Wild Australia with Ray Mears (2016–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Coast - full transcript

RAY: Australia is still untamed.

Do you know, sometimes,
it just feels amazing to be alive

in a wild place like this.

In this series,
I'm heading into the outback

to explore six very different landscapes.

From the open grasslands...

And away he goes.

...to the scarlet sands
of the red desert.

The dingo, just there, just there,
he's going to disappear. Awesome.

On the trail of the weird and wonderful
animals found here and nowhere else.

Woah. That's a great breach.
Wasn't that beautiful?



For a naturalist, this is one
of the most inspirational places

to visit on our entire planet.

This is my Wild Australia.

Woo hoo!
[laughs]

This week, I'm going in search
of the wild creatures found

in the waters of Australia's
Antarctic facing coastline.

This is the Southern Coast of Victoria,

and in this episode,
I'm going to take advantage of that road.

That's the Great Ocean Road.
It's spectacular. It snakes its way along

this incredible shore line;
shaped as it is by the Southern Ocean

there are sheer cliffs and
fantastic habitat for marine wild life.

I'm starting in Port Phillip Bay,
the entrance to Melbourne Harbor.

Then driving down the Great Ocean Road

following the Southern Coastline
to the most westerly point of Victoria.



On the way, I'll be taking to the seas
in search of dolphins, seals, penguins,

and one of the strangest marine animals
I've ever encountered.

[calm music playing]

This is Port Phillip Bay.
It's the gateway to Melbourne

which is over there in the distance.

It's a little hazy today
and difficult to see.

Now my journey begins, in this episode
by crossing the Bay,

but there's no way I'm going to do that
without taking a look

at some of the astonishing wildlife
that's to be found right here.

[piano music playing]

- RAY: Morning, Judy.
- JUDY: Good morning, Ray.

- RAY: Can I come aboard?
- JUDY: You can indeed sir. How do you do?

- RAY: Good, thanks.
- JUDY: You all right to step there.

Judy Muir has lived and worked
in the Bay for over fifty years.

She's promised to show me not one,
but two unique species

that are only found
in the southern waters of Australia

and live here in Port Phillip Bay.

But to see the first
of these extremely rare creatures,

I'm going to have to get into the water.

I am very excited. I have the opportunity
here to see, hopefully, a creature

I have only ever seen in photographs.

Fingers crossed in the hope
that I'm lucky.

The mysterious beings I'm seeking
are most likely to be found

in shallow waters near the shore
amongst the kelp growing on the sea bed.

[tense music playing]

But shallow is a relative term,
especially now as it's high tide.

It won't be easy to spot
as this small creature

has some of the most ornate camouflage
on the planet.

And there it is - the weedy sea dragon.

This extraordinary fish
is a relative of the sea horse.

Protected by a bony armor of rings
and plates,

it swims slowly through the waving kelp,

sucking up tiny shrimps and other
crustaceans through its tube like snout.

[soft piano playing]

Amazing.

That is an incredible creature.
It just looks like a piece of dead seaweed

until you get close and then you can
just see these little beating fins.

It's fantastic. Very well camouflaged
and the water's quite cold.

But as I brave the cold water
for a second glimpse

of this unique sea dragon,
something incredible happens.

I'm surprised by another
absolutely unique species

as they appear from nowhere
to take a look at me.

These are a rare bottle nosed dolphin
called Burrunan.

There are estimated to be
only 150 individuals in the world,

and two of them are swimming by my side.

These dolphins are coastal specialists
with big flippers and flexible bodies

to negotiate the shallows.

I stay on the rope so that
they get to choose how close they come.

And they're pretty friendly.

That has to be one of the most
amazing experiences on earth,

to be that close to wild dolphins.
[laughs]

I'm lost for words to be honest with you.

It really is a magical experience.
It's fantastic.

JUDY: How was it?

That is just
one of the most incredible things.

RAY: The way they move, they've got
such good contact with the water.

- JUDY: There's no bubbles, no resistance.
- RAY: Nothing.

We move through it
in such an ungainly way,

and there, they just go through
with not a bubble

until they come out and it glistens then.
It's beautiful.

They are really magical creatures.

RAY: Fantastic. Look at that!

As we set off across the bay,
the dolphins lead the way.

Burrunan dolphins are territorial
and live in small family groups.

This pod know Judy's boat well
and often turn up to play.

- JUDY: Well, it's a perfect day.
- RAY: It's lovely.

I have to thank you very much.
You're going to drop me here.

I haven't even got onto
the great ocean road

and I've already encountered
so much wildlife.

- RAY: It's very beautiful.
- JUDY: I'm glad you've enjoyed it.

RAY: It's been brilliant.

Thanks a lot.

Judy's put me ashore at Queenscliff,
and, from here,

it's not far to the start
of the Great Ocean Road.

It's quite good to get back on land
and I'm really looking forward

to the next section of my journey, which
is along this - the Great Ocean Road.

