Life on the Edge Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise

In a far corner of the Earth

is a South American wilderness.

These extreme landscapes are home to strange...

and wonderful animals.

ELEPHANT SEAL GROWLS

From the rugged peaks of the Andes...

..across the scorched desert steppe...

..to coasts battered by some of the roughest seas on the planet.

Living here takes guts and determination.

There are incredible opportunities for some.

For others, it's a battle to survive.

The pioneering spirit unites them all

under the spell of Patagonia.

This is the story of a coastline over 4,000 miles long.

From the bitter cold of the far south,

forging northwards to the parched desert.

For those that dare, these shores offer unmatched bounty.

And the driving force behind these riches is the turbulent ocean.

At Patagonia's southern extreme lies a rocky outcrop

steeped in nautical legend.

Cape Horn.

There have been 800 shipwrecks off the Horn,

with a loss of more than 10,000 souls.

This is where the Atlantic and the Pacific collide

with the great Southern Ocean.

This far south, there's no other land all the way round the planet.

Nothing to stop the winds gaining speed or the waves gathering height.

In this vast world of water,

the island of Los Estados is a vital refuge,

home to one of the Southern Ocean's most heroic birds.

A male rockhopper penguin stands guard over his chick,

just one week old.

The youngster has a huge appetite, but there's no food here.

They're both waiting for mum to return. She's fishing far out at sea.

For the first three weeks of his chick's life, he must stay put

whatever the weather.

THUNDER RUMBLES

The frequent storms are a reminder

of just how close this island is to the Antarctic.

Dad might look fed up, but he's got the easy job.

His mate is returning from a day's foraging

at feeding grounds 15 miles out to sea.

There's a big challenge ahead.

On this jagged coastline, there's no easy way out.

In such immense waves, crash landings are inevitable.

With a belly full of food, like every mother here,

this female is driven by a need to feed her chick.

But each step is hard-won.

Thousands of rockhoppers make this journey each day

and the headland has attracted an unwelcome visitor.

A huge male sea lion, 100 times their size.

Tossed around, the tiny birds do their best to avoid him.

Each attack is a loss that will affect a whole family.

She's conquered huge waves and faced down a monster.

But before being reunited with her family...

she still has a mountain to climb.

It's a big ask for a bird that can't fly,

standing less than two feet tall.

But it's now that rockhoppers live up to their name.

Incredibly strong toenails grip the rock.

The beak makes a good climbing tool.

The more experienced penguins make it look easy,

but it's a steep learning curve.

It takes youngsters a while to get the hang of it.

Misjudge it and it's back to square one.

At the top of the cliff, the going gets a little easier.

She's following the footsteps of generations,

forging deep tunnels through the tussock grass.

These pathways connect around 20 different colonies

spreading up the hillside.

She's got to find her way through nearly half a million rockhoppers,

but she knows where she's going,

returning to the same colony each year.

Unfortunately, that happens to be at the very top of the island.

Finally, after a climb of over a mile, she's made it.

And at last, it's time for dinner.

It's a messy business, but the chick's not complaining.

For the next two months, the devoted parents will share these duties

until their chick is big enough to take to the ocean.

Then they'll spend nearly half their lives at sea,

further south than most humans ever dare to venture.

Sailors of old who braved these southern latitudes had a saying -

below 40 degrees south, there is no law.

Below 50, there is no God.

But there are those who choose to sail these seas

at the end of the world.

Puerto Toro.

55 degrees south, the most southerly permanent settlement on Earth.

Home to just one family.

But at the port are migrant fishermen who've travelled

hundreds of miles to seek the riches of the far south.

IN SPANISH:

Between them, Heriberto and his crew

have almost a century of experience fishing the waters around Cape Horn.

They are forever at the mercy of the weather.

While conditions are good, they must make the most of it.

The crew will work, sleep and live together

on this small seven-metre boat for the whole season.

Fishing for crabs.

But there's an ultimate catch that really makes it worth the sacrifice.

The centolla, or king crab.

Almost a metre across.

A highly prized delicacy sold to restaurants round the world.

A single crab can fetch over £100.

It's the turbulence of these seas that delivers such riches.

Cold water flowing from the Antarctic is packed with nutrients,

whipped to the surface by the wind and waves.

And there's another huge reason these waters are super-fertile.

North of Cape Horn there are mountains covered in glaciers.

Each is a titanic force,

scouring deep trenches in the rock on its drive towards the sea.

This releases millions of tonnes of sediment into the water,

staining it with minerals.

Beneath the surface - a vast forest of giant kelp.

Fed by nutrients from the glaciers,

the kelp can reach heights of over 30 metres tall

and offers shelter from the strong ocean currents.

This underwater world holds enough different species

to rival a forest on land.

An adult king crab is built big enough

to deal with the strong currents out at sea.

But it takes baby king crabs five years before they're fully grown.

For this youngster, the kelp is a precious nursery

full of strange neighbours.

Life here is not without its dangers.

But there are plenty of places to hide.

And in water fed by the glaciers

there's an endless supply of food.

From these giant kelp forests,

the mineral-rich waters flow out into the open ocean.

Here they meet a mass of cold water that sweeps up from the Antarctic.

This creates a super-fertile mix that surges northwards

as the great Malvinas Current.

Flowing over 1,000 miles from Cape Horn up the east coast of Patagonia,

this is the driving force of life along these shores.

The days are long here, creating the perfect conditions

for one of the planet's most important life forms -

phytoplankton.

Individually, the algae are microscopic,

but together they form blooms so big

they can be seen from space.

This is the starting point

for one of the most extraordinary food chains on Earth.

Anchovies. A huge shoal.

A potential feast for sea lions.

But with thousands of fish moving as one,

the size of the shoal is bewildering.

The arrival of a pod of dusky dolphins changes the odds.

They work as a team, breaking up the fish into smaller groups.

And all the hunters benefit.

Fully fed, it's time for the sea lions to head for shore.

It's the same story for hundreds of miles up the coast.

Waiting for this female,

her pup. Just two months old.

GROWLING

She's been at sea for three days.

And her pup's ravenous for her milk.

For the next few days she'll remain onshore,

joining almost 20,000 others

in one of the largest gatherings of sea lions in the southern hemisphere.

With plenty of food offshore

and miles of isolated beaches,

this seems the perfect nursery.

At low tide, a large reef protects the beach from the open ocean.

This creates natural swimming pools,

calm, safe waters for the pups to learn to swim.

With most mums out fishing,

it's up to those here to keep an eye on the pups.

But the rising tide means their world is about to change...

..bringing the open ocean uncomfortably close.

A killer whale.

The pups have never seen anything like it.

At first, they're curious and head straight back into the shallows...

..not recognising the danger until it's too late.

This mother understands the threat.

She constantly checks above and below the surface...

but there's too many pups to get them all to safety.

She can only use herself as a shield.

This time, her bravery pays off.

The orca is not a lone killer.

She's a mum, too,

teaching her own family how to hunt.

This is a highly specialised technique

that has taken her years to master.

By swimming sideways, the orcas can keep their dorsal fins hidden.

The family falls silent as they approach the shore.

They must maintain an element of surprise.

An incoming wave propels her forward for the final strike.

But only around one in ten attempts ends in success.

With every strike, she puts her own life at risk.

Get it wrong

and she'll be stranded on the beach.

Only a handful of orcas in the world have perfected this way of hunting,

and it's something uniquely Patagonian.

SEA LION ROARS

For the orca family,

it's a short window of opportunity.

The pups soon wise up to the danger

and the orcas will head back out to the open sea.

All along the Patagonian coast,

those that succeed are those prepared to do things differently.

Almost 1,000 miles north of Cape Horn,

the Malvinas Current is still the driving force of life

along these shores.

Sheltered from the open ocean by the huge Peninsula Valdes

is the vast bay of San Jose.

Very few people live here.

Those that do turn to the sea for their livelihood.

Lukas del Rio has a job that brings him face-to-face

with the wealth of the ocean.

Unlike most divers,

Lukas and his crew don't use oxygen tanks.

Instead, the air they need to breathe is pumped from a compressor

through fragile tubes.

They have to make sure the tubes don't snag or tear,

diving down 20 metres for a hidden bounty.

Mussels, or cholga, as they're known round here.

Harvesting like this means that Lukas and his crew

can work side-by-side with nature,

since there are others fishing in the bay.

HE WHISTLES

A pod of dusky dolphins come to investigate.

HE TAPS ON HULL

Banging on the hull of the boat

lets the divers know the dolphins are here.

DOLPHINS SQUEAK

They're not unwelcome, but the divers must make sure the dolphins

keep away from their breathing tubes.

And there's another inquisitive visitor.

Over 600 southern right whales return to the bay each year,

following the Malvinas Current north

from their feeding grounds in the south.

Lukas and his crew are careful not to dive in places

where the whales are present,

but the whales sometimes approach out of curiosity.

The divers are lucky enough to share the bay

with one of the biggest nurseries of southern right whales in the world.

Over 100 new calves are born here each year.

These calm and warm waters are perfect for the baby whales.

But for other visitors to these shores,

the growing heat of Patagonia's northern reaches

puts them way out of their comfort zone.

Elephant seals spend most of the year

in the cold waters of the southern seas.

It's the rich feeding grounds offshore

that brings these elephant seals so far north.

Over 15,000 females come here to give birth,

enduring temperatures as high as 30 degrees Celsius.

Presiding over them - a huge, solitary male.

The beachmaster.

This is his harem

and he has mating rights over all these females.

A position he must fight to keep.

Soon after giving birth, the females are ready to mate again

and this hasn't gone unnoticed.

THEY GROWL SOFTLY

A rival male.

Chancing his luck.

He's almost ten times bigger than the female.

And she has little say in the matter.

But he's taking a huge risk.

Despite weighing almost four tonnes,

the beachmaster is surprisingly nimble.

A single brutal bite sends the intruder packing.

ROARING

The beachmaster needs to choose his battles wisely.

For the next two months, he cannot leave the beach to feed

or he'll loose his harem.

He must survive on his fat reserves.

But the six inches of blubber he carries are stifling in this heat.

So he has to see off the competition using as little effort as possible.

Most rivals try to keep a low profile.

But this can be tricky when you're the size of a large car.

ROARING

For most, a nod or a roar from the beachmaster is enough.

But he's not getting a second to relax

and it's starting to take its toll.

Dawn brings a real contender.

Fresh from the water, he's not here to sneak around.

He's here for the beachmaster's throne.

GROWLING

Has the beachmaster met his match?

At full height, they stand almost ten feet tall.

Neither is prepared to back down.

GROWLING

Every single blow saps energy.

Their thick blubber does not protect against canines three inches long.

The beachmaster starts to gain the upper hand.

Despite weeks without food or rest,

this time, his experience wins out.

Every single fight leaves its mark

and the season isn't over yet.

But for now, a moment to enjoy his victory.

Under his care - a harem

that's part of one of the biggest elephant seal colonies on Earth.

Surging north from here,

the influence of the Malvinas Current finally begins to fade.

But the power of the sea

draws one last visitor to Patagonia's northern shores.

These soft sandstone cliffs

are buffeted by the winds and the waves...

..creating the ideal conditions for burrowing parrots.

The parrots have flown over 1,000 miles south from Uruguay,

swapping their tropical home for this exposed stretch of coast.

Over 70,000 birds return here every year,

making this the biggest gathering of parrots anywhere on the planet.

Safely tucked away inside burrows

extending three metres into the cliff face,

the parrots have chicks to raise.

And it's up to the males to keep them fed.

The sea here still offers plenty of food.

But that's no use to a parrot.

So the males head inland.

There's very little rain this far north and it's too dry for trees.

Sometimes the parrots have to travel nearly 50 miles

to find shrubs and grasses to feed on.

There are few natural sources of water.

MOOING

Luckily, up here, wilderness gives way to farmland

and the parrots take advantage.

This slow trickle isn't going to sustain a flock of thousands,

all with chicks to feed.

On this unusually still day,

the water pump needs a little encouragement.

Now they can drink their fill.

It's thirsty work having to travel so far for food and water.

And it's a journey the parrots make four times a day.

But it's worth the effort.

These cliffs make such a good nesting spot,

almost all the world's population of burrowing parrots come here

to raise their young.

And being part of such a huge flock helps keep them safe.

Even from aerial attacks.

A peregrine falcon.

The fastest predator on Earth.

But they've got a way of dealing with her.

As more and more parrots pile in,

they face their challenger head on.

Having lost the element of surprise,

she's missed her moment.

PARROTS CHIRP

There are benefits to being part of a crowd.

And crowds don't get bigger than this.

All the way along the coast,

from Cape Horn to the northern reaches of Patagonia,

life is defined by the power of the sea.

North of here, the influence of the great Malvinas Current fades

and so, too, does the spirit of Patagonia.

Patagonia may be too harsh and unforgiving for most,

but there are opportunities for those brave enough

to take on the challenges

and do things a little differently.

The survivors,

the pioneers

and the mavericks that call Patagonia home.

The most challenging experience for the team

was in Patagonia's far south,

filming the rockhopper penguins on the island of Los Estados.

Researcher Anthony Pyper, cameraman Paul Stewart

and producer Evie Wright are the first BBC crew to be given access

to the island in nearly 40 years.

At the helm is skipper Hank.

It takes over 20 hours to reach Los Estados,

a chance for Evie to fill Paul in on what lies ahead,

from the description of a British naval expedition in the 1700s.

He says that though Tierra del Fuego had

"an aspect extremely barren and desolate,

"yet this island far surpasses it in the wildness

-"and horror of its appearance."

-Wow.

-Oh, good(!)

-HE LAUGHS

To reach Los Estados, they must cross the infamous straits of Le Maire,

the 20-mile channel that separates the island from the mainland.

Strong currents make this one of the most dangerous stretches of water

in the world, and it doesn't make for comfortable sailing.

After very little sleep, the team arrives at 4am.

As Hank departs, so does the crew's lifeline to the outside world.

Remember us. Please come back.

SHE CHUCKLES

Left alone, the enormity of the challenge that lies ahead

begins to dawn on the crew.

They have nearly a tonne of equipment

and it all has to be moved on foot.

It's not long before they find their first penguin.

But it's the wrong species -

a lone king penguin rather than the half a million rockhoppers

they're here to film.

First things first - the crew set up a base camp,

a shelter for storing kit and provisions.

-..So the restrictive things are across the flysheet.

-My one matches.

Oh, I see. Maybe the fly IS the wrong way round, relative to the...

We're going to put a lot of unbelievably heavy cases in there...

The worst that's going to happen is the top is just going to rip off.

Yeah, that's it.

Having established base camp, it's time to find the rockhoppers.

They know where the penguins ought to be

thanks to advice from a team of Argentinian scientists.

After a steep two-hour hike,

they find exactly what they're looking for...

..and set up a second camp nearby.

Over several days, Paul captures the dedication required

to be a male rockhopper penguin,

protecting their chicks at the nest

and rooted to the spot.

Caracaras, on the lookout for an unattended chick,

don't make their job any easier.

But this is only half the story.

The crew also need to film the females returning from sea.

This is like crossing through a Dr Seuss landscape, isn't it?

It's ridiculous.

Getting through the tussock grass is proving less easy for people

than it is for penguins.

You get the feeling you never make exactly the same journey twice.

Whoo!

You carry on.

Reaching the headland is worth the effort.

Los Estados is a protected provincial reserve under Argentinian law.

The crew are amongst a privileged few lucky enough to ever come here.

Because of this, most of the rockhoppers

have probably never encountered people before,

and they're more curious than afraid.

I think they're all wondering what you're looking at, Paul.

But determined to feed their chicks,

the female penguins aren't going to let a pesky film crew get in the way.

Because of the difficulty terrain,

the team have had to keep the generator,

needed for charging batteries, back at base camp.

So Anthony's walking more than six hours a day

to keep the cameras running.

Just going to head to pick up the batteries and then...

Yeah, going back to base camp and then back here in the morning.

Bye, take care.

Good luck.

Unusually for Patagonia,

there have been several days of relative calm and sunshine.

But that's all about to change.

Just left Evie and Paul at the rockhopper landing spot

and it was beautiful weather.

But here it can turn in an instant, and that's what's happened.

It's really windy!

It's hailing!

So it's properly started snowing now.

For Anthony, covering so much of the island every day -

and alone - the experience is beginning to take a toll.

The winds have picked up even more!

This is not going to be nice.

It's actually not too bad.

Uh...it's just got sunny and nice.

WIND HOWLS

Can't feel my feet now.

My boots...

The tent isn't really holding up very well.

I wish I was a rockhopper.

By the end of the trip,

Anthony will have climbed the equivalent of scaling Everest

and lost a stone and a half in weight.

Hello.

The bad weather means Paul can capture a true picture

of what rockhoppers must go through to care for their chicks.

But there's a big problem.

We've now got a massive storm rolling in.

It's actually hailing, it's just been thundering and lightning.

Hank's due to return with the boat,

but he can't make the crossing in seas this rough,

leaving the team stranded on the island.

With everyone now back at the base camp on the beach,

there's a break in the weather,

but there's no guarantee Hank has been able to set sail.

Food supplies are running low.

Safe sailing! See you tomorrow. Bye.

Yes!

It's good news.

As for everyone who worked on the Patagonia series,

Los Estados has had a lasting impression on Anthony.

I can't actually believe we're going home.

Even though it's one hell of a climb...

Yeah, this place has got a strange hold on me now. Going to miss it.

The crew have been given a privileged glimpse

into the persistence and endurance it takes

to carve a life for yourself at the edge of the Earth.