lions
Can I visit?
Iceland is a popular place for tourists and in 2020 they had a record 488,000 tourists visit.
There are seven different regions to visit, all promising unique paths into the history and culture of the area.
Visitors can go on excursions to glaciers, bathe in natural hot springs, see the Northern Lights or visit as many of Iceland's 266 museums.
Svalbard is also popular for those who are not opposed to the cold.
Around 30,000 tourists visit Longyearbyen throughout the year.
You can visit ice caves, go dog sledding, drive snowmobiles, ski and shop.
Unlike all the other destinations, Marion Island is not a place anyone can visit.
The island is used as a research station and the only way to get onto the island is if you are a member of the research or relief teams.
Trinidad is known for its beautiful beaches, delicious food and rich history.
A nation descended from Africa and India, it's believed to be the birthplace of the steelpan and music styles such as Calypso, Soca and Rapso.
Masai Mara is the place to go to if you are looking for a safari that provides a true and authentic African wildlife experience.
Kalahari is another place you visitors can enjoy a safari experience.
Here you can see big cats, different species of antelope and incredible birdlife that have adapted to survive in the harsh desert conditions.
When is A Year On Planet Earth on and how can I watch it?
There are six episodes in total.
They will air exclusively on ITV's new streaming platform ITVX on December 22, 2022.
Who is the host of A Year On Planet Earth?
Actor and comedian Stephen Fry will be narrating the programme.
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He travelled to Iceland when the show was filming.
He said: "When standing on all that ice it’s easy to forget we’re travelling at 450,000 miles an hour round the sun, and everything we are and every living thing on the planet is as a result of the orbit we have."