(POIGNANT MUSIC) This city, perched on the edge of the Canterbury Plains with its air of quiet refinement, received unwanted attention on account of the seismic events of 2010 and 2011. But while the people paused to collect their thoughts, the coast remained the dynamic environment it has always been. Christchurch is a city whose present was preordained by its past. It was once swampy flatland and sits squarely on New Zealand's complex network of fault lines. Rich in history, alive with wildlife, it's the country's third biggest city, but you'd be hard-pressed finding anyone to shout about it. It simply goes about its business the only way it knows how. (EPIC MUSIC) Joining me on this tour of Christchurch, geologist Hamish Campbell investigates the science behind the devastation. It breaks my heart to see all those houses, all those children, all their things just totally destroyed. Marine biologist Jacky Geurts meets a family who will try anything to save their vulnerable colony of penguins. Oh! (COUGHS, LAUGHS) That smells quite pungent. Riria Hotere goes back to the land. So, who taught you how to garden? My dad. Your dad? And I meet a toxic terror surviving against the odds. Wow! Look at that. No luck, pal. We're in Christchurch, and this is Coast New Zealand. Captions by Jake Ebdale. www.able.co.nz Captions were made with the support of NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2017 (UPLIFTING THEME MUSIC) Our journey around the coast of Christchurch includes Banks Peninsula, taking in Port Levy, Flea Bay and on to the stunning Kaitorete Spit. But it starts in the city centre. (OMINOUS MUSIC) The earthquakes that ravaged the city in 2010 and 2011 changed the city's landscape forever. Years later, there's still no escaping the devastation. And while the resilience of the people that call Christchurch home is palpable, there are still questions that need answering. In the heart of Christchurch, Hamish Campbell uncovers new research that explains how the city's coastal origins may have added to the overwhelming aftermath of the quakes. Every one of these 185 chairs represents a life lost in the February 2011 quake. A reminder of the tragedy this is forever etched in our memories. But from the wreckage and heartache comes a new city ` and new opportunities to learn. (RUMBLING, CLANKING) MAN: You all right? MAN 2: Yep, good. After the Christchurch earthquakes, Kiwis became overly familiar with the term 'liquefaction', which refers to any process which causes a solid to behave like a fluid. Given the size of the Christchurch earthquakes, some liquefaction was to be expected. But the extent of it, and the havoc it wrought, came as an unwelcome surprise. 'Hey, Simon.' So why did liquefaction cause such widespread damage? GNS scientist Simon Cox has a theory. It's a city built on soft, young coastal sediment. And it got hit by a pretty big earthquake, very close by. And the different layers of coastal sediment with aquifers below was kind of like a perfect storm. Christchurch sits at the coastal edge of the Canterbury Plains, which are formed by sediment derived from the Southern Alps. Over time, changes in climate cause fluctuations in sea level, leaving behind further layers of coastal sediment. And what have we got here? What have you got lain out here? Well, this is` this is part of a drill core which starts at the top end, and it's going down into the ground, but we've picked it up and laid it out this way. And so you can look at these as if you're going down into the ground. So, here, we're at 15m below ground. Right. And where we are is quite interesting, because, look, we've got some shells. Ah, yes. This is old coast, and yet this has come right from the CBD. Right in the middle of Christchurch was once right on the coast. I think people will be amazed to think that the sea was right there. Yes, and these are about 6500 years old. There was water right up, covering all of eastern Christchurch. Geotechnical engineer Anna Winkley has collected drill samples from all over Christchurch. As the city rebuilds, their purpose is to reduce exposure to geological risks. Here they also provide a clear cut record of the city's geological past. Now we're down about 25-plus metres' deep. Right. Um, we're down into what we call the Riccarton Gravels, which is the uppermost aquifer in Christchurch. It's incredibly loose and open, isn't it? Yeah. Lots of space for water in there. So, you've got the whole weight of all the water flowing down and across the Canterbury Plains coming into here. And so if you