Dive into the beautiful blue
Blue Planet II starts on TV tonight, writes Sarah Marshall. Here, the docomakers offer tips on the locations where its scenes were shot.
We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about life in the depths of our oceans, hence the appeal of documentaries showcasing a cast of bizarre sea creatures straight out of science fiction. The new series Blue Planet II, starting tonight, on TVNZ 1, will reveal yet more wonders of the underwater world and perhaps entice viewers to take a leap into the deep.
While executive producer James Honeyborne sees his mission as connecting ordinary people with life beneath the waves, series narrator Sir David Attenborough has another agenda: inspiring us to act if we want to save our oceans from the devastating effects of plastics and pollution.
‘‘We’ve a responsibility, every one of us,’’ he urges.
‘‘We may think we live far from the oceans but we don’t. It’s one world, and it is in our care.’’
With this in mind, I’ve matched ecotourism holidays with places featured in the series, filmed over four years in 39 countries. If you want to do your bit, here’s what to see and where to go, with tips from the Blue Planet II team.
A mobula ray light show, Sea of Cortez, Mexico
The high concentration of wildlife in this body of water, between Mexico’s mainland and the Baja California Peninsula, prompted diving legend Jacques Cousteau to declare it ‘‘the world’s aquarium’’ – and it continues to enthral. Footage of mobula rays creating a bioluminescent trail with their wing beats was a world first for the Blue Planet II team.
Series producer Mark Brownlow says: ‘‘Our cameraman, Alfredo Barroso, was filming in complete darkness. There are a lot of bull sharks out there, so it’s not for the fainthearted.
‘‘The mobula rays were bumping into him, and with slowlight technology we were able to capture the ground-breaking sequence.’’ Only a handful of vessels have a licence to visit more remote spots in the region, so travel opportunities are rare.
Walrus on ice, Svalbard, Arctic Norway
A gateway to the frozen polar north, this mountainous archipelago on top of the world is the closest we can get to pure wilderness. The Blue Planet II team visited in July to film walrus mothers ‘‘hauling out’’ (ie, leaving the water temporarily) on to sea ice, although warmer temperatures and more open water than usual meant the pinnipeds had to settle for icebergs carved from glaciers. ‘‘Summer sea ice in the Arctic has reduced by 40 per cent in the past 30 years,’’ says assistant producer Rachel Butler. ‘‘We were in T-shirts at times, which was very surprising to us all at 80 degrees North. Cod were also seen on the depth sounder, much further north than the crew had ever seen them before.’’
Millions of penguins, South Georgia and Antarctica
Hosting the world’s largest colony of king penguins, St Andrews Bay, on the Subantarctic island of South Georgia, offers plenty of story angles. ‘‘The sheer extent of the activity in all directions is overwhelming,’’ says producer Miles Barton. ‘‘There are images of extreme beauty as king penguins bathe in the surf line and there are moments of high drama when four-ton elephant seal bulls collide in battle.’’ In the past 30 years, however, glaciers have drastically receded and changes in water temperature have affected the availability of krill, the bedrock of Antarctica’s food chain, so see the region’s wildlife while you can.
Coral and critters, Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Australia’s greatest tourist attraction suffered the worst bleaching event in human history last year, a result of rising sea temperatures. Almost 90 per cent of the hard corals around Lizard Island, where the BBC team filmed, were destroyed. However, the reef remains one of the most impressive ecosystems on Earth. ‘‘We went there to film a sequence about coral groupers hunting with octopus and tusk fish,’’ says programme researcher Yoland Bosiger. ‘‘Their behaviour is so sophisticated, some aspects of their intelligence might rival chimpanzees.’’
Cooler water at the southern tip of the Barrier Reef means that islands such as Lady Elliot have suffered only minimal damage from bleaching. There, a sustainable, solar-powered eco resort offers excellent chances for snorkelling or diving with loggerhead and green turtles, manta rays and (in winter) humpback whales.
