My Pacific Quest

For thousands of years, the island peoples of the Pacific were masters of the ocean, braving angry seas in handmade canoes and navigating by the stars. But, these traditional ways are being lost to modernity. Adventurer Ellis Emmett helps get a traditional canoe back on the water, and sees first-hand how rising seas are changing life in the island chains of Kiribati.

The Marshall Islands have a long human history, but it is the more recent saga that was thrust upon them during World War II and its aftermath that draws host Ellis Emmett to its shores. Following the Allied victory, the United States moved the local inhabitants from their quiet paradise in order to conduct atomic bomb testing at the famous Bikini Atoll. Ellis explores how, almost 65 years later, both the people and environment continue to be affected.

Host Ellis Emmett has his first brush with royalty on the island kingdoms of Wallis and Futuna. But it is the life of a lone man, living simply on a remote island, which truly captures Ellis' imagination. Ever the adventurer, Ellis dives into a lake that, according to local legend, is full of mysteries and monsters.

Explorer Ellis Emmett sets sail for the islands of Fiji, where he comes face to face with bull sharks, partakes in ancient Fijian fire walking rituals, and anchors in the remote Lau Islands, a beautiful place with a violent past.

Ellis befriends a local named Lofi, and the two set sail for the isolated island of Tofua. Along the way they explore a newly formed volcanic island, navigate treacherous coral reefs, and must hunt for their dinner.

Having conquered mountains and rivers in his homeland of New Zealand, his sights are now set on exploring the remote islands of the Pacific you can only get to by boat.