0:00:07 > 0:00:10My name is Stewart McPherson. I'm an explorer and naturalist.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14I've climbed dozens of unexplored mountains
0:00:14 > 0:00:16and discovered many new species.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22And yet, the journey I've always wanted to make
0:00:22 > 0:00:24is to the most remote parts of Britain.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29And I mean remote.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33Not the islands of Scotland or the mountains of Wales,
0:00:33 > 0:00:36but the UK Overseas Territories.
0:00:36 > 0:00:4014 islands and archipelagos scattered all across the seven seas,
0:00:40 > 0:00:43they have seven times the land area of the UK.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50Some are uninhabited, but 350,000 people live on the others,
0:00:50 > 0:00:55people who have voted to remain part of the United Kingdom.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I read about these far-flung places when I was a child
0:00:58 > 0:01:00and this was my treasure map.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05Not to hoards of gold and silver but something even more special -
0:01:05 > 0:01:09untold riches of wildlife and unique cultures.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17I wanted to stand on the biggest penguin colonies on the planet.
0:01:29 > 0:01:32I wanted to dive on the world's richest coral reefs.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43And I can do all that without leaving Britain.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48No single person has ever explored all 14 overseas territories
0:01:48 > 0:01:51and that is just too much of a challenge
0:01:51 > 0:01:52for any explorer to resist.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55So I'm going to follow my childhood treasure map
0:01:55 > 0:01:57right the way across the globe
0:01:57 > 0:02:00to discover the furthest reaches of Britain.
0:02:09 > 0:02:13On this journey, I'm visiting the wild Southern Atlantic.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18I'll go to the Falkland Islands,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20South Georgia
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and Antarctica,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26but first to the most remote inhabited island in the world -
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Tristan da Cunha.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32To get there, I need to head to South Africa,
0:02:32 > 0:02:34to Cape Town.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40From here, a fishing trawler goes out to Tristan
0:02:40 > 0:02:44just four times a year and I plan to hitch a ride.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49But when I reach Cape Town, I get some bad news.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53My ride, the trawler Edinburgh,
0:02:53 > 0:02:55is in dry dock for repairs
0:02:55 > 0:02:58and clearly going nowhere.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Well, the only other way to get to Tristan da Cunha
0:03:01 > 0:03:04is by chartering a private yacht.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07So far, I've contacted about 20 yacht companies
0:03:07 > 0:03:10and only one has actually said they are willing to take me out
0:03:10 > 0:03:14to Tristan because it is so far out and remote in the South Atlantic.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Strangely, no-one actually even seems to actually know how long
0:03:17 > 0:03:19it's going to take to reach the island, but I guess we're
0:03:19 > 0:03:23going to find out because this now is our only option to go there.
0:03:26 > 0:03:322,800km of open ocean lie between us and Tristan
0:03:32 > 0:03:34along the Roaring Forties,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38a latitude well-known for its bad weather.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53At first, the journey goes well.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56But then we get a real surprise -
0:03:56 > 0:04:00the winds drop and the sea becomes flat calm.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Not great news for a sailing vessel.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17Well, this is our seventh day out of Cape Town and frustratingly,
0:04:17 > 0:04:21it's our third day with pretty much no wind at all.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24The sea is like glass and pretty much flat
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and the sails are just flapping limply in the breeze.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33We've still got at least 1,300km or so
0:04:33 > 0:04:36right in that direction to reach Tristan da Cunha
0:04:36 > 0:04:39and all we can really do is just chug along at 5km/h or 6km/h
0:04:39 > 0:04:41with the diesel engine.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44It's a bit worrying because we've only actually got about three
0:04:44 > 0:04:46or four more days' worth of diesel left.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53And the weather shows no sign of changing.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55INDISTINCT RADIO MESSAGE
0:05:02 > 0:05:06Eventually we run out of diesel, so we're dead in the water.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10I'm running out of things to read and I've forgotten my razor.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16Every day, radio reports tell us to expect wind,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19but out here on the ocean there's not a breath of air.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28This is so completely different to how I imagined the South Atlantic.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32I came here with expectations of roaring winds
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and mountainous rolling waves and oceans,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38but this is now our 12th day out of Cape Town
0:05:38 > 0:05:40and as you can see, it's dead calm.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43It's the seventh day of calm that we've had.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46And it's actually this waiting, this endless waiting
0:05:46 > 0:05:48that's the hard thing, the real test of patience.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53We've been at sea for over two weeks
0:05:53 > 0:05:59and at last, clouds are starting to build and bring the promise of wind.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10This is more like the Roaring Forties,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13and it means we are finally moving again.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20And at last, we can see Tristan on the radar.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25And finally, there it is.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30Well, it's our 18th day out of Cape Town
0:06:30 > 0:06:34and I can't possibly tell you how relieved I am to see land -
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Tristan da Cunha.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39What this journey really shows is that how today
0:06:39 > 0:06:41we have completely lost context of distance.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47It's impossible to grasp the size of these oceans.
0:06:47 > 0:06:522,800km might seem just a few centimetres on a map
0:06:52 > 0:06:56or a few hours flying in a jumbo jet, but being out here,
0:06:56 > 0:07:01you just get the sense of how enormous the Atlantic is
0:07:01 > 0:07:05and how impossibly remote this place really is.
0:07:09 > 0:07:14We've arrived at dusk and so we anchor offshore for the night.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19This is actually a group of islands -
0:07:19 > 0:07:23Nightingale and Inaccessible islands are nearby.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28And further off lies Gough Island.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32They're all volcanic islands
0:07:32 > 0:07:36and I begin my exploration on Tristan itself.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Well, after three weeks at sea, we've finally made it.
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Here we are - welcome to the most remote
0:07:41 > 0:07:43inhabited island in the world.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57There's only one settlement here - Edinburgh Of The Seven Seas -
0:07:57 > 0:08:03home to 270 Tristanians, with everything you might want.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07There's even a supermarket, the only shop on the whole island.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13A chance to replace my razor, but it's closed.
0:08:18 > 0:08:20And there's a bus service.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25A bumpy ride of a mile or so to The Patches,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28where the Tristanians farm the rich volcanic soil.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34These fields provide for many of the islanders' needs.
0:08:34 > 0:08:35They have to -
0:08:35 > 0:08:39a supply vessel only calls here a few times a year.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43The fields are farmed communally and make the islanders
0:08:43 > 0:08:47self-sufficient in potatoes, their staple crop.
0:08:56 > 0:08:58The islanders also keep sheep and cows.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02A familiar scene in an unfamiliar place.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08It just strikes me that this place is like a beautiful old
0:09:08 > 0:09:11fishing and farming village.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Obviously a working village, but it's just like a little piece
0:09:14 > 0:09:16of England that has been plucked out
0:09:16 > 0:09:18and thrown down to the South Atlantic.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21It feels just like home, except, of course, for the volcano.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31The island was garrisoned by the British in 1816
0:09:31 > 0:09:34to stop the French from using it to rescue Napoleon,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38exiled on Saint Helena some 2,000km away.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43After Napoleon died,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47a corporal in the Royal Artillery, William Glass, decided to stay
0:09:47 > 0:09:51and founded the first permanent settlement on the island.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55His descendants are still here.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Others joined the colony over the years,
0:10:00 > 0:10:03but there are still only seven surnames on the island.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Just as the rich volcanic soils sustain the islanders,
0:10:13 > 0:10:16so do the rich waters that surround the island.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27On those rare days when the weather looks set fair,
0:10:27 > 0:10:31the men are awoken from their beds and called to the fishing boats.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57The sea is incredibly rich and supports huge colonies of sea birds.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Southern Antarctic fur seals also thrive in the rich waters.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24There are plenty of fish here,
0:11:24 > 0:11:26but the real treasure is lobsters.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33They'll be exported all over the world
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and this makes Tristan economically self-sufficient.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40And unlike the rampant overexploitation that afflicts most
0:11:40 > 0:11:45ocean fisheries, the islanders are careful to conserve their resources.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Every lobster is measured.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Any that are too small are thrown back.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02It seems to be working and the catch looks to be sustainable.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09Surrounded by rich waters, Tristan is crucial for sea birds.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14These are Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17They range far and wide over the ocean
0:12:17 > 0:12:20but they only nest on the islands in the Tristan group.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25High above the settlement on the slopes of the volcano
0:12:25 > 0:12:30is a plateau that looks like something from the lost world.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33It's covered in dwarf tree ferns, unique to the island group.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50This is where the Atlantic yellow-nosed albatrosses
0:12:50 > 0:12:51come to court each other.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56And raise their single chick.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03The other islands in the Tristan group are uninhabited,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05except for the odd weather station.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09They seem even more like a paradise for naturalists.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17Southern Antarctic fur seals have their own freshwater shower.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27And sheltered coasts to raise their pups.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49They are joined by some very charismatic penguins.
0:13:58 > 0:14:0190% of the world population of northern rockhoppers
0:14:01 > 0:14:04also nest on this tiny group of islands.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17These islands are also wonderful places to watch evolution in action.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22This is the Tristan thrush, an ancient colonist
0:14:22 > 0:14:24from South America which has now evolved
0:14:24 > 0:14:27into a species found nowhere else.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33And it's also evolved some very odd habits for a thrush...
0:14:36 > 0:14:37..a taste for meat.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45It feeds on penguins by pecking at open wounds,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48nibbling flesh and drinking blood.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53It seems macabre, but there was an opportunity to make
0:14:53 > 0:14:58a living here and natural selection simply exploited it.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06Island evolution has twisted a songbird into a carnivore.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18My time is far too short for this wonderful group of islands
0:15:18 > 0:15:23but before I go, I've got one last duty to perform on Tristan.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28It's Queen's Day,
0:15:28 > 0:15:32a typical English fete held nearly 10,000km from England.
0:15:56 > 0:15:59I've been asked to be a judge for the competitions.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06First, the all-important potato competition.
0:16:06 > 0:16:07It's like an aeroplane.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13This is more like it - a chocolate cake competition!
0:16:17 > 0:16:20After ten cakes, this one is our winner.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Fantastic taste and form.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27And finally, I can't escape the welly-throwing event,
0:16:27 > 0:16:30though, throwing anything doesn't come naturally to me.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35LAUGHTER
0:16:43 > 0:16:46I'm truly sorry to leave,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50but I need to travel to the other side of the South Atlantic,
0:16:50 > 0:16:55to the Falkland Islands some 4,000km from Tristan
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and 600km from the coast of South America.
0:17:02 > 0:17:06They're a treasure trove of natural history and have drawn
0:17:06 > 0:17:09some of the world's greatest explorers and naturalists.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15I'm starting my journey here by following in the footsteps
0:17:15 > 0:17:17of one of the greatest of all -
0:17:17 > 0:17:21my own personal hero, Charles Darwin.
0:17:21 > 0:17:25When he arrived in the Falklands on his round-the-world voyage,
0:17:25 > 0:17:26he was at a low ebb.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31There was still three years of seasickness and bad food
0:17:31 > 0:17:35ahead of him and the Falklands did little to cheer him up.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Darwin explored much of the landscape of the islands
0:17:38 > 0:17:42by horseback, but he had a really miserable time while he was here.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45It rained and hailed pretty much throughout his entire stay,
0:17:45 > 0:17:49which he hated, and also he had to camp on these cold, wet bogs.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Nor was he impressed with the wildlife.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59He was bullied by a penguin when he blocked its path to the sea.
0:18:04 > 0:18:07And he was robbed by the smartest birds on the islands -
0:18:07 > 0:18:12striated caracaras, the world's most southerly bird of prey.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Poor old Darwin didn't have much luck with the birds...
0:18:21 > 0:18:22Hey, give that back!
0:18:24 > 0:18:26He got dive-bombed and these striated caracaras
0:18:26 > 0:18:30stole his hat, his compass and his leather bag.
0:18:30 > 0:18:34And as you can see, one has just made off with some of my notes.
0:18:34 > 0:18:35They're scavengers,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38they're attracted to anything that they're not familiar with.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40They want to take it back to their nests and explore.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42I better get my notes back.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50Come on, you! Come on.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52HE LAUGHS
0:18:52 > 0:18:53Come on!
0:18:55 > 0:18:56Come on!
0:19:05 > 0:19:09They love anything shiny and while my back was turned,
0:19:09 > 0:19:13they even emptied my wallet and stole £10 worth of coins.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19I'm beginning to know how Darwin felt.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25But one animal did intrigue Darwin,
0:19:25 > 0:19:29though it's an animal I won't see on my visit here -
0:19:29 > 0:19:32the Falklands wolf, or warrah.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45This is one of the last remaining warrah skulls.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48Even before Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands
0:19:48 > 0:19:51and studied the famous finches there, he noted differences
0:19:51 > 0:19:55in the populations of the warrah across the islands of the Falklands.
0:19:55 > 0:19:58These rudimentary ideas of evolution built up in his mind
0:19:58 > 0:20:01and no doubt contributed to the eventual publication
0:20:01 > 0:20:03of On The Origin Of Species.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Darwin also recorded that the warrah was in swift decline.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10When he visited the Falklands,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14he noted that people were killing it for fun, for fur
0:20:14 > 0:20:18and also because people feared that it could kill sheep and cattle.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20He wrote that all you needed was a small
0:20:20 > 0:20:23piece of meat in front of you and the warrah was so tame
0:20:23 > 0:20:25that it would come up and try and get at that meat,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28and then in your other hand you could have a knife
0:20:28 > 0:20:30and could easily kill the animal.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Unfortunately, by the time he left the Falklands,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36he predicted that the species would soon be extinct.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39And he was right.
0:20:39 > 0:20:44Shortly after his visit, the warrah disappeared from history.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49When Darwin explored these islands more than a century
0:20:49 > 0:20:52and a half ago, they were already changing.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00He described herds of cows and horses and by the time of his visit,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03they had already eaten much of the original flora.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Today, large herds of sheep are still grazing the landscape.
0:21:11 > 0:21:15To get a glimpse of the original Falklands, I need to visit
0:21:15 > 0:21:17one of the hundreds of offshore islands.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Kidney Island is only a few hundred metres from the mainland
0:21:23 > 0:21:25yet has no grazers.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29It's covered in huge tussocks of grass.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40These hummocks are incredibly fragile.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43They've been cut down for fodder for hundreds of years
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and burnt and grazed heavily, and now they've completely
0:21:46 > 0:21:49disappeared from most of the islands.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52These tussocks provide shelter for nesting birds.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59At sunset, 100,000 pairs of sooty shearwaters
0:21:59 > 0:22:04return to Kidney Island to their nests amongst the clumps of grass.
0:22:10 > 0:22:11In the past,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14this spectacle was repeated across much of the Falklands.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17It was said that the sky turned black
0:22:17 > 0:22:19with the sheer numbers of birds.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26The Falklands are close to the rich seas of the Subantarctic,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29so an important nesting site for many sea birds.
0:22:33 > 0:22:3770% of all the black-browed albatrosses on the planet
0:22:37 > 0:22:40come to the Falklands to rear their chicks.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43That's around half a million pairs.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53Albatrosses are most at home over the open ocean.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59They think nothing of flying to feeding grounds
0:22:59 > 0:23:03300km away to find food for their chicks.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10Their only problem is getting airborne.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Along the edge of the colony, there is an open strip of land
0:23:16 > 0:23:20facing into the prevailing wind that the birds use as a runway.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30They need a long takeoff run, but once they're airborne
0:23:30 > 0:23:32they're amazingly graceful.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01The capital of the Falklands lies on East Falkland - Stanley.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09After albatrosses and penguins,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12I feel like I've just stepped back into mainland Britain.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16Yet there have been eight generations of Falkland Islanders
0:24:16 > 0:24:19originating from many different nations.
0:24:19 > 0:24:23It's a multicultural society with a long and varied history
0:24:23 > 0:24:26but with a distinctly British flavour.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33The ancestors of many of the modern Falkland Islanders
0:24:33 > 0:24:38came in pursuit of whales, a legacy marked by this archway
0:24:38 > 0:24:43outside the cathedral made from the jawbones of two enormous whales.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50I can't help wondering what life was like
0:24:50 > 0:24:52chasing down these ocean giants.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57Well, this is the place to find out.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Some of the last people to hunt whales commercially still
0:25:00 > 0:25:04live here in Stanley and Jimmy Smith was more than happy to reminisce.
0:25:06 > 0:25:12Whale oil at that time was the main commodity for everybody.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15For the ladies' make-up, lipsticks and stuff,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17your margarines and your butters.
0:25:19 > 0:25:22Everything that you could think of came from the whale.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24- These are the harpoons?- Yeah.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27When I was on the Harvester,
0:25:27 > 0:25:31- at the back of the ship I've seen 30 whales.- 30?
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Yeah, and I was only allowed to shoot 60 whales a day.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39But now I've seen them out here so much I thought,
0:25:39 > 0:25:41"No, you carry on living. We'll leave you alone."
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Although native Falkland Islanders have a long
0:25:48 > 0:25:52and multicultural history, they've elected to remain
0:25:52 > 0:25:56part of the UK, which I could hardly miss when I was in Stanley.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08I was in town for voting day on a new referendum asking the question,
0:26:08 > 0:26:12do you still want to remain a UK Overseas Territory?
0:26:13 > 0:26:15I think I can guess what the answer will be!
0:26:19 > 0:26:24There was a 92% turnout and when the votes were counted,
0:26:24 > 0:26:3099.8% voted in favour of remaining a British Overseas Territory
0:26:30 > 0:26:32with just three votes against.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Maybe the only three people not at the party.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38THEY SING
0:26:44 > 0:26:47This party looks like it is going to go on for a while,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49but it's my last night in the Falklands
0:26:49 > 0:26:51and I need to get some sleep.
0:26:58 > 0:27:01My journey will be much tougher from here on in.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10The Falklands is the gateway to South Georgia
0:27:10 > 0:27:12and the British Antarctic Territory
0:27:12 > 0:27:15and where most journeys to these distant lands begin.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19South Georgia is 1,500km over there
0:27:19 > 0:27:24and the British Antarctic Territory is 1,300km in that direction.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28There's absolutely no landing strips at all on South Georgia
0:27:28 > 0:27:31and none that we could use on Antarctica,
0:27:31 > 0:27:34so the only way to get to these distant territories is by ship.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46This is Jerome Poncet, captain of the Golden fleece,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and this was a reindeer, part of our supplies he is preparing
0:27:49 > 0:27:52for our journey into the Southern Ocean.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56There are no shops where we're going.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59As soon as we get our kit onboard we'll be off
0:27:59 > 0:28:02on the next stage of our adventure to South Georgia.
0:28:04 > 0:28:08It's 1,500km due east from the Falklands to South Georgia.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16Almost as soon as we get under way,
0:28:16 > 0:28:19we're joined by a school of Commerson's dolphins
0:28:19 > 0:28:22showing off their swimming skills as they play
0:28:22 > 0:28:24in the bow wave of the Golden Fleece.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41As I travel the Southern Ocean
0:28:41 > 0:28:43to visit the remaining Overseas Territories,
0:28:43 > 0:28:48I'm retracing another journey that took place a century ago.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51I'm following the footsteps of one of the greatest of all
0:28:51 > 0:28:54British explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton.
0:28:54 > 0:28:58Exactly 100 years ago, he undertook essentially the same journey
0:28:58 > 0:29:00as what we're doing now,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03going to South Georgia and then down to Antarctica.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05But whereas his journey took four years,
0:29:05 > 0:29:07mine is going to take only four weeks.
0:29:10 > 0:29:15Shackleton's plan, The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition,
0:29:15 > 0:29:19was to make the first land crossing of the entire Antarctic continent.
0:29:19 > 0:29:24But first, the expedition ship, The Endurance, went to South Georgia
0:29:24 > 0:29:28across the violent seas that are so typical of this part of the world.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32I only hope Shackleton was a better sailor than me.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51With great relief, we finally arrive off South Georgia,
0:29:51 > 0:29:55with its dramatic mountains and wave-lashed shores.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02It's quite simply breathtaking.
0:30:04 > 0:30:07Glaciers sweep down to the ocean
0:30:07 > 0:30:10and Antarctic terns gather to feed in the rich seas.
0:30:21 > 0:30:24But the most precious resource in this vast, remote ocean
0:30:24 > 0:30:26is land itself.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30South Georgia is a magnet for seals and sea birds,
0:30:30 > 0:30:33all of which come here to breed.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48Gentoo penguins live right around the globe at this latitude
0:30:48 > 0:30:51and South Georgia is one of their most important colonies.
0:30:53 > 0:30:57They have to share the island with giant petrels, the vultures
0:30:57 > 0:31:00of South Georgia, feasting on any carrion they can find.
0:31:02 > 0:31:05They can also kill any penguins that are weak or injured.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19But the most spectacular colonies here belong to king penguins.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30This king penguin colony is home to over half a million birds.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33It's one of the greatest concentrations of animals
0:31:33 > 0:31:36found anywhere on Earth.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39The deep waters of the Southern Ocean that well-up nutrients,
0:31:39 > 0:31:42create some of the richest feeding grounds on the planet.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46And it's that that supports this huge and incredible
0:31:46 > 0:31:48wealth of animals.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55The chicks remind me of animated hot water bottles.
0:32:01 > 0:32:04And all penguins look very sorry for themselves when they moult.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13There are 34 king penguin colonies on South Georgia,
0:32:13 > 0:32:16which have more than doubled in numbers in the last three decades.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30Marine mammals also come to this speck of land to breed.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32Elephant seals.
0:32:32 > 0:32:34I can't believe how big these animals are.
0:32:38 > 0:32:39The males are huge!
0:32:39 > 0:32:42Up to six metres long.
0:32:45 > 0:32:49These elephant seals weigh up to four tonnes.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51That's over 40 times my weight.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59These big males are moulting and their itchy skin
0:32:59 > 0:33:01seems to make them irritable.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08But these fights also sort out who's boss.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13It's only the dominant males, the beach masters that will mate.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24There are also huge numbers of Antarctic fur seals here.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27But that wasn't always the case.
0:33:33 > 0:33:36You can see how tame and unaccustomed these young fur seals
0:33:36 > 0:33:39are to man. Of course, it was exactly this way
0:33:39 > 0:33:41when the first people reached South Georgia.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44It was all too easy just to walk up to them and club them
0:33:44 > 0:33:47and kill them and, of course, that's exactly what happened.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54These seals were killed for their valuable pelts.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Originally, there were millions of fur seals here
0:33:57 > 0:34:02but by the early 1900s they had all but vanished from South Georgia.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Thankfully, those days have gone
0:34:10 > 0:34:13and now the fur seals use the old sealing stations for shelter.
0:34:15 > 0:34:19Their numbers have risen and, from virtual extinction,
0:34:19 > 0:34:23there are now around three million Antarctic fur seals on the island.
0:34:24 > 0:34:26Our perception of these animals today is
0:34:26 > 0:34:30so completely different from the sealers that came here to hunt them.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33Today, most people would view these beautiful fur seals
0:34:33 > 0:34:37as important parts of the ecosystem here, or for their beauty.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41But 100 years ago, they were viewed entirely as an economic resource.
0:34:41 > 0:34:43Oh!
0:34:43 > 0:34:44HE CHUCKLES
0:34:46 > 0:34:50But there was an even more valuable economic resource here.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56As the first seals were approaching extinction,
0:34:56 > 0:34:59Carl Larsen, the Norwegian whaler, arrived in South Georgia.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05He discovered astounding numbers of great whales close to the island.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09And set up the first whaling station here in 1904.
0:35:09 > 0:35:12It was so successful that by 1912
0:35:12 > 0:35:15there were seven whaling stations on South Georgia.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20It's impossible to imagine the sites
0:35:20 > 0:35:23that must have greeted those early whalers.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26But, I'm reminded of Jimmy Smith's comments
0:35:26 > 0:35:28that they could kill up to 60 whales a day.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37The first whales they targeted were humpbacks,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40which were so curious and friendly they just swam up to the ships.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51And these are the harpoons that Jimmy had pictures of.
0:35:52 > 0:35:55So many of them.
0:35:55 > 0:35:59It's a vivid illustration of how many whales there must've been
0:35:59 > 0:36:00here just a century ago.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10As Jimmy told me, the whales were mostly killed for oil,
0:36:10 > 0:36:14made from their blubber, the layer of fat that insulated them
0:36:14 > 0:36:16from the cold, Antarctic waters.
0:36:17 > 0:36:21The catcher ships would drag the whale carcasses into this bay
0:36:21 > 0:36:25and a steam-powered winch would pull them up through this slip gate,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27up onto this even platform.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36Then men called flenses,
0:36:36 > 0:36:40that are armed with long knives on poles such as this one,
0:36:40 > 0:36:43they would then stab at the carcass as it was dragged up.
0:36:45 > 0:36:46By inserting their knives,
0:36:46 > 0:36:49they could cut away long strips of blubber.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52A different winch would then pull those layers off,
0:36:52 > 0:36:56just like the skin off a banana, into long strips.
0:36:56 > 0:37:00The flenses would then chop up those strips of blubber
0:37:00 > 0:37:02into smaller chunks
0:37:02 > 0:37:05and those chunks of rubber would then be fed into this hole.
0:37:07 > 0:37:11And rotary knives down there would chop it up into small pieces.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18The blubber was cooked up in huge vats to extract the oil,
0:37:18 > 0:37:21which was then stored in these enormous tanks.
0:37:31 > 0:37:35Once the humpbacks had gone, the whalers turned to other species.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Until the slaughter stopped in the mid-1960s,
0:37:40 > 0:37:44more than 175,000 whales were processed here.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49When the slaughter did stop, it wasn't because of international
0:37:49 > 0:37:54legislation, it was simply because the whalers ran out of great whales.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58Whaling just wasn't profitable any more.
0:37:59 > 0:38:03The echoes of that great slaughter are still here.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06This is the sludge from inside these great tanks.
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Can you see how it's come out of this outlet
0:38:08 > 0:38:10and into these old buckets?
0:38:10 > 0:38:12It's actually still liquid.
0:38:12 > 0:38:14It's got the consistency of an old cake.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18And this tank over here...
0:38:18 > 0:38:21This pipe is actually still leaking whale oil,
0:38:23 > 0:38:2640-year-old remnants of the oil inside here.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41The fur seals of South Georgia have returned to something like
0:38:41 > 0:38:46their former numbers but there's less good news for the whales.
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Unfortunately, for the great whales,
0:38:51 > 0:38:54the future is uncertain in Antarctic waters.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57Recent efforts to make the Southern Ocean a whale reserve
0:38:57 > 0:38:59were unfortunately blocked
0:38:59 > 0:39:02and several of the whaling nations are seriously discussing
0:39:02 > 0:39:04the resumption of commercial whaling,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08including even endangered species, such as humpbacks.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12It really makes you wonder
0:39:12 > 0:39:15whether we have learnt nothing at all from our past mistakes.
0:39:21 > 0:39:26Ernest Shackleton came here on his way to Antarctica in 1914,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29when the whaling industry was at its peak.
0:39:30 > 0:39:33He and his men stayed with the local whalers in the whaling
0:39:33 > 0:39:38station of Stromness, enjoying their hospitality in relative luxury.
0:39:39 > 0:39:42The whalers knew this territory and all its moods
0:39:42 > 0:39:46and warned Shackleton that it was an unusually bad year for the ice.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53The pack around the Antarctic continent was slow in breaking up.
0:39:55 > 0:39:58But Shackleton knew he couldn't delay for ever.
0:39:58 > 0:40:03Eventually, he gave the order for the Endurance to head south
0:40:03 > 0:40:05and I'm following in his wake.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21I thought the journey to South Georgia was rough
0:40:21 > 0:40:25but the further south I go, the worse it gets.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28And, the worse I feel.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33I can honestly say that I understand why the Southern Ocean is
0:40:33 > 0:40:35called the roughest waters in the world.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40It's day in, day out continuous. We go up and down.
0:40:40 > 0:40:44Up to six, seven or even eight metres. It's just nonstop.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47I've been at sea for about six days
0:40:47 > 0:40:51and we should hopefully see land tomorrow,
0:40:51 > 0:40:53or maybe the day after.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03Shackleton took a photographer and film-maker with him,
0:41:03 > 0:41:06Australian Frank Hurley.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10I've watched every second of that film and it seems to me
0:41:10 > 0:41:15that Shackleton had an easier journey south than I was having.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17At least, at first...
0:41:17 > 0:41:20But, as he got closer to Antarctica,
0:41:20 > 0:41:23he ran into the ice that the whalers had warned him about.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32We have also made it to the edge of Antarctica.
0:41:32 > 0:41:34And, unlike the journey down here,
0:41:34 > 0:41:39I'm greeted with a scene of tranquillity and unearthly beauty.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57We're soon joined by humpbacks, as curious as ever.
0:41:57 > 0:42:02I can see why THEY were the first whales to be hunted and,
0:42:02 > 0:42:07after such slaughter, possibly within the lifetimes of some
0:42:07 > 0:42:12of these whales, I'm touched that they still greet us like this.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15It's a poignant welcome to the Antarctic.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Now I'm going to part company with Shackleton but just for a while.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47Shackleton sailed directly across the Weddell Sea towards
0:42:47 > 0:42:49the main bulk of the continent.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52But I'm heading along the Antarctic Peninsula,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55a tongue of the great continent that runs northwards.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00I'll be able to make landfall here at some of the research bases
0:43:00 > 0:43:03scattered along the peninsula.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13This territory is different from all the others I've visited.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18Britain claims a great wedge of Antarctica,
0:43:18 > 0:43:21including the peninsula, all the way down to the South Pole.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27But all national territorial claims have been suspended
0:43:27 > 0:43:29under the Treaty of Antarctica.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36And the first base I land at is Argentine.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39The research base of Primavera.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52Finally, I take my first footsteps on the great southern continent.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59More than 99% of Antarctica is covered with ice
0:43:59 > 0:44:04and the tiny 1% that is free of ice is mostly here on the peninsula.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09Antarctica only has two species of flowering plants.
0:44:11 > 0:44:14The rest of its sparse flora is of mosses and lichens.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20The mosses form spectacular clumps but they are very delicate.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30It's said that a footprint here can last for decades.
0:44:30 > 0:44:34Though this, I must say, is not one of mine.
0:44:38 > 0:44:42Heading south again, we have to pick our way through floating ice.
0:44:53 > 0:44:57Shackleton had the same problem as he crossed the Weddell Sea.
0:44:57 > 0:45:01So progress was slow and the year was already turning.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Eventually, just a few tens of kilometres short of his
0:45:06 > 0:45:11intended landfall, the temperatures plummeted from 20 above
0:45:11 > 0:45:16to 20 below and the Endurance stuck fast in the ice.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22The crew desperately tried to open up leads and free the ship
0:45:22 > 0:45:27but they couldn't do it and spring, and the ice break-up
0:45:27 > 0:45:29was at least seven months away.
0:45:32 > 0:45:36No-one in the outside world had any idea where they were.
0:45:36 > 0:45:38They were utterly alone.
0:45:44 > 0:45:47Thankfully we didn't have that problem.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49And, anyway, with better communications,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52and many more bases and ships,
0:45:52 > 0:45:54we wouldn't have been stuck for so long.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02We've made it to Port Lockroy, a British base established
0:46:02 > 0:46:06by the military during World War II and now an historic site.
0:46:10 > 0:46:14Surrounded by gentoo penguins, there's even a post office here.
0:46:21 > 0:46:26Shackleton had no communication at all with the rest of the world.
0:46:26 > 0:46:31All through the winter the pack ice carried them slowly north
0:46:31 > 0:46:34back towards the whaling stations of the Southern Antarctic islands.
0:46:37 > 0:46:41They drifted for ten months but, even as spring finally came,
0:46:41 > 0:46:43there were ominous signs.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47The ice was starting to crush the Endurance
0:46:47 > 0:46:52and the stout ship's timbers began to creak and groan.
0:46:55 > 0:47:00On November 21st, the Endurance finally gave up her resistance
0:47:00 > 0:47:02and surrendered to the ice.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11Then, as summer came, the pack began to break up around them.
0:47:18 > 0:47:22They took to the water in three small boats but,
0:47:22 > 0:47:25in the dangerous southern ocean, they weren't that much safer.
0:47:29 > 0:47:32Shackleton decided to aim for Deception Island,
0:47:32 > 0:47:36not the nearest land but somewhere he knew had a whaling station,
0:47:36 > 0:47:38with all the comforts that offered.
0:47:39 > 0:47:42It's a fairly straightforward journey for us,
0:47:42 > 0:47:46with our powerful engine and plenty of supplies.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48Shackleton's journey was much harder.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53He had to fight the strong currents and floating ice and,
0:47:53 > 0:47:56after a few days, he changed direction
0:47:56 > 0:47:58and headed for a landfall that was nearer.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06This is where Shackleton wanted to reach, Deception Island.
0:48:10 > 0:48:12It might not look like paradise
0:48:12 > 0:48:16but if Shackleton's three boats had made it, his starving
0:48:16 > 0:48:20and exhausted men would have found luxury at the whaling station.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32And there would have been another bonus for the men who had
0:48:32 > 0:48:36spent ten months and an Antarctic winter on the pack ice.
0:48:37 > 0:48:38Thermal pools.
0:48:40 > 0:48:45Deception is an active volcano and, even between eruptions,
0:48:45 > 0:48:49the heat below the surface melts the snow and warms the water,
0:48:49 > 0:48:53Creating a bubbling, natural Jacuzzi.
0:48:56 > 0:49:00The warmth of the island meets the cold Antarctic wind,
0:49:00 > 0:49:02mist swirls along the coast.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07Add in the deserted whaling station,
0:49:07 > 0:49:11and I found Deception to be a strangely eerie place.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18Yet this would have been such a welcome sight
0:49:18 > 0:49:21for Shackleton's men if they had made it.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25But rather than plenty of food and a natural spa,
0:49:25 > 0:49:31Shackleton's men were faced with a desperate and almost impossible task
0:49:31 > 0:49:36of reaching the tiny speck of land closest to them, Elephant Island.
0:49:37 > 0:49:40This is the site that would have greeted them
0:49:40 > 0:49:44and this is where I rejoin Shackleton's journey.
0:49:46 > 0:49:51I can't begin to imagine how he and his exhausted men must have felt.
0:49:56 > 0:50:00Shackleton had guided his men through terrible conditions
0:50:00 > 0:50:04and this bleak lump of land must have offered them some hope.
0:50:09 > 0:50:12But their ordeal was far from over.
0:50:12 > 0:50:17Elephant Island had no whaling stations and no thermal pools.
0:50:17 > 0:50:21And, it was a very long way from civilisation.
0:50:24 > 0:50:27As they beached their three boats among the colonies of watching
0:50:27 > 0:50:31chinstrap penguins, the men had almost lost the will to survive.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47This was the very spot where the three boats made landfall.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50They called this place Point Wild.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54Even though it's an exposed, open, barren, little slip of land,
0:50:54 > 0:50:59for the 28 men who had not put foot on land for months and months,
0:50:59 > 0:51:02this place must have been absolute paradise.
0:51:03 > 0:51:07They might have been better off here than in tiny boats on the dangerous
0:51:07 > 0:51:12southern ocean but Shackleton knew they couldn't stay here forever.
0:51:13 > 0:51:17They cannibalised the three boats to make one,
0:51:17 > 0:51:19the James Caird, seaworthy.
0:51:19 > 0:51:21More or less.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25Then Shackleton and four of his men set out to find help,
0:51:25 > 0:51:29leaving the rest to make a home by upending the two remaining boats.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36It was apparently this open area here where the remaining men
0:51:36 > 0:51:39overturned their boats and made a rudimentary camp.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44It certainly is hard to imagine how 22 men, who remained here
0:51:44 > 0:51:46for four-and-a-half months,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49eking out a miserable living, hoping to be rescued.
0:51:53 > 0:51:57Shackleton hoped to get back to South Georgia but this time
0:51:57 > 0:52:02he had only basic navigation aids and he faced utterly foul weather.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10On our return trip to South Georgia, we also ran into bad weather
0:52:10 > 0:52:14and it really brought home Shackleton's heroism
0:52:14 > 0:52:17in the most immediate way I can imagine.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24How on earth Shackleton made it in his small, open launch with
0:52:24 > 0:52:27five men is completely beyond me.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30We're in this luxury steel hulled yacht, that is
0:52:30 > 0:52:34heated and warm inside and we are still suffering at these huge
0:52:34 > 0:52:36waves, trying to get to South Georgia.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40It's an absolute miracle that Shackleton made it alive.
0:52:40 > 0:52:45But, yet again, Shackleton overcame what seemed like impossible
0:52:45 > 0:52:50odds and landed the James Caird on South Georgia's southern coast.
0:52:50 > 0:52:53But, there was another ordeal ahead.
0:52:53 > 0:52:57The whaling stations lay on the north side of South Georgia.
0:52:57 > 0:52:58To reach safety,
0:52:58 > 0:53:02Shackleton would have to cross to the other side of the islands.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09The island is only just over 30 kilometres wide, so after what
0:53:09 > 0:53:14he'd been through, that might seem like a Sunday afternoon stroll.
0:53:14 > 0:53:16But, far from it.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19It was a desperate gamble.
0:53:19 > 0:53:22The interior of South Georgia was completely unknown.
0:53:22 > 0:53:24There were no maps, no-one had ever charted it.
0:53:24 > 0:53:28Shackleton didn't even know how long it would take to cross the island.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40Great glaciers and snowfields stood in his way.
0:53:41 > 0:53:46Exhausting to cross but again Shackleton used his ingenuity.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51Shackleton used nails from the James Caird and drove them
0:53:51 > 0:53:53through his boots to give him grip on the ice
0:53:53 > 0:53:57and slowly he made his way across this range.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59This is the Shackleton Pass.
0:53:59 > 0:54:02He went across here and got to the other side of the island.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07But the long journey was wearing him down.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11Shackleton was exhausted
0:54:11 > 0:54:14and didn't know how much longer he could keep going.
0:54:28 > 0:54:30Shackleton decided to take a desperate gamble
0:54:30 > 0:54:33and slide down the mountain slopes.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36He had no idea what lay before him but he gave it a shot anyway.
0:54:46 > 0:54:48And it works!
0:54:48 > 0:54:50Of course, Shackleton came a lot further than that
0:54:50 > 0:54:52but he got down the mountain in seconds.
0:54:59 > 0:55:02Ernest Shackleton crossed this ridge side
0:55:02 > 0:55:05and finally his ordeal was over.
0:55:05 > 0:55:07Down there in the valley below he could see the whaling
0:55:07 > 0:55:10station of Stromness.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14They had last seen this station a year and a half ago
0:55:14 > 0:55:19and for most of that time they had been alone in a frozen wilderness.
0:55:19 > 0:55:24When last here, Shackleton had stayed in this house
0:55:24 > 0:55:26but when he banged on the door
0:55:26 > 0:55:28his host didn't even recognise him.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31He was so emaciated.
0:55:36 > 0:55:40As ever, Shackleton's first thought was for his men,
0:55:40 > 0:55:43trying to survive on Elephant Island.
0:55:43 > 0:55:44He set out to rescue them
0:55:44 > 0:55:49but was turned back three times by his old enemy...
0:55:49 > 0:55:50Ice.
0:55:54 > 0:55:58Finally, on board a Chilean ship, Yelcho, he made it.
0:56:03 > 0:56:07His men emerged from their makeshift shelters to greet him.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10They had been stranded here for four-and-a-half months,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13yet they were all alive.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21Today, a monument stands on this remote spot
0:56:21 > 0:56:24to captain of the Yelcho who overcame the pack ice
0:56:24 > 0:56:27and carried Shackleton's men to safety.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38Shackleton returned to South Georgia a few years later,
0:56:38 > 0:56:42drawn by the sense of awe he felt in these dramatic landscapes.
0:56:44 > 0:56:47He died here and is buried in this lonely spot.
0:56:48 > 0:56:51It's a tradition that if you visit his grave,
0:56:51 > 0:56:55you must bring a drink to quench the great man's thirst.
0:57:04 > 0:57:08So much has changed in the 100 years since Ernest Shackleton came here.
0:57:08 > 0:57:13In his day, this was one of the most remote places on the planet.
0:57:13 > 0:57:18But today these wildlife spectacles attract thousands of people,
0:57:18 > 0:57:23drawn by that same sense of awe that lured Shackleton.
0:57:28 > 0:57:32But, in a land where a single footprint could last for decades,
0:57:32 > 0:57:36increasing numbers of people could be disastrous.
0:57:40 > 0:57:43Yet Antarctica faces a longer-lasting problem.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47Climate change.
0:57:48 > 0:57:53This remote part of the planet is warming faster than anywhere else.
0:57:53 > 0:57:58The ice is melting and changing patterns of ocean circulation
0:57:58 > 0:58:02are disrupting the distribution of nutrients in these waters.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07That will affect every creature here
0:58:07 > 0:58:11from marine plankton right up to the great whales.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17The future of this spectacular continent hangs in the balance.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21I wonder what Ernest Shackleton would have thought?