It's 241 kilometers long,
it's a spectacular road

but it's also the world's largest
war memorial.

Morning Doug. How are you?

- Oh, good morning.
- Nice to see you.

Doug Stirling has lived all his life
in the small coastal town of Lorne,

and he knows why this road
is a war memorial.

DOUG: It was built with the idea of
giving employment to the returned diggers

from the first world war.

They worked with pick and shovel
and wheelbarrows mainly.

RAY: How long did it take them
to build the road?

DOUG: Well, all through, about 12
or 13 years. And that was a rough road.

People don't realize what it was like
when they drive over it now.

RAY: If you don't mind me asking,
how old are you?

- 93.
- Well you certainly don't look 93.

I don't feel it.

But you remember the day
the road was opened, don't you?

- Oh, yes.
- What was that like?

DOUG: Oh, great excitement.

People could travel the whole thing,
and this meant

it was only then three hours to Melbourne,
so it made a big difference.

[exciting music playing]

I'm now heading off
along the Great Ocean Road.

This is the longest South facing
shore line on the planet.

Just below me, the Southern Ocean
is pounding the shore line,

but despite its hostile nature,
it brings in all sorts of nutrients

that attract a host of marine wild life.

Through these waters surges
the Antarctic Circumpolar current,

that's the strongest current
in the world.

This influx brings with it
marine creatures we usually associate

with colder countries than Australia,
like penguins.

And that's my next stop:

the penguin colony off the coast
of Warrnambool on Middle Island.

Normally I have to take a boat
to visit an island,

but, on this occasion,
it's shallow enough to wade across,

and there's the problem;
so can predators.

The penguins living on this island
were attacked by foxes,

reducing the population
from 800 to just five birds.

I'm meeting Peter Abbot
and John Sutherland who are part

of the team responsible
for protecting the penguins.

Bit windy up here, isn't it!

They've brought in Guard dogs
to defend the penguins.

Tula and Eddy now live on the island
five days a week

and penguin numbers
have climbed back to 180.

To encourage breeding,

the team have built
artificial nesting boxes on the island.

All the penguins are micro chipped
so they can monitor numbers.

They also weigh the birds
as part of a routine health check.

JOHN: I'll put my hand in
and see what we can find.

- [laughs]
- [penguin squawking]

These penguins are little,
or fairy, penguins.

- JOHN: This is an adult male penguin.
- RAY: Right.

So we'll put him in the bag there.

[penguin squawks]

- JOHN: They are quite feisty.
- RAY: Isn't he feisty?

- RAY: Then you're going to weigh that?
- JOHN: We'll weigh that, yes.

JOHN: 1.2 kilograms. So that's an
excellent weight for a breeding penguin.

These birds feed up to 90 kilometers
away from here.

And they can dive to a depth
of about 70 meters.

RAY: Amazing.

JOHN: And they can only stop underwater
for about a minute and a half.

Breeding pairs of penguins
share the job of sitting on the nest.

JOHN: So he's sitting on eggs.

The other partner will come back
and they may change over.

RAY: Maybe we'll come back this evening
and see the change over.

JOHN: Yes, that would be a good idea.

As dusk falls on Middle island,

we've assumed
our penguin monitoring position.

RAY: Well, it's almost
completely dark now.

I can see the first stars
twinkling overhead,

and because penguins
are sensitive to bright lights,

we've put red filters on,
so that should make all the difference.

I'm staking out a place
where I know they come in and come ashore.

It's just a matter of sitting tight
and waiting.

[waves splashing]

[penguin calls]

[mischievous music playing]

And here they come.

They're climbing up to their nests
on the top of the island.

That was fantastic.

I could hear them before I saw them and
then I heard a small call from up here.

Then, all of a sudden, out of the surf,
like a team of commandos coming ashore,

they snuck into the shadows
and then stealthily made their way up

that little slope there.

It's a wonderful thing to see.

I've never seen that in my life before.

That has to be a real privilege, to see
that take place. It's quite amazing.

The locals call this
the penguin super highway.

Is that magical or what?

[upbeat music playing]

I'm in Victoria
exploring the marine world

of this spectacular southern coastline.

Well, the sun has really come up
and burned off the clouds,

it's a beautiful day now.
But it's worth remembering

there's nothing now between
me and Antarctica.

That is the treacherous Southern Ocean,

and when the weather's bad,
it's this coastline that really gets hit.

You can see how the force of the ocean
is constantly reshaping this coastline.

It's like a jagged edge
poking out to the south.

By the standards of the Southern Ocean,

this is mild weather,
so I'm risking a voyage

into the wild offshore seas
in search of the marine life

that thrives in deeper waters.

The Southern Ocean
has the strongest average winds

of anywhere on earth,
and even on a fine day like today,

you can see how high the swell is.

Once out into deeper waters,
we come across an extraordinary sight:

balls of Antarctic krill,
millions and millions of tiny shrimps

staining the waters red.

These small crustaceans
are the staple diet of hundreds

of different animals,
from fish, to birds, to whales.

Without krill,
most of the life forms

in the Antarctic would disappear.

And there's an albatross
guarding his lunch.

RAY: Woah! See that gannet?

We're surrounded
by Australasian gannets.

They're expert fishers and are feeding on
the fish attracted to this krill.

As our boat struggles
with the giant swell,

we catch sight of some marine mammals
that thrive in these dramatic conditions.

Look at this, wow.
Look at the speed of these dolphins.

They're like bullets in the water.
Awesome.

These are common dolphins
and they're a whole different ball game

to the bottle nosed dolphins that I saw
when I started my journey.

They're inshore specialists.

The common dolphin
is a whole different creature.

It's an athlete;
it's built for the open oceans.

Common dolphins
are the wanderers of the oceans,

moving very fast over great distances
in search of food.

They travel in huge megapods,
sometimes with hundreds hunting together.

Feeding on fast moving fish like herring,
anchovies, and mackerel,

these dolphins need all their speed
to catch them.

These creatures are perfectly adapted for
the harsh conditions of the open ocean.

Now you see them, now you don't.

Where've they gone? Amazing.

They come and then they're gone.

Common dolphins can reach speeds
of 40 kilometers an hour,

and our boat
just can't keep up with them.

Time to turn for home.

Well, what an incredible trip that was.

You could really see there
how rich a marine environment this is.

The krill was absolutely impressive.

The skipper reckons
that's the best krill he's seen in years.

And, although it's only tiny,
it is of course the building block

of the whole marine environment,
and we saw a good example of that today

with the gannets, the albatross,
and, of course, those incredible dolphins.

[adventurous music playing]

My next stop along this spectacular road
is Loch Ard.

Watching the water surge
through this narrow limestone gorge,

I can understand why this is called
the Shipwreck Coast.

If you were coming to Australia
at the end of the nineteenth century,

it would have been
a pretty exciting journey,

and you were hoping to see Victoria
when you came.

In fact there was one key place
in navigation;

if that's the south coast of Victoria,
there's a place called Cape Ottway.

That's what the mariners were heading for.

What sailors had to do
was to go through here,

this was called the Bass Strait,
and that was like threading a needle,

particularly after a long sea voyage
and coming across the Southern Ocean.

There were lots of dramatic stories,
and the most dramatic of them all

occurred right here.

Offshore here, on the first of June 1878,
a ship called the Loch Ard

was having a real problem.

The day before,
they'd made a bad navigational sighting.

The first thing they knew of Australia
was seeing the light colored cliffs

in the gloom, and eventually the ship
hit a reef. Well, it was a disaster.

There were 54 people on board,
all but two of them were drowned.

Tom Pearce, he was just 18 years old,
and Eva Carmichael,

they took shelter in that cave.
What dramas that cave knew.

I'm back on the road again
following this beautiful coastline...

until I reach my final destination,
Bridgewater Bay.

Well, I've come as far as I can go
on the Great Ocean Road,

right to the edge of Victoria.

So I'm taking to the seas
for the last time on this amazing journey.

This time I'm hugging the cliffs and
exploring the line where land meets sea.

Cape Bridgewater is made of volcanic rock
and is less porous

than the limestone cliffs
I've passed on my journey here.

One of the things
about the battering

this coastline receives
is you really get a wonderful view

of the geology.
Look at that, it's astonishing.

It just shows you how the earth itself
is a moving, living force.

It's fairly dramatic in here.
You can hear the sound of the ocean

magnified by this wonderful chamber
of this cave.

These caverns are the chosen home
of the last of the rare marine creatures

I'm here to see.

These are Australian fur seals in here.

[seals calling]

Australian fur seals
are the largest of all fur seals,

famous for their big eyes
and pointed snouts.

Some pups have been born
at this Haul Out,

and it's possible
that Cape Bridgewater may become

the only mainland breeding ground
for these seals in the world.

[laughs]
[imitating seals]

[laughs]

This seal here, the big one calling,
that's the male and this is his harem.

I think he's a little agitated
because I was imitating his call.

I can assure him,
I've got no interest in his harem!

[imitating seal]

See these females
have jumped off of the rock,

and he was concerned and went out
to gather them up and bring them back.

"You can't leave," he's saying.
"You've got to stay here."

Their streamlined shape
and strong flippers

make them skillful hunters.

On land, they may move like slugs,
but underwater, they're action heroes.

We push on further round the headland
of Cape Bridgewater.

[dramatic music playing]

We've come out of the shelter
of the Bay, and here,

you can see the power of the
Southern Ocean breaking on a reef here.

Can you imagine the nightmare it was

for those early sailing ships
that have come across the ocean,

they're looking for land,
they're having difficulty navigating,

and then they find themselves
in darkness facing something like this.

It must have been a total nightmare.

It is the most astonishing continent;
the people, the wildlife,

the nature itself is still raw
and untamed.

It's a land of great power
and incredible opportunity.