The Lost World

Htamanthi, Burma.

Many places I visit have already been well documented by previous natural-history filmmakers. Not Burma though. So little is understood about this corner of Asia, it's a daunting task knowing where to start looking.

This year I’ve been fortunate to spend 9 weeks exploring the remotest areas of this incredible country at a time in its history when it's only just becoming accessible again to the rest of the world.

From the leech-infested bamboo forests down south to the primeval jungles up north, we waded through rivers (as demonstrated here by series producer Sanna Handlsip in Htamanthi forest), climbed mountains and trekked for days, setting up camps in four different locations, before exploring the surrounding areas on foot. We were rewarded for our efforts with some pretty spectacular wildlife sightings, which will now be showcased in a new BBC documentary series.

As a sound recordist it was a particularly enriching experience. Being so cut-off from man-made interference I was able to gather some pretty special natural sounds. One of my favourites was my early-morning wake-up call – troupes of Hoolock gibbons calling to one another across the river near camp. Nothing gets you out of bed faster than the sound of gibbons duetting at dawn.

Click here to enjoy sounds of Htamanthi forest while you're on the move!

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