1 00:00:37,920 --> 00:00:44,160 You can just see in the background what the theme of the last leg of my journey's going to be. 2 00:00:44,160 --> 00:00:46,960 That little patch of blue there is the Pacific Ocean. 3 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,720 I'm going to go up from California, to Oregon, Washington State, Alaska 4 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:54,640 and finally, in the middle of that ocean, the state of Hawaii. 5 00:00:59,880 --> 00:01:01,760 Off we go. 6 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:06,280 Its combination of architecture, situation and history make 7 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:12,000 San Francisco one of the most distinctive and beautiful cities in the world. 8 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:19,800 Even the transport system is a uniquely reliable and lovable mixture of the new and the old. 9 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:22,880 Chinatown! Chinatown stop! 10 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,400 Thank you so much. 11 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:31,760 A truly cosmopolitan port city, San Francisco has its eyes to the Far East, 12 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,320 which confusingly, lies to its far west, 13 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:39,760 across the great Pacific Ocean from where many of its early immigrants came. 14 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:45,280 The Chinese originally arrived here as coolie labourers to help build the railroads. 15 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,080 They still keep together, giving San Francisco 16 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:52,080 the oldest and best-established Chinatown in America. 17 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:55,680 - These are chocolate ones, aren't they? - Yeah, OK. 18 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:58,480 Take one? Come on. Would you like to try one? 19 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:00,680 - Yeah, I'd love to try one. - OK. 20 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:02,640 Ooh. They're hot. 21 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:04,920 Nice. Woah! Really hot. 22 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:09,160 Good! 23 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:10,400 What's my fortune? 24 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:11,960 Foo Ling U says, 25 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:18,120 "Dedicated bachelor is one who believes in adage of wine, women and so-long..." 26 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:21,640 Oh, it's a joke. At least a kind of joke. 27 00:02:21,640 --> 00:02:22,680 OK. 28 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:23,720 Here's my card. 29 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:25,640 That's your card. Thank you. 30 00:02:25,640 --> 00:02:29,680 Golden Gate Fortune Cookies Company. How long have you been doing this? 31 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:32,240 1962... 46 years. 32 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,240 46 years. 33 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,880 And are the fortunes always true? 34 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:37,960 HE LAUGHS 35 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:47,360 Extraordinary that after 46 years, his English could still be quite so eccentric... 36 00:02:47,360 --> 00:02:49,960 STRINGED INSTRUMENT PLAYS "GOD SAVE THE QUEEN" 37 00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,640 ..which could also be said of this rendition of our national anthem. 38 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:58,320 Though the Chinese always do things their own way, which I suspect is why they've been able 39 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:02,880 so successfully to blend their culture with America's without losing their identity. 40 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:10,320 Passing the now-gentrified quayside where the coolies, prospectors 41 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:14,240 and snake oil salesmen once tumbled off their leaky boats, 42 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:19,240 I head up to Nob Hill and a meeting with a more recent immigrant to this great city. 43 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:25,880 Jonny Ive, Essex-born and Newcastle-trained, is the design guru for Apple. 44 00:03:25,880 --> 00:03:31,120 The MacBooks, iPods, iPhones and iMacs, they're all his babies. 45 00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:35,960 - Not many cities can boast such a view, can they? - It's extraordinary, isn't it? 46 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,800 - And that's the famous prison island, isn't it? - Yes, Alcatraz. 47 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:44,360 Which only Clint Eastwood ever escaped from. Fabulous. 48 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:49,640 It could be said that the two most influential Britons of the past 30 years are Tim Berners-Lee, 49 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:56,520 who invented the World Wide Web, and you, who have given us the iPod and all the train of Apple products. 50 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,000 You've both chosen to live and work in America. 51 00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:03,720 - I wonder if that says something about Britain or, more importantly, America. - I think... 52 00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:08,800 that there's just a... a conspicuous lack of, um... 53 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,120 ..cynicism and scepticism. 54 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,040 Ideas are so fragile, aren't they? 55 00:04:18,040 --> 00:04:20,000 It's so easy to... 56 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:26,320 sort of miss an idea, because they can be so quiet, or to snuff an idea out. 57 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,640 I think that the sense of... 58 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:35,520 the inquisitiveness and the willingness to try 59 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:38,760 is so important for... 60 00:04:40,280 --> 00:04:44,760 ..for design, for developing those tentative, 61 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:47,080 fragile ideas into a real product. 62 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:52,000 There's nothing fragile about an earlier design classic. 63 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:57,120 The Golden Gate Bridge is the gateway to Northern California and my journey up the coast. 64 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,040 I shall be travelling into Oregon and onto Seattle in Washington State, 65 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:06,760 before heading far north to Alaska and finally journey's end in the far south on the Islands of Hawaii. 66 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:13,560 California has the seventh largest economy in the world, 67 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,520 but it's not all high-tech and showbiz. 68 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:20,920 Agribusiness is huge, and while wine may be the best known, 69 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,640 it's estimated that the largest in pure dollar terms is weed. 70 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:30,000 Mendocino County is the marijuana-growing centre of the nation, 71 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:36,440 not least because under local law you are allowed to grow up to 99 pot plants for "medicinal purposes". 72 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:39,920 Sheriff Tom Allman is on the front line. 73 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:46,400 Last year we eradicated 344,000 marijuana plants. 74 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,720 We eradicate so much marijuana in the summer 75 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:50,800 logistically, it's hard to get rid of. 76 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:56,960 We had to buy last year a very large 12-inch tree chipper. 77 00:05:56,960 --> 00:05:59,200 Oh, yes, I know the kind of thing. 78 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,400 We chip marijuana up and if it's on public lands, 79 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,080 we'll just chip it and let it go into the woods for the wildlife to eat. 80 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,200 So there are a lot of rather dazed birds flying into trees... 81 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,840 It gives a whole new meaning to birds that are high. 82 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:14,080 THEY LAUGH 83 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:20,880 At the sheriff's compound, a crack team are preparing for a drug bust, 84 00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:26,040 but before I'm allowed to join them, I have a very special date with firearms supremo Greg Stefani. 85 00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,080 Have you ever fired a hand gun? 86 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:31,200 - I haven't. This is absolutely my first time. - Really? - Yeah. 87 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,520 It really is. A rifle at school but that's it. Lying on my stomach. 88 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:36,680 We're honoured that you're shooting here. 89 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:38,960 I brought a Dirty Harry pistol for you. 90 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,400 - No, not a Magnum? - Absolutely. 91 00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,400 God almighty. That would be the greatest honour of my life. 92 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:47,520 - This is the Dirty Harry revolver. - Oh, my! 93 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,120 - Smith and Wesson Model 29, 44 Magnum. - Ah! 94 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:54,320 This one's going to be a bit easier to shoot than Dirty Harry's 95 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:58,240 - in that it has some extra weight in the barrel and the cylinder. - Right. 96 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:04,360 Now you know the old cowboys used to keep a 20 bill in one cylinder. 97 00:07:04,360 --> 00:07:09,120 - Really? - Because that would be their burial cost if they lost the gunfight. 98 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:11,200 Oh, my word! 99 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:13,160 I know what you're thinking. 100 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:14,960 Did I fire five shots or only six? 101 00:07:14,960 --> 00:07:18,920 To tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've lost count myself. 102 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:22,680 But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, 103 00:07:22,680 --> 00:07:26,440 and can blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question... 