Diving safari, South Africa
Land mammals have justifiably made South Africa famous as a wildlife destination, but its coastline is also worthy of a safari. ‘‘We have filmed things that are not even described scientifically yet,’’ says executive producer James Honeyborne, referring to footage of a common octopus using shells as body armour in defence against sharks.
‘‘That was brought to us by a naturalist who swam in the sea off the Cape,’’ he adds. ‘‘It’s an astonishing new behaviour.’’
Dolphins and dugongs, Shark Bay, Western Australia
Producer Kathryn Jeffs was stunned by the amount of wildlife thriving in this Unesco World Heritage area, where iron-red sands swirl into turquoise water. ‘‘Dolphins literally swim right up to your toes on the beach, while turtles, dugongs and rays can all easily be seen daily in very surprising numbers,’’ she says.
They are all attracted to the sea grass meadows growing on wide expanses of shallow sandbanks – as are predators, such as tiger sharks. ‘‘They are, in fact, protecting those meadows from being overgrazed,’’ Jeffs explains. ‘‘By keeping turtles on the move, sharks are the unlikely heroes.’’
Nesting turtles, Costa Rica
Social media almost scuppered the team’s first attempts at filming Olive Ridley turtles in Ostional, a village on the Nicoya Peninsula. ‘‘Access to the beaches is controlled during the turtle nesting season,’’ says producer Miles Barton, ‘‘but sometimes these rules are ignored. That’s what happened in 2015 when huge crowds descended in response to celebrities posting selfies with the turtles.’’ However, improved regulations have created a wildlife success story, with lots of positive input from the local community. ‘‘The sheer number of turtles arriving on the beaches during the ‘arribada’ [nesting] is extraordinary,’’ he explains.
Whale sharks, Galapagos Islands
Ecuador’s treasured archipelago is the place to head for unparalleled insight into the natural world, above and below the surface. For Blue Planet II, suction cameras were attached to the backs of whale sharks, visualising the ocean from the eyes of the world’s biggest fish. Other dramatic footage shows silky sharks and blacktips rubbing up against pregnant whale sharks. For Mark Brownlow, however, one sequence stood out – ‘‘sea lions herding massive, 40kg yellowfin tuna to drive them on to the beach’’ – that he describes as 123RF absolutely spectacular. Ecoventura’s dive boat Galapagos Sky offers the possibility of inwater experiences with whale sharks, sea lions and hammerheads. The company is carbon neutral, uses only biodegradable toiletries on board and donates to the Galapagos Marine Biodiversity Fund.
A turtle spa, Borneo
123RF
Even veteran Sir David Attenborough is amazed by sequences from the series – including one of a turtle having parasites removed at Turtle Rock, a cleaning station on a reef at Sipadan, off the coast of Sabah (Malaysian Borneo). While composing commentary for the scene, in which the turtle sits back with its eyes closed, he wrote: ‘‘It’s difficult not to think that this animal is enjoying a bit of a facial.’’ The line was kept, thanks to its scientific accuracy. ‘‘Recent work has shown that the [turtle’s] levels of cortisol, a hormone produced in the body when you get stressed, actually were reduced,’’ Sir David explains.
Free diving with mantas, Maldives
In Hanifaru, where banks of coral form a funnelshaped lagoon, the incoming tide concentrates large clouds of plankton, attracting up to 200 manta rays at a time. In another TV first, the Blue Planet II team managed to film a ‘‘cyclone’’, a phenomenon where more than 50 mantas spiral to create a vortex that catches their prey.
Surprisingly, manta rays are not protected by Maldivian law, even though they are one of the Indian Ocean’s greatest assets. To monitor numbers, the Manta Trust (mantatrust.org) has a research station based at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru, where guests can shadow scientists for a day, dive and learn to take identification photographs. They can also sign up for the Manta-on-Call service, which lets them be rushed by speedboat to a sighting. ● Blue Planet II starts tonight on TVNZ 1.