South Pacific (Wild Pacific in the US) is a British nature documentary series from the BBC Natural History Unit, which began airing on BBC Two on 10 May 2009. The six-part series surveys the natural history of the islands of the South Pacific region, including many of the coral atolls and New Zealand. It was filmed entirely in high-definition. South Pacific was co-produced by the Discovery Channel and the series producer was Huw Cordey. It is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. Filming took place over 18 months in a variety of remote locations around the Pacific including: Anuta (Solomon Islands), Banks Islands, French Frigate Shoals, Papua New Guinea, Palmyra, Kingman Reef, Tuvalu, Palau, Caroline Islands, Tuamotus and Tanna Island in Vanuatu. On 6 May 2009, BBC Worldwide released a short clip of big wave surfer Dylan Longbottom surfing in slow motion, high-definition footage as a preview of the series, attracting extremely positive reactions on the video sharing website YouTube. The series was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on 15 June 2009. At the end of each fifty-minute episode, a ten-minute featurette takes a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of filming the series. The series was released by Discovery International in the USA under the title Wild Pacific, with narration provided by Mike Rowe. The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's "Continents" strand. It was preceded by Wild China in 2008 and followed by Madagascar in 2011. Episodes 1. "Ocean of Islands" UK broadcast 10 May 2009, 2.49 million viewers (9.2% audience share) The opening episode presents an overview of the natural history of the region, introducing some of the themes that are explored in more detail in later programmes. The South Pacific covers a vast area, and less than 1% is land, ranging from the Hawaiian Islands north of the equator to New Zealand in the south. On Macquarie Island, the most southerly outpost before Antarctica, springtime sees the arrival of huge numbers of elephant seals. Aerial footage shows the entire world population of royal penguins, which nest here in a single colony. Cold ocean currents flow all the way to the Galápagos Islands, 8000 miles away, enabling sea lions and penguins to survive on the equator. Isolation has enabled the region's wildlife to evolve in unusual ways. On Metoma, robber crabs, the world's largest terrestrial invertebrates, are filmed massing at night to feed on coconuts. On Hawaii,