the most isolated archipelago of all, the caterpillars have turned carnivorous. There is an incredible diversity of human cultures and customs too, despite colonisation taking place relatively recently. The men of Pentecost Island leap from timber scaffold towers with only a vine tied to their ankles to break their falls. On small islands such as Anuta, people have fostered strong communities and sustainable hunting, farming and fishing practices to make up for the limited availability of food. The story of Easter Island, where a whole civilization brought about their own downfall through over-exploitation of their resources, is a lesson from history. 2. "Castaways" UK broadcast 17 May 2009, 2.58 million viewers (9.6% audience share) The second episode looks at how plants, animals and humans colonised even the most remote islands. Most pioneers came from the west, with New Guinea acting as the launch pad. The saltwater crocodile is one species which managed to swim the 60-mile crossing to the next island group, the Solomons. The mass spawning of groupers on a Solomon Island reef releases millions of eggs, which drift on ocean currents to establish new populations. The activity allows grey reef sharks to snatch a few distracted groupers. Few animals made it to Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, 1000 miles further east. Fruit bats were the only mammals to cross the ocean divide, but smaller animals were carried here by cyclones and jet stream winds. In the absence of ground predators, invertebrates have reached monstrous proportions. Fijian crested iguanas are thought to have floated here on rafts of vegetation. Seabirds have made the crossing to French Polynesia, where their rich guano helped fertilise barbed seeds stuck to their feathers and turn barren coral atolls into fertile groves. One plant needs no such help. Coconuts can survive drifting for two months at sea and lay roots into bare sand. Before the arrival of humans, fewer than 500 species colonised Hawaii in 30 million years. Once established, they evolved into countless new varieties. The story of human colonisation is no less remarkable. The ancestors of modern Polynesians, most probably Lapitas of Southeast Asia, arrived in Fiji 3,500 years ago and Hawaii 2,000 years ago. 3. "Endless Blue" UK broadcast 24 May 2009, 1.42 million viewers (5.3% audience share) The third episode begins in the tropics, where a white sperm whale calf stays close to its mother. The 19th-century story of the Essex,