WONDER WORLD

AMAGICAL introduction to the underwater world in Byron Bay led Roger Munns to a dream career filming the ocean’s wildlife. Now, 17 years after earning his open water scuba diving certification, Munns ( inset) is part of a global team behind the stunning footage in Sir David Attenborough’s Planet Earth II.

“The first time I hovered weightless over a coral reef just blew my mind. I knew I wanted to work underwater for a living so I married my passion for photography with my love of wildlife, travel and diving,” he says.

“David Attenborough's original Blue Planet series came out just as I began my filming career in Borneo in 2001.

“It was a massive inspiration to me at the time so to have worked extensively on the sequel really is a dream come true.”

From clever cuttlefish and co- operative octopus to the personable clownfish, the British native filmed more than half of the footage that features in the Reefs episode. He also shot two segments for the premiere episode One Ocean.

A segment on the grouper and octopus was shot on the Great Barrier Reef.

“We filmed several sequences on the GBR,” Roger says.

“The grouper and octopus story was a fascinating example of how two reef-dwelling animals, w who would normally compete for food, have learnt to work together for their mutual advantage.

“That, in itself, is v very cool but even more amazing was the fact that research by Dr Alex Vail has shown that these two species have learnt to communicate by means of a referential gesture. It was fantastic to watch a fish and a cephalopod collaborating and communicating.”

BLUE PLANET II PREMIERES ON SATURDAY AT 7PM ON CHANNEL 9.