1
00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:36,200
The Cape of Good Hope,
on Africa's southerly tip.


2
00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:42,680
Here, two great seas meet.
One, the warm Indian Ocean,


3
00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:44,960
the other, the chilly Atlantic.


4
00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:52,720
And as they mingle,
so they create a billowing cloak


5
00:00:52,720 --> 00:00:55,480
that drapes the summit
of Table Mountain.


6
00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,520
Spectacular though this is,
the mountain's cloudy covering


7
00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:12,320
is only a hint of the
profound influence


8
00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:16,640
that these two very different oceans
have on the fortunes of life here.


9
00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,360
And not just here at the Cape,


10
00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:35,440
but across the length and breadth
of southern Africa.


11
00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,440
Two thousand miles
north from the Cape,


12
00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,880
beneath this sandy beach,
new life is stirring.


13
00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:16,280
Hundreds of baby green turtles


14
00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,640
emerge like a torrent from
the safety of their nest.


15
00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,040
Each one, just seven
centimetres long,


16
00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:43,960
must make a hundred-metre
sprint down the beach.


17
00:02:56,600 --> 00:02:57,920
From the moment they hatch,


18
00:02:57,920 --> 00:03:01,520
they're driven by an instinctive
urge to run to the sea.


19
00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:17,600
Few creatures start life with
the odds for success


20
00:03:17,600 --> 00:03:19,480
so heavily stacked against them.


21
00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:29,640
Yellow-billed kites.


22
00:03:34,720 --> 00:03:35,760
Pied crows.


23
00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:43,120
But so many of these hatchlings
appear together,


24
00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:45,280
that predators can't catch them all.


25
00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:01,880
Last out,
this baby might seem doomed.


26
00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,680
But struggling out late could just
give her a chance.


27
00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,400
The crows seem insatiable.


28
00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:36,880
Even those that reach
the sea aren't safe.


29
00:04:39,520 --> 00:04:41,560
This female has to make a dash
for it.


30
00:04:53,040 --> 00:04:55,720
She's still in danger,
and not just from above.


31
00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,640
A ghost crab may be smaller
than the hatchling,


32
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:11,200
but it has the strength to drag
her into its lair.


33
00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:30,560
Not this time.


34
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:46,000
At last, the sea.


35
00:05:57,000 --> 00:05:59,680
She has to catch a breath
if she's not to drown,


36
00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,920
but the pounding waves make it
desperately difficult.


37
00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,600
Beyond the surf, calmer water,


38
00:06:35,760 --> 00:06:38,560
but even here, the hatchling
is not out of danger.


39
00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:54,880
She dives.


40
00:06:57,720 --> 00:06:58,880
Just in time.


41
00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,760
Only one hatchling in a thousand
will survive to adulthood,


42
00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:29,880
but if she does,
she may live for 80 years.


43
00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,520
For now,
the ocean is there to be explored.


44
00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,240
As the hatchling
disappears into the deep blue,


45
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:59,240
she swims into the waters of one
the planet's most powerful currents.


46
00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:00,400
The Agulhas.


47
00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:08,160
The Agulhas sweeps south
towards the Cape,


48
00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:12,200
transporting a hundred billion
gallons of warm water every day.


49
00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:20,760
These tropical seas are so warm,
they evaporate on an enormous scale.


50
00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,040
Water vapour rises until,
at altitude,


51
00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:28,920
it cools and condenses into clouds.


52
00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:07,160
As the clouds drift inland,


53
00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:10,800
they bring rain to one of the least-
explored corners of our planet.


54
00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:13,840
The mountains of Mozambique.


55
00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:21,000
THUNDERCLAP


56
00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:32,880
This the wettest place
in southern Africa.


57
00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:42,280
Decades of civil war have
kept travellers away


58
00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:43,840
from this little-known land.


59
00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:49,040
It was satellite mapping that
revealed the full extent


60
00:09:49,040 --> 00:09:51,560
of the forest that grows here,


61
00:09:51,560 --> 00:09:55,680
so now it's known to outsiders
as the Google rainforest.


62
00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:05,360
It could also be called
the butterfly forest.


63
00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:16,280
After the rains, butterflies have
emerged together in huge numbers.


64
00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,400
As soon as their wings dry out,
they will take to the air.