puncture it, it flows out of the ground. So, this will be what's holding all the water pressure down. It's our organic layer. Ah, yes. It's got an organic silt here. Look how black it is. Yep. And that's forming a layer maybe 1m thick. Here a metre, 2m thick at most, holding down the water. So, told simply, Christchurch is built over aquifers with substantial artesian groundwater pressure. But exactly how much pressure are we talking about? Oh, that's impressive. It is, isn't it? Look at that. That's coming from about 135m down. Right. And you've got, what, nearly 4m of head. No doubt about it, there's pressure at depth, and it's forcing this water up, just of its own accord. Yeah. All we've done is open a tap. It may not have contributed to the liquefaction itself, but once it was liquefied, it helped to carry it to the surface and spread it out everywhere. Right. There are more than 20,000 bore holes like this one ` they're all over Christchurch ` but liquefaction didn't affect all areas equally. The suburbs most affected were to the east of the city. Streets like this one in Avondale were once populated by thousands of families. Now they stand as eerie ghost towns. Why was the liquefaction so bad in this part of eastern Christchurch? During the earthquake, the area here in red had more than 4m of pressure above ground. Although it was being held in, it was under high pressure. Uh-huh. And then during the earthquake, the cracking and the liquefaction then meant that that could not be held down. And I believe that that escaped, and as it did, it carried the sediment to the surface and brought it out to the surface, leaving behind holes like this. How do you know that this red area has this high` high water pressure? What's it based on? Environment Canterbury, they have monitoring equipment in all these drill holes. So they measure the pressure every 15 minutes. Right. And I could go back, and they gave me access to all their records, and I was able to look at all their different drill holes and map this out. And if you look, then, at the map here, showing you the blue and green colours where the liquefaction occurred, the correlation is just stunning. The link between artesian groundwater pressure and damage from liquefaction has never before been conclusively demonstrated. Simon believes his research is a small step in the right direction. It's still very much hypothesis. At the moment, it's a really good one. Yeah. There's a really, really strong correlation between where you see the` the sand and silt ejected at the surface and where there's high-ground water pressure. Right. We can't prove it. We think it exacerbates the damage. Uh, and we're really trying to work on that to try and get that proof. Right. So, this has the potential to transform the lives of countless millions, in terms of understanding what can happen in low-lying coastal plains adjacent to sea level. It` It breaks my heart to see all those houses, all those children, all their things just totally destroyed... Yeah. ...by that one event. And anything that we can do to stop that from happening again seems to me to be a pretty good thing to do. Excellent thought. (POIGNANT MUSIC) Coming up ` 'Too late,' they cried. It could have been French. It could have been French. And we'd have a whole different New Zealand. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) The tiny town of Akaroa is a treasure nestled at the base of the rolling hills of Banks Peninsula. This picturesque village was very nearly France's stepping stone to colonizing the entire South Island. But fate intervened. Local skipper Roy Borrelli, who relocated to Akaroa from New York 14 years ago, dishes the dirt. Roy, what were the French doing here? Well, the French actually came on a boat called the Comte De Paris. Took them about seven months to get here from` from France, and it took them through terrible storms. They broke their mast; they broke their rudder; they ran out of food; there was sickness on board; several people died. It was a bad trip. And then they got here, and there were two British whalers standing on that hill behind you, and they were waving the British flag, and they were letting them know that the British had already arrived two weeks prior. They'd signed the Treaty of Waitangi, and now it was a part of the British colony. When the French arrived to find the British already here, was there a clash? Was there a conflict? No. Actually, the British and the French had been fighting for hundreds of years. The last thing they wanted was another