Holiday in the Wild (2019)

After their son Luke (John Owen Lowe) leaves for college (on 31st Aug 2019), Kate Conrad (Kristin Davis), a former veterinarian, surprises her husband Drew (Colin Moss) with a second honeymoon to Zambia. Kate likes to believe that she has a perfect family, and she has just had their Christmas card picture taken together.

Kate was a veterinarian but gave that all up when Luke came along. With him going to college, she considers going back to work. Drew confesses that he is no longer in love with her and was waiting for their son to go to college before ending the marriage. Drew moves out of their apartment. At first, Kate is just angry and throws all of Drew's clothes out of the apartment. Kate decides to go on the trip alone and lands in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. At dinner that evening, a man at the hotel bar, Derek (Rob Lowe), notices her and strikes up a conversation with her. Kate irritably confesses her situation and then leaves in a huff. The next day, Kate arrives for a chartered flight to her next resort, only to find Derek is the pilot. Derek has named his plane Kirk, after Captain Kirk of Star Trek. They fly over the oldest and largest game reserve in Africa. The reserve is home to all the big 5 species: Lions, Leopard, Rhino, Cape Buffalo and Elephant. During the flight, Derek unexpectedly lands the plane in the wild. They discover a traumatized baby elephant whose mother has been killed by poachers for her tusks. Derek informs the reserve authorities about the location of the Orphaned pup on Walkie Talkie. The baby will die in 2 days without its parents, if it is not rescued. Kate is intrigued by the elephant and when the rescue team arrives, Kate (who years earlier had trained as a veterinarian, but no longer practices) offers her services. The elephant is taken back to the sanctuary with the intention of being nursed back to health. Instead of going to her 5 -star lodge, Kate decides to go with the elephant to the Sanctuary. At the sanctuary, Kate meets Derek's South African girlfriend, Leslie (Hayley Owen), who is part of the foundation that funds the sanctuary named Lilayi. Kate forms a special bond with the elephant she and Derek found, and Derek's friend Jonathan (Fezile Mpela) suggests the name "Manu", which means "second son". Jonathan gives a tour of the sanctuary to Kate. The sanctuary has many elephants, and each one is assigned a handler. But the handlers rotate to ensure that the elephant and the handler don't get too attached to each other. Once the Elephants are old enough to leave the sanctuary, they are gradually weaned off human presence and released into the wild. This process can sometimes take several years. The babies are fed separately from the adults. The sanctuary has 3 babies, 4 teenagers and 3 adult elephants. Chuma is an adult training to be a matriarch. Kasewe is a baby rescued just a week ago. Multisani is another baby and is their oldest toddler. Kate gets very happy when Manu gets back up on his feet and regains his appetite. This means that Manu now has a good chance of survival. Derek flies tourists to fund the sanctuary. Jonathan and Derek grew up on the reserve as their father's were game wardens. Due to her veterinarian background, she is appointed the camp doctor. Since Kate missed her luxury safari, Derek offers her a tour of the reserve. Kate falls in love with Africa. Kate's relationship with Derek deepens as they talk about their previous lives. Derek shares that his wife died over 15 years ago. Kate admits that she has no clue what to do with her life once she returns home. Kate and Derek share a moment in his tent later that night, but the moment is interrupted by Leslie. Kate assumes that Derek is a player, and she is just a conquest for him. The next morning Kate is supposed to fly out but realizes that she loves Manu and the elephant pup is also too attached to her. Kate extends her stay (she was supposed to return on 28th September), even celebrating the Christmas season at the sanctuary. Kate is upset when she receives divorce papers from Drew at the Sanctuary. Luke comes to the sanctuary for Christmas and confesses he is unhappy in his business course; he wants to be a musician. Kate discourages him from this. Luke says that he doesn't want to wait 20 years to do what he really wants to do. Luke returns to New York and Derek tells Kate not to worry about Luke. He says like animals, children will also figure their way out, but we need to let go of them. Derek and Kate share their first kiss. Leslie is angered when she discovers a portrait of Kate that Derek drew. Leslie asks Derek to go away with her, but he refuses and breaks up with her. She retorts that the board will cut funding for the sanctuary starting New Year. Kate finally returns to New York, where she takes a job as a vet. She convinces her son to continue in college, but to study music. On New Year's Eve, Kate calls Jonathan, and he relays that the sanctuary cannot continue operating much longer due to the cut in funding. Kate begins a fund-raising campaign by asking for help from her friends and ex-husband, and also sells her jewelry and other things. The fund-raising is successful, and the sanctuary stays afloat. Derek renames his plane to "Kate" and misses her. He completes the painting and mails it to her in New York. After visits from pampered pets, Kate realizes her job as a vet in New York is not fulfilling her, so she sells her apartment then buys a one-way ticket to Zambia to be with Derek and the elephants. Kate and Derek get married. When the day comes to release Manu back to the wild with other elephants, Derek and Kate tearfully say goodbye. The Wild elephant population in Africa has plummeted by 62% in the last decade.