65
00:10:29,880 --> 00:10:32,040
Their goal? To find a mate.


66
00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:35,280
But how?


67
00:10:40,560 --> 00:10:44,680
There may be thousands close by,
but the foliage is so thick,


68
00:10:44,680 --> 00:10:46,840
it's difficult for them
to find each other.


69
00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:55,160
They have a remarkable solution.


70
00:10:56,720 --> 00:11:00,520
They follow rivers upstream
and travel to higher ground.


71
00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,920
The journey can take
hours of determined flying.


72
00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:14,800
Eventually they emerge into the only
open space there is.


73
00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:23,000
The treeless peak of Mount Mabu.


74
00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,880
Up here, free from the confines
of the forest,


75
00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,200
they hold a butterfly ball.


76
00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:52,080
Now the butterflies have
all the space they need


77
00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:53,800
for their aerobatic courtship.


78
00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:10,880
The male's strategy is simple.


79
00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:13,400
Fly higher and faster
than the competition,


80
00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:16,760
and just maybe you'll
win a virgin female.


81
00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:34,720
This spectacular gathering,
unseen by outsiders until now,


82
00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:38,360
happens for just half an hour
each morning


83
00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:40,320
and for just a few weeks
in the year.


84
00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:55,520
Once mated, the females descend back
to the rainforest to lay their eggs.


85
00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:03,560
A forest that only exists
because of moisture rising


86
00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:05,400
from the warm Agulhas current


87
00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,440
hundreds of miles away
in the Indian Ocean.


88
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:43,280
The rainwater now flows southwards
from Mozambique's highest peaks


89
00:13:43,280 --> 00:13:45,720
to the lowlands of the Eastern Cape.


90
00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,480
And where the land flattens,
rivers slow,


91
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:55,680
creating a vast swamp
50 miles across.


92
00:13:58,960 --> 00:14:00,560
This is Gorongosa.


93
00:14:04,560 --> 00:14:07,800
Here, all kinds of creatures
come to catch fish.


94
00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,320
Whiskered catfish work as a team.


95
00:14:33,320 --> 00:14:35,480
They take a gulp of air
at the surface


96
00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,400
and then belch it out underwater
to create a net of bubbles.


97
00:14:42,360 --> 00:14:44,240
And that traps little fish.


98
00:14:49,600 --> 00:14:51,280
There are fish for everyone.


99
00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:09,560
And each species has its own
technique for catching them.


100
00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:18,760
It's all very well
having a big beak,


101
00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:20,800
but you've still got
to know how to use it.


102
00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:31,560
This young pelican
has a lot to learn...


103
00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:34,880
..and not long to do so.


104
00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,120
Maybe, like the catfish,
teamwork is the answer.


105
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,440
It's certainly working
for the flock,


106
00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,000
and this pelican seems to be
getting the hang of it.


107
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,280
But surely it can't swallow
that catfish?


108
00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:34,200
Trying to was a mistake.


109
00:16:58,680 --> 00:17:02,240
The rainwater,
briefly held in Gorongosa's swamp,


110
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,480
has now been enriched
with silt and sand.


111
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:15,880
All down this coast, sediment-laden
rivers - the Zambezi, the Limpopo,


112
00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:18,400
the Save - drain back to the sea,


113
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,800
and there they meet
the Agulhas current.


114
00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:34,960
And what happens to all that sand?


115
00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:40,240
Over the millennia,
the Agulhas has worked it


116
00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:42,880
into a complex underwater landscape.


117
00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:02,120
This vast sand sculpture is
the Bazaruto Archipelago,


118
00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,240
the oldest of its kind in the world.


119
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:22,280
It may look like paradise,
but living here is not easy.


120
00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:38,200
For 100,000 years, the Agulhas
Current has battered


121
00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,120
these submerged dunes
with underwater sandstorms.


122
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:10,480
But where the water is deep enough
to escape these storms,


123
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:15,840
nutrients carried from Africa's
interior fuel an explosion of life.


124
00:19:31,280 --> 00:19:33,680
A rare oceanic hunter rules here.


125
00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:39,120
Giant Kingfish.


126
00:19:41,160 --> 00:19:43,520
As big as a man,
and weight for weight,


127
00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:45,680
one of the most powerful fish
in the sea.


128
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:54,320
Despite their size, they're
extraordinarily agile when hunting.


