Where Was Holiday In The Wild Filmed?
2019's "Holiday in the Wild" isn't exactly a renowned classic Christmas movie, but it is a hidden romantic comedy gem on Netflix that any fan of the genre will want to check out. Kristin Davis stars as Kate Conrad, a New York veterinarian whose second honeymoon trip to Zambia is completely derailed when her husband leaves her two days before the scheduled trip. Kate decides to go alone, which leads her to meet a pilot named Derek (Rob Lowe). While taking a flight over a wild game reserve, the two of them encounter a young elephant injured by poachers, and the course of Kate's life is changed forever.
A romantic comedy, a Christmas flick, and a bit of a wildlife documentary all in one package, "Holiday in the Wild" hasn't become one of the most popular Christmas movies of the season, but it has carved out a unique place for itself, in part because most of the movie was filmed on location. The magic of the Zambian scenery and the real elephants seen throughout the movie help "Holiday in the Wild" really stand apart from the typical holiday rom-com pack.
Where was the Netflix rom-com filmed?
One of the driving forces behind this wildlife-inspired movie was Kristin Davis herself. In describing the film to People in 2019, she said, "This film is like a love letter to everyone I know in conservation, especially to the people who work with elephants." Davis has been involved with elephant conservation efforts since 2009, and she's traveled from Kenya to South Africa to do the work. She hoped that this movie would spread the message about how endangered many elephants are and how regular people can get involved in saving them.
Since this was something of a passion project, Davis wanted to make sure they filmed with real wild elephants. While the movie is set in Zambia, it was actually shot several thousand miles away at a South African safari lodge called Jubalani. The elephants there are actually immigrants; they were brought to South Africa from Zimbabwe because conservations needed a space big enough to take care of them.
Davis' enthusiasm for working with elephants went beyond just shooting scenes with them. The actress went full method by spending two weeks with the majestic animals before filming, getting them used to her presence in their day-to-day routines. Her co-star, however, opted not to follow suit. Davis told People that Rob Lowe was thrilled to star in the movie with her and got incredibly excited to visit Africa during the shoot, "But in terms of the elephants, I think he was like, "Oh, that's Kristin's gig. I'm going to let her deal with that."