2018

S1.E1 ∙ The Kimberley Comes Alive

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

The Kimberley region in North West Australia is one of the world's largest wilderness areas with small but tough human populace and large number of dangerous yet beautiful animal species. As the rainy season ends, both the crocs and the locals hit the water, so the rangers must do their best to keep them apart. Indigenous ranger Albert Wiggan arrives in the remote Dampier Peninsula to observe the elusive bilbies, also known as rabbit-bandicoots, and protect them from their archenemy - the feral domestic cats. New baby kangaroos named Joey and Kingsley arrive at Mandy Watson's kangaroo rescue and rehabilitation center at Kununurra. Bush pilots at the Mornington Wildlife Sanctuary set controlled fires to prevent large wildfires later in the year. Ecologists capture predatory marsupials called quolls to find ways to save their dwindling population. As the tide retreats from the Dampier Peninsula, paleontologist Steve Salisbury visits a grand intertidal zone informally known as the dinosaur highway which contains countless dinosaur footprints.

7.6 /10

S1.E2 ∙ The Dry Season

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

The Kimberley region in North West Australia is one of the world's largest wilderness areas and home to only about 40.000 people as well as some of the country's most beautiful and deadly wildlife. The dry season has begun, and there will be no rain for the next four months. The local cowboys spend their time mustering the cattle and competing in wild rodeos just like their U.S. counterparts do. Meanwhile, off the coast of Kimberley, some curious whales arrive to greet a boat full of researchers, inadvertently endangering everyone on board. Back on land, in Kununurra, animal conservationist Mandy, the owner of Kangaroo Haven Wildlife Rescue, and her friends run a homey rehabilitation shelter for kangaroos where they help 'roos' in need get well and return to the wild, and the farewells tend to get very emotional.

7.6 /10

S1.E3 ∙ Return of the Wet

Wed, Dec 31, 1969

It's early spring in Kimberley, and the humidity is becoming unbearable. Soon, the monsoons will hit, but until then, it's the dry and hot "Troppo Season" when madness reigns. Two elderly friends go searching for gold in the bush using a metal detector. A bat colony deals with the heat. A team of scientists is on a dangerous mission to try and help the crocs inhabiting the Windjana Gorge oasis as the invasion of the poisonous cane toad threatens the area. Another team is breeding everyone's favorite food, the barramundi, to restock the lake Kununurra where fish is dying out, which attracts the goanna monitor lizards. In the Purnululu National Park, the indigenous people work as the park's rangers. The park attracts thousands of tourists each year thanks to its breathtaking vistas and the ancient, 30.000 years old, aboriginal cave art which archaeologists are still trying to decipher. In Roebuck Bay, fascinating creatures such as the Australian snubfin dolphin, and the dugong sea cow live. Photographer Peter Strain uses macro lenses to shoot the curious tiny invertebrates like miniature crabs which hide in the sand on the beach. The Bay is also one of the major rest stops for migrating birds, which brings ornithologists here as well. Scientists and rangers also team up to conduct biodiversity surveys in the Windjana Gorge area with focus on tiny marsupials and reptiles of the region, including the Kimberley rock monitor and the chestnut mouse, two of numerous rare species which only exist in this corner of the planet. As the monsoons finally hit, the indigenous people of Kimberley ritualistically celebrate.

8.1 /10