129
00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,760
Normally kingfish are solitary,


130
00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,160
but for just a few weeks each year,
they gather at places


131
00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:23,200
like Bazaruto and prepare
for an extraordinary journey.


132
00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,480
One that will take them far inland.


133
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:39,960
The Mtentu River.


134
00:20:52,840 --> 00:20:56,600
A king of kingfish
leads them upstream.


135
00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:03,040
As they travel
further into fresh water,


136
00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:08,320
they seem to change from aggressive
hunters into dedicated pilgrims.


137
00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:24,120
Now,
many miles from their natural home,


138
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:29,960
and in response to an unknown cue,
they stop and begin to circle.


139
00:21:39,400 --> 00:21:43,280
Other marine fish that migrate
upriver usually do so in order


140
00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:47,480
to breed, but there's no evidence
that these kingfish spawn up here.


141
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:55,440
Neither do they hunt.
So what are they doing?


142
00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,920
In truth, the purpose of this
strange behaviour is still unknown.


143
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:17,000
Within a few weeks,


144
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,440
they will retrace their journey back
to the ocean.


145
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:33,920
The lives of kingfish, like those
of turtles and butterflies


146
00:22:33,920 --> 00:22:37,640
and pelicans, are influenced
by the Agulhas Current.


147
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,720
But that influence can only reach
so far.


148
00:22:51,760 --> 00:22:53,520
And this is why.


149
00:22:56,360 --> 00:22:58,000
The Drakensberg mountains.


150
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,560
Here, local people say that the
vultures soar so high,


151
00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,560
they can see into the future.


152
00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:42,080
These sheer cliffs,
rising to over 3,000 metres,


153
00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:44,360
hold back the advancing rain clouds


154
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:48,640
and, as a result, the land beyond
them is starved of water.


155
00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:03,840
This is the greatest
expanse of sand in the world.


156
00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:06,880
A seemingly-endless desert


157
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,440
that is the vast parched
centre of Southern Africa.


158
00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:24,520
Thousands of miles to the west,


159
00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:29,920
where this desert meets the Atlantic
Ocean, another current prevails.


160
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:38,480
But the Benguela Current,
surging up the west side of Africa,


161
00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:40,480
has a very different character.


162
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,440
It's extremely cold,
full of nutrients


163
00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:54,280
and it's thronged with life.


164
00:25:02,160 --> 00:25:03,320
A great white shark.


165
00:25:05,040 --> 00:25:07,440
They can raise their body
temperature to 10 degrees


166
00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:09,920
above that
of the surrounding sea.


167
00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,520
But doing so requires an enormous
amount of high-grade fuel.


168
00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:28,960
So this is a great bonanza
for them - the body of a dead whale.


169
00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:41,440
The carcass will draw in every great
white for miles around.


170
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:48,000
And here, off Cape Town,
that means a lot of sharks.


171
00:25:59,880 --> 00:26:01,920
Instead of feeding in a frenzy,


172
00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:04,800
these sharks have rather refined
table manners.


173
00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:19,360
They swim side-by-side to get
the measure of each other.


174
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,040
Then each takes its turn.


175
00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:35,040
This female is the biggest,
so she eats first.


176
00:27:00,520 --> 00:27:03,400
The next only feeds
when she gives way.


177
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:41,400
The waters of the Benguela
are so rich,


178
00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:46,240
they support more great white sharks
than any other seas on the planet.


179
00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:58,920
And they are so cold,


180
00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:03,520
they attract some surprising
creatures to these African shores.


181
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:10,760
Penguins.


182
00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:13,920
African penguins.


183
00:28:21,440 --> 00:28:25,000
This female is returning
to relieve her partner.


184
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,360
Of course there's no ice here,


185
00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:32,800
but these rocks can be
almost as slippery.


186
00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:09,640
But there are more serious obstacles


187
00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:11,880
than the slippery rocks
awaiting them.


188
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:27,880
It's his turn to feed, so he leaves
her to look after their eggs.


189
00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:43,160
Now she must tackle a problem
faced by no other kind of penguin.


190
00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:46,000
For the next 10 days,
she must protect her eggs


191
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,120
from the African sun.


192
00:30:01,520 --> 00:30:03,080
A dense coat of feathers


193
00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,160
that keeps her warm in cold seas
now stifles her.