battle, so they allowed the French to establish themselves. They were given land, money and supplies and encouraged to build the town of Akaroa. Why? Most of the whaling ships at the time were French, and these French whalers had pocketsful of money with nowhere to spend it. And, as you can imagine, there was a definite need for a town. The French were happy to oblige. They had come prepared to settle ` and settle they did. New Zealand is so synonymous with Britain, with Scottishness... Yes. To think that but for a couple of weeks, here or there, in a different sequence of events, it could have been French. It could have been French, and we'd have a whole different New Zealand. To this day, the town of Akaroa is marinaded with a distinctly Gallic flavour. It has always attracted tourists, but since the 2011 earthquake, there has been an influx of another kind. We only used to get one or two cruise ships a year. Now it's over 80, sometimes. They shifted here because Lyttelton couldn't support the cruise ship industry any more. Their wharves were destroyed in the earthquake. And what ended up happening was they had to make a decision between cruise ships or container ships. And they chose the container ships, and they sent the cruise ships to Akaroa. Rather than whalers with their pocketfuls of money, it's now cruise ship passengers who arrive with wallets at the ready. Jacky Geurts joins them in the hunt for the perfect souvenir. It was Coco Chanel who said, 'Women must have ropes and rope of pearls,' before Jackie Kennedy famously declared, 'Pearls are always appropriate.' (CHUCKLES) Well, who am I to argue with those two icons of style? Hi, Roger. Hi. How are you? I'm good. Today in search of pearls to add to my collection, I'm catching up with renowned paua diver, conservationist and entrepreneur Roger Beattie. Roger, where are we heading to? We're heading just around Cape Three Points... Yeah. ....to the first farm at Ohinepaka Bay. OK. And what have you got out there? Ah, we've got paua there, and mussels. OK. Blue pearls only grow where there is good water movement and superior seaweed. Conditions here at Ohinepaka Bay are perfect. Roger, how did you discover the paua pearl? Well, I discovered a natural pearl in paua when I was diving on the Chathams. That was the first time I saw a blister pearl in a paua. How does it differ from the oyster pearl? Oyster pearls are generally round, and they're inside the animal itself, whereas paua, or abalone, it's a blister pearl. They won't form a pearl ` a large enough, perfect-shaped pearl ` inside the gut of a paua, whereas, you can form a very nice pearl on the shell, and that's called a mabe. Right. Are you able to tell me how you grow the pearls? Uh, well, I may` (LAUGHS) I can` I can show you bits and pieces but not the whole process. OK. That'd be great. Yeah, OK. All right. It's a standard pearl farmer's joke ` they never reveal their pearl-growing secrets. But today I am allowed to participate in the intense weekly ritual that keeps the paua in tip-top condition. And that's how you do it. (CHUCKLES) That's how you do it. How rare is the blue pearl? Well, the blue pearl is the rarest pearl in the world, uh, it's the newest pearl in the world, and it's the most difficult to grow. We have to feed them every week for three years. And they require cleaning ` so they require the most amount of work compared to any other pearl. And we have the least number coming through to a marketable pearl compared to all other pearls. What we do is we take the barrel lids off,... and then this needs a bit more food. This has got no red seaweed, and no other brown seaweed. So we'll put about twice as much as that in. Why do you feed them different colour seaweeds? Because that's one of the secrets to growing really good pearls. They want a big variety of food, and that goes into making them healthy, and it also gives the colours` more vibrant colours to the shell, and a greater range of colours. Oh, right. You feed one` one seaweed, you get one type of colour. This is the paua here. What I'm doing here is gently lifting the mantle tissue back... and just gently folding it back. And look at that colour. Wow, there it is. This is an exceptional pearl. Just looking at it there now, it looks like a gem-quality pearl, which is about one in 50, one in a hundred. You're very patient, Roger. Yes, we are. (BOTH CHUCKLE) Arguably the most famous blue pearl in the world was gifted to none other than Queen Elizabeth. She's been pictured wearing it more than once. That's a right royal seal of approval. There's no denying it ` the blue pearl truly is a thing of beauty. But what I love most of all is the care and attention the paua receive while they're growing out there on Roger's Farm. They're treated like royalty. And we're rewarded with jewellery fit for a queen. (AMBIENT MUSIC) Coming up ` how the Kiwi got its accent. Philip ate a plate of fish and chips, put on a purple vest and went for a swim. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) To this day, Cantabrians are quick to point out if they have ties to the first four ships ` The Charlotte Jane, the Randolph, the Sir George Seymour and the Cressy, which all sailed into Lyttelton in December 1850. They delivered some 800 settlers from across Britain, bringing goods, chattels and a particular echo from home. I'm following in the footsteps of those early settlers who slogged up the bridle path, over the summit of the Port Hills, and then down into swampy Christchurch. Now, you probably haven't noticed, but I speak English with a wee bit of an accent. That's sometimes got me into trouble; sometimes got me out of it. But it cuts both ways. The Kiwi accent can sound unusual for some people, including me. Where does a young nation's accent come from? Why does it change so quickly from someone who sounds like me to someone who sounds like... like this guy? Do you want me to say something witty? Pardon? Hmm? Elizabeth Gordon is one of the country's leading experts on the origins of the New Zealand accent which she has been studying for more than 50 years. So, obviously, the people coming from Scotland or from London or from Kent, they arrive with their own individual sound. Absolutely. So, in the early days of New Zealand, you would have heard a lot of different dialects. But in about 20, 25 years, something happened, and they stopped sounding like their parents, and they start sounding like other people in New Zealand. If that change happened in that crucial 20-year period, what was the 'something'? One of the main reasons was that in 1877, we had the Education Act that brought in free compulsory, public, primary education. And so children had to come together. And what happens when children come together? Well, you don't want to be different, do you? So, by the` by the last quarter of the last part, the last few decades of the 19th century, the New Zealand accent was already there? Well, people were starting to notice it. I mean, people were writing about it in the 1880s. So, there were those who didn't like the new evolving sound? No, they hated it. They` They absolutely loathed it. They called it the colonial twang. 'The children of New Zealand were in danger of falling into a whirlpool of impure vocalisation.' (CHUCKLES) You couldn't get worse than that. Elizabeth's findings are backed up by remarkable early recordings of New Zealanders, born as early as the 1850s and 1860s, whose parents were fresh off the boat. So, if we listen to this first of two... Yeah. WOMAN: 'Since 1872, 'my father came to the` to the Waikato block. 'He` He` He was really the first white man to settle in Morrinsville.' Who is she? And where is she from? (CHUCKLES) Well, would you have picked that her parents were Scottish? Goodness, no. A-All I heard there, apart from it sounding like an old lady's voice,... Yes, yes, yes. ...was an English accent. Yes, yes. No, well, that's the very, very early New Zealand accent. Mary Ann Turnbull, um, and she was born in Morrinsville, um, and she was born in 1875. The second one ` this is a different person. WOMAN: 'And they arrived in Arrowtown on the 23rd of November 1862. 'My mother walking from Dunedin to Kingston.' The first thing that strikes me is the` is the very close similarity between those two. I find it difficult to believe it's two different people. Yes, yes, yes. That's right. Now, that's Annie Hamilton, and she was born in Arrowtown ` in fact, recorded in the house that she was born in. And her parents, as she says there, they came from Ireland. Um, so you wouldn't have picked that either. How unlikely is it to have a resource like these recorded voices? Absolutely extraordinary. We are so lucky to be able to listen to these people and to listen to other people in their towns and be able to compare them. Uh, no, no. This` This is like a goldmine that we've found. Elizabeth is quick to point out that language is ever evolving. New Zealanders no longer speak like Mary Ann Turnbull or Annie Hamilton. Phillip ate a plate of fish and chips, put on a purple vest and went for a swim. Phillip ate a plate of fish and chips, put on a purple vest and went for a swim. Phillip's ate a plate of fish and chips, put on a purple vest and went for a swim! (MAN LAUGHS) ANNIE HAMILTON: 'And they arrived in Arrowtown on the 23rd of November 1862.' MARY-ANN TURNBULL: 'He was, really, the first white man to settle in Morrinsville.' Those recordings are priceless ` preserving, as they do, the sound of those first British settlers. They also give us the transition ` how they stopped sounding like Brits and began to sound like New Zealanders. And wherever the accent goes from here, we'll always know where it came from. (AMBIENT MUSIC) Knowing where they come from is also important for the people of Koukourarata, here at Port Levy on the Banks Peninsula. And just as important is knowing where they're going. Riria Hotere wants to know if this thriving community has found the key to re-establishing their market gardens, which, in the mid-1800s, provided nourishment for the largest settlement of Maori in Canterbury. The people of Koukourarata think of their bay as a slice of paradise. And it is ` it's a tranquil haven. But while the population may be small, they're doing some really big things there. And I want to find out more. Under the watchful eye of the pou whenua, or markers that stand guard over the land, kaumatua Peter Ramsden explains the significance of what is happening here. Tena koe. Yes, tena koe, Riria. (EXHALES) So, as I look out here, I see a place that feels like it's steeped in a lot of history. Ae, ae. It's Ngai Tahu. You've got the ancient iwi, who all had their pathways through this bay. How long ago was that? You're talking about a thousand years. Whewf. Koukourarata remains proudly Ngai Tahu, and Peter has big plans for his people. We've come to the realisation that we actually have to put things in place for our young people; it's all very well talking about it. You've got to create an environment that they can walk into with pride and know that they can` they can accomplish things on their own land, their own whenua, based around the values which we're born with and that we represent. Manaia Cunningham is tasked with putting words into action. He's part of a hapu-led initiative that aims to feed both the body and the soul. Tena koe. (EXHALES) Tena koe. So, what's happening here today? Today, we're planting taewa. Taewa, uh, is a Maori heritage potato. Uh, the cultivar we are using is called whataroa, and we're using whataroa to help break in our ground, because our ground hasn't been broken by our heritage potato for a long, long time. How long? Oh, 50 to 70 years was the last time our garden was actually used at this large level. How important is this, then, particularly for your kids? This is really important for our kids because it's now a normal part of who they are at the marae. It's not just powhiri; it's not just tangi; it's not just wedding` weddings. It's working in the gardens, and that's why it's important for our kids, and that's what's going to make it sustainable and long-term, and they'll know that following generations are going to keep doing it, cos this is what we do at the marae ` we work our gardens. (POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC) Time for me to get my hands in the soil alongside the people of Koukourarata and the head of Lincoln University's Future Farming Unit, Dr Charles Merfield. Three quarters deep as your hand. Put the taewa in the bottom, and then just firm it over. He has been instrumental in getting the project off the ground. Spread yourself out, and we can start planting. Today it's a family affair with generations coming together to help with the mass planting. Are you a potato of potential? Nope. Yes, you are. You are! Dig it in, put it in, and cover it over. So, who taught you how to garden? GIRL: My dad. Your dad? WOMAN: Yeah, good work. And there's another hole ready here for you. Not just a stunning backdrop for today's planting, there is a reason why the taewa grow so well here. It's a valley bottom. So what's happened over the years ` and the centuries, even ` is the soil from the hills is slowly being washed down here, and it's accumulated. There's probably several metres of soil that we could grow that goes down underneath here. You can just dig and dig and dig. It just goes on forever. So, this` this will grow just about any kind of crop you` you can imagine. Is that right? Mm. One of the beautiful things about this location is we can just see the sea out here, and we can get a whole load of seaweed, go and gather it up, and you can just bring it up, put it on the fields, and... And voila. Just simple. Very easy. And why taewa? Taewa's a really important historical crop for Maori. The Maori potato's all kinds of different shapes and different skin colours and textures. It's the colour in vegetable that's often the, kind of, really valuable part, um, and so the` the potential for these for actually being healthier, there's real potential there. Um, and they taste great. (LAUGHS) Can't get better than that. Exactly. I mean, if you just want one reason, that's it. So, when will these ones be ready? These are going to be ready in about three or four months. Oh, good. (LAUGHS) Well, I'll be back to harvest, then. We would love to have you back. Excellent. This little taewa is food for the body, but also food for the mind. It's sustenance. It's what keeps us going. And it's what will keep the people of Koukourarata going into the future. (CATTLE MOO) Coming up ` Now I will keep going on the traps. So, wipe his bottom on everything we see? (CHUCKLES) Everything we will see. Brilliant. (POIGNANT PIANO MUSIC) There are times in a person's life when the soul needs uplifting. As the poet said, 'Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth and danced the skies on laughter's silvered wings.' I've got just the thing. (POIGNANT MUSIC CONTINUES) The New Brighton Beach Kite Festival is one of the biggest of its kind in the country, combining big kite flyers who show all over the world with the general public. Wow! Love it. Just the lightest breath of wind, and these leviathan take off. And once they go up, these giants on the ground, they look quite small against the sky. How fantastic is that? Julie Adam has been flying kites for decades and suspects that a little bit of airborne magic is just what the doctor ordered. (GIGGLES) Why are there thousands of people here doing this today? Because Christchurch love getting out and about and enjoying their beaches. Uh-huh. And particularly since the earthquakes. People always smile at kites, and people come and talk to me when I'm flying kites. No one ever says, 'Get that kite off the beach.' They always come and talk. You find out what their story is. Funny, isn't it? By being connected to something that's way up in the sky, it also connects you to people on the ground. Yep. Yeah. (CHUCKLES) It is the first thing you want to do, though. When you walk up to someone who's flying a kite, you just want to hold the string. Yeah. You know, you can get as high-minded about this as you like, you know ` being connected to the elements; you know, being tethered to something that's flying in the sky, doing what you can't. But ultimately,... it's about fun and the simple fact that you're never too old to fly a kite. (WONDROUS MUSIC) While the people of Christchurch find the wind beneath their wings on New Brighton Beach, some 46 kilometres away at Flea Bay on Banks Peninsula, the white-flippered penguin is caught in a fight for survival. Jacky Geurts meets a family who have become the accidental saviours of what is considered to be Canterbury's sole indigenous creature. They say everything happens for a reason. When Francis Helps bought his coastal farm here, he never imagined that he'd become a custodian to a colony of endangered seabirds. But that is exactly what did happen. (WAVES CRASH) How did you know that there were penguins here? Um, I found out the first night I was here ` the 1st of August 1969. Didn't get any sleep! (CHUCKLES) It was, um, pre... pre-breeding season courtship going on. It was as noisy as! By the time Francis had met and married Shireen, there were disturbing signs of a population in decline. Sort of into the early '80s, we started to find dead birds ` birds that had been attacked. Mm. Birds with the backs of heads taken off; just feet and flippers left. Um, you know, we see there was a predator problem. Mm. SHIREEN: That's when we took it on ourselves to try and do something about it. Nobody was really interested in protecting penguins from introduced predators in those days. Yes. And so borrowed traps, bought some traps and just started. So, what's the result been? We took out huge numbers of feral cats and ferrets, for a start. But we haven't caught a ferret here for must be 15, 16, 17 years. Yes. Fantastic. (REFLECTIVE MUSIC) Right. We'll go to the nest box up here, guys. Mm-hm. Do we have to be really quiet? Monitoring of the shy seabirds is truly a family affair. Francis and Shireen's daughter, Jo, and niece Averil have both married Frenchmen, and they're all involved in the penguin business, including their bi-lingual offspring, Louis, and the aptly named Manu and Nest. What do you reckon, Louis? What's in here, hey? Penguin! I saw it. JACKY: Oh! Ooh, very angry-looking penguin. A penguin! Look, see all those eggs? It's telling us to go away,... so we'll put the lid back on. Doing a good job of protecting its eggs. Right. There we go. Thank you. The Helps do their best to leave the penguins in peace while they are nesting. They carry out minimal monitoring and concentrate on keeping the birds safe from predators. To this end, Shireen's latest innovation has a whiff of weird science. Shireen, what is that smell? (BOTH LAUGH) It's these cute little guys in the tanks here. They are very cute. CHUCKLES: Yeah. So, what are you doing with a whole bunch of mice? We've decided to try something a bit new here, because we've had trouble with, um, some of the baits ` the stoats seem to be getting a bit trap-shy. Mm-hm. So we've gone right back to nature. With the strong smell of mice in the traps, um, that attracts the stoats through. So, yes, we're trying that, and it's working very well. So, you're trying Eau Du Mouse? Eau Du Mouse. That's correct. (BOTH LAUGH) So, Shireen, what are we actually putting in the trap? We're washing out the cages, and we're putting the mousey-smelling water through the traps. Which is AKA mouse wee? Uh, pretty much. Yes. (BOTH LAUGH) This has already been through about six cages, so it's already smelling really disgusting. Mm-hm. And, um, then swish that around. Yeah. Magic swishing process. Oh! (COUGHS, LAUGHS) That smells quite pungent. (CHUCKLES) Right, then ` they're all yours! (CHUCKLES) Predator control is a full-time job,... one for which Francis and Shireen enlist the help of another Frenchman, Benoit Navarron. And here we've got another trap. Oh, neat. We can have a look on it. So` Ooh, it seems like we've got something inside. Oh, have we? Oh, look at that. Hey! Whoo-hoo! You caught one. Yeah, we got one. (CHUCKLES) One less. Yeah. One less, definitely. That's` That's what we want. Beautiful stoat. OK. So, now what I'm going to do is definitely something not so great. But I am going to rub this bum on it. (LAUGHS) I know it's gross. But actually attracts a lot of stoats around. So, we're` we're going to dose it up with stoat s-scent... Yes, indeed. ...to attract the stoats, and mouse scent? Mice scent. And that's the perfect combination to catch these kind of guys. So, stoat and mouse wee is like a double whammy? Totally. A bit of this beautiful juice. (LAUGHS) And after that, load the trap. I take this guy,... and close it. So, what are you going to do with him now? Are you going to...? Now I will keep going on the traps. Yeah. And definitely use it for the next traps. So wipe his bottom on everything we see? (LAUGHS) Everything we will see. Brilliant. Yeah. The rewards for all the hard work put in are simple. Every evening between October and January, the penguin parade takes place at Pohatu as nesting penguins' partners return with food. What time are we expecting them to come in? Oh... Well, really just on dark. But out where I'm taking you, there may be some early birds in. If you have the patience to wait... and wait,... eventually it all pays off. Banks Peninsula is one of only two places in the world where you will find the endangered white-flippered penguin. Francis and Shireen never set out to save endangered penguins. But with a bit of elbow grease and Kiwi ingenuity, what they've achieved is really an inspiration to us all. Up next ` That's the same species? That's the same species. Wow! Look at that! (AMBIENT MUSIC) Extending south-west from Banks Peninsula, the Kaitorete Spit separates the shallow waters of Lake Ellesmere from the Pacific Ocean. It's a windswept finger of land ` desolate, and the perfect habitat for a dangerous native. Unlike their much larger neighbour on the other side of the Tasman Sea, New Zealand is relatively free of bugs and beasties that can bite you, sting you or simply eat you. All except for one ` the katipo, which is New Zealand's only seriously venomous spider. But it is itself under threat. It's to do with the details of its love life, and it turns out size really does matter. Hi, Cor. 'Dr Cor Vink is New Zealand's very own spider man, the expert on arachnids.' Cor, is the coast an unusual habitat for spiders? Yeah, there's not a massive diversity of spiders on the coast. There are some inter-tidal species, and there are opportunistic species that you might find in this area. But the katipo is something that you only find on coastal fore dunes. But this particular patch here is` is a good patch for them, a real strong-hold for them. What will it be that has made this? I` I mean, it's a beautiful bit of landscape, but why do the katipo work so well here? Um, there are` The genus, which is a world-wide genus, is an arid, um, adapted species. So, this is an arid landscape; it's dry. They don't like to get their feet wet. It's funny. Just since you've started talking about them, I suddenly feel that I don't know where to put my feet. (CHUCKLES) I'm worried about stepping on them now. Yeah. Well, they're nothing to worry about. In the daytime, they're hanging out in their webs. I don't mean to hurt me. I just mean, I don't want to do them any damage,... Oh right. Of course, yeah. ...since I understand there's this priceless species here. New Zealand has up to 2,000 species of spider; 97% of them found here only. By comparison, the UK has 650 spider species, and only one is unique to the British Isles. So, this is a good spot, because it's slightly facing the north, cos they need the sun to keep their egg sacs warm and mature them. Right. Oh! There we go. There's a web there. Where? Where`? Oh gosh! You've got to have good eye-sight. Yeah. You can see the strands of web, and if you feel it, it's` it's really tough silk. That's cos they've got to haul up big sand scarabs about this big, or native earwigs about that long. They've got to be able to capture them and not have the threads ` the silk ` break. So` So, uh, their prey is significantly bigger than they are? Yes, indeed. Yep. All right. So, we'll get the female out, and we'll` just so we can have a closer look at her. (RUSTLING) And that there spider would be venomous enough to give me a really bad day? Yeah, or even a bad month. Oh really? Wow. Oh, she's ` Oh, she is quite a size when I see her. And she's got that beautiful blood-red stripe, so it's pretty unmistakeable. Oh, she's spectacular. Wow. I'm pretty sure I saw a male in there too, so we'll see if we can get him as well, just so you can get that size comparison. Oh, this is exciting. Oh, there he is. This is a proper hunt. Oh! Look at him. He's behaving very nicely. So, he is far too small. His cheliserae are too small to ever bite me, so... He's... That's the same species? That's the same species. Wow! Look at that! No luck, pal. So, he's got a dangerous` He's got to take on that? Yep. So, he's got to convince her that he's not her next meal, as well as try and mate with her. That's as though my prospective wife was about the size of an old Ford Transit van. Yeah, it` it's kind of like that. I` I` I sort of say it's like my wife being a rhinoceros. Apart from the obvious logistical issues with mating, the katipo is under threat from their changing habitat, with pines and introduced grasses taking over the dunes and also from huge numbers of false katipo, a South African breed with whom the native katipo compete for living quarters. But that's not all. So, this is the Australian redback here. So, that's a female. Ooh, wow! It's a lot bigger. And, um, the research they did a couple of years ago showed that the redback will actually mate with katipo in the wild. Ah. So that's like inter-species mating? There are laboratory experiments where you can get, uh, a redback male and a katipo female, and they will mate. So far, the Kaitorete katipo population remains pure, but the concern is that the invading Aussies could eventually lead to the dilution and extinction of the native spider, which, despite how you might feel about something that can potentially poison you, no one wants to see. This is the only place in the world that they're found, so this species is only found in New Zealand and only found in this habitat. So it's` I guess it's a stewardship thing. It's, you know` We should just conserve what we can. And who knows? There might be something in their venom; something in their silk might be beneficial to humans one day as well. So, in New Zealand, you don't have to be afraid of reds under the bed. It's more about looking after a species that's struggling to hold onto its rightful place. And these females like the little guy. I think I like them. (POIGNANT MUSIC) While Banks Peninsula, born of a six-million year old volcanic outburst, is the jewel in Christchurch's coastal crown, the rest of the coastline is far from ordinary. It's where wildlife abounds, crops flourish, and, most importantly, it's where the people of the recently ravaged city come to recharge their care-worn batteries.