104 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:27,560 GUN SHOT 105 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:29,760 Ah! 106 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:31,640 Ooh, hot! 107 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:33,840 Do I feel lucky? 108 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:34,880 HE FIRES 109 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:36,920 Aah! 110 00:07:36,920 --> 00:07:38,440 Mummy! 111 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:41,840 Well, punk, do you? 112 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:43,560 Ha-a-a-a... 113 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:47,360 Holy mackerel! 114 00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:49,000 Oh! 115 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:50,480 THEY LAUGH 116 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:52,480 Oh! 117 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:55,720 You feel that, don't you? Oh! 118 00:07:55,720 --> 00:07:58,760 That scares the life out of me, that gun. 119 00:07:58,760 --> 00:08:03,360 You had the movie lines perfect up to the last part... 120 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,720 - Clint Eastwood did not say "Holy mackerel"! - He didn't, did he? 121 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:10,080 He just slightly narrowed his eyes. 122 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:13,680 That looks big enough for my tummy. 123 00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,320 This is the absolute... 124 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,360 - newest 2008 model. - Thank you. 125 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:22,200 - You're welcome. We need to take care of you. - Thank you. 126 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:25,680 - It goes with my trousers, which are appropriately brown. - We're ready. 127 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:27,840 All right, pony up. And it's gonna go well. 128 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:32,840 I'm following our heavily-armed convoy to a remote farmhouse 129 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:37,480 where it's believed a large illegal crop is ready to be harvested. 130 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:39,360 We have arrived. 131 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,920 - And this is all based on intelligence from your undercover operatives, is it? - It is. 132 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:48,840 OK. So the first units are on scene. 133 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:50,680 We have to knock on doors by law. 134 00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:52,920 - We can't just bust in. - Even with a warrant? 135 00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:55,520 Even with a warrant, you have to knock on the door. 136 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,840 - You have to serve it physically? - There's a 10-second time frame. 137 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:02,520 You have to announce your presence, and then if the door doesn't open 138 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:07,880 and you don't hear people saying, "Just a minute," then you can go ahead and force your entry. 139 00:09:07,880 --> 00:09:13,120 But forcing your entry sometimes means turning the door knob and opening the door. 140 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:14,880 Oh, right, it's as simple as that? 141 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,000 So now they're announcing... Come on out, you can get out now. 142 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,960 - So they've made some arrests, have they? - Sounds like it. 143 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:24,760 When we pulled up, on the radio, I heard them say they had players inside. 144 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:28,040 - Oh, players is the word you use for that. - Players means crook. 145 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:29,720 Right. 146 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:31,280 We got what we came for. 147 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,360 - Which is all exactly as the intelligence predicted. - Yeah. 148 00:09:34,360 --> 00:09:39,840 We have two grow rooms in here that are full of plants, and there's another grow room up there. 149 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:44,600 Apparently there's two people in the house who are in custody right now. 150 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:46,760 10-4. We'll get you the names later. 151 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,080 They were pretty quiet - they don't resist arrest? 152 00:09:52,080 --> 00:09:54,840 No, we don't have them resist at all. We're good. 153 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:59,160 No, you look pretty formidable. I don't think I would resist you, I have to say. 154 00:09:59,160 --> 00:10:00,200 So a good result. 155 00:10:00,200 --> 00:10:04,360 So, Stephen, if you assume that marijuana is 3,000 a pound 156 00:10:04,360 --> 00:10:11,280 and each plant can produce two pounds, we're going to see what kind of finished product 157 00:10:11,280 --> 00:10:14,240 - these people would have. - Oh, my goodness me! 158 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:18,800 - Oh, the smell! - So we have another room to our right. 159 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:22,240 They look like they're a little smaller. And then we have these. 160 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:28,600 And what they're trying to get is, they're trying to get the perfect bud for THC content... 161 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:32,400 - The active constituent... - Now it's going to be on your hands all day. - Whoa. 162 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:33,880 Holy... 163 00:10:33,880 --> 00:10:37,440 That... It's an oil, isn't it? It's like an oil, almost. 164 00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:39,040 - Yes, it is. - Whoa. 165 00:10:39,040 --> 00:10:42,400 - That's very strong. - These are all female plants. 166 00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:47,240 And it's just like life, the females have no use for males whatsoever. 167 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:52,800 These people surely can't make a claim in court that they're growing these for medicinal reasons? 168 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,760 - They would have to be very sick. - Even if they bribed a doctor to give them a... 169 00:10:56,760 --> 00:11:01,400 - This is clearly a commercial operation that's got nothing to do with... - Yes. 170 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:06,120 I've suggested to our elected board of supervisors 171 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:09,400 that if its going to be legalised as medical marijuana, 172 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:15,840 that we, the sheriff's office, sell these plastic zip ties that would have serial numbers on them, 173 00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:19,680 and they would go on the base of each marijuana plant and we could identify 174 00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:25,920 that plant as being legitimately medical and we would be able to get some money from it. 175 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,320 Leaving the heady aroma of Mendocino, I drive north to 176 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:34,040 the infamously laid-back campus of Humboldt University, 177 00:11:34,040 --> 00:11:37,600 where I want to find out what's cooking with the new generation 178 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:41,640 of the counter-culture from student siren, Carmen King. 179 00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:44,200 CHEERING AND CLAPPING 180 00:11:44,200 --> 00:11:48,040 If you've never been here before, it is an all-women open mic. 181 00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,520 Only vaginas welcome on stage. Sorry. 182 00:11:50,520 --> 00:11:56,880 If you have a penis, you are welcome to be in the audience, but you cannot perform on stage unless in full drag. 183 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,520 What we do that's a little different is we don't have a sign-up list. 184 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:04,280 We think lists are too hierarchical, so we have a love-bubble sheet. 185 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,480 Thank you, Melody. So if you want to play, just come up. 186 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:11,280 We'll give you a love bubble and when you're ready we'll just pop your bubble. 187 00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:12,480 LAUGHTER 188 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:16,720 Great! Well, I'm gonna play another song, kinda goes with the last one. 189 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:20,320 # She's got curly hair Wearing boys' underwear 190 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,800 # She's got golden tanned skin Please let me in 191 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,160 # Let's have some fun, some fun 192 00:12:26,160 --> 00:12:28,240 # Some dirty girly fun. # 193 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:30,000 You know what I'm talking about. 194 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:31,640 # Don't have to be the only ones 195 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,040 # Invite some friends and have some fun. # 196 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:38,280 You're a smoker of the weed, are you? 197 00:12:38,280 --> 00:12:41,600 I've smoked weed in my time, I have. 198 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:43,760 I've smoked my fair share. 199 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:46,200 So is this quite a weed-smoking college then? 200 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:51,440 I've heard a statistic that only 53% of the students smoke weed, but I think... 201 00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:55,520 - Only 53? - But I think it might be a little higher than that. 202 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,880 But what would your mummies and daddies say? 203 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:01,880 A lot of their mummies and daddies smoke too, especially if they're from here. 204 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:04,040 Do you believe it should be legal? 205 00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:05,880 I do, actually. The city of Denver - 206 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:10,600 I dunno if you guys have gone there - they did the Alcohol And Marijuana Equalisation Act, 207 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:15,520 and so I mean they just brought it to the point that 20,000 people die of alcohol-related deaths 208 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:17,960 in the US every year and none from marijuana. 209 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:21,000 - You're about to graduate, are you? - I graduate in one month. 210 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:27,320 My specialty is energy efficiency. I came actually to study environmental science, but it was just ridiculous. 211 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:30,320 It was just a bunch of hippies bitching about everything. 212 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:34,360 "Oh, this is wrong, this is wrong." And nobody ever talked about how to fix it, 213 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,040 you know, what to actually do. I call myself a practical idealist. 214 00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,040 I'm not running around hugging trees and sitting in them, 215 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:43,360 trying to get them to not be cut down. 216 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:47,680 I use paper, I live in a wood house, I understand that the economy must go on, 217 00:13:47,680 --> 00:13:52,200 but the economy is not going to go on if we keep using energy the way that we do. 218 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,560 California is the only place where the trees literally hug YOU, 219 00:13:56,560 --> 00:14:01,000 so it's little wonder that this is where tree-huggers, tree-sitters, eco-warriors 220 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:04,920 and Earth Firsters started their environmental campaigns. 221 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:09,560 The Pacific Northwest has amongst the most ancient woodlands in North America. 222 00:14:09,560 --> 00:14:14,040 Some of the Sequoias, the giant redwoods, are over 1,000 years old. 223 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:18,440 For the past 40 years, loggers have been at loggerheads with the Greens, 224 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:23,520 for whom the preservation of the forest has become the clarion call for saving the planet. 225 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:28,360 The pristine Rogue River Forest in Oregon is one of the key battlegrounds, 226 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:32,760 and I'm travelling down the river with two Arborio advocates, Nate and Laura. 227 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:38,360 They're taking me to a remote part of the forest to try and track down the red tree vole 228 00:14:38,360 --> 00:14:40,440 on which the spotted owl feeds. 229 00:14:40,440 --> 00:14:47,080 Now this owl is an endangered species and as such, under federal law, its habitat must be protected, 230 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:53,760 so if they can find a tree with evidence of red vole habitation, then an area of 10 kilometres around 231 00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,120 will be, by law, protected from logging. 232 00:14:56,120 --> 00:15:01,120 So, the vole's the thing to catch the conscience of the king. 233 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:06,640 This is the kind of tree that would have the red tree vole that you've been telling me about. 234 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:08,480 Yes, this is the one it would be in. 235 00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:11,360 Yes, with the big fat branches they like, and then 236 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,200 the broken tops that they can get down in the crevices. 237 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:18,200 So they live their whole lives up there? They're born, they breed up there? 238 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:22,360 The females will stay up there their entire lives and breed and have babies. 239 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:28,600 The males, however, come up, they have a little visit, and then they go on to some other lady. 240 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:30,280 Oh, men, honestly! 241 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:33,920 I wish I could be going with you, it's just that I have this awful - 242 00:15:33,920 --> 00:15:36,760 it's a real nuisance - I have this awful cowardice. 243 00:15:36,760 --> 00:15:39,200 It's just come over me. Oh! 244 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:43,680 Can you imagine when I woke up this morning and I felt all cowardly, how annoyed I was? 245 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:45,400 SHE LAUGHS 246 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:48,600 - Got it! - It's coming down, bouncing around. 247 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:50,360 OK. Send it down. 248 00:15:50,360 --> 00:15:52,480 It's coming down in between them. 249 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,960 There you go! 250 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,640 - You want to test it? - Yeah, you want to jump? - Yeah. 251 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:05,080 - Come closer. Save me(!) - Oh! 252 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:09,720 So the way we test it is if you can put two people's weight on it, you know it'll work. 253 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:12,120 - Then it's good to go. - So put it between your legs. 254 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,760 - So what we do is go like this, and so... - See that? Watch your head. 255 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:18,840 That's why we test it. 256 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:20,600 Bits do come down? 257 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:22,560 So now it will go up again. 258 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,640 But the actual limb didn't snap? Because it's a huge branch. 259 00:16:25,640 --> 00:16:30,440 But it's better to have a break before you go up than when you're up there. It makes you nervous. 260 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:32,280 Are you good to go? 261 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:34,120 Yeah, we're ready to go. 262 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:36,600 Incredible. 263 00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:41,840 The Douglas fir bark has all these like prickly things, like little splinters, where if you hug it - 264 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:45,800 you don't want to hug this tree, because it will put pricklies in your arms. 265 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:47,840 Really? That's not very friendly. 266 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:53,240 What's your view of the tree-hugging classes and the people who stay on trees 267 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,480 to stop the developers or the loggers? 268 00:16:56,480 --> 00:16:59,120 - Oh, I was one of them. - Oh, were you? - Yeah. 269 00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:02,480 - So you're a big supporter? - That's where I met Nate. 270 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:04,480 It was out at a tree sit. 271 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:09,800 I definitely support it but I think, you know... There's all sorts of tools you need in your tool box. 272 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:13,560 - Can you check that branch? - I haven't gotten there yet, hang on a second. 273 00:17:13,560 --> 00:17:14,960 Let me get a little higher. 274 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:16,840 I haven't checked the first branch. 275 00:17:16,840 --> 00:17:20,400 - This is no time for a domestic spat! - It looks like there's a nest in it. 276 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:25,400 - I see branch clippings sticking out. - You see branch... Ow! - At least you both wear glasses! 277 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:27,920 There's a nest right here on this branch. 278 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:29,440 - A vole nest? - You found one! 279 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,560 There's one inside this dead branch. 280 00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:34,440 - Are you getting a sample, Nate? - I'm getting a picture. 281 00:17:34,440 --> 00:17:35,600 Hooray! 282 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:39,360 Yes, this whole branch here is hollow, 283 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:44,400 - and it's just full of vole stuff. - Would that photograph constitute proof? 284 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:47,880 - No, they'd have to have one of their climbers look at it. - Oh, I see. 285 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:52,600 Cos the nest material and faecal matter they leave in there is specific to the vole, 286 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:55,680 and so we just take a pinch out and put it in a plastic baggy, 287 00:17:55,680 --> 00:17:59,120 and use the GPS unit to mark where the tree is, and then submit that. 288 00:17:59,120 --> 00:18:02,520 - Goodness me! - Do you want to pinch a sample? - Yeah, I'll do that. 289 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,440 Can you save some faecal matter for me? 290 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,040 - I'll bring you down a little bit. - Thank you! 291 00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:08,800 It smells piney fresh. 292 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:10,320 STEPHEN LAUGHS 293 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,600 That the forests still stretch for hundreds of miles is in large part 294 00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:17,880 due to the activities of people like Nate and Laura. 295 00:18:17,880 --> 00:18:22,280 And it is in this vast hinterland of Oregon that a creature 296 00:18:22,280 --> 00:18:25,680 even more endangered than the spotted owl is reputed to live. 297 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,280 Well, according to Matt Johnson. 298 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:33,120 We want to prove the existence of the animal officially, 299 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:40,280 and therefore get it listed on the endangered species list and protect its habitat. 300 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,200 Right, tell me how you know that he does exist. 301 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:47,120 Well, my family and I, we went through the Oregon caves, 302 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:50,480 and we decided to hike the big tree loop trail. 303 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:55,600 So we were about a mile up the mountain, around 5pm or so, 304 00:18:55,600 --> 00:19:02,200 and we started smelling something coming downwind, 305 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:03,560 down the hill. 306 00:19:03,560 --> 00:19:08,720 And then we hear this noise, as we walk. 307 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:13,840 Very deep, bass, guttural, mammal 308 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:18,120 and much louder and more bass than I can do right now, but it went, 309 00:19:18,120 --> 00:19:22,920 "Wuh, wuh, wuh, wuh." 310 00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,360 And we're like, we stop. It stops. 311 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:29,680 And we're looking at each other like, "What is that?" 312 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:35,000 We walk again, it, "Wuh, wuh, wuh." 313 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,120 We keep going. 314 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:40,760 We eventually get to a point where Mother Nature's knocking on my door... 315 00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:45,440 - Oh, right! Yes, go on. - ..so I have to hike up the hill, 316 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:49,040 through the brush, probably about a good 60, 80 feet 317 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:53,560 away from my family, and I'm behind some brush and trees, doing my thing. 318 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:59,840 Then all of a sudden, out of the left corner of my eye, I saw something move and I turned my head. 319 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:05,160 And I looked down, and that's when I saw Bigfoot 320 00:20:05,160 --> 00:20:10,360 walk off the pages of myth and legend into reality. 321 00:20:10,360 --> 00:20:16,600 You know, I had some people afterward say, "Well, why didn't you stop and take pictures?" And it's like, 322 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,080 I have my family there. 323 00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:27,560 And I'm not going to stop and take pictures and risk losing my family. 324 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:29,800 So you're talking about a hairy primate. 325 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:31,480 We're talking about... 326 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:38,640 We're talking about a very tall hairy primate that walked upright like a human being. 327 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:43,360 After we got off the mountain, we made a report to the park headquarters, and he said, 328 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:49,200 "You need to know that the park has a policy where we will not publicly 329 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:51,920 "acknowledge the presence of a sasquatch." 330 00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,720 What is it that they are trying to hide, do you think? 331 00:20:54,720 --> 00:21:00,360 All I'm going to say, and it's just a guess, is that you saw what happened 332 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:03,440 over 30 years ago when they declared 333 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:08,240 the spotted owl an endangered species. It locked up a whole 334 00:21:08,240 --> 00:21:13,400 lot of timberland, shut down a whole lot of logging companies and towns. 335 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:19,040 The State Of Oregon is still recovering from that 40 years later, economically. 336 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:23,360 Now, can you imagine what would happen if you identified 337 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:28,800 a seven-to-nine-foot primate species living in these mountains, 338 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:30,720 how much land that would lock up? 339 00:21:30,720 --> 00:21:34,600 What kind of economic devastation that would 340 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:40,200 create for the entire Pacific Northwest? Northern California? 341 00:21:44,040 --> 00:21:49,160 Personally, I think its existence is about as likely as me playing in a cup final. 342 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:52,880 But Matt is certainly convinced, and if more of this extraordinary 343 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,400 ancient woodland can be preserved, so much the better. 344 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:02,600 Heading up the Oregon coast into Washington State, 345 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,760 and the raw energy of the Pacific Ocean is ever-present. 346 00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:13,080 It's a different but equally invigorating energy that awaits me in the eclectic city of Seattle. 347 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:20,440 Seattle is a more urbane version of Liverpool - energy, wit, and a centre for new music. 348 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:25,720 At Pike Place market, I meet up with Christoph Snell. 349 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:30,880 He owns Seattle's Can Can Cabaret club and is a bringer-on of young talent, 350 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:36,160 who relishes the edginess and creativity of this major Pacific port. 351 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,720 Oh, you see, I mean, this is fabulous, it really is. 352 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,200 I mean, not many European markets can compete with this, actually. 353 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:47,560 Fresh fish off the boats, baked goods they bake right here in the market. 354 00:22:49,440 --> 00:22:51,040 Look at that. 355 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:54,080 Whoa! That's... 356 00:22:55,120 --> 00:22:57,280 Turns it into an art form. 357 00:22:58,400 --> 00:23:00,640 - Whoa... - Oh, yes! 358 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:02,040 There it is! 359 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,760 Thank you. You've been a wonderful audience. 360 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:08,600 - Oh, my, it's so soft. - Steam. 361 00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:14,040 - Melts in your mouth. - Oh, my Lord! 362 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:16,160 Oh, they are... 363 00:23:16,160 --> 00:23:17,600 Oh! 364 00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:20,760 Seattle of course has got a reputation as... 365 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:26,160 Well, 15 years ago it was the centre of the musical universe, wasn't it? 366 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,200 - Absolutely. - With that wonderful word "grunge", 367 00:23:29,200 --> 00:23:32,720 but is it still a place of lively music? 368 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:34,160 Yeah, absolutely. 369 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:49,880 The music scene, you know, we're in the heart of it because we get to see the beginnings of the music. 370 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:53,200 When someone is starting out, they're playing at our club. 371 00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,720 Ladies and gentlemen, she just turned 15 years old! 372 00:23:57,720 --> 00:24:01,760 Please put your hands together and give a warm round of applause 373 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,040 for Hannah Weeks! 374 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:06,560 CHEERING AND APPLAUSE 375 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:11,520 # Just because I hold your hand doesn't mean that you're my man 376 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:17,160 # I believe in second chances but three is more than two 377 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:20,840 # You say you'll prove me wrong this time, but I... # 378 00:24:20,840 --> 00:24:24,280 - The suicide rate in Seattle is very high, isn't it? - It's very high. 379 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:28,640 As is the heroin use, and so these kind of.... 380 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:32,880 So, despite the fact that it's a vibrant and wonderful place, 381 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:36,960 - it's also a place where kids are very disaffected and alienated? - Absolutely. 382 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:41,120 Is that also because it has maybe three of the most famous businesses in America? 383 00:24:41,120 --> 00:24:47,040 You've got Microsoft, you've got Boeing, who make all the aeroplanes 384 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:52,640 and jumbo jets that aren't made by Eurobus, and you've got... 385 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,680 Starbucks. I mean, they are three very, very famous world brands 386 00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:00,280 and maybe the kids are all, are they kids of executives or something? 387 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,200 Is that why they all commit suicide - 388 00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:04,680 because they've got hideous corporate parents? 389 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:08,240 Exactly! The weather has a huge part in it, I think, you know. 390 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,800 There's also a certain melancholy state that is conducive to creating art. 391 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:18,960 # Right now 392 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,800 # Put your lips at my command 393 00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:24,560 # Right now 394 00:25:25,360 --> 00:25:27,320 # Fly me off to lovers' land 395 00:25:28,520 --> 00:25:29,560 # Baby 396 00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,000 # Don't you leave me at the post 397 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:34,480 # Kiss me 398 00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:37,840 # You can feel it coast to coast 399 00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,600 # Right now... # 400 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:49,360 The Pacific Ocean defines Seattle, and while its weather may contribute to its citizens' overall melancholy, 401 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:52,080 the sea breeze certainly helps with a hangover. 402 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:57,960 A stone's throw from the Can Can, I have a rendezvous with some aquatic denizens of the city. 403 00:25:57,960 --> 00:26:02,320 Carol, CJ and Barney, who has a personal hygiene problem. 404 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,200 He has his own toothbrush... 405 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:06,600 Oh! An electric toothbrush! 406 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:08,640 - Sonicare. - You lucky fellow. 407 00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,800 Yeah, nothing but the best. 408 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,520 Now if we don't do this, he'll get gingivitis. 409 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,760 Harbour seals in the wild have been found with gingivitis. 410 00:26:16,760 --> 00:26:20,280 I was just going to say, in the wild, they don't have this regime... 411 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:22,880 - No. - Even with manual toothbrushes in the wild. 412 00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:24,560 No, there's hardly any of that! 413 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:28,960 Now they really are like dogs in some ways, those faces. 414 00:26:28,960 --> 00:26:30,480 They're very trainable. 415 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,280 - They bark and they have pups. - They don't bark. 416 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:37,080 They will make a growling noise at night, but we don't really know what... 417 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:38,120 HE BARKS 418 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:39,480 No, kind of like... 419 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:40,960 SHE GROWLS AND SNARLS 420 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,240 - Yeah, kind of like that. - OK. 421 00:26:44,240 --> 00:26:45,800 How old is he? 422 00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:47,520 Barney's 22. 423 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:52,760 He's an old guy, but probably in the wild we don't really think they probably live that long, it's just 424 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,840 that they're so protected from predators and bad food here. 425 00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:59,680 And like a lot of old people, he's decided to take fish oil supplements... 426 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:03,000 - All his life, and look what it's done for him. - It's clearly good. 427 00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:06,560 OK, get in the water. Yes, right there. Ready? 428 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:07,920 Get it! 429 00:27:09,360 --> 00:27:10,640 Yeah! 430 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,920 - Yeah, sometimes we get a little wet. - Yeah, that's fair enough. 431 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,560 CJ has another treat in store for me. 432 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,760 These are northern, or Alaskan sea otters. 433 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:27,960 They tend to spend a lot of their time diving up to 200 feet or more, 434 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:33,600 and then they have loose pockets of skin right underneath their arms and they'll stuff those like a kangaroo 435 00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:38,680 full of food, and then bring it to the surface and use their tummies as a dining table so... 436 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,760 I've noticed they're swimming backwards. It's charming. 437 00:27:41,760 --> 00:27:45,280 We used food colouring to bring out the patriotic aspect of it... 438 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:46,720 That's beautifully done! 439 00:27:47,800 --> 00:27:50,000 - There you are. - You'll see. 440 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,960 I think he stood to attention, you know! 441 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:55,480 He went right for the red stripe. 442 00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:58,240 He's got the fish straight away. Now he's greedy. 443 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,240 He's got the Union Jack and the ball of... 444 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:04,680 They eat up to 25% of their bodyweight a day. 445 00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,440 Yeah, your own bodyweight in quarter-pounders, isn't that amazing? 446 00:28:13,400 --> 00:28:18,560 This, Washington, is the 48th of what they call the contiguous states, 447 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:23,000 the states that adjoin each other on the continental landmass. 448 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:24,760 Only two more to go now, 449 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:27,240 Alaska and Hawaii. 450 00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:29,680 And I'm afraid there's no room 451 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:36,720 for our cab in the snowy wastes of Alaska, or across the Pacific, so this is where we say goodbye. 452 00:29:10,240 --> 00:29:17,040 My first port of call in Alaska is Kodiak Island, the second biggest island in the US. 453 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:28,280 State number 49. Alaska. 454 00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:31,040 And what a state! 455 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:37,560 The largest in America by far, it's over three times as big as France and 13 times the size of England. 456 00:29:37,560 --> 00:29:40,120 What many people don't realise about Alaska is 457 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:43,960 that for much of its recent history it was owned by Russia, not America. 458 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:49,960 The United States paid the princely sum of 7.2 million for it back in the 19th century. 459 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:53,480 That was two cents an acre. There are actually signs of that 460 00:29:53,480 --> 00:29:58,320 Russian ancestry all around in the names of the roads and particularly 461 00:29:58,320 --> 00:30:04,000 in the methods of worship that are still practised in this community to this very day. 462 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:09,720 The Russians first came to Alaska as their empire expanded eastwards under Tsar Peter the Great. 463 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:14,840 After Vitus Behring's expedition of 1742, sea otter pelts, which 464 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,360 are the warmest of any fur, became a major source of revenue. 465 00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:24,000 Realising how efficient the native Aluit peoples were at hunting, they were effectively enslaved 466 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:29,320 by the Russian merchants, and both otters and the Aluits were to be driven to the brink of extinction. 467 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,400 THEY CHANT IN PRAYER 468 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:44,200 With the merchants came the Russian Orthodox church, which in 1794 set up this mission in Kodiak. 469 00:30:51,240 --> 00:30:54,560 Some missionary churches were not welcome by the local people. 470 00:30:54,560 --> 00:30:55,640 Was yours? 471 00:30:55,640 --> 00:31:00,080 Missionaries originally came to minister to the Russian fur traders that were here. 472 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,040 - When they first landed... - Oh, so not to convert? - Right. 473 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:04,960 But it changed very, very quickly. 474 00:31:04,960 --> 00:31:10,160 Almost immediately, when the missionaries, led by Saint Herman, 475 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:17,200 saw that, in fact, many of the natives, local native folks were being enslaved and treated poorly 476 00:31:17,200 --> 00:31:21,120 by the Russian fur traders, and that allowed them to begin 477 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:26,480 to minister to the native communities which led to the church becoming indigenous very, very quickly. 478 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:31,720 'It's estimated that over a million of these delightful sea otters were hunted for their fur. 479 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,680 'Today, their numbers have recovered, although they are still endangered. 480 00:31:35,680 --> 00:31:40,160 'I'm eager to see them in the wild, and Lee Robinson, a local fisherman, 481 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:42,200 'takes me to the far side of the island, 482 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,560 'where he says he sometimes sees rafts of up to a hundred of them.' 483 00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,520 I'm astonished by how beautiful Alaska is. 484 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,840 I've been saving up the knowledge that I'll be coming here, 485 00:31:51,840 --> 00:31:54,400 and thinking, "wintry wastes", you know... 486 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,040 kind of ghastly cold winds... 487 00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:01,920 but you're not prepared for how... It's a very subtle and extraordinary kind of beauty, isn't it? 488 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:05,720 - Yes, it is. - What is it about this kind of living that you like? 489 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:07,680 Or do you think you are an unusual person... 490 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:09,320 you don't like the human race? 491 00:32:09,320 --> 00:32:11,200 I think I'm not unusual. 492 00:32:11,200 --> 00:32:17,000 I think most men that live in Alaska want to do this same thing. 493 00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:18,640 It gets into your soul, does it? 494 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:23,680 Yes. I'm only being blessed because I was able to find the land, 495 00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:26,720 and I got a great wife that will live in the wilderness, 496 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:28,440 who will live out here with me. 497 00:32:28,440 --> 00:32:33,680 So what's your attitude towards the rest of the United States of America? How do you refer to it? 498 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:35,600 Do you call it "the mainland"? 499 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:37,280 "The Lower 48". 500 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,360 The Lower 48? 501 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:41,320 Is that contemptuous? 502 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:44,040 Oh I don't... That's what we call it. 503 00:32:44,040 --> 00:32:49,120 The Lower 48. You know, we're up north, they're down the lower 48. 504 00:32:49,120 --> 00:32:50,240 That's true. 505 00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:52,240 So what have we got here? Is this bait? 506 00:32:52,240 --> 00:32:54,160 Yeah, this is bait. It's herring. 507 00:32:54,160 --> 00:32:56,800 I've cut it and salted it. 508 00:32:58,360 --> 00:33:02,480 And then we've got a jig there with a single little squid. 509 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:06,480 - Little plastic squid. - If the bait falls off, we've still got the squid. 510 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:10,480 - That's clever. - The one thing I don't have down here is hot running water. 511 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:14,520 You've just wiped your hands in freezing sea-water. 512 00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:17,520 - Smell them! - I suppose it's better than having them fishy. 513 00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:19,320 - Smell it? Smell it? - Yes, charming. 514 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:22,680 - Hang on here a minute, we're going to move over to our spot. - Oh, OK. 515 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:25,480 Come on, fishy... 516 00:33:25,480 --> 00:33:28,440 Come on, halibut, just for the hell of it! 517 00:33:28,440 --> 00:33:32,560 Just for the halibut... how big can a halibut get? 518 00:33:32,560 --> 00:33:35,920 I think the record sport-caught is out in Dutch Harbor... 519 00:33:35,920 --> 00:33:38,000 it's real close to 500 pounds. 520 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:43,560 - Good gracious me! - You get me out here. I miss my cabin! 521 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,120 I'm sure I can... I'm sure I can feel something. 522 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:50,920 - How do I reel it in? - Just spin. 523 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:52,520 - Shall I pull it up? - Yeah, yeah. 524 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,360 Bring it in. See what we've got here. 525 00:33:55,360 --> 00:33:57,280 Most definitely... I can see it! 526 00:33:57,280 --> 00:33:59,680 - Oh, what is it? - Oh, it's an Irish lord. 527 00:33:59,680 --> 00:34:01,280 Has it any idea how ugly it is? 528 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:04,480 Yeah, I think it does. Here, go ahead and bring it to me. 529 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:06,560 Ugly beast. Surely you can't eat that. 530 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:08,120 Oh, sorry. 531 00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,880 - Is that edible? - Um, I usually don't eat them. 532 00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:14,400 - So he lives in the deep? - Yeah. 533 00:34:14,400 --> 00:34:18,880 I've found that generally speaking, the fish, the lower down they are... 534 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:22,440 - The uglier they are? - They don't need to be pretty because... 535 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:23,600 Look, what are you? 536 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:26,800 You silly thing! Oh, an Irish lord? 537 00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:31,000 Irish lord. They've got a few mechanisms here that kind of hurt. 538 00:34:31,000 --> 00:34:33,720 Yes, a lot of spikes going on. 539 00:34:33,720 --> 00:34:35,840 See, these are spines. 540 00:34:35,840 --> 00:34:41,240 Oh, yeah, if you get those stuck on you, they're really kind of poisonous. 541 00:34:41,240 --> 00:34:44,000 Goodbye, Irish lord, 542 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,240 and bless you. 543 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:50,360 There he goes! 544 00:34:52,400 --> 00:34:59,200 Leaving my lucky lord and happy Lee behind, I'm heading north a thousand miles to Barrow. 545 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:04,840 Perched on the Chukchi Sea area of the Arctic ocean, 546 00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,680 it's almost entirely inhabited by Inuit people called the Inupiat. 547 00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:40,880 I've come as far north on my journey as I can. 548 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:46,160 In fact, I've come to the farthest north city in all of America. 549 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,560 It's called Barrow. It's more of a village really. 550 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:51,720 It's right within the Arctic circle. 551 00:35:51,720 --> 00:35:54,840 Behind me the sea is frozen. 552 00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:56,840 This looks like a desolate place. 553 00:35:56,840 --> 00:36:00,400 It's certainly as far north as I've ever been or would ever want to go, 554 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:04,240 and as cold as I've ever been or would want to be, but despite appearances, 555 00:36:04,240 --> 00:36:07,480 this is a very exciting time of year for Barrow, 556 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:10,240 because the sea is actually breaking up, 557 00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:12,960 and that means a great deal around here. 558 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:18,440 'Henry Kiniak is captain of one of Barrow's whaling boats that are allowed by international law 559 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,600 'to hunt the bowhead and beluga whales that cruise these Arctic seas.' 560 00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:28,440 Inupiat people are entitled to hunt for whales but no-one else is in this area, is that right? 561 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,280 I think 10 communities that can whale. 562 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:34,880 Right. And how many are you allowed to capture in one year? 563 00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,400 In one year we can... 564 00:36:37,400 --> 00:36:39,880 they gave us 22 strikes. 565 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:44,840 So it's not as if you are slaughtering huge pods of whales, are you? 566 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:47,480 We don't call it slaughtering. 567 00:36:47,480 --> 00:36:50,320 - We are feeding the community. - Yes. 568 00:36:50,320 --> 00:36:52,200 You know, to me... 569 00:36:53,720 --> 00:36:59,160 I thought that my mom and my dad breeded me for hunting. 570 00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:01,600 When we are whaling, this is what we use. 571 00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:03,480 Oh, my goodness! 572 00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:05,280 It's a whalegun. 573 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:06,960 A whalegun? 574 00:37:06,960 --> 00:37:08,960 It's so heavy! 575 00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:12,080 - It weighs about 60 pounds. - 60 pounds! 576 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:19,920 There's a propellant charge that's...a primer, like a primer. 577 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:24,440 - Oh, I see. - And then from there, then the shell is about this big. 578 00:37:24,440 --> 00:37:25,760 Oh, my goodness! 579 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:27,920 What's the best part of the whale? 580 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:30,360 - Everything is the best. - You love it all. - Yes. 581 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:34,840 There's different ways that you could eat it. You could eat it raw, frozen. 582 00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:38,960 - You could cook it. You could ferment it. - Really? - Yeah. 583 00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:43,040 And the fermenting is "mikiup"... 584 00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:44,560 that's what they call it. 585 00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:47,440 And you let it age for about a week. 586 00:37:47,440 --> 00:37:49,480 All my kids love it. And me. 587 00:37:49,480 --> 00:37:51,400 The whole family. 588 00:37:51,400 --> 00:37:56,960 - It is getting kind of warm, because this time of the year it would be really, really cold. - Oh, really? 589 00:37:56,960 --> 00:37:59,960 - You don't call this cold, then? - No. 590 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:02,480 To us, it's kind of warm. 591 00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,360 20 past 8 in the evening... 592 00:38:06,360 --> 00:38:08,440 And the sun is still out. 593 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,920 And how long will it stay light for? 594 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:16,920 Right now it stays nice and bright until...October. 595 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:20,280 - Good lord. And it stays bright all through the night? - Yeah. 596 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,000 So it never sets? 597 00:38:22,000 --> 00:38:27,920 If it's winter when of course there's no sun at all, do you ever go out? 598 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,880 Yeah, we have to go out. 599 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:33,440 It doesn't matter if it's day or night. 600 00:38:33,440 --> 00:38:39,000 You know, we go caribou hunting in the winter and sometimes it gets dark. 601 00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:41,240 And do you find your way by the stars, then? 602 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:43,960 Yeah. Stars, or GPS! 603 00:38:43,960 --> 00:38:45,520 Modern technology! 604 00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:59,200 Henry, one thing that Alaska is becoming famous for also is oil and gas. 605 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:01,760 The oil companies been coming up here, 606 00:39:01,760 --> 00:39:05,240 talking to the whaling captains and the community, 607 00:39:05,240 --> 00:39:10,040 - and they want to try to drill here on the ocean. - Really? 608 00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:15,720 I say no to it because this is our food, this is our livelihood right here. 609 00:39:15,720 --> 00:39:22,480 If something happened and the oil rig or something breaks down and oil starts coming... 610 00:39:22,480 --> 00:39:24,920 it would contaminate our food. 611 00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:26,560 Our garden. 612 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:29,400 Yes, your garden. That's a very good way of putting it. 613 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:31,600 A cold, wet garden. 614 00:39:32,560 --> 00:39:37,200 'The wind changes direction and threatens to break up the frozen sea. 615 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:41,920 'The fragile sealskin boats are easily crushed by breaking ice. 616 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:45,200 'Thoughts of finding a bowhead whale are shelved for the time being, 617 00:39:45,200 --> 00:39:47,640 'as everyone scrambles to get back to land.' 618 00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:06,560 Right now, this is not a good time to try to harvest the whale in these conditions, 619 00:40:06,560 --> 00:40:10,240 because of the west wind and the currents keep changing. 620 00:40:10,240 --> 00:40:12,160 I can see the white on the horizon. 621 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:14,280 It's kicking up waves, isn't it? 622 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:16,720 And the flocks of birds are coming in here. 623 00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:18,440 We call them eider ducks. 624 00:40:18,440 --> 00:40:24,920 Eider ducks. Famous for their feathers, making good quilts. 625 00:40:24,920 --> 00:40:26,920 - Eiderdown. - Oh, yes. Good eating too. 626 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:29,640 - Are they? - Yes, they're the best! 627 00:40:32,600 --> 00:40:36,440 When we harvest that whale, we work all night. 628 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:40,800 It takes about 24 hours, by the time we are done with a whole whale. 629 00:40:40,800 --> 00:40:45,200 How do you hide the smell from the bears, because they have an amazing sense of smell? 630 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:46,960 Well, that's the thing. We can't. 631 00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:50,880 They come to the area where we're butchering, and we give them a warning. 632 00:40:50,880 --> 00:40:54,000 We give them a warning shot and if they don't acknowledge it, 633 00:40:54,000 --> 00:40:57,160 we shoot them right there to protect the rest of the people. 634 00:40:57,160 --> 00:41:00,120 That's how dangerous they are. They're a supernatural being. 635 00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:02,680 Just one blow, it can crush your skull. 636 00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:04,840 Just like how they do it with the seals. 637 00:41:04,840 --> 00:41:09,160 One blow, that's all it takes. 638 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:11,440 So what do you do if you don't have a rifle? 639 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:13,760 Well, you hightail and run! 640 00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:16,360 On a snow machine, or literally with your legs? 641 00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:20,120 A snow machine or boat. Sometimes we got chased before. 642 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:28,880 There will be no whales today, but over the three-month season, 643 00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:34,800 the Inupiat will harvest their allotted 22 bowheads, enough to tide them over the long winter. 644 00:41:44,000 --> 00:41:49,320 Well, if I seem a little inappropriately dressed for the Arctic Circle, it's because 645 00:41:49,320 --> 00:41:54,120 I'm saying farewell to Barrow, northernmost city of the United States. 646 00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:58,520 And I'm going to say hello to the southernmost part of the United States. 647 00:41:58,520 --> 00:42:00,960 I'm on my way to Hawaii, 648 00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:06,720 which is apparently 3,450 miles in that direction. 649 00:42:08,640 --> 00:42:12,520 MUSIC: Theme from "Hawaii Five-O" 650 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:42,480 'On Honolulu's famed Waikiki Beach on the Island of Oahu, 651 00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:47,680 'I ingeniously disguise myself as an absurdly-dressed overweight tourist 652 00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:51,000 'for a meeting with Terry Pennington, a private investigator.' 653 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:53,600 Is there a noticeably dark side to paradise here? 654 00:42:53,600 --> 00:42:58,720 Well, I guess there is, like there is in any US city. 655 00:42:58,720 --> 00:43:03,600 There's an element of crime and drugs and prostitution, 656 00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:06,080 - government corruption. - Really? 657 00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:08,520 We do a fair amount of criminal defence work. 658 00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:11,400 Are they often innocent, or can't you tell me that? 659 00:43:11,400 --> 00:43:17,120 I would have to say more often than not, they have actually participated in some degree or another. 660 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,480 But you might be able to reduce the sentence? 661 00:43:19,480 --> 00:43:24,680 Right, right. But they have the right to a fair trial and we do our bit. 662 00:43:24,680 --> 00:43:26,440 I guess, for me... 663 00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:31,760 the reward, or what I enjoy in the job, is helping people. 664 00:43:31,760 --> 00:43:35,160 Yeah, I suppose if I was to imagine trying to do your job, 665 00:43:35,160 --> 00:43:39,720 the thing one would most find pleasure in would be finding a missing person for a family. 666 00:43:39,720 --> 00:43:42,440 - Is that something you've done? - Many times. - Really? 667 00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:46,440 We found a homeless guy from the mainland who was 668 00:43:46,440 --> 00:43:50,120 actually an heir to a multi-million dollar fortune, and he... 669 00:43:50,120 --> 00:43:51,480 You're kidding me! 670 00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:57,920 15 million had been put in trust for this kid, but he couldn't handle the money. 671 00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,400 He would end up using it on drugs and alcohol... 672 00:44:00,400 --> 00:44:03,360 So are there many down-and-outs in Hawaii? 673 00:44:03,360 --> 00:44:06,200 You know, like any city, there's a fair amount. 674 00:44:06,200 --> 00:44:10,120 I think what attracts more to Hawaii is the warm climate. 675 00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:13,640 I mean, the beautiful scenery, you can essentially live on the beach here. 676 00:44:13,640 --> 00:44:15,680 But you need the money to jet over here. 677 00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:20,320 Well, you do. And at times in the past, we've discovered 678 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,400 different governments, municipalities on the mainland, 679 00:44:23,400 --> 00:44:25,320 to get rid of their homeless problem, 680 00:44:25,320 --> 00:44:28,800 were actually sticking a plane ticket in homeless people's hands. 681 00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:30,680 Dropping them off at the airport... 682 00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:34,640 Go to Hawaii but don't sit on the sidewalk selling false watches! 683 00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:37,480 - It's a one-way ticket. - Yes. 684 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:40,440 - Well, it could be worse. - It could be worse. 685 00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:44,600 On the other side of the island from Waikiki, the north shore, 686 00:44:44,600 --> 00:44:48,720 there's a more relaxed ethos, but there's no relaxing for me. 687 00:44:51,000 --> 00:44:54,520 Well, this is a first for me. I've never swum with sharks before. 688 00:44:54,520 --> 00:44:58,920 I've been in a boardroom full of television executives, 689 00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:00,800 which is not that far off. 690 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:02,600 You don't throw them fish, though. 691 00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:06,240 Hob-Nobs yes, but fish, no. I may try that in the future, if it works. 692 00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:11,000 So wish me luck. I have to confess, I'm a little nervous. 693 00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:13,640 - Right, thank you. - Take a deep breath. 694 00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:18,960 'Joe Pavcek, an ex-PI and friend of Terry, has been running shark tours for over a decade. 695 00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:23,760 'He says these Galapagos sharks are docile. Docile?! 696 00:45:23,760 --> 00:45:29,280 'They eat seals even bigger and blubberier than me, for goodness sake!' 697 00:45:29,280 --> 00:45:30,880 Say goodbye to the people. 698 00:45:30,880 --> 00:45:33,120 Goodbye, everybody. 699 00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:36,080 - Right. - It's been nice being your host for how many years? 700 00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:38,560 Quite. I'm not very good with snorkels either. 701 00:45:38,560 --> 00:45:40,000 I tend to drown - well, gulp. 702 00:45:41,720 --> 00:45:45,040 That's a dry snorkel, so you won't get water in it. 703 00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:46,640 Just float it to the other side. 704 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:48,520 Shoot to the back and grab on to the bar. 705 00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:52,640 That's right. 706 00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:09,400 There are sharks there, 707 00:46:09,400 --> 00:46:11,680 believe me! 708 00:46:31,720 --> 00:46:33,360 They're very close to the cage. 709 00:47:01,840 --> 00:47:03,120 Hey, Steve, 710 00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:06,840 - are you scared? - Sorry? - Are you afraid? - No. 711 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:09,120 Isn't it great how you transform? 712 00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:11,960 Yeah, absolutely. I have to say. 713 00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:14,080 It's not frightening at all. It's... 714 00:47:14,080 --> 00:47:18,360 just beautiful. They're wonderful animals. 715 00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:19,880 Really wonderful. 716 00:47:25,240 --> 00:47:27,360 Joe, when did you first come to Hawaii? 717 00:47:27,360 --> 00:47:30,600 I moved here in 1969 from San Diego. 718 00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:32,640 In 1969? 719 00:47:32,640 --> 00:47:35,400 I'm only 27! 720 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:41,240 In 1969, I guess it was a lot less developed, especially on the south side of Oahu? 721 00:47:41,240 --> 00:47:45,520 Especially on the south. There's so much development that has gone on over there. 722 00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:48,520 It's kind of an island divided into two, isn't it? 723 00:47:48,520 --> 00:47:53,760 - North shore and south shore. - And we're on the north shore, and you're a north shore kind of a guy, yeah? 724 00:47:53,760 --> 00:47:56,840 - Well, this is country. - In fact I'm wearing this T-shirt... 725 00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:00,880 defend Oahu...and it's all about the country on the back it says, 726 00:48:00,880 --> 00:48:05,800 because it's constantly under threat from the kind of development that's ruined Waikiki. 727 00:48:05,800 --> 00:48:08,800 Well, since we've lost our sugar cane and pineapple, 728 00:48:08,800 --> 00:48:11,440 all the developers eyeballing all this land. 729 00:48:11,440 --> 00:48:14,480 Right there, you can see, everything would be ocean view. 730 00:48:14,480 --> 00:48:18,160 Yeah. That's so beautiful. So do you think you've got a chance, though? 731 00:48:18,160 --> 00:48:22,920 Of sticking it and keeping this place free from development? 732 00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:25,560 - No. - Really? 733 00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:28,640 Have you seen any place that's been free from development? 734 00:48:28,640 --> 00:48:33,120 I think, alas, Joe is not being unduly pessimistic. 735 00:48:33,120 --> 00:48:36,720 It's the curse of tourism to destroy what it most desires. 736 00:48:36,720 --> 00:48:39,560 Hawaii survives on tourism and with good reason. 737 00:48:39,560 --> 00:48:44,080 Its 19 islands, the tips of a mighty chain of volcanic mountains, 738 00:48:44,080 --> 00:48:47,960 are all staggeringly beautiful and surprisingly different. 739 00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:51,160 A short but incredibly scary flight from Oahu, 740 00:48:51,160 --> 00:48:53,760 and I'm approaching the dramatic coast of Kauai, 741 00:48:53,760 --> 00:48:56,120 the oldest of the islands, 742 00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:58,960 and to many, the most Polynesian of them all. 743 00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:01,680 Titus Kinimaka is a native of Kauai, 744 00:49:01,680 --> 00:49:06,840 and a celebrated champion surfer and mean plucker of the ukelele. 745 00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:09,960 TITUS PLAYS UKELELE 746 00:49:39,720 --> 00:49:42,760 - Lovely, isn't it? - It is just heaven. 747 00:49:42,760 --> 00:49:45,000 It's really a special place. 748 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:48,200 Kauai is...very special. 749 00:49:48,200 --> 00:49:52,640 And in Hawaii, of all these islands, the first island out of the sea. 750 00:49:52,640 --> 00:49:58,240 This island has been populated by Hawaiians for thousands of years. 751 00:49:58,240 --> 00:50:00,040 You're also part of America. 752 00:50:00,040 --> 00:50:05,160 Yeah, we've become very, er, "civilised". 753 00:50:05,160 --> 00:50:10,280 Do you feel American? If someone asked you what your nationality was, would you say American? 754 00:50:10,280 --> 00:50:14,920 Er... I'm Hawaiian, and I will always be Hawaiian. 755 00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:22,200 And my family, I can trace back my family about...500 years. 756 00:50:22,200 --> 00:50:23,960 Really? So that's before... 757 00:50:23,960 --> 00:50:25,560 And our family's from Kauai. 758 00:50:25,560 --> 00:50:30,240 So that's before the British, which I notice is still in the Hawaiian flag, 759 00:50:30,240 --> 00:50:32,000 Captain Cook, before he arrived? 760 00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:35,320 Captain Cook, he was probably the one that started it all, yeah. 761 00:50:35,320 --> 00:50:37,960 Yes, I apologise for that. And then do you know, 762 00:50:37,960 --> 00:50:40,520 after him it was Thomas Cook, the holiday man. 763 00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:44,440 You know, they came over here... 764 00:50:44,440 --> 00:50:46,120 I believe in timing, you know. 765 00:50:47,640 --> 00:50:49,800 I guess they had bad timing. 766 00:50:49,800 --> 00:50:52,200 - He ended up in the pot. - He did, didn't he. 767 00:50:52,200 --> 00:50:56,280 Yes, the first time he came here he was welcomed. The second time, eaten. 768 00:50:56,280 --> 00:51:01,360 'But the cooking of Cook didn't deter tourists for long.' 769 00:51:01,360 --> 00:51:04,720 All round the world you see local people who are courting the fact 770 00:51:04,720 --> 00:51:08,440 that tourism does bring in instant cash and therefore is very tempting. 771 00:51:08,440 --> 00:51:11,880 And then on the other hand, it completely changes the very thing 772 00:51:11,880 --> 00:51:14,880 that was special to them and to the rest of the world. 773 00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:19,000 Exactly, which is the values that we should, all us Hawaiians 774 00:51:19,000 --> 00:51:25,600 hang on to, because as soon as there's a hurricane here in Hawaii, everybody's gone. 775 00:51:25,600 --> 00:51:31,600 Everybody who supposedly lives here in Kuaui goes back home to wherever they've come from. 776 00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:35,440 So they've got another house somewhere else, but we're still here. 777 00:51:35,440 --> 00:51:38,360 So do you resent that because obviously rich people... 778 00:51:38,360 --> 00:51:41,120 No, I don't resent that. I don't resent that. 779 00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:47,760 I just...like to make it clear that I know that when storms come, 780 00:51:47,760 --> 00:51:49,440 everybody else has a place to go. 781 00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:52,280 - It's a definition of a fairweather friend. - Exactly. 782 00:51:52,280 --> 00:51:56,000 'Titus inveigles me to join up with some of his family 783 00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:57,840 'for a quick paddle to his home, 784 00:51:57,840 --> 00:52:01,200 'on one of the most stunning beaches I've ever been to.' 785 00:52:01,200 --> 00:52:05,920 It's quite hard to resist humming the theme tune from Hawaii Five-O, 786 00:52:05,920 --> 00:52:08,320 which everybody does, of course. 787 00:52:08,320 --> 00:52:10,840 It's a terrible cliche, but it's hard to resist. 788 00:52:10,840 --> 00:52:14,160 No, that's it. That's what everybody can relate to in the world. 789 00:52:14,160 --> 00:52:16,280 It's Hawaii Five-O and canoe paddling. 790 00:52:16,280 --> 00:52:19,640 Yeah, you're actually doing it. 791 00:52:19,640 --> 00:52:22,800 That's it. I never thought the day would come. 792 00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:27,760 Oh! I like that. 793 00:52:38,560 --> 00:52:40,720 - Thank you for that. - A hike and a paddle. 794 00:52:40,720 --> 00:52:43,040 A hike and a paddle. What a day! 795 00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:49,840 'Polynesian hospitality requires Titus to prepare a traditional Hula. 796 00:52:49,840 --> 00:52:52,920 'That means singing, dancing and the obligatory piglet.' 797 00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:55,200 It's not like you go to the office every day. 798 00:52:55,200 --> 00:52:56,960 This actually is your life. 799 00:52:56,960 --> 00:52:59,880 This is how people live, with music and food. 800 00:52:59,880 --> 00:53:02,280 Yes, this is magic. Look at this. 801 00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:05,120 It sometimes gets as cold as 72 degrees, doesn't it? 802 00:53:05,120 --> 00:53:08,720 That's bad. It gets chilly, man, I have to put a long-sleeved shirt on. 803 00:53:08,720 --> 00:53:12,360 A long-sleeved shirt?! Well, there, that's the reason I have to leave. 804 00:53:12,360 --> 00:53:16,520 I couldn't possibly live in a place where I'd have to wear a long-sleeved shirt. 805 00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:18,640 Yeah, it's hard. 806 00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:22,000 But we try to endure it. 807 00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:23,720 You lucky swine. 808 00:53:23,720 --> 00:53:26,720 Talking of swine, shall we have some more of this? 809 00:53:40,760 --> 00:53:44,720 Big Island is, as its name suggests, the biggest island of the archipelago, 810 00:53:44,720 --> 00:53:47,280 and it's also the most recent. 811 00:53:48,880 --> 00:53:52,880 The tallest of its five volcanos, Mauna Kea, 812 00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:56,160 rises 14,000 feet above sea level. 813 00:53:56,160 --> 00:53:59,440 High above the clouds and the distorting effects of 814 00:53:59,440 --> 00:54:05,360 the earth's atmosphere, it is one of the very best places on the planet from which to observe the heavens. 815 00:54:13,080 --> 00:54:17,200 The Keck observatory has the largest optical telescope in the world. 816 00:54:17,200 --> 00:54:23,520 Its stereoscopic lens allows it to probe deep into space to the very origins of the universe, 817 00:54:23,520 --> 00:54:28,160 which is why astrophysicist Alex Filipenko loves the place so much 818 00:54:28,160 --> 00:54:30,320 that he even got married here. 819 00:54:30,320 --> 00:54:33,680 Let me show you the most powerful explosion we've ever found. 820 00:54:33,680 --> 00:54:35,200 Oh, yes, please. 821 00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:41,840 OK. This is a fabulous one. Watch the star. 822 00:54:41,840 --> 00:54:46,280 Before it exploded, it actually had a double ejection like this. 823 00:54:46,280 --> 00:54:48,680 This was not the end of its life. 824 00:54:48,680 --> 00:54:52,080 That was an explosion before the end. 825 00:54:52,080 --> 00:54:54,560 There's the explosion at the end. 826 00:54:54,560 --> 00:54:58,920 So those two sort of, like bags, what are they? 827 00:54:58,920 --> 00:55:02,840 They're lobes of debris. 828 00:55:02,840 --> 00:55:04,360 Double lobes. 829 00:55:04,360 --> 00:55:11,280 This star ejected maybe 10 or 20 years before its colossal death. 830 00:55:11,280 --> 00:55:13,760 So there is this relatively gentle ejection. 831 00:55:13,760 --> 00:55:17,200 - That's relatively gentle. - Wouldn't want to be in the middle of it! 832 00:55:17,200 --> 00:55:21,880 And then a colossal explosion, just bam! Right? 833 00:55:21,880 --> 00:55:26,120 Not only are they billions of times more powerful than the sun, 834 00:55:26,120 --> 00:55:28,920 but they're crucial for life as we know it. 835 00:55:28,920 --> 00:55:32,240 Did you realise that the heavy elements of which you are made, 836 00:55:32,240 --> 00:55:33,720 the carbon in your cells, 837 00:55:33,720 --> 00:55:35,320 the calcium in your bones, 838 00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:39,320 the oxygen that you breathe, the iron in your red blood cells... 839 00:55:39,320 --> 00:55:44,280 all of those elements were cooked up in the nuclear furnaces deep inside 840 00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:49,920 stars, and then blown out into the cosmos by these colossal explosions. 841 00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:53,160 So you, as Carl Sagan used to say, are made of star stuff. 842 00:55:53,160 --> 00:55:56,000 Are you an optimist about Man's place in the universe? 843 00:55:56,000 --> 00:56:01,040 Do you think that we'll screw it up before we get a chance to save it, or save it before we screw it up? 844 00:56:01,040 --> 00:56:03,320 Well, that's the million dollar question. 845 00:56:03,320 --> 00:56:06,040 One depressing possibility 846 00:56:06,040 --> 00:56:13,520 that explains why we haven't found any clear signals from any extraterrestrials 847 00:56:13,520 --> 00:56:19,880 is that something that comes along with higher intelligence is this self-destructive ability. 848 00:56:19,880 --> 00:56:25,080 So what if civilisations out there, the intelligent ones, just go flash in the night? 849 00:56:25,080 --> 00:56:28,840 They don't last long enough to explore the rest of our Milky Way galaxy. 850 00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:33,880 Maybe cultures and societies are like the systems you discover, they have their supernovas too? 851 00:56:33,880 --> 00:56:39,840 Well, I'm hoping that humans will overcome their difficulties and will last a very, very long time. 852 00:56:39,840 --> 00:56:44,920 And will someday go out and populate planetary systems around other stars. 853 00:56:45,880 --> 00:56:50,280 'I leave Alex and his wonderful and very American sense of optimism 854 00:56:50,280 --> 00:56:57,400 'for a flight over the lava fields that are still spewing forth molten rock that cools to form new land.' 855 00:57:02,880 --> 00:57:04,960 Wow, that's extraordinary. 856 00:57:04,960 --> 00:57:06,520 Nature's furnace. 857 00:57:06,520 --> 00:57:10,200 You can see why people used to believe in Hell. 858 00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:13,200 It looks like the entrance to the underworld, doesn't it? 859 00:57:14,840 --> 00:57:16,840 And you'll have to take my word for it, 860 00:57:16,840 --> 00:57:19,120 you can actually feel the heat from up here. 861 00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:28,880 I've never seen anything like that in my life. 862 00:57:33,200 --> 00:57:37,320 Well, here my journey has to end because here America ends. 863 00:57:37,320 --> 00:57:41,040 This is as far south as you can get in the whole United States. 864 00:57:41,040 --> 00:57:44,000 Actually you know, America doesn't end here. 865 00:57:45,520 --> 00:57:50,560 Because new America is being made all the time by these extraordinary volcanic forces. 866 00:57:50,560 --> 00:57:55,920 In fact in the last six weeks, a whole 20 acres of new America was made. 867 00:57:55,920 --> 00:57:58,960 It's a country that's constantly being re-born. 868 00:58:01,400 --> 00:58:04,800 'Looking down on the geological melting pot of America, 869 00:58:04,800 --> 00:58:11,360 'I think back over the weeks of this astonishing journey through 50 states of being. 870 00:58:11,360 --> 00:58:17,160 'United or not, a force for good or ill, they make up the United States Of America, 871 00:58:17,160 --> 00:58:22,520 'a land of matchless variety, beauty, energy and life.' 872 00:58:38,160 --> 00:58:42,080 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd 873 00:58:42,080 --> 00:58:44,960 E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk