1 00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,560 The ancient site of Stonehenge. 2 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:08,080 A place of ritual, 3 00:00:08,120 --> 00:00:11,360 ceremony, great spiritual and mythical power. 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:15,640 A neolithic light bulb for the druid moths of old Europe. 5 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:19,640 I'm here to celebrate the winter solstice in the month of June. 6 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:23,480 Wait a second. 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:26,720 This is all wrong. 8 00:00:26,760 --> 00:00:28,480 It looks like Stonehenge, 9 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:29,920 the ritual stones are there, 10 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:32,880 but...the solstice is inverted. 11 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:35,720 This grass is growing the wrong way. 12 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:38,560 Where, am I? 13 00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,440 What manner of madness is this? 14 00:00:41,480 --> 00:00:43,760 Yes. Stonehenge... 15 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:45,240 ..but not as you know it. 16 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:47,560 Not the one on Salisbury Plain, the broken one. 17 00:00:47,600 --> 00:00:48,720 No, the one they've mended, 18 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,520 here in Esperance, Western Australia. 19 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:58,480 If you think you know Australia... 20 00:00:58,520 --> 00:00:59,520 ..think again. 21 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,040 Because there's an even wilder... 22 00:01:04,080 --> 00:01:05,320 Here we go. 23 00:01:05,360 --> 00:01:06,640 Phwoar! 24 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:08,200 ..weirder... 25 00:01:08,240 --> 00:01:10,480 Even the kookaburras are embarrassed. 26 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,720 ..and more wonderful version of the land down under. 27 00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:16,840 I don't think there's anywhere like this on Earth. 28 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:18,120 And it's in the west. 29 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:19,840 There's so much space here. 30 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:23,240 You could put 13 Britains into West Australia. 31 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:24,520 Let me take you there. 32 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:27,800 Imagine a land of giants... 33 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:29,000 You look like Bill. 34 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:30,480 Yeah, you look like Luc. 35 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,480 ..of alien landscapes... 36 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:36,000 I mean where else in the world can you see 37 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:38,320 a waterfall in the ocean? 38 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:39,600 Whoa-ho! 39 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,880 ..and a bunch of characters you won't find anywhere else on Earth. 40 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:45,960 Well, if you're Space Gandalf, I'll be, what'll I be, Space Gimli? 41 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,280 ELECTRIC GUITAR RIFF PLAYS 42 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,240 You play so fine! 43 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:52,520 I know. Sounds too good to be true. 44 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:53,680 But it's not. 45 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,240 This is the real Western Australia right here. Oh, yeah. Yeah. 46 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:57,680 I come in peace. 47 00:01:57,720 --> 00:01:58,840 Because here it is, 48 00:01:58,880 --> 00:02:01,880 the most remarkable part of this Great Southern Land, 49 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:03,520 is the western bit. 50 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:04,560 Who knew? 51 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:06,360 In our DNA... 52 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:07,480 ..we want this. 53 00:02:07,520 --> 00:02:09,320 We wanna be amongst this. 54 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:12,800 Western Australia cracks open your soul. 55 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,120 This leafy-looking wonderland 56 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,040 is the southern coast of Western Australia. 57 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,800 With its Mediterranean climate and dense forests, 58 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,120 it's a world away from the endless red dirt 59 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,200 and baking heat of the north. 60 00:02:41,240 --> 00:02:42,680 It's an idyll. 61 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:47,360 Keenly sought by the explorers of Asia and Europe over centuries, 62 00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:50,400 though the First nations people here always knew they were onto 63 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:52,120 a good thing. 64 00:02:52,160 --> 00:02:54,400 There's two towns of note in these parts. 65 00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:56,400 Esperance and Albany. 66 00:02:56,440 --> 00:02:59,840 Bustling commercial hubs where I plan to mix with the locals 67 00:02:59,880 --> 00:03:02,960 and get the Western Australian vibe. 68 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:04,440 But before all that, 69 00:03:04,480 --> 00:03:07,840 a treat which transcends anywhere else on Earth. 70 00:03:11,080 --> 00:03:13,280 So, here we are at Lucky Bay. 71 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:15,080 Wow, look at that. 72 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:19,280 This corner of Western Australia was voted the world's best beach. 73 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,880 A big call, but on first glance, I think they may have got it right. 74 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:28,080 And it's even scientifically proven to have the whitest sand. 75 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,280 It's simply beautiful. 76 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:34,800 And an appropriate place for my official welcome to 77 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:39,720 the south by Nyungar elder and Lucky Bay local Doc Reynolds. 78 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:41,240 Hello, there. 79 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:43,600 Kaya. Doc. Welcome. 80 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:45,120 Hey. 81 00:03:45,160 --> 00:03:46,200 Kepa Kurl Wudjari. 82 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:47,440 Oh. My country. 83 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:50,800 Doc makes his living reminding visitors that his culture 84 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:52,440 is the oldest on Earth. 85 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,360 65,000 years old. 86 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:56,720 Maybe more. 87 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,600 What is the name of your people here? 88 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:02,200 Well, we are the Nyungar people. 89 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:03,400 Right. 90 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:07,000 Which is the largest collective group of Aboriginal people 91 00:04:07,040 --> 00:04:08,760 on the Australian mainland. 92 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:11,760 We have 14 tribes within the Nyungar Nation, 93 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:15,400 which is basically in the south west of Australia. 94 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,760 Now, what I'm going to do is do a very special 95 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:23,280 and sacred ceremony to welcome people onto Kepa Kurl, Wudja. 96 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:27,560 Or where the waters lie like a boomerang by the sea and the land. 97 00:04:27,600 --> 00:04:28,920 Understand that? I do. 98 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:35,240 The boorn or the tree brings the scent of the Earth, 99 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:37,720 which is our mother, to us. 100 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:40,440 Just want you to stay for a few seconds, 101 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:41,880 just to grasp... 102 00:04:43,040 --> 00:04:44,440 ..Mother Earth. 103 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,080 Smoking ceremonies like this are used for cleansing 104 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:56,920 and warding off bad spirits, 105 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,800 and literally wearing Mother Earth as smoke. 106 00:04:59,840 --> 00:05:02,800 It instantly connects you to country. 107 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,120 Wow, look at this. It's a proper picnic. 108 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:11,960 What's this plant you've got here? This is a eucalypt. 109 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:14,600 It's a boorn. OK. This one here is the Tjaltjraak. 110 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:16,320 This is the Blue Mallee. 111 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:18,800 I'll take from one from each tree. 112 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:23,080 And now we've got the water boiling here, put that in there, OK? Right. 113 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:24,320 Just a little handful. 114 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:25,640 Like that? That's it. 115 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:27,080 Chuck it in there. 116 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:28,880 Chuck it in there, yeah. 117 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:30,440 Right. There you go. 118 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:32,240 So what you do is you get it, 119 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:34,720 and you just swing it, and just go like that. Whoa. 120 00:05:34,760 --> 00:05:35,800 OK? OK. 121 00:05:35,840 --> 00:05:37,800 Because the gravity will hold it. 122 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:39,200 Yeah. And then you get it. 123 00:05:40,640 --> 00:05:42,680 So when you see the tea swirling around, 124 00:05:42,720 --> 00:05:44,960 you know that's ready now to drink. 125 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,280 And you got to have to tea like me - 126 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:48,960 black and sweet. 127 00:05:51,360 --> 00:05:52,840 Cup of splosh. 128 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:54,240 Oh, that smells good. 129 00:05:54,280 --> 00:05:55,640 While I love a good brew, 130 00:05:55,680 --> 00:06:00,240 Doc's cuppa is also a bittersweet taste of Western Australia's past. 131 00:06:00,280 --> 00:06:02,560 See back when we were first colonised, 132 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:04,560 and our men were working, 133 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,960 their pay was flour, sugar, and tea. 134 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:11,080 Right. And so... 135 00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:12,640 ..flour... Flour, yeah. 136 00:06:12,680 --> 00:06:13,840 ..sugar... Sugar. 137 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:15,000 ..and tea. Tea, yeah. 138 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,240 So I get my revenge back on your guys. 139 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:19,400 So I'm paying you for you coming out to see me. 140 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:22,520 That's right. Well, I tell you, I'm not complaining. 141 00:06:22,560 --> 00:06:24,320 Cheers. 142 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:25,680 This is good. 143 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:27,880 Well, that's that I call a proper welcome. 144 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,760 And now I'm fortified for the road ahead. 145 00:06:40,280 --> 00:06:44,960 The southern highways of WA are dotted with country towns. 146 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,080 And while stopping to refuel... 147 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:49,800 Oh, The Quirky Den's my kind of place. 148 00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:52,000 ..something has caught my eye. 149 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:53,080 Hello? 150 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:55,680 I was just... We stopped for coffee, 151 00:06:55,720 --> 00:06:58,000 and I saw in the window you have an accordion. 152 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:59,120 I do. 153 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:01,520 I wondered if I could look at it, please? You certainly can. 154 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,080 I'll get it out for you. Thank you very much. Thank you. 155 00:07:06,040 --> 00:07:10,120 I notice it's, um, it's a Serenelli, which is a... 156 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:11,680 I think it's an Italian one, isn't it? 157 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:12,760 Is it? Or Russian? 158 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:13,920 Or might be Russian, yeah. 159 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:15,000 Might be. 160 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:16,920 Here we go. Look at that, it's working. 161 00:07:20,840 --> 00:07:22,280 It's almost in tune. 162 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:35,400 Marvellous. 163 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,320 I'll take it. Oh, my God! 164 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:41,680 Lovely. Wow. Well, pleasure doing business with you, ladies. 165 00:07:41,720 --> 00:07:43,360 Thank you. Thank you so much. 166 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:44,400 Come again any time. 167 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:46,120 We will. Absolutely. 168 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:48,320 Thanks, then. Cheers. See ya. Bye. 169 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,000 100% Italian craftsmanship in rural Australia. 170 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:53,200 Grazie, mate. 171 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:55,200 OK, well, this will be fun on the road. 172 00:07:55,240 --> 00:07:56,760 Now I'm sorted for sounds, 173 00:07:56,800 --> 00:07:58,400 I can tell you a bit more about 174 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,120 the sheer size of this part of the world. 175 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,200 The population, 2.7 million, 176 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:06,800 or about the same as Manchester, 177 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,720 except it's 23,000 times larger. 178 00:08:11,320 --> 00:08:14,680 All that space means Western Australians have access 179 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:17,880 to nature like nowhere else on Earth. 180 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,080 But to really appreciate WA's great outdoors, 181 00:08:21,120 --> 00:08:24,360 I need a more elevated perspective. 182 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:31,800 I'm weaving my way through the landscape, 183 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:33,720 I'm making my way round the coast, 184 00:08:33,760 --> 00:08:35,600 and I wanted to stop here, 185 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:37,720 at the Valley of the Giants, 186 00:08:37,760 --> 00:08:41,000 just to get a sense of the biodiversity of the place, 187 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:43,320 the scale of the landscape, 188 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:47,880 and to find out about these massive trees. 189 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:49,040 Where they came from? 190 00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,240 How did they get to be here? 191 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,000 And is this walkway safe enough for more than three people? 192 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:00,080 Hey. Hello, there. Helen, how are ya? Good. 193 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:01,640 Good to meet you. Lovely to meet you. 194 00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:03,320 Lovely to meet you. Yeah. 195 00:09:03,360 --> 00:09:05,240 This has definitely got a bit of a wobble. 196 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:07,440 It has. The more people on it, the more it'll wobble. 197 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,400 But there's only two of us, so you're fine. Oh, that's OK. All right, then. 198 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:11,840 We're fine. 199 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:13,640 This is quite amazing. 200 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,360 The Valley of the Giants Treetops Walk soars above 201 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:23,160 an ancient forest whose origins date back 65 million years. 202 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:26,920 I'm taking a spectacular if slightly precarious stroll 203 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:28,360 with my guide Helen. 204 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:33,840 We're gonna go up to the highest point. 205 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:34,960 OK. 206 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:36,320 How high are we up here, Helen? 207 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:38,680 Well, we're about 36 metres. 208 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:40,200 Not quite at the top yet. 209 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:41,480 What's that in the old money? 210 00:09:41,520 --> 00:09:42,600 SHE LAUGHS 211 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:44,800 It's about a 13-storey building. 212 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:46,960 Oof. It's about 120 feet, I think. 213 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:48,680 120 feet? Right. OK. Something like that. 214 00:09:48,720 --> 00:09:51,040 So don't drop anything... No. ..out of your pocket. 215 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:52,560 No. All right. 216 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,320 There's so much space here in Western Australia. Yes. 217 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,960 That's what I'm very much getting a sense of. Yes. 218 00:09:59,000 --> 00:10:03,440 I worked out once that you could put 13 Britains into West Australia. 219 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:04,520 13? 220 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:06,000 Blimey. 221 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,440 And you're originally from the UK, 222 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:09,880 from Wales? From Wales, yes. 223 00:10:09,920 --> 00:10:12,160 And you came here to live. 224 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:15,480 What was it about this place that made you want to stay? 225 00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:17,280 I fell in love with Western Australia, 226 00:10:17,320 --> 00:10:19,400 particularly because of the space. 227 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:20,440 Mm. 228 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:23,840 And to be honest, I loved all the plants and the animals, 229 00:10:23,880 --> 00:10:25,080 how different they were, 230 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:26,920 how strange some of them were. Mm. 231 00:10:26,960 --> 00:10:30,520 And people are genuinely happy in Western Australia. 232 00:10:30,560 --> 00:10:31,720 I like it. 233 00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:33,240 What are these trees, Helen? 234 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:36,840 OK, so these rough-barked eucalyptus trees, 235 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:38,920 they're called tingles, 236 00:10:38,960 --> 00:10:44,240 but the local First Nations people call them Dingle Dingle. 237 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,560 Right. Which is a plural, it means lots of something. 238 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,080 See, these are special trees, because this is the only place 239 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:51,760 you'll find them, we've only got 6,000 hectares of them. 240 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,400 They are the biggest buttressing eucalypts in the world. 241 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:57,840 Wow. And we've got the Karri. 242 00:10:57,880 --> 00:10:59,840 Oh, this one? The lighter colour one? 243 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:01,680 Yeah, the smooth bark one. That's a Karri. 244 00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:02,880 Right. 245 00:11:02,920 --> 00:11:06,520 But what's special about the Karris is that every February, March, 246 00:11:06,560 --> 00:11:08,560 the tree will lose its bark, 247 00:11:08,600 --> 00:11:11,680 and that's the time to go down to the south coast to fish 248 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:14,320 because the salmon are running on the south coast. 249 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,240 Ah. 250 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:18,120 That's great. I love that. 251 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:21,080 Nature's given you a bit of a, sort of, tip. 252 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:23,160 Yes. You know? Yes. 253 00:11:23,200 --> 00:11:25,720 I can see why it gets the name. 254 00:11:25,760 --> 00:11:26,760 Valley of the Giants? 255 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:28,600 Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. 256 00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:31,960 They didn't name it after me, as you can see. 257 00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:33,000 I know. 258 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,400 I'm a hobbit. You're a hobbit. 259 00:11:35,440 --> 00:11:38,600 Along with 10,000 varieties of native plants, 260 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,200 Western Australia also has 600 bird species. 261 00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,920 And for an outdoorsman like me, that's not too bad. 262 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:48,400 Hello. I think that's a Western Warbler. 263 00:11:48,440 --> 00:11:50,520 He seems pretty tame. 264 00:11:50,560 --> 00:11:52,240 He likes you. 265 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:56,720 So you've got all kinds of other wildlife here as well... Yep. 266 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:58,800 ..in these trees in the forest? 267 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:00,320 What sort of things do you have? 268 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:02,360 Well, we've got the, I say the birds, 269 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:05,000 you know, the white-tail black cockatoos, the parrots. 270 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:06,400 We also get the possums, 271 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:08,040 the brushtail possums. Mm-hm. 272 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:10,560 And they love the holes in the tingles. Mm. 273 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:13,920 But on the ground, of course, we've got the famous quokka. 274 00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:14,960 Yes. 275 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:17,320 Now, I've seen quokkas, 276 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,520 but I've only seen them on Rottnest Island. Yes. 277 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:21,440 I didn't realise they were on the mainland. 278 00:12:21,480 --> 00:12:23,000 Yes. We've got them on the mainland. 279 00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:25,600 And they live, mostly live in the sword grass, 280 00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:27,240 and they make holes in the sword grass. 281 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:29,560 They go through and make nests on the ground. 282 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:32,040 Is that that grass that's really sharp... Yes. 283 00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:33,720 ..and the edges are really sharp? Yes. 284 00:12:33,760 --> 00:12:35,320 I think I just encountered some of that. 285 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:36,360 Cutting grass. 286 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:37,640 Razor grass. 287 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:38,960 Very well aptly named. 288 00:12:39,000 --> 00:12:40,800 Yes. 289 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:42,520 Helen's just told me great things. 290 00:12:42,560 --> 00:12:44,640 She said, "Oh, I love it here." 291 00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:48,080 And I said, "Yeah, because look at it, it's beautiful and wild, 292 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:51,080 "and there's a great expanse of nature and all that." 293 00:12:51,120 --> 00:12:53,000 And she said, she goes, 294 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:57,400 with a slight Welsh...lilt in her voice, 295 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:00,240 she said, "I love it cos it's dangerous." 296 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,080 I said, "What?" 297 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:04,760 I said, "Most people...that's the reason why most people 298 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,400 "don't want to come to Australia, 299 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,320 "cos there are things that can bite you, and sting you, and nip you. 300 00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:12,120 "There's sword grass, and, you know, everything. 301 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,160 "Even the plants want to stab you, get you." 302 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:17,240 She goes, "No, I like that. 303 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:19,080 "I like the danger." 304 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:21,920 Because it's untamed. 305 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:26,240 It's nature unchallenged, untrammelled, unrestrained. 306 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,040 This is my theory, right? This is what I think about all this. 307 00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:36,640 Humans have an instinctive desire to connect with nature, 308 00:13:36,680 --> 00:13:42,080 and most of the time, we spend our lives indoors, in cars, buildings, 309 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:46,360 and yet...we yearn to be out in all of this. 310 00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:50,040 What this is, is this thing, biophilia, 311 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:53,400 our innate desire to be amongst nature. 312 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:55,000 It's part of our evolution. 313 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,800 Our ancestors spent all their time out in nature. 314 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:00,760 In our DNA... 315 00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:03,360 ..we want this, we wanna be amongst this. 316 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,480 This is where we feel... 317 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:08,840 ..more at home, in a way. 318 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,720 And that is why I think that so many people here have this 319 00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:14,080 positive attitude in Western Australia, 320 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,680 because of the proximity to the natural world. 321 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:22,480 And biophilia, this innate sense of desire to be amongst nature, 322 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:23,720 to connect with it, 323 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:27,040 is really what it means to be human. 324 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:38,160 Experiencing biophilia and being menaced by the local grass 325 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:40,840 has got my philosophical juices flowing. 326 00:14:43,360 --> 00:14:46,120 A picnic spot is the perfect place to listen to 327 00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:48,640 the sounds of nature, hear its rhythms, 328 00:14:48,680 --> 00:14:51,520 and perhaps add my own accompaniment. 329 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,160 HE PLAYS THE ACCORDION 330 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:19,040 ACCORDION CONTINUES 331 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:33,320 I don't know what it's doing, 332 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:36,040 but I think I've scared all the wildlife off. 333 00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:53,320 I'm travelling along the breathtaking southern coast of Western Australia, 334 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:55,360 and my next stop is Albany. 335 00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,360 Although the Nyungar people's original name is Kinjarling, 336 00:16:00,400 --> 00:16:02,200 meaning place of rain, 337 00:16:02,240 --> 00:16:03,880 I like it already. 338 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:06,680 The British landed here in 1826 339 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:08,280 and set up a whaling industry 340 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,480 that prospered until the late 1970s. 341 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,840 Thankfully, humpback and sperm whales are now protected, 342 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:19,560 and as is often the way with gory and brutal industries, 343 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,600 there's a museum, and a gift shop. 344 00:16:22,640 --> 00:16:26,240 Oh. Viewer discretion is advised. 345 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:30,200 Four whales being processed at once. 346 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:33,960 My God. 347 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:36,080 But what is... 348 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:38,960 ..what's extraordinary about this photograph here, 349 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,520 there's bunch of kids... 350 00:16:42,320 --> 00:16:43,680 ..in the foreground. 351 00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,560 Oh, my God. 352 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:49,440 What kind of school trip was that? 353 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:52,480 I mean, we used to go to ruined abbeys and old churches. 354 00:16:52,520 --> 00:16:56,400 "Now, kids, we're gonna see a giant whale being carved up 355 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:58,400 "by a bloke in a pair of shorts. 356 00:16:58,440 --> 00:17:00,680 "There'll be guts and blood and blubber. 357 00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:04,320 "Make sure you write it all down on your questionnaires. 358 00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:09,440 "Slaughter. Today, the theme of today's trip, kids, is slaughter." 359 00:17:13,240 --> 00:17:15,720 There's 45-year-olds walking around in Albany now with 360 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:17,160 a kind of haunted look on them. 361 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,120 They probably all work in conservation now. 362 00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:23,240 This kid here, on his own. 363 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:26,200 "Why?" That's what he's thinking. 364 00:17:26,240 --> 00:17:27,920 "Why? 365 00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:29,720 "Why? 366 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:31,520 "Worst school trip ever." 367 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,840 I might hold off on my lunch for a bit after that. 368 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:42,760 But not every relic of whaling is quite as grisly. 369 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,440 This is an incredible piece of scrimshaw, 370 00:17:47,480 --> 00:17:51,440 the art of etching onto bone. 371 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,640 In this case, the jaw bone of a sperm whale, and also on teeth. 372 00:17:55,680 --> 00:18:01,280 And all of the teeth from this whale that were recovered 373 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:02,920 have got scrimshaw. 374 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:07,160 It's just staggering the amount of detail that goes on here. 375 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:11,960 This depicts the wreck of the boat, The Kathleen, 376 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:15,680 and there's the whalers rowing away from the wreck. 377 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,520 The storms and the waves all round 378 00:18:19,560 --> 00:18:21,240 and all the teeth 379 00:18:21,280 --> 00:18:23,320 depict a little story as well. 380 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:26,160 It's just extraordinary. 381 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:30,600 Whalers had a reputation as salty reprobates with 382 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,080 a healthy disregard for authority. 383 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:35,760 So it's no surprise that Albany is regarded as 384 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:37,880 WA's most rebellious town. 385 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:42,000 There's always been a strong separatist movement in WA. 386 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:47,240 As recently as 2020, almost a third of the population said they wanted 387 00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:48,760 independence from Australia. 388 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:51,960 But Albany took things a step further, 389 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,640 wanting to secede from the state. 390 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:58,720 Malcolm Trail is an expert on WA's rabble-rousers. 391 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:00,320 So the, I guess the important thing 392 00:19:00,360 --> 00:19:03,280 to realise from Albany folks' point of view is that we were 393 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:05,360 two and a half years ahead of Perth 394 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,040 because there was a settlement here in 1826. 395 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:11,000 Perth, as the capital, didn't get settled till 1829. 396 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:13,480 And there's always been this rivalry. Yes. 397 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:15,320 For many years in the 19th century, 398 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:17,840 Albany was the sort of centre of international trade, 399 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:19,960 and defence, cos it was a very strategic place. 400 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:21,200 So, from that point of view, 401 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:23,960 over the years, we've had a few little efforts 402 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:26,200 to secede from the rest of Western Australia. 403 00:19:26,240 --> 00:19:29,560 Really? Yeah. So we thought, on a couple of occasions, 404 00:19:29,600 --> 00:19:33,080 "Look, I think it would be good to set up our own state here." 405 00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:36,920 And on one occasion in the 1880s, there was a proposal put in 406 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,160 the House of Commons that we should set ourselves up as 407 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:41,160 a crown colony, not even be part of this, 408 00:19:41,200 --> 00:19:43,280 this is before Australia was Australia. Right. 409 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:45,160 So we'd become a separate crown colony, 410 00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:46,800 like Hong Kong, or Singapore. 411 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:49,360 And so we thought, "That was quite a good idea, really." Yes. 412 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:50,640 Because we'd get rid of Perth, 413 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:52,400 they could do whatever they wanted. 414 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:54,200 Yeah. It never flew, sadly. 415 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:56,760 No. Oh, that's a shame. It is bit of a shame, yeah. 416 00:19:56,800 --> 00:19:58,760 I think we could've been good as a crown colony. 417 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:02,160 I heard this phrase, this Cinderella kind of state... 418 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,840 Mm. ..or the Cinderella, sort of, feeling of, like, 419 00:20:04,880 --> 00:20:07,720 you were providing all of this bounty... Yeah. 420 00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:09,600 ..and weren't getting much in return. 421 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,200 Well, very much so, yeah, that's right. 422 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:13,600 And we're the sort of Cinderella town of Western Australia. 423 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:14,640 Cinderella town. Yeah. 424 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:17,040 So Perth was gathering all the resources, 425 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:18,680 all the taxes were going in there, 426 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,720 they were sort of going ahead in leaps and bounds, 427 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:23,680 and poor little old Albany was left to fend for itself, 428 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:25,360 despite our natural resources. 429 00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:28,600 When West Australia was holding off from joining 430 00:20:28,640 --> 00:20:30,200 the Commonwealth of Australia, 431 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:33,480 Albany, at that stage, was aligned, I guess, with the gold fields. 432 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,280 So we saw ourselves in league with Kalgoorlie 433 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,680 and the gold fields there against the common enemy of Perth. 434 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,120 Right. There was the whole separational league 435 00:20:42,160 --> 00:20:45,200 which would carve off the bottom bit of Western Australia. Hm. 436 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,040 The capital was going to be, not surprisingly, Albany. 437 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:50,000 Yes. Of course. Well, why not? 438 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:51,400 My kind of place. 439 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,760 So, we'll send you the visa papers. 440 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:56,280 When am I moving here? 441 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:09,360 All this talk of unruly behaviour has strangely drawn me 442 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:11,520 to the pub... 443 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:13,040 ..purely for research, obviously. 444 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,160 SINGING 445 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:21,600 # ..loving, loving wife 446 00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,120 # She's all gone for beer and tobacco... # 447 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,080 The Albany Shantymen are the global superstars of 448 00:21:28,120 --> 00:21:29,760 the sea shanty movement. 449 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,240 Like K-Pop, but with beards and craft ale. 450 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:35,280 # Well, it's all for me grog 451 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:37,440 # Me jolly, jolly grog 452 00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:40,800 # It's all for me beer and tobacco 453 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:42,840 # Well, I've spent all me tin 454 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:44,680 # On the lassie drinking gin 455 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,520 # Far across the western ocean I must wander. # 456 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:50,720 During Covid, one of their shanties, 457 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:52,640 Soon Will The Wellerman Come, 458 00:21:52,680 --> 00:21:56,320 inspired a TikTok craze that spread across the planet. 459 00:21:56,360 --> 00:21:58,160 # Well, I've spent all me tin 460 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:00,240 # On the lassie drinking gin 461 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,720 # Far across the western ocean I must wander. # 462 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:06,000 CHEERS AND APPLAUSE 463 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:09,880 Shantymen Crispin and Alby join me for a pint and a yarn. 464 00:22:09,920 --> 00:22:12,800 We had that song on Spotify and things, 465 00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,080 and all of a sudden, I think we got... 466 00:22:15,120 --> 00:22:17,920 I don't know. ..700,000 streams on that. 467 00:22:17,960 --> 00:22:21,400 And the next closest was, like, 10,000. Yeah. 468 00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,280 And we couldn't work out what was going on. 469 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:29,320 Why do you think there's this resurgence in interest in shanties, 470 00:22:29,360 --> 00:22:30,600 cos it's definitely... 471 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,560 It's happening in England a bit too, isn't it? It's hugely popular, yeah. 472 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:35,400 Yeah. There's a resurgence in pub singing, 473 00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:36,920 and group singing in general. 474 00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:41,680 I have a theory that music started when apes are in the forest, 475 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,120 and one starts hooting, and they all start hooting in unison. Yeah. 476 00:22:45,160 --> 00:22:48,560 And it makes them feel bigger and safer. Yes. 477 00:22:48,600 --> 00:22:51,440 And that, when we launch into a chorus, 478 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,160 to me, it's like we're one organism. A bunch of silverbacks? 479 00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,880 Yeah, but we becomes one organism... Flexing. 480 00:22:57,920 --> 00:22:59,600 Yeah. ..and I feel bigger and safer. 481 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:01,560 So what's happening then? What's the plan? 482 00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,720 We'll sing, people will clap. 483 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:06,640 If you'd like to join us, you can join us. 484 00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:08,960 In fact we've got a song specially prepared for you. 485 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:11,760 Love you to join us. I would love it. Yeah, we'd love you to join. 486 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:13,160 Yeah. I feel like I'm... 487 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,520 I feel like, sort of, I'm amongst my people here. 488 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:18,320 Oh, you will. You will. You will. 489 00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,360 And, um... Because in shanties, volume and enthusiasm counts 490 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,800 much more than musical talent. Oh, I've got plenty of that. Yeah. 491 00:23:25,840 --> 00:23:28,280 Well, we'll do a cheers, and then that'll be that. Yeah. 492 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:29,840 Cheers. Cheers, mate. 493 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:31,200 Looking forward to it. Done. 494 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:32,720 APPLAUSE 495 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,640 We're auditioning a new fellow tonight so, 496 00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,520 just bear with us cos we don't know how he's going to go. 497 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:40,280 CHEERS AND APPLAUSE 498 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:41,520 Get up here. 499 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:50,520 Hello. 500 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,440 Apparently, the Albany Shantymen started out with 501 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,920 a strange-looking bearded Englishman coming to this city. 502 00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:58,480 LAUGHTER 503 00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:00,880 So maybe this is history repeating itself. 504 00:24:00,920 --> 00:24:03,320 Anyway, take this as an audition. 505 00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:04,840 Thank you. 506 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:07,640 # In the year of '42 507 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:09,800 # An Irish ship hove into view 508 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:11,880 # On Paddy's day arrived the crew 509 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:14,400 # Here come the drunken whalers 510 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:16,640 # Way-hey, up she rises. 511 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:18,760 # Way-hey, and up she rises 512 00:24:18,800 --> 00:24:20,920 # Way-hey, and up she rises 513 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:23,120 # Bastard drunken whalers 514 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:25,320 # Drunken whalers roamed the town 515 00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:27,480 # Drinking rum till the sun went down 516 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:29,520 # Spending till their last half crown 517 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:31,760 # Here come the drunken whalers 518 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,120 # Way-hey, and up she rises 519 00:24:34,160 --> 00:24:36,320 # Way-hey, and up she rises 520 00:24:36,360 --> 00:24:38,520 # Way-hey, and up she rises 521 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,840 # Bastard drunken whalers... # 522 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:42,840 So what have I learned so far? 523 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:44,960 That Western Australians are a proud 524 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,320 and ancient people who love the outdoors, 525 00:24:47,360 --> 00:24:50,600 have proper gory school trips, enjoy a sing-song, 526 00:24:50,640 --> 00:24:53,080 and cock a snook at authority. 527 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:55,040 Definitely my kind of place. 528 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:57,920 # ..up she rises Bastard drunken whalers 529 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,040 # Hello, ladies come and see 530 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,240 # The drunkest men in Albany 531 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:06,800 # Try your luck upon my knee and feel the drunken whaler 532 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:08,800 # Way-hey, and up she rises 533 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:10,680 # Way-hey, and up she rises 534 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:12,720 # Way-hey, and up she rises 535 00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:14,760 # Bastard drunken whalers 536 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:16,560 # Way-hey, and up she rises 537 00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:18,280 # Way-hey, and up she rises 538 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,000 # Way-hey, and up she rises 539 00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:21,640 # Bastard drunken whalers 540 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:23,280 # Way-hey, and up she rises 541 00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:25,000 # Way-hey, and up she rises 542 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:26,520 # Way-hey, and up she rises 543 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:28,240 # Bastard drunken whalers. # 544 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:30,360 CHEERS AND APPLAUSE 545 00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:33,520 Thank you very much. 546 00:25:33,560 --> 00:25:35,000 Thanks. 547 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:36,600 I hope I passed the audition. 548 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,200 Thank you. 549 00:25:53,360 --> 00:25:55,520 Psychiatric help, five cents. 550 00:25:57,000 --> 00:25:58,840 Anyone, step up. 551 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:00,600 This is what I always thought. 552 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:01,880 My dad was a doctor, 553 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,280 and he was a rural GP, 554 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:06,880 and at one stage of my life, 555 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,640 I think he wanted me to follow in the footsteps, you know, and... 556 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:13,400 ..perhaps now I can just say, 557 00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:14,720 "Here I am, Dad... 558 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:17,800 "Top of the world." 559 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:19,320 Bill Bailey? Yes. G'day, mate. 560 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:20,520 Hello, how are ya? 561 00:26:20,560 --> 00:26:21,680 Pleasure to meet you, mate. 562 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:23,280 Do you need any psychiatric help? 563 00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:24,320 Oh, BLEEP yeah. 564 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:26,640 Oops, sorry. 565 00:26:27,880 --> 00:26:30,520 No, not today, thanks, mate. I've had enough of doctors for one day. 566 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:32,560 Oh, yeah, no, you look like you've been banged up. 567 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:33,960 Bit of Aussie skin, Aussie sun. 568 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,720 You're good to watch on telly, mate. Thanks, mate. No worries. 569 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:39,360 Good on ya. Pleasure meeting ya. Have a good day. All the best. 570 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:41,640 Yeah, you know, just remember, any... 571 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:42,680 ..any time. 572 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:45,640 Blimey. 573 00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:47,120 Doing pretty good trade. 574 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:51,480 I only set up shop in two minutes, already had a first customer. 575 00:26:51,520 --> 00:26:53,640 DOG BARKS Shut up. 576 00:26:55,040 --> 00:26:56,440 Doing business here. 577 00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:06,200 I'm heading for the port town of Esperance. 578 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,880 It was named after the French word for hope, 579 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,320 when a storm-damaged vessel sheltered here in the 1800s. 580 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,480 But it was another stricken craft that really launched 581 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:19,760 Esperance's name into orbit. 582 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,400 I did hear about this, actually. 583 00:27:24,440 --> 00:27:26,760 It's quite an interesting story, really. 584 00:27:26,800 --> 00:27:30,320 Skylab, not that one, that's a model, 585 00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:32,520 it launched in 1973 586 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:35,920 and it orbited the Earth thousands of times 587 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:39,280 until the orbit started to decay. 588 00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:41,320 And they knew it was going to land somewhere, 589 00:27:41,360 --> 00:27:42,760 they just didn't know where. 590 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:44,760 They thought it might land in the Indian ocean. 591 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,960 But, in fact, it landed here, in Esperance. 592 00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:53,240 And one of the local rangers decided to charge NASA 593 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:55,600 with littering, which was quite a nice touch. 594 00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:59,320 They charged them $400 for littering, but they haven't paid it yet. 595 00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:00,960 It's kind of a running joke with them. 596 00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,920 The San Francisco Examiner had a competition. 597 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:07,040 They were gonna give a $10,000 prize to 598 00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:11,600 the first person who'd actually found a bit of Skylab debris. 599 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:13,920 And this kid, this teenager called Stan Thornton, 600 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:15,360 found this bit of debris, 601 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,480 and they managed to get him out to San Francisco, 602 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:19,000 and he claimed his money. 603 00:28:19,040 --> 00:28:22,680 But for many people, it was the way that... 604 00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:24,840 ...it put Esperance on the map. 605 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,400 That's what they loved about it. You know? 606 00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:29,720 Because it's a little bit out of the way here. 607 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:33,960 But an International Space Station landing in your backyard, 608 00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:35,720 well, that's going to put you on the map. 609 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:39,560 And that's it there. 610 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,600 Skylab may have hit the headlines, 611 00:28:43,640 --> 00:28:45,400 but here at Mission Control... 612 00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:47,360 Mm...well, that's that then. 613 00:28:47,400 --> 00:28:49,680 ..I've discovered evidence of a little-known 614 00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:52,080 Western Australian space programme. 615 00:28:52,120 --> 00:28:56,480 This, of course, was Australia's first space station. 616 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,200 And, uh, it was launched in 1962, 617 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:04,640 but, uh, very quickly, they realised it was unsuited for space travel. 618 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,840 This was where the pilot sat, up here. 619 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,560 Australia's first astronaut, Frank Williamson, sat up there. 620 00:29:11,600 --> 00:29:14,960 He had a...air bowl for a couple of days, 621 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:19,320 and he had a vacuum-packed rucksack with 20 chicken parmys. 622 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,200 And, uh, they got about as far as, I don't know, 400 feet up, 623 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,480 then he had a bit of a mechanical failure, 624 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:26,720 and the thing crashed down. 625 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:29,520 But, you know, bit of history. 626 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:30,960 "Preparing for re-entry." 627 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:32,320 That would have been... 628 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:34,880 ..what he said, they were his last words... 629 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,080 ..before he broke up over... 630 00:29:37,120 --> 00:29:38,560 ..over Esperance. 631 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:42,960 Right, we better get out of here... 632 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,480 ..before we get told off. 633 00:29:45,520 --> 00:29:47,480 Before I'm chased out of town, 634 00:29:47,520 --> 00:29:49,360 here's a bit more on Esperance. 635 00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:53,120 It's home to one of the most important ports on the planet. 636 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:55,960 That's because more nickel - you know, the wonder metal 637 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,520 that's essential to everything from electric cars to smartphones - 638 00:29:59,560 --> 00:30:01,840 is exported through here than anywhere else 639 00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:03,440 in the southern hemisphere. 640 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:06,240 Now, I'm about to head over to the... 641 00:30:06,280 --> 00:30:07,560 I recognise you. 642 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:09,200 Wait a minute, I think I've been spotted. 643 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,840 Hello. I said to my husband, I said, "They're making a film, 644 00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,400 "or they're doing a doco." Yes. That's right. You're right. 645 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:18,120 I said, "Let's go over and ask," and he said to me, no, 646 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:19,680 because he would be too embarrassed. 647 00:30:19,720 --> 00:30:21,400 Oh. He's an English gentleman. 648 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:23,120 Oh, you see, that's right. 649 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:26,720 But you...you show no such reserve, madam. 650 00:30:26,760 --> 00:30:28,320 That's right. God bless you. 651 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:30,560 Ah. Ooo, you got a strong grip. 652 00:30:30,600 --> 00:30:33,000 Well, if you're going to shake someone's hand in Australia, 653 00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:35,360 darling, that's what you've got to do. 654 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:37,280 Grab hold of it. Don't let go. 655 00:30:37,320 --> 00:30:38,400 What's your name, madam? 656 00:30:38,440 --> 00:30:41,160 Lenore. Lenore. Or you can just call me "Lovely" if you like. 657 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:42,840 All right, then, Lenore. 658 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:44,480 Uh, do you live here? 659 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:46,560 Yes, I do. Are you an Esperance local? 660 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,160 I am. We came here three years ago when Covid struck, 661 00:30:49,200 --> 00:30:50,280 and we got stuck. 662 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:51,760 And you just thought, "Why not?" 663 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,360 And the man said, "You can't leave Western Australia," 664 00:30:54,400 --> 00:30:56,520 so we stayed and bought a house, and here we are. 665 00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:58,920 It's a lovely spot. It's beautiful. 666 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:00,440 It's absolutely stunning. 667 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:02,480 Bill Bailey, I'll give you a hug and everything. 668 00:31:02,520 --> 00:31:04,200 Oh, give us a hug then, Lenore. 669 00:31:04,240 --> 00:31:05,240 There you go. 670 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:06,280 Thanks, then. 671 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:07,520 All right. All right, Lovely. 672 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:09,160 All right, then. Bless you, mate. 673 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:10,920 Bless you. Thanks very much. 674 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:16,440 Welcome to WA. 675 00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:17,840 OK, where was I? 676 00:31:19,000 --> 00:31:20,000 Oh, yeah. 677 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:22,240 Western Australians rely on the sea 678 00:31:22,280 --> 00:31:26,640 for work, trade, food, and for their heritage and identity. 679 00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,200 In fact, over 90% of the population 680 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:32,800 live less than 30 miles from the ocean, 681 00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:36,520 even though WA is the size of Western Europe. 682 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:38,440 OK. Can I keep my beanie on? 683 00:31:38,480 --> 00:31:41,560 Yeah. I've got mine on. OK, yeah, all right. There we go. 684 00:31:41,600 --> 00:31:42,600 Is that right? 685 00:31:42,640 --> 00:31:45,720 Yeah, that doesn't look, that doesn't look stupid at all. 686 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,280 To understand this aquatic affiliation, 687 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:51,040 I'm joining Mackenzie Marine, 688 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:54,120 a WA family firm of tugboat operators. 689 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:57,200 Thank you. Morning. 690 00:31:58,240 --> 00:31:59,960 Hello, there. How's it going? 691 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,080 This is apparently a Turkish-made tug. 692 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:04,600 It's brand new. 693 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:07,880 Costs about 12 million euros. 694 00:32:07,920 --> 00:32:10,800 So...it's pretty state of the art. 695 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:14,200 We're just setting up to head out over 696 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:18,280 to this big cargo ship here to tow it out from berth, 697 00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:20,560 cos it's fully laden, ready to go. 698 00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:23,680 Hello. 699 00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,280 This port is...is huge, isn't it? 700 00:32:29,320 --> 00:32:31,520 There's a lot of traffic coming through it now. 701 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:33,160 It's a very unique port. 702 00:32:33,200 --> 00:32:35,840 We're the deepest port on the southern part of Australia. 703 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,880 Trade through Esperance has been going on since the early 1900s... 704 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:40,600 Yeah. ..sailing ships 705 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:42,720 slowly evolving to these size, 706 00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:45,200 and these modern tugs to be able to handle them. Mm. 707 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:48,520 Multinational companies rule 708 00:32:48,560 --> 00:32:51,120 the cut-throat business of commercial towing, 709 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:54,680 making Sean's firm true Aussie battlers. 710 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,120 My grandfather started it. 711 00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:58,960 This is right back in the early '50s, 712 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:00,680 he had a small wooden fishing boat, 713 00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:03,480 and since then the business has just grown from there. 714 00:33:03,520 --> 00:33:05,440 It's a real delight to be able to have 715 00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,560 a family business that's continuing through the generations. 716 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:10,240 It's all about local knowledge. 717 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:13,920 So there's a kind of a Western Australian, entrepreneurial, 718 00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:19,560 this, kind of, resourcefulness that is born out of the isolation. 719 00:33:19,600 --> 00:33:21,000 RADIO CHATTER 720 00:33:22,560 --> 00:33:26,120 The tanker we're towing is packed to the gunnels with iron ore. 721 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:27,800 At around £86 a tonne, 722 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:31,760 that's a £60 million load we're responsible for. 723 00:33:31,800 --> 00:33:33,240 It's out to sea. Yeah. 724 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:35,280 Oh, it's halfway to China now. 725 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:39,480 Being out on the waves definitely brings out 726 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:42,200 the steely-eyed mariner in me. 727 00:33:42,240 --> 00:33:45,880 If only they'd let muggings here drive their expensive new toy. 728 00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:50,040 Try. 729 00:33:50,080 --> 00:33:51,200 All right. 730 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:52,440 OK. 731 00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:56,560 How much are these things worth again? 732 00:33:56,600 --> 00:33:58,600 Hold on below. 733 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:00,960 I don't know. I'd say go this way. 734 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:02,960 Bit of this? 735 00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:04,720 Something's happening. 736 00:34:04,760 --> 00:34:07,720 Is that right? We're going to the right. Why don't you pull this in? 737 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:10,200 What, just do that? Or just do that. 738 00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:11,920 Or just do that? 739 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:13,240 Oh, OK. 740 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,800 This is a very high-tech piece of kit. 741 00:34:15,840 --> 00:34:17,720 This propeller's going in all directions. 742 00:34:18,960 --> 00:34:20,480 So... Cool. 743 00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,120 ..if you tried both pods to one side. 744 00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:24,960 That way? Yep. 745 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:26,960 So, what do you think's going happen now? 746 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:28,640 We're just going to... 747 00:34:28,680 --> 00:34:30,520 Do doughnuts. Do doughnuts! BILL LAUGHS 748 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:36,240 Is that what you get up to out here, Rennie? Yeah. 749 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:37,720 Whoa-ho! 750 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:45,440 That was amazing. 751 00:34:47,040 --> 00:34:49,440 Thank you so much, Sean. I appreciate that very much. 752 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:51,160 Cheers, mate. Good on you. 753 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:53,720 This port is the lifeblood of Esperance. 754 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:57,320 There's a huge boat full of iron ore heading for China, 755 00:34:57,360 --> 00:34:59,640 and then if it's not iron ore, it'll be grain. 756 00:34:59,680 --> 00:35:03,800 These are the two big industries that have driven 757 00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:06,000 Western Australia's fortunes. 758 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:07,360 It's mining and agriculture. 759 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:09,080 You know, wheat and iron ore, 760 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:12,080 the essence of what Western Australia is about. 761 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:18,600 I don't think I've done doughnuts in a tug before. That's a first. 762 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:21,520 So thanks, WA. 763 00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:38,640 Even on a chilly wintry morning, 764 00:35:38,680 --> 00:35:42,480 the south of Western Australia is a sight to behold. 765 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:46,040 Just sunlight coming through the trees, 766 00:35:46,080 --> 00:35:47,680 morning mist, 767 00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:50,880 birds chirruping away. 768 00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,080 I need a coffee, though, so. 769 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:55,160 I can see one person. 770 00:35:55,200 --> 00:35:57,920 So that's where I'm heading. 771 00:35:57,960 --> 00:35:59,920 BIRDSONG 772 00:35:59,960 --> 00:36:03,720 Listen to the magpies, the butcherbirds and a crow. 773 00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:05,760 Can you hear that? Harr. 774 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:10,800 There's this difference between British crows and Australian crows. 775 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:12,920 British crows are just, "Hah." 776 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:17,240 But Australian crows are actually sarcastic. 777 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:20,800 You know they're, like, "Harr." 778 00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:23,240 "Are you're gonna get coffee, are you? Harr." 779 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:26,880 I'm leaving the hecklers behind 780 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:31,480 and heading east towards my final stop on my southern travels. 781 00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,440 Once I'm fully fuelled up. 782 00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:34,920 Can I get a flat white please? 783 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,240 Sure. Want to get a large one? 784 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:40,160 Just a regular size, please. OK. 785 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:42,080 Oh, the cinnamon rolls. 786 00:36:42,120 --> 00:36:43,520 I mean... 787 00:36:43,560 --> 00:36:45,160 ..oh. 788 00:36:45,200 --> 00:36:47,120 This is forbidden fruit right here. 789 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,480 There's a fire burning in the stove there. 790 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,720 This is...this is so cosy. 791 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:56,520 Could just stay here. 792 00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:57,840 I might move here. 793 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:01,200 Just become, like, a local eccentric, you know? 794 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:04,080 Play the piano in the local bar... 795 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:07,840 ..maybe join a sort of Police tribute act. 796 00:37:07,880 --> 00:37:09,360 Play guitar in it. 797 00:37:09,400 --> 00:37:10,720 I'd be quite happy with that. 798 00:37:10,760 --> 00:37:12,920 Come in here everyday, get my coffee, banana bread. 799 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,200 Just leave my old life behind. 800 00:37:16,240 --> 00:37:18,200 Oh, yeah that's Bill. Yeah, the English bloke. 801 00:37:18,240 --> 00:37:21,160 Yeah, no, he just showed up one day with a film crew, and 802 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:22,560 he's been here ever since. 803 00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:28,160 I'm actually singing Roxanne right now, 804 00:37:28,200 --> 00:37:29,360 but you'll have to imagine it 805 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:33,320 because we don't have the budget to pay Sting's royalties. 806 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:34,720 You all right to go past? 807 00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:36,400 Yeah, come on, mate. 808 00:37:36,440 --> 00:37:38,560 I love you, eh... Oh, thanks very much, cheers. 809 00:37:38,600 --> 00:37:40,520 Bye-bye. Yeah, I'm here all week. 810 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:42,400 Good luck. Thank you. 811 00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:45,840 At least the humans are more enthusiastic than the crows. 812 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:48,120 But before I leave Esperance, 813 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,720 I have some unfinished business. 814 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,240 You were probably wondering about this place. 815 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:55,880 Hello, Tracey. Hello, Bill, nice to meet you. 816 00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:57,800 Lovely to meet you. 817 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,680 It turns out there's nothing Western Australians like more 818 00:38:01,720 --> 00:38:04,600 than recreating neolithic landmarks. 819 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:10,080 So, this looks to me like it's pretty much an exact replica. 820 00:38:10,120 --> 00:38:12,880 It is. It's the exact same size, 821 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:16,360 same layout of what they would've built when they envisioned it. The same dimensions? Yes. 822 00:38:16,400 --> 00:38:18,160 This is what they would have been looking at 823 00:38:18,200 --> 00:38:19,760 all that time ago. Right. 824 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:22,360 Now, I've got to ask you this, Tracey. 825 00:38:24,240 --> 00:38:25,680 What, uh, 826 00:38:25,720 --> 00:38:31,120 what possesses someone to build a Stonehenge in Western Australia? 827 00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:33,600 It's a bit of a story, Bill. OK. Right. 828 00:38:33,640 --> 00:38:35,680 But it was originally going to go to Margaret River 829 00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:37,080 as a tourist attraction, 830 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:39,600 and the gentleman from there commissioned the quarry here 831 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:41,280 cos he wanted it made from pink granite. 832 00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:43,360 This is back in 2008 when they'd finished, 833 00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:45,400 he couldn't afford to pay for it because there was 834 00:38:45,440 --> 00:38:47,240 a global financial crisis at the time. 835 00:38:47,280 --> 00:38:50,080 Oh, right. Actually stayed in the quarry here for three years. 836 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:53,240 Just sat there, the whole Stonehenge has been cut out. What? Just all this? Yeah. 837 00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:54,480 All been cut out. 838 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:56,560 Huh. Not too much demand for a Stonehenge. 839 00:38:56,600 --> 00:38:58,520 Well, I mean there's, I mean, there's a bit of 840 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:02,800 a slow down in the whole Henge demand, globally. There is. 841 00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:04,800 Yeah, so it stayed there for three years, 842 00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:06,560 and a farmer who was here at the time, 843 00:39:06,600 --> 00:39:08,560 he decided he'd buy it, and put it up here. 844 00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:10,920 My husband said, "Do you want to buy a farm in Esperance?" 845 00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:12,200 And I said, "No, not really." 846 00:39:12,240 --> 00:39:14,080 And he said, "It's got a Stonehenge on it." 847 00:39:14,120 --> 00:39:16,920 And I said, '"Yes, OK then, let's buy it." All right, that was the... 848 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:19,480 That was the clincher. ..sort of... The clincher, yeah. 849 00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:21,680 So, now you're, sort of, keeper of the Henge? Yes. 850 00:39:21,720 --> 00:39:23,520 How does that feel? Being a Henge keeper? 851 00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:25,280 I love it. I feel very blessed. 852 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:28,560 And this is the giant, the trilithon, is it? 853 00:39:28,600 --> 00:39:30,920 Yes, giant trilithon that is there. 854 00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,520 So later later on today, when the sun sets, 855 00:39:33,560 --> 00:39:34,960 it's going to come straight down 856 00:39:35,000 --> 00:39:37,480 and set in between those stones there. 857 00:39:37,520 --> 00:39:39,240 So you've even... 858 00:39:39,280 --> 00:39:41,760 It's aligned. ..aligned it up to the solstice? Yes. 859 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:42,840 Yes, it is. Oh. 860 00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:44,640 For winter and summer. 861 00:39:44,680 --> 00:39:46,280 Can I actually go and commune... 862 00:39:46,320 --> 00:39:48,040 Of course you can. ..with the stones? 863 00:39:48,080 --> 00:39:49,440 Yes. They love it. 864 00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:52,560 You see, there's something lovely about 865 00:39:52,600 --> 00:39:54,360 putting your face against stone. 866 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:55,920 There is. 867 00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:58,040 There is. I don't know what it is. 868 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:00,760 There's something very calming and cooling about it. 869 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:04,400 Because in the, the old ones, we call it... 870 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:07,240 Yeah. The broken one. ..the broken one, 871 00:40:07,280 --> 00:40:08,680 you can't walk around it. No. 872 00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:11,960 I mean, you can't get close to it, so at least with this one, 873 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,440 you can get into the centre of it, walk amongst the stones... 874 00:40:14,480 --> 00:40:17,080 That's right. ..and get a feeling of what it would've been like. 875 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:19,240 Exactly. We let people sit on our stones. 876 00:40:19,280 --> 00:40:20,360 Do you? Yes, we do. 877 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:21,720 You see, that's great. Yeah. 878 00:40:21,760 --> 00:40:23,560 That's very Australian. 879 00:40:23,600 --> 00:40:24,640 "Sorry." 880 00:40:24,680 --> 00:40:26,680 "No, get on it. Get amongst it." 881 00:40:28,120 --> 00:40:29,200 Time and time again, 882 00:40:29,240 --> 00:40:31,680 I've been struck by the free-spirited nature 883 00:40:31,720 --> 00:40:35,440 and sometimes downright eccentricity of Western Australians. 884 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,640 Before I end this leg of my trip, 885 00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:42,680 I'm off to meet a man who's got a unique insight into 886 00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:45,160 the people who call this state home. 887 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:47,280 Hey, Milo. What's going on? 888 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:53,400 7ft 2in colossus Luc Longley is one of WA's most famous exports. 889 00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:55,680 Playing alongside Michael Jordan, 890 00:40:55,720 --> 00:40:59,200 he was a key member of the legendary Chicago Bulls 891 00:40:59,240 --> 00:41:01,240 NBA team of the '90s. 892 00:41:01,280 --> 00:41:02,360 You look like Bill. 893 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:03,920 Yeah, you look like Luc, I think. 894 00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:06,320 Ah, we've got the right guy then. How are ya? Good morning. 895 00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:07,600 Really good, thanks, yeah. 896 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:10,600 Now he's returned home, I want to know Luc's take 897 00:41:10,640 --> 00:41:13,480 on what makes WA and its locals so special. 898 00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:14,640 Whoa! 899 00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:17,960 All right, here we go. 900 00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:19,720 I'm trying to think of, though, 901 00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:22,560 the contrast between life here and 902 00:41:22,600 --> 00:41:25,120 touring around America, part of the NBA. Mm. 903 00:41:25,160 --> 00:41:28,440 I mean what, that must have been a bit of a culture shock, was it? 904 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:29,720 I mean, I was 18. 905 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:31,680 It was more of an adventure than a shock. 906 00:41:31,720 --> 00:41:34,760 I was just up for having some fun and playing some basketball. 907 00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:37,160 I had no idea it was gonna lead to... 908 00:41:37,200 --> 00:41:38,800 ..to the Chicago Bulls. 909 00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:40,360 At that point I didn't even care. 910 00:41:40,400 --> 00:41:42,280 I was just down for... Yeah. 911 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:44,560 You know, like any young bloke, at that stage, 912 00:41:44,600 --> 00:41:46,000 just down for an adventure. 913 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:47,880 But this was a culture anchor for me. 914 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:50,720 So I started living down in Denmark in the off-season as a way, 915 00:41:50,760 --> 00:41:52,240 as a detox, I suppose, 916 00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:56,760 both physical and emotional detox from all the stuff that goes 917 00:41:56,800 --> 00:41:58,040 with playing in the NBA. 918 00:41:58,080 --> 00:41:59,960 There's lots of Australians in the NBA now. 919 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:02,160 At that stage I was the first and only. Mm. 920 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:04,600 And, ah, so I was a novelty act, for sure. 921 00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:09,600 A big 7ft, skinny, ginger, novelty act, who was pretending to, 922 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:12,360 that he knew how to basketball, but didn't really. 923 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:15,560 But they never figured out that I was just pretending. 924 00:42:18,280 --> 00:42:20,480 We're in the William Bay National Park 925 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,640 for a wintry morning dip in the Southern Ocean. 926 00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:25,080 Where are we going? 927 00:42:25,120 --> 00:42:27,480 What is that? Tell me about that, this...this... 928 00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:30,520 So, really, it's just a great little beach that, you know, 929 00:42:30,560 --> 00:42:32,560 on a good day you can launch your boat from. 930 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:35,360 You know, it's just one of those spots that's still accessible, 931 00:42:35,400 --> 00:42:36,920 that doesn't get a lot of traffic. 932 00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,200 Although at times, I mean, at times it gets busy. 933 00:42:39,240 --> 00:42:41,240 And fun to get to. Yeah. Yeah. 934 00:42:41,280 --> 00:42:44,160 Classic bit of WA Adventure. 935 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:46,200 That's what we're all about here. 936 00:42:46,240 --> 00:42:49,280 This is where we're going. Oh, here we are. Look at that. 937 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:50,720 Stunning. 938 00:42:54,760 --> 00:42:57,600 I suppose, for me, the bit that's charming about Western Australia 939 00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:01,120 is that ability to go out and hunt out a beach... 940 00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:03,520 Yeah. ..find your own little spot. 941 00:43:03,560 --> 00:43:04,720 Come on, Milo. 942 00:43:06,040 --> 00:43:08,160 Beautiful. And what's in the water? 943 00:43:08,200 --> 00:43:10,480 Oh. Anything you want, Bill. 944 00:43:10,520 --> 00:43:12,280 Anything you want. Um... 945 00:43:12,320 --> 00:43:14,000 Cause every time people go, 946 00:43:14,040 --> 00:43:17,680 "You went...you went swimming in Australia, are you mad?" 947 00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:19,960 And you've still got both your legs. You've got your limbs. 948 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:21,080 That's right. Yeah, yeah. 949 00:43:21,120 --> 00:43:23,920 Well, there will be a few sharks here, but they're pretty well fed. 950 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:25,840 I think you'll be right. Oh, OK. Yeah. 951 00:43:25,880 --> 00:43:28,720 Yeah, I mean, I probably don't taste great, anyway. 952 00:43:28,760 --> 00:43:30,280 You don't look a lot like a seal. 953 00:43:30,320 --> 00:43:32,680 No. No. No, I've got too much fur. 954 00:43:32,720 --> 00:43:35,800 More of a walrus, maybe. Yeah. The sharks here wouldn't be looking for walrus. 955 00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:37,640 No, they might be confused by a walrus. 956 00:43:37,680 --> 00:43:40,320 That's right, I think you'll be fine. I think I'll be all right. 957 00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:45,640 The water temperature hovers above zero, 958 00:43:45,680 --> 00:43:49,840 but the siren call of a pristine dip is too tempting to pass. 959 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:51,320 Nice. 960 00:43:55,080 --> 00:43:57,640 Beach life is as Australian as it gets, 961 00:43:57,680 --> 00:44:00,920 but in WA, the numbers are mind-boggling. 962 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:04,840 Western Australia has about 3,500 beaches. 963 00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:07,120 So, doing the maths, at one a day, 964 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:10,160 it would take me ten years to visit them all. 965 00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:17,920 Oop. 966 00:44:19,440 --> 00:44:21,560 OK, I'll get the hang of this in a minute. 967 00:44:24,600 --> 00:44:26,320 It's just me... 968 00:44:26,360 --> 00:44:28,240 ..a sporting legend... 969 00:44:30,320 --> 00:44:32,400 ..and a very happy dog... 970 00:44:32,440 --> 00:44:37,000 ..with nothing but crystal water between us and the South Pole. 971 00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:42,120 It's warmer than I thought. 972 00:44:46,840 --> 00:44:47,840 Good boy. 973 00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:48,880 Get going now. 974 00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:52,880 Well, that was fantastic. 975 00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:54,560 Wasn't that great? Eh? Thanks, mate. 976 00:44:54,600 --> 00:44:55,960 The water's pretty nice, isn't it? 977 00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,440 It is. It's beautiful once you get in there. 978 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:00,600 It's actually not as cold as I thought. 979 00:45:00,640 --> 00:45:03,240 The only person who enjoyed it more than you was Milo. I know. 980 00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:07,880 It's very much indicative of the pull of this place that someone like Luc, 981 00:45:07,920 --> 00:45:11,000 who was the first Australian to play in the NBA, 982 00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:13,560 achieving fame around the world, 983 00:45:13,600 --> 00:45:18,800 and yet he feels this great pull to come back here 984 00:45:18,840 --> 00:45:20,160 to Western Australia. 985 00:45:20,200 --> 00:45:21,480 For me, it's the space. 986 00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:23,320 For me, there's a, sort of, 987 00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:24,840 it's definitely not a frontier, 988 00:45:24,880 --> 00:45:28,120 but it just feels far enough behind everything everywhere else, 989 00:45:28,160 --> 00:45:30,640 where it's slower, and there's more space, 990 00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:34,120 and I feel like I can relax into that as a place to live. 991 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:35,160 Yeah. 992 00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:38,720 This really represents everything that 993 00:45:38,760 --> 00:45:41,280 the Western Australian spirit is all about. 994 00:45:41,320 --> 00:45:44,520 And that is the hugeness of the space, 995 00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:46,280 the proximity to the nature, 996 00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:49,080 and just this, kind of, tranquil beauty. 997 00:45:49,120 --> 00:45:51,040 And this is just glorious. 998 00:45:55,560 --> 00:45:57,200 On the next episode... 999 00:45:57,240 --> 00:45:58,400 You call that history? 1000 00:45:58,440 --> 00:46:00,360 This is history. 1001 00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:05,040 Those that strayed in were punished by the gods, and turned into stone. 1002 00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:08,280 And the nature just keeps getting wilder. 1003 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:09,400 They're huge. 1004 00:46:09,440 --> 00:46:12,280 Nothing prepares you for how big they are. 1005 00:46:12,320 --> 00:46:14,000 They're just amazing. 1006 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:17,360 Subtitles by Red Bee Media