Five, four, three, two, one.
Leave the world behind for the next half hour as the third edition of Life on the Beach
puts a little sand between you and your toes.
Take a dip with our Life on the Beach fish cam as we catch more than just this barracuda
in the sky blue waters off Lizard Island.
Enjoy the view as we pay tribute to the coastline's ever watchful beacon, the lighthouse.
Join us for afternoon tea on the beautiful beaches of Broome where you can have your
cuppa with one hump or two.
Learn how tough it is being up the Amazon even with a paddle.
Find out why this woman is standing in the middle of a sunflower patch and pick up a
few pointers on flying from the little guys who do it best.
So be on the lookout for all this, a few surprises and another one of our great value offers.
And don't be afraid to get your feet wet as we take off on this very special edition of
Life on the Beach.
But the biggest day in Australian surfing came on the 15th of January 1915 when the
Hawaiian Duke Kanamoku first battled out into the surf at Sydney's Freshwater Beach.
The Duke had won a gold medal for swimming in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.
He'd come to Australia to demonstrate his winning form but it was the longboard he'd
brought with him that captured the imagination of a nation.
Then as now, Hawaii was the world's mecca for surfing's true believers.
Let's head for those warmer waters to have a look at the surf that spawned our love affair
with the wave.
Aside from offering the world's biggest waves, the charm of Hawaii lies in the surfing history
that still lives and breathes there.
From traditional canoes to longboards to Malibus to whatever's hot this season, you'll find
it all on Hawaii's awesome beaches.
If you're serious about proving your worth on a board, Hawaii is and always has been
the place to make your mark.
It was in Hawaii in 1962 that Midget Farrelly put Australia on the surfing map when he captured
our first major international title.
With the advent of pro surfing in the early 1970s, Hawaii was again the place to be.
1976 saw Australians Mark Richards, Ian Cairns and Rabbit Bartholomew take the surfing world
by storm.
The trio battled Hawaii's seven and a half metre waves that year to sweep first, second
and third place in the world championships.
But even with all their money, sponsorships, status and perks, Hawaii's local surfers
haven't forgotten the fundamentals.
First and foremost, they know this sport is about having fun.
Camels were first imported to Australia in the 1860s for outback transport.
Out in Broome, they're still on the job, but the hours and conditions have improved considerably.
Let's tag along for a ride.
Therapeutic makes you want to go to sleep.
The camel is a most appropriate symbol for Broome, a quiet oasis where the great sandy
desert meets the Indian Ocean.
But the jewel in the crown is certainly the Cable Beach Resort.
Built only recently by Lord McAlpine, the resort goes to great lengths to reflect Broome's
unique multicultural history.
Fine elements and furnishings are drawn from Thailand, Indonesia, China, Japan and Malaysia.
Australia isn't forgotten either.
Lord McAlpine's sizeable collection of Sydney Nolan paintings adorn one guest residence.
Here a three-bedroom suite is graced with the work of Elizabeth Durek.
And in the living room, you'll find Lord McAlpine's own collection of butterflies.
But with two pools, three restaurants, endless tennis courts and 20 kilometres of beach at
the end of the lawn, the resort has a lot more to offer than just elegant things to
look at.
A night out in Broome more often than not starts at Sun Pictures, the world's oldest
outdoor picture theatre.
Meet Tony Hutchinson, co-owner of the theatre.
But first things first, Tony, have you ever met Lord McAlpine?
Yeah, well it was a funny story.
When McAlpine first came to Broome, they were supposed to go to Kowkoorlie, but that was
fogged in so his lawyer John Adams said, oh we'll go up to Broome and see Hutchie.
That's my old man.
So they flew into Broome, winged in here and I was driving McAlpine around this beaten
up old Falcon.
And it was just Mr McAlpine in those days, a pearl investor from England, that's how
we all knew.
And I think he picked up about four properties that day.
Alright, well back to the theatre, give us some history.
The theatre itself, well it was built in 1916 by one of the pearling masters of the day.
It's pretty well original, the odd bit of floor board where someone disappears through,
we just patch it back up again.
After we pull the body out, we're very sensitive about what we do to the old building here
because even though the floor board's very aged, the place gets its character from the
sort of grain look of everything and we've had photographers in here from Vogue magazine,
Harper's Bazaar, and they always say, don't ever change it at all.
They like the look of everything, it comes together to create the whole atmosphere really.
So you must have a few good stories about showing movies here, yeah?
We put the old one on upside down by accident, no.
That's only ever happened once.
I think we had the unbearable lightness of being of somehow one of the spools got joined
up upside down.
So one minute there was this sort of steamy love scene and the next minute they're doing
it on the ceiling, see.
Didn't know who was on top of who or what was supposed to be going on.
The audience, they took about ten minutes to work it out.
And what about the future of Sun Pictures?
We're just going to sit on the place, we see ourselves more as custodians rather than owners
because I think a theatre like this has got its place in the hearts of the people of the
town and it's an important part of the community as far as history and where people were brought
up.
So we don't wish to change the place too much, we'll just gradually do bits and pieces here
and there to restore it and hope to be here for its 100th anniversary in about 24 years
time.
But for all there is to do and see in town, ask anyone what's the best thing about Broome
and you'll only hear one answer.
The beach.
Finding the beach is as simple as following the trickle of water as it heads to sea.
But when you begin your journey at the headwaters of the Amazon, get set for a long holiday.
These five Australians set out to paddle the great waterways of South America beginning
with one of the greatest of all, Egatsu Falls.
With collapsible-fold kayaks, their first goal is to paddle up to the face of Egatsu.
Despite the capsizing of one boat, another team continues on undeterred.
Battling against a ripping current, they reach as far as their strength and sanity will allow
before giving in to the force of the falls.
The team decides next to move overland through Bolivia to Lake Titicaca, the world's highest
navigable lake.
Their goal?
To find the renowned floating villages of the Uros Indians.
Riding across the border into Peru, they receive a warm welcome from this isolated tribe.
These villages still live on their ancestral floating islands built of totoora reeds woven
together.
Constructed as means of evading ancient enemies, the islands remain sturdy as well as diverse
in hosting an ecosystem all their own.
On the trail back to the sea, it's hard not to take in an Inca ruin or two.
Most remarkable are the remnants of the fame Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas.
Moving further across the continent, the team reaches the Atlantic and the Valdez Peninsula.
Spotting a whale, one team member attempts to pay a visit, but heavy weather forces him
back.
Maybe a few lessons from the locals would have helped.
Next stop, Patagonia and the 3,500 metre Fitzroy Massif.
The respite of the scenery and calm waters is a welcome one before heading into the treacherous
seas of Tierra del Fuego.
Leaving their fold kayaks behind, they switch to sturdier craft.
Two are French built kayaks and the third is Australian made.
The greatest danger in these conditions rests in the cold.
Water temperatures actually drop below zero, only the salt content keeps it from turning
to ice.
After a quick pit stop at the village of Harberton, one of the southernmost settlements in the
world, the team turns north again, up the coast to the highlight of the trip, the Moreno
Glacier.
The day turns out to be nothing short of glorious, with the warm sun, crisp air and remarkable
sights making it the perfect way to end one unforgettable trip.
Summer cooks, but why should you?
So life on the beach is on the move with tops and shorts that'll keep you breezing through
the big one.
Put them on your back, in blue or white, the top one size fits all, shorts medium or large.
For women or men, they're totally cotton, totally affordable and totally cool.
Put them on your bits and you're made in the shade.
Her bits, his bits, bits of bits.
Add to that, change back on 10 bucks and from this angle, summer's starting to look pretty
good already.
The will to fly with the wind is as old as any of our longings to be free.
Modern commercial jetliners have made flight seem almost routine, but we still have plenty
to learn from those creatures who put the idea in our heads to begin with.
Marching from the ground is one thing, but by tagging along for the ride, we can see
first hand the miracle of design that keeps our feathered friends aloft.
For grey-necked geese, the annual migration from Iceland to Scotland requires strength
and stamina.
Flying in formation, the uplift of air from the leading bird helps those following behind.
Maintaining a speed of 60 kilometres per hour requires extreme exertion, which generates
heat.
To keep cool, geese fly at exceptionally high altitudes, which also offers lower air resistance
and faster winds.
For some geese, optimal altitude is as high as 35,000 feet.
Bringing these big birds down isn't unlike landing a sizeable jetliner.
Wings tilt back creating lift, a few flaps slow descent, outstretched feet increase wind
resistance and the bird lands just before stalling.
Take-off requirements are a function of size.
Heavy birds such as swans need a long take-off, so they can only become airborne from large
bodies of water.
Facing into the wind, the swan increases speed by pedalling through the water until sufficient
lift is attained.
Smaller birds such as the teal are prone to attack by predators, so an immediate take-off
is vital.
Once airborne, the teal can reach speeds of nearly 70 kilometres per hour.
These high speeds are partly a necessity because the bird's small wings provide insufficient
lift at slower speeds.
For predators, the key is manoeuvrability.
The large, strong wings of the peregrine falcon allow it to alternate between fast flapping
flight and soaring.
The long tail acts as a rudder to give fine control.
The falcon reaches maximum speed by gaining height, then sweeping back its wings and dropping
out of the sky at speeds of nearly 140 kilometres per hour.
The buzzard is built more like a cargo plane.
Slow but powerful, it can lift objects of considerable size, including this video camera.
The buzzard takes particular advantage of ever-changing air currents.
Flying into the wind, it searches for areas of rising air.
Finding an updraft, its flight is now effortless.
Every bird is a compromise between design and behaviour, and like the aeroplane, each
is particularly suited to the life they lead in flight.
Now it's time to take off with Love the Life, the debut single from Melbourne dance band
Bass Culture.
Performed just last year by Mark James and David Berman, the band features the vocal
talents of club DJ and all-round rave Gina.
Everybody, give a little light so we can bring this world together.
It's time for a good time, all the love will make the sunshine too, forever.
Feel like free, show me how to live.
Feel it, everybody, feel it, everybody, feel it, my love for life.
Everybody all around the world.
What you're doing with your life, what you're doing with your life, got to love the life
we live.
Everybody, you got to love the life that you're living.
Everybody, such a good feeling, you got to love the life that you're living.
Everybody, you got to love the life that you're living.
The life that you're living, feel it, feel it, feel it, feel it, feel it.
Everybody, you got to love the life that you're living.
This is a sizable fish, and as Marlon are known to do when they're aroused, it's changed colour from black to bright blue. They call it being lit up.
Like the others, this Marlon was tagged and released, but with the videotape to prove it, this is one fish tale that will have to be believed.
Our look at life on the beach would hardly seem complete without paying tribute to the coastline's ever watchful beacon, the lighthouse.
Australia, after all, is an island nation with nearly 37,000 kilometres of shoreline. To protect shipping from the hazards of this vast and rugged coast, some 400 lighthouses now stand guard.
Australia's first lighthouse was built in 1791 on Sydney's South Head. As with most early lighthouses, it was wood fuelled and manned by convict labour. Today, automation has made the lighthouse keeper very nearly a thing of the past.
Technological advances in wind and solar power have created a whole new generation of beacons, barely recognisable as lighthouses.
But the beauty of these trusted old friends, etched in glass, stone and metal, will always remain with us. So sit back, enjoy and thanks for watching.
Thanks again for watching and keep a lookout for the next edition of Life on the Beach.
.