episode description
Te Moananui a Toi/ The Hauraki Gulf lies on the doorstep of New Zealand’s largest city. Every summer millions of visitors from the tropics converge here, all lured by a unique seasonal smorgasbord. Giant oceanic manta rays, rarely filmed in these waters, glide into the gulf. Bryde’s whales are also primed for the feasting season, alongside common dolphins, and bronze whaler sharks. In the sky above rare black petrels stalk the dolphins to survive. While false killer whales show up seeking their share of the bounty and to renew a unique cross-species friendship. Seventy islands punctuate the gulf, home to some of the rarest birds in the world and in the surrounding waters it’s a kaleidoscope of fish, which includes male black angelfish prepare perfectly manicured algae gardens to attract females to lay their eggs. The deep connections all these species have with each other and this way of life which benefits them all, is only possible in the abundant waters of Tikapa Moana o Hauraki.
