Nature of Australia: A Portrait of the Island Continent
Nature of Australia: A Portrait of the Island Continent is a six-part documentary series hosted by George Page, exploring the diversity of Australia's landscapes. The earliest explorers of Australia felt themselves to be in an alien world of bizarre animals and strange plants, a land left behind by time. That sense of strangeness pervades the perception of Australia to the present day. Tracing the making of Australia and the origins of its most extraordinary inhabitants, this series explores the diversity of the landscape, from the seas to the arid interior; the effects of the extremes of flood, drought and bushfire; and examines the impact of 200 years of European settlement on the land, its plants and animals.
| Episode 1 - A Separate Creation |
Episode 1 - A Separate Creation
Traces the rise of the marsupials, from their beginnings in the primeval forest of ancient Gondwanaland to their triumph as the dominant animals in Australia, culminating in the kangaroos.
Episode 2 - Seas under Capricorn
The story of the seas that encircle Australia with a unique chain of marine environments from icy Antarctica to the marvels of the Great Barrier Reef.
Episode 3 - The Making of the Bush
Ancient rainforests gave rise to the eucalypt woodlands and heathlands, and remarkable animals, from honeyeaters and possums to numbats and koalas.
Episode 4 - The Sunburnt Country
Australia's arid interior is often called the dead heart. In fact, it teems with life, supported by a hidden network of buried rivers recharged by rare but heavy rains.
Episode 5 - Land of Flood and Fire
Where life is governed by monsoonal flood and drought. The first people on the continent arrived here, and used fire to farm and manage the land.
Episode 6 - End of Isolation
The European invasion set Australia's plants and animals their greatest challenge yet - fashioned in the remote solitude of the remote island continent, they were now exposed to a new and alien regime.
| Related Links |
| Wild Down Under This is a BBC nature documentary series narrated by Matt Day, exploring the natural history of the Australasian continent. |
| Australia's First 4 Billion Years This is a PBS NOVA documentary series hosted by Richard Smith, exploring the history of the planet as seen through the window of the Australian continent. |
| Wild Australia This is a four-part National Geographic documentary series that features Australia's iconic and mysterious wild animals including the cassowary, tree-kangaroo, dingo, echidna and platypus. |
| Wild Australia with Ray Mears This is a six-part television series hosted by Ray Mears, exploring the diverse landscape and wildlife of Australia. |
| Australia: Eye of the Storm This is a nature documentary series that describes the powerful climate systems that batter Australia and how they affect the weather, wildlife and people of this island continent. |
| South Pacific This is a BBC nature documentary series surveying the natural history of the islands of the South Pacific region. |