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5 Episodes 2011 - 2011
Episode 1
Landscape photographer and conservationist Craig Potton explores the coastlines at the south end of New Zealand's South Island. Helicopter pilot Richard Hayes takes him into Dusky Sound, a remote region of Fiordland National Park. The pair follow in the footsteps of Captain James Cook who visited the area in 1769 and made accurate maps. He employed the newly developed chronometer to determine latitude and longitude. Craig snorkels with marine scientist Ken Grange to find the rare black coral. it is actually white in appearance, the black being the color of its skeleton. Due to tannins darkening the waters, it lives close enough to the surface to find with snorkels. Chris Birmingham and Hannah Edmonds take Craig to see the extremely endangered green parrot, the kakapo, on its Anchor Island sanctuary in Dusky Sound. At the time of filming only 131 were known to exist. Next, is a tour of the Waitutu Forest at the south end of Fiordland National Park where 13 layers of beach terraces, each separated by about 100,000 years of geological formation. On Stewart Island, Potton helps tag great white sharks and visits the fragile sand dunes on the west side that have been invaded by grasses. Finally, in the Catlins to the southeast corner of the South Island, he watches yellow-eyed penguins. At Curio Bay, there are wonderful fossils of podocarp trees and a colony of sea lions that were re-established after a 100-year absence.
Episode 2
Landscape photographer and conservationist Craig Potton explores the northeast coasts of New Zealand's North Island, a fairly populous region with Auckland and its 1.5 million residents at its center. He begins by visiting the Miranda Shorebird Centre to watch bar-tailed godwits depart on their epic, non-stop migration flights of almost 7,000 miles. He talks with Normah Pearl at Pauanui about how the current trend in beach homes is removing public access to beaches, unlike the green-space designed into 1960's coastal developments. Craig tours White Island caldera with volcanologist Brad Scott to view the steaming acid lake in at its heart. He sails on the 1892 sailboat, the Thelma, to Rangitoto Island, a volcanic island formed in the bay near Auckland 600-700 years ago. Archaeologists Marianne Turner and David Veart show him fossil footprints in the hardened ash from Maori residents and their dogs who visited during its formation. About 50 miles north of Auckland, a sand spit at the north end of Omaha Beach The sand spit reserve at the northern end of Omaha beach is an important nesting area for the endangered New Zealand dotterels and variable oystercatchers. Jill Stone and her friends discuss how they've gotten the residents to cooperate in keeping dogs out. Craig proudly visits the Goat Island Marine Reserve, the first "no take' marine reserve in the world. He visits Matauri Bay where the hulk of Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior is now an artificial reef. His last stop are the white sand dunes of Parengarenga Beach near the northern tip of the North Island.
Episode 3
Craig watches whales, cradles kiwi and swims with stingrays during a journey down New Zealand's East Coast. In this episode, Craig travels from East Cape, through Hawke's Bay, the Wairarapa, and on to Kaikoura, ending at Banks Peninsula, a journey that he describes as spectacular.
Episode 4
Craig explores the power of Cook Strait; visits a wonder of nature in Nelson; tackles the turbulent waters of French Pass; and listens to a glorious dawn bird chorus on Motuara Island. The Cook Strait is our great divide. The unpredictable strip of water that separates North from South, is one of the most treacherous straits in the world. It was the scene of one of our worst maritime disasters - the 1968 sinking of the Inter Island ferry, Wahine. A combination of violent currents and a massive storm demonstrated the power of nature on this part of our coastline. But the floor of the strait also contributes to its complex behaviour. Craig talks to NIWA Scientist Craig Stevens, part of a team who discovered a vast canyon beneath the water, and to Rose Keating, who experienced the power of the Strait firsthand.
Episode 5
Craig visits the most ancient forest on earth; explains Punakaiki's sculpted limestone formations; checks out dinosaur footprints at the Whanganui Inlet; and explores the huge rolling sand dunes at Farewell Spit. The West Coast of the South Island stretches 600km along some of the most untamed and sparsely populated coast in the New Zealand. Craig begins at Arnott Point on the South Westland coast, where ancient basalt boulders rise dramatically from the sea. He then heads around the coast to Ship Creek with old friend, botanist Gerry McSweeney.