History is taking to the seas and walking in the footsteps of Captain James Cook. 250 years after Cook began his epic exploration of the Pacific, Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, The Piano) journeys in his wake uncovering stories that resonate from those times on both sides of the beach. Sam begins with a disclaimer – he is merely an actor – but the story of Cook, and the impact he has had on the Pacific in the 250 years since his first voyage, has always fascinated him.
A follow-up to the 1990 Radio 4 series in which the late Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine travelled around the world in search of endangered species. 20 years later Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine go back to see what has become of the animals in two decades, and to discover what has affected their fortunes.
Four-part series Revolution mapped sweeping social and economic change in New Zealand society in the 1980s and early 1990s. Judged Best Factual Series at the 1997 NZ Television Awards, it collected together archive footage, and interviews with the major players. Said producer Marcia Russell: “We wanted to make Revolution because we believed that unless we re-run and re-examine our recent history we are in constant danger of forgetting, and forgetting can render us passive about the present and slaves of the future.
From epic landscapes and unforgettable culture, to the often trying times that come with international travel, Departures chronicles the unforgettable friendships, personal successes and sometimes crushing disappointments that befall travellers Scott Wilson and Justin Lukach on their journey. Departures is as much about the journey as it is the destination.
Isolated since the time of the dinosaurs, New Zealand’s wildlife has been left to its own devices, with surprising consequences. Its ancient forests are still stalked by predators from the Jurassic era. It’s also one of the most geologically active countries on earth. From Kiwis with their giant eggs, to forest-dwelling penguins and helicopter-riding sheep dogs, meet the astonishing creatures and resilient people who must rise to the challenges of their beautiful, dramatic and demanding home.
Neil Oliver takes a fascination journey around the coast of New Zealand, uncovering stories that make us the island nation that we are today.
Billy Connolly is back with the fourth in his massively popular World Tour series. This time Billy journey's to the other side of the globe to New Zealand, a country he has been visiting since the 1970s and of which he is immensely fond. Billy's extraordinary journey covers the length and breadth of New Zealand and is mixed with the best of his comedy from sell-out shows around the country.Filmed in 2004 during the first leg of his Too Old To Die Young Tour this series is a stunning journey around New Zealand's two islands from the Southern-most tip to the far north where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific. Along the way Billy takes in Maori traditions, sand paintings, whale-watching, a 90 mile beach and much more to give us a fascinating insight into the spectacular scenery, culture and people of this amazing country.
Trail Towns is a one stop shop for cycle tourism. Find out where to ride, where to stay, where to eat and where to play in towns and regions across Australia and New Zealand. Trail Towns is dedicated to encouraging more families, couples and friends to take a bicycle holiday and support regional areas.
An interview-based documentary series that explores and illuminates the world of Turi-Deaf Maori in the current day. Over the course of five episodes, the fifteen interviewees from across Ngati Turi discuss their experiences, struggles and triumphs.
Karl returns to New Zealand for a 7 week road trip around both the North and South Island in this 2 part documentary series.
For the first time ever, The New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, known as the winningest team in global sports history, allows cameras into their super secretive world to witness one of their most difficult seasons yet. Over four months, they face the demands of the most physically gruelling team sport on the planet to uphold a legacy of excellence and dominance that goes back well over a century.
The stories of homesteads through the eyes of the people that occupy them, exploring the culturally significant role they've played in maintaining Māori ties to their ancestral land.
Ever wanted to quit your job and go travelling round the world? Well James and Karl did and filmed it all. The backpacking documentary follows James and Karl as they travel through 20 countries in 4 continents over 9 months, covering a distance of over 42,000 miles.
Oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the Calypso set sail to research far-off cultures and species of aquatic fauna and flora in another of the explorer's nature series, mainly in the Pacific Ocean and in the West Indies.
Best friends Joel Dommett and Nish Kumar travel to locations across the globe to immerse themselves in the lives of the toughest, strongest, fittest people in the world.
After exploring the wild south in his award winning TV ONE series SOUTH, Marcus Lush has gone to the other extreme of the country for his next show, NORTH. From lighthouses to lava flows, kayaks to kiwis, beaches to butterflies, Marcus covers a lot of ground - and water - in his latest adventure about New Zealand's special places and people. Opening with spectacular aerial views of Manukau Harbour, Marcus travels up and down the east and west coasts, visiting the islands of the gulf, and telling the stories of the great harbours of the Manukau, Hokianga, Kaipara and the Waitemata, concluding 10 weeks later with an A to Z of Auckland in classic Lush style. As always, Marcus becomes intimately involved in the stories of the landscape and the people that populate it, as he undertakes a journey that travels the coasts and harbours, the hills and sand dunes, of the top of the North Island.
A team of specialist detectives re-look at some of New Zealand’s most chilling unsolved murders.
While scams have always been around, the internet means the number of people falling for them is rising exponentially. Nigel Latta shows us different types of scams and the specific traits that make us vulnerable to being ripped off!
Backpacking around New Zealand, filled with epic scenery, unique cultural experiences and amazing outdoor activities everywhere will be an eye opener. Fadhlur and Syarif are to go behind the wheels on a road trip where they will drive from one point to the next destination and they make new friends along the way. Getting closer to nature where camping in the wild and hunting for food source will be a challenge for them in order to understand how the aborigines live. In order to receive instructions and for them to send their mission replies, tablets and social networking sites will be used in order to obtain the budget to the next destination.
Retrace some of NZ's darkest days to reveal the stories, secrets and lessons learnt from our most famous disasters.