194
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,120
On these exposed rocks,


195
00:30:12,120 --> 00:30:15,240
she must shade her eggs
instead of keeping them warm.


196
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,160
Everything here seems
the wrong way round.


197
00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:42,040
For some, the soaring
temperature is too much.


198
00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:52,080
A neighbour deserts his nest.


199
00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,400
His egg will not survive.


200
00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:11,160
He's not the only one to give up.


201
00:31:12,920 --> 00:31:16,160
Some years,
not a single chick is reared.


202
00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:28,760
Penguins are adapted


203
00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:32,880
to withstand temperatures
of 40 degrees below zero,


204
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:34,840
not 40 degrees above.


205
00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:54,760
Now, at the hottest part of the day,
the very worst time,


206
00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:56,240
her chicks are hatching.


207
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:11,600
Just when they need her most, she's
reaching the limit of her endurance.


208
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:28,160
After 10 days of intensive fishing,


209
00:32:28,160 --> 00:32:32,760
the chicks' father comes back
to take his turn at the nest.


210
00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:35,400
But will he be too late?


211
00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:57,480
He greets his young for the very
first time.


212
00:33:08,840 --> 00:33:13,720
The coolness of the Benguela Current
brought the penguins here


213
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:17,840
but that very coolness
is a great disadvantage,


214
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:19,920
because it generates little rain.


215
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:30,720
It can, however, produce
moisture in a different form.


216
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,840
A thick blanket of fog
rolls in from the sea


217
00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:44,600
and condenses on this thirsty land.


218
00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:57,400
And each year, the desert bursts
into life with a dazzling display.


219
00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:10,760
Water is so scarce that this
show will not last long,


220
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,320
so plants compete to attract
their pollinators with colour.


221
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:31,800
Here in Namaqualand,
a 600-mile strip of coastal desert


222
00:34:31,800 --> 00:34:34,200
becomes carpeted with blooms.


223
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:52,920
The morning sun opens
a Namaqua daisy,


224
00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:57,720
and reveals a male monkey beetle
asleep inside.


225
00:35:05,080 --> 00:35:08,840
Nights here are so cold that monkey
beetles shelter within


226
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:10,920
the closed-up petals of the daisies.


227
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,000
The habit brings benefits
to both sides.


228
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:23,480
The beetle is kept warm
and the flower gets pollinated.


229
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:29,560
But now the beetle has urgent
business. He must find a mate.


230
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:42,440
As he searches, he hops from bloom
to bloom, pollinating each in turn.


231
00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,400
At last he spots a potential mate.


232
00:35:52,720 --> 00:35:54,200
A golden princess.


233
00:36:02,680 --> 00:36:04,040
But here comes trouble.


234
00:36:06,960 --> 00:36:08,280
A rival.


235
00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:20,920
There's no time for introductions.


236
00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:28,880
But he's been too slow.


237
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,120
The rivals immediately
begin to brawl.


238
00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:47,680
The female will only mate inside the
daisy,


239
00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:49,440
so they wrestle for
possession.


240
00:37:08,720 --> 00:37:12,080
They're so engrossed in fighting,
they've pushed her off.


241
00:37:27,360 --> 00:37:29,640
The challenger is ejected.


242
00:37:45,160 --> 00:37:48,520
The winner wastes no time
before getting back to business.


243
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:08,680
At last!


244
00:38:23,800 --> 00:38:27,560
Now there will be a new
generation of monkey beetles


245
00:38:27,560 --> 00:38:30,280
to pollinate these
Namaqualand flowers.


246
00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:41,840
For most of the year this land
is desperately dry,


247
00:38:41,840 --> 00:38:43,840
but just occasionally,


248
00:38:43,840 --> 00:38:46,600
brief, violent storms
sweep in from the cold ocean.


249
00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,040
Springbok have been roaming
this desert for many months,


250
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:08,280
searching for one of these rare
and highly localised downpours.


251
00:39:33,120 --> 00:39:34,880
The grass is sprouting.


252
00:39:39,560 --> 00:39:41,480
And that is worth celebrating!


253
00:39:54,280 --> 00:39:58,640
If you're a springbok,
that means pronking.


254
00:40:14,840 --> 00:40:22,840
MUSIC: "Waltz of the Flowers"
by Tchaikovsky


255
00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:26,240
We still don't know exactly why
they do this.


256
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:31,960
The simplest answer is that
they're dancing for joy.


257
00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:56,280
Africa's most southerly tip.


258
00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:02,600
This is where the two great ocean
currents, the warm Agulhas


259
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:05,680
and the cold Benguela,
crash into one another.


260
00:42:10,760 --> 00:42:15,080
And this collision, in itself,
draws in life in abundance.


261
00:42:29,880 --> 00:42:33,880
A super-pod of hunting dolphins,
5,000 strong.


262
00:42:48,840 --> 00:42:50,160
And shadowing them...


263
00:42:54,280 --> 00:42:56,080
..Africa's biggest predator.


264
00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:00,640
A Bryde's whale.


265
00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,960
This female is 15 metres long


266
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:09,200
and weighs more than a whole
family of elephants.


267
00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:24,760
The dolphins are in pursuit
of sardines -


268
00:43:24,760 --> 00:43:26,440
millions of them.


269
00:43:29,720 --> 00:43:33,560
But these cold-water fish
are heading towards an impenetrable


270
00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:38,120
barrier of warm water that they will
not cross, the Agulhas Current.


271
00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:43,760
They're trapped.


272
00:43:49,720 --> 00:43:52,000
And that gives the whale her chance.


273
00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:14,600
But the sardines are so speedy


274
00:44:14,600 --> 00:44:17,680
that the whale only catches a few
with each pass.


275
00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:28,160
More and more hunters arrive.


276
00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:41,720
The whale needs the other hunters
to push the fish upwards,


277
00:44:41,720 --> 00:44:43,600
forcing them against the surface.


278
00:44:55,080 --> 00:44:57,040
Now they have nowhere to escape.


279
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:17,480
With each lumbering turn
she loses precious time,


280
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,960
time that favours the more nimble.


281
00:45:39,160 --> 00:45:41,080
The Bryde's whale probably knows


282
00:45:41,080 --> 00:45:44,320
that this opportunity will last less
than five minutes.


283
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:50,320
And with the last
few lunges, she finally cashes in.


284
00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:45,600
The forces that triggered
this great event


285
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:48,080
have also shaped the fortunes
of life


286
00:46:48,080 --> 00:46:51,000
far beyond this particular
battleground.


287
00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:57,920
Without these currents,
Southern Africa would be a desert.


288
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:07,200
But combined, the very different
powers of the Agulhas


289
00:47:07,200 --> 00:47:09,840
and the Benguela have transformed
the Cape


290
00:47:09,840 --> 00:47:11,920
into a land where life can flourish.


291
00:47:37,680 --> 00:47:40,840
The Comoro Islands
off Africa's east coast


292
00:47:40,840 --> 00:47:43,200
are a haven for green turtles.


293
00:47:48,040 --> 00:47:51,560
Every year, a million turtles
hatch on these beaches,


294
00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:56,080
but the chances of any one of them
surviving is tiny.


295
00:48:05,080 --> 00:48:09,120
The Africa team came here to try
and capture the dramatic


296
00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:11,960
first few minutes in the lives
of these baby turtles.


297
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:17,840
It was to be both a technical, and
surprisingly emotional challenge.


298
00:48:28,680 --> 00:48:31,600
It's only when you get down on the
eye level of the baby turtle


299
00:48:31,600 --> 00:48:34,400
that you realise what an enormous
journey it's got to make


300
00:48:34,400 --> 00:48:36,800
down over the beach, and it really
is quite epic.


301
00:48:39,080 --> 00:48:42,280
That's fine.
Oh, yeah, that's lovely.


302
00:48:42,280 --> 00:48:45,240
It's using all these complicated,
heavy bits of equipment


303
00:48:45,240 --> 00:48:46,880
which hopefully will enable us


304
00:48:46,880 --> 00:48:50,120
to get into the world of a turtle
which is just a few inches long.


305
00:49:00,600 --> 00:49:03,240
As they break out of all the soft
sand, they hit the hard sand


306
00:49:03,240 --> 00:49:05,360
and that's where the real
sprint takes place.


307
00:49:06,880 --> 00:49:08,640
They must be desperate to hit that
water,


308
00:49:08,640 --> 00:49:10,920
because you can see the sea's
just over the horizon.


309
00:49:10,920 --> 00:49:12,520
We're following them
all the way down


310
00:49:12,520 --> 00:49:15,200
and you do kind of get involved
with them and cheering them on.


311
00:49:19,200 --> 00:49:20,960
OK, slow down a bit. Slow down.


312
00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:27,080
And suddenly all these crows
come flocking in


313
00:49:27,080 --> 00:49:31,160
and start picking them off and you
just think, that's just so unfair.


314
00:49:32,520 --> 00:49:34,720
Lots more coming in.
Just loads coming in now.


315
00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:40,400
I do, God, I feel for them.


316
00:49:40,400 --> 00:49:42,000
You know it's really quite upsetting


317
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:44,440
and particularly when you're
looking through the camera


318
00:49:44,440 --> 00:49:47,200
and I'm just filling frame with
a turtle running down the beach,


319
00:49:47,200 --> 00:49:50,440
then suddenly from nowhere, a beak
comes in and whoosh, that's it.


320
00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:54,160
That turtle's no more.


321
00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:03,640
The turtles that escape the perils
of the beach


322
00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,240
still have to face pounding surf.


323
00:50:12,880 --> 00:50:15,000
But, at last, they're
in their element.


324
00:50:21,080 --> 00:50:23,680
More than can be said for the crew.


325
00:50:23,680 --> 00:50:26,080
They're faster than you,
aren't they? Yep.


326
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:27,520
It's a bit embarrassing.


327
00:50:28,800 --> 00:50:31,040
Beaten by something
that's less than a day old.


328
00:50:34,040 --> 00:50:36,120
When you see hatchlings
get off the beach


329
00:50:36,120 --> 00:50:39,720
and going in the white water, you'd
think they'd just get obliterated.


330
00:50:43,160 --> 00:50:46,480
They just punch through the water -
they do get flung around


331
00:50:46,480 --> 00:50:49,280
but then they just right themselves,
keep on swimming and they're


332
00:50:49,280 --> 00:50:52,720
ahead of you, coming out the back
of the wave and it's amazing.


333
00:50:55,280 --> 00:50:58,080
You're seeing all these baby turtles
getting picked off,


334
00:50:58,080 --> 00:51:00,520
left, right and centre,
but they just keep going.


335
00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:02,280
They are just so resilient.


336
00:51:09,080 --> 00:51:12,280
And that made what happened next
so distressing.


337
00:51:16,040 --> 00:51:18,760
A particularly high spring tide
flooded the beach.


338
00:51:20,680 --> 00:51:24,480
Any baby turtles still in their
nests would be lucky to survive.


339
00:51:25,840 --> 00:51:27,840
See it bubbling out as well.
Yeah. See the air.


340
00:51:30,720 --> 00:51:32,760
Well, it means that basically
anything below


341
00:51:32,760 --> 00:51:34,080
that line's going to be gone.


342
00:51:34,080 --> 00:51:35,640
Let's hope and pray it's not, but...


343
00:51:37,880 --> 00:51:39,960
As you say, we don't know,
let's wait and see.


344
00:51:49,160 --> 00:51:52,160
All across the world,
turtles are in decline.


345
00:51:53,360 --> 00:51:54,800
Their eggs are stolen,


346
00:51:54,800 --> 00:51:58,040
the adults are hunted
for their flesh


347
00:51:58,040 --> 00:51:59,840
and they drown in fishing nets.


348
00:52:01,840 --> 00:52:04,720
But here in the Comoros,
they have friends.


349
00:52:06,840 --> 00:52:08,480
It's amazing here in Itsamia.


350
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:11,320
It's just a really heartening
story of how the local people


351
00:52:11,320 --> 00:52:14,280
are doing everything
they can to protect sort of


352
00:52:14,280 --> 00:52:16,560
what they think of as their turtles.


353
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:21,760
And some of the baby turtles
have survived the flood tide.


354
00:52:49,560 --> 00:52:52,320
The whole village
comes to help the hatchlings.


355
00:52:54,440 --> 00:52:56,640
But the most important effort is to
protect


356
00:52:56,640 --> 00:53:00,160
the adults from outsiders who would
hunt them for their meat.


357
00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:07,200
They've taken it upon themselves
to really police the beaches


358
00:53:07,200 --> 00:53:09,960
around here and make sure that
poaching is kept to a minimum.


359
00:53:13,880 --> 00:53:17,480
The selfless protection these people
provide means that this is


360
00:53:17,480 --> 00:53:20,120
one of the few places in the world
where turtle numbers


361
00:53:20,120 --> 00:53:22,120
are actually increasing.


362
00:53:25,720 --> 00:53:29,800
And remarkably, here in Itsamia,
the population has in fact


363
00:53:29,800 --> 00:53:31,840
doubled in the last decade.


364
00:53:38,640 --> 00:53:40,680
As the shoot was coming to the end,


365
00:53:40,680 --> 00:53:44,640
cameraman Kevin Flay noticed
that some of the turtles


366
00:53:44,640 --> 00:53:47,880
that made it through the surf
faced one last danger.


367
00:53:48,960 --> 00:53:51,240
I'm getting shots of a kite
which is flying down


368
00:53:51,240 --> 00:53:53,800
and taking turtles off the water
surface.


369
00:53:53,800 --> 00:53:56,120
That was a part of the story
we had to tell.


370
00:53:58,360 --> 00:54:02,400
The aim is for us to be underwater,


371
00:54:02,400 --> 00:54:04,640
looking straight up as this happens,


372
00:54:04,640 --> 00:54:10,080
and that's actually
really quite hard.


373
00:54:11,360 --> 00:54:14,160
OK. Three, two, one...


374
00:54:16,440 --> 00:54:18,800
Undeterred,
the crew got into position.


375
00:54:25,560 --> 00:54:27,000
There we go, the kite's up.


376
00:54:41,640 --> 00:54:44,240
You can't see where you're going
because my head's glued


377
00:54:44,240 --> 00:54:47,400
to this viewfinder, so I'm banging
into rocks and things like that.


378
00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:50,200
I'm really just trying to keep
the turtle in shot.


379
00:55:07,560 --> 00:55:08,920
Something came in then.


380
00:55:08,920 --> 00:55:12,240
She came in and swooped down
over the water's surface.


381
00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:13,880
And you could see
the kite from underwater?


382
00:55:13,880 --> 00:55:15,520
I could see it,
I could see the shape.


383
00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:17,040
In frame and you were running?
Yep.


384
00:55:20,920 --> 00:55:23,000
Didn't take the turtle.
Didn't take the turtle.


385
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:25,480
Probably that's the best of both
worlds, because we got


386
00:55:25,480 --> 00:55:28,280
our lovely underwater shot of a kite
and the turtle gets away!


387
00:55:31,280 --> 00:55:33,600
This lucky hatchling
isn't the only one.


388
00:55:35,040 --> 00:55:38,600
With the help of the village
of Itsamia, thousands more


389
00:55:38,600 --> 00:55:40,960
have a chance to make it
to the open ocean.


390
00:55:42,480 --> 00:55:45,320
It's only really local populations
that can actually support


391
00:55:45,320 --> 00:55:47,000
and sustain this conservation work.


392
00:55:47,000 --> 00:55:51,080
If it comes from the roots upwards,
then it's got a chance of success.


393
00:55:51,080 --> 00:55:53,760
You know, I think it's amazing,
I really do, the fact that they


394
00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:56,600
do this and you know we should see
it more often around the world.


395
00:56:00,080 --> 00:56:03,040
It's hard not to admire these
extraordinary little creatures


396
00:56:03,040 --> 00:56:05,600
as they battle against such odds.


397
00:56:12,080 --> 00:56:14,920
This baby turtle
won't touch land again


398
00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:18,880
until she returns to the very same
island to lay her own eggs.


399
00:56:20,560 --> 00:56:23,600
With luck, she'll find the beach
is still protected


400
00:56:23,600 --> 00:56:26,960
by the people of Itsamia.


401
00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:38,920
Next time, the vast cauldron
of the Sahara Desert.


402
00:56:45,800 --> 00:56:47,360
This colossal wilderness


403
00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:50,320
covers one-third of the entire
African continent.


404
00:56:54,920 --> 00:56:58,000
To survive here, life is stretched
to its very limits.


405
00:57:03,840 --> 00:57:05,640
Simply being tough isn't enough.


406
00:57:06,800 --> 00:57:09,680
Only the most extraordinary
creatures will triumph.


407
00:57:36,640 --> 00:57:39,000
Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd