07x01 - Giant Cuttlefish in Australia + Blue Grotto Sinkhole

[bunniefuu]

[light upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Today on "Blue World,"

Jonathan explores a rarely
seen cave in Florida.

But first,

he travels with his whole
family to South Australia

to meet the world's largest cuttlefish.

[light upbeat music]

Meet Jonathan Bird,

one of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

Traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks,

he is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

In freshwater or salt,
reefs, wrecks, or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

Welcome to "The Blue World."

[light upbeat music continues]

[shark thudding]

- [Jonathan] The
Australian giant cuttlefish

is the largest cuttlefish in the world,

reaching a total length of nearly a meter.

Using color changing skin
cells called chromatophores,

this mysterious master of camouflage

can be very hard to see.

But this curious cephalopod
may just come over to see you.

Between May and August,

tens of thousands of these cuttlefish

aggregate to spawn in the
waters of South Australia.

One particular place, Point
Lowly near the city of Whyalla,

is known around the world

as the place to see
Australian giant cuttlefish.

Its summer vacation for our kids,

so Christine and I are taking them

on an Australian adventure
to meet the cuttlefish.

The kids have been on dive trips before,

but this is their first trip
all the way to Australia,

with two 12 hour flights
and a stop in Dubai.

[light upbeat music]

At last, we make it to
Adelaide, South Australia

with all our luggage,
ready for an adventure.

[light upbeat music continues]

We load the minivan

and then embark on a six hour drive

to the beautiful and
remote town of Point Lowly,

located on a peninsula with
a lighthouse at the end.

We drive down the peninsula

looking for a famous shore diving site.

But before we go diving,

we need to find our home
for the next few days.

We rented a house on the beach

about a mile from the dive
site, and what a spot.

As the sun sets over the lighthouse,

we plan for our dive with
the cuttlefish tomorrow.

[gentle music]

We hop in the van for the short ride

down the street to the dive site.

Christine and I are ready for
the 12 degrees Celsius water

with our dry suit
undergarments ready to go.

[smooth music]

A dirt road leads down to the water.

I've never seen such nice
provisions for divers.

A pavilion for changing and rinsing gear,

plus a walkway right down to the water.

It doesn't get any better than this.

So we waste no time getting suited up.

Summer at home is winter in Australia,

and the brisk wind here
comes off Antarctica.

It's sunny, but it's not warm.

Elise and Liam are in wetsuits,

so they're not going to
last long in this water

before they're cold,

but they came all the way to Australia

to see some cuttlefish
fish, so they're ready.

[light upbeat music]

We walked down into waist deep
water and put on our fins.

Then we only have to
swim out a little ways

to get into water deep enough to submerge.

[gentle music]

We start seeing cuttlefish immediately.

In fact, it turns out that most of them

are in water no more
than four meters deep.

You really don't even need dive gear.

You could see them with a snorkel.

[gentle music continues]

We have definitely crashed the party.

Two big males are engaged in a dance-off.

Each one is trying to look
more colorful and flamboyant

than the other.

[gentle music continues]

These nonviolent battles are
all about impressing females

and intimidating rival males.

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

They keep an eye on us,

but mostly they keep an eye on each other,

trying to see who has the better colors.

Color changing cells in
the cuttlefish's skin

are normally used for camouflage,

but during the mating season,

they're used like a neon sign
to advertise awesomeness.

[gentle music continues]

Sometimes tempers flare

and the males take a swing at each other.

[light upbeat music]

[light upbeat music continues]

But eventually, if he's
lucky and persistent,

a male attracts the attention of a female.

The females are easy to identify,

because they're much
smaller than the males.

[gentle music]

Once he has a willing female partner,

the male must still fend off other males

looking to try stealing her away.

[light upbeat music]

[light upbeat music continues]

Later, the male and female will mate,

but even then, there's no privacy,

and the pair still has to keep an eye out

for other males on the prowl.

[gentle music]

Sometimes the big males get so
preoccupied with showing off

that they fail to notice smaller males

sneaking in behind their backs
to mate with the females.

[light upbeat music]

These smaller males,
aptly called sneakers,

are often quite successful.

[light upbeat music continues]

Eventually, the female
deposits her fertilized eggs

in deep holes under rocks,

where they will be safe from
at least some predators.

They will hatch in three to five months.

[gentle music]

Sadly, because the cuttlefish

do not eat at all during
the spawning season,

they get weaker and weaker,

slowly metabolizing their
own bodies to stay alive.

Once the mating is done
and the eggs are laid,

all the cuttlefish die.

[gentle music]

Although the cuttlefish
spawning is still going strong,

the kids are getting cold,

so it's time to head out of the water.

[gentle music continues]

[waves sloshing]

Back at the house, I find
a cuttle bone on the beach.

[gentle music]

Since I'm finding cuttle bones

on the beach behind our
house, that gets me thinking.

I suit up for a shore dive

to find out if there
are any cuttlefish here.

[light upbeat music]

The wind has come up.

It will be a little surgey underwater,

but I don't need to go far.

They're either here or they aren't.

I submerge as soon as I
get deep enough to swim,

and kick out over a rocky bottom.

So far, there's nothing to see but rocks.

When I reach a depth
of about three meters,

I enter a zone of algae and rope sponges.

So far, no cuttlefish.

Wait a minute, what's that?

There's one.

[light upbeat music]

And another and another.

[light upbeat music continues]

This place is crawling with them.

[light upbeat music continues]

They like the depths around 10 feet deep,

just like at the other dive site,

and there's definitely nothing magical

about that particular site.

This whole bay is filled with cuttlefish.

They are mating and depositing eggs.

[light upbeat music continues]

[light upbeat music]

After a few minutes, I
head back to the beach,

and carefully trudge outta
the ocean, trying not to trip.

My mission, a success.

[waves sloshing]

The Point Lowly region in South Australia

is a wonder of nature.

It's the only place in the world

where large numbers of
giant Australian cuttlefish

are known to aggregate and spawn.

For someone traveling from
the other side of the world,

it's a long trip,

but it's worth it to witness
such an amazing spectacle

of the blue world.

[light upbeat music continues]

[light upbeat music]

- [Narrator] Don't go away.

Jonathan is going cave diving.

[light upbeat music]

- Once again,

I've come to cave country in Florida

for an epic adventure.

Cameraman Zach and I are
heading over to Blue Grotto,

one of the most popular
dive training locations

in north Florida.

It's perfect for diver training,

because it's almost like a
really deep swimming pool

with crystal clear, warm water.

But there's another secret
part of the Blue Grotto

I'm going to get to see today,

and it's only available
to certified cave divers.

The adventure begins when
I meet up with Kevin Tate,

the head dive instructor
and my guide for the day.

[smooth music]

We're going to start with
a dive in the main grotto

to check out the training facility.

[smooth music continues]

I don't need cave diving
gear for this dive,

but it's what I've brought.

Divers enter the water at Blue Grotto

by just jumping off the dock.

[gentle music]

Then we can submerge down
to the first platform.

It's easy to see why this
is such a popular place

for dive training.

The water's crystal clear.

We get our cameras focused and
head on down into the cavern.

I really want to check out the air bell,

which is a famous feature of Blue Grotto.

The air bell is held to
the ceiling of the cavern

by the powerful buoyancy of all that air.

They constantly pump fresh air down to it,

so I know it's safe to breathe inside.

[gentle music continues]

It's really weird

to pop my head up into
a dry space under water.

[light upbeat music]

[water sloshing]

[light upbeat music continues]

Zach comes up inside too and
we can have a conversation,

although we can't really
think of anything to say.

So this is weird.

We're inside of this thing underwater.

The fish are looking at us.

Hey, what's up, fish?

[light upbeat music continues]

Next, we take a trip down to
the deepest part of the grotto.

It's a little bit like cave diving,

but we can still see light from above,

so technically it's a cavern.

[gentle music]

If you go to the very bottom,
you can meet the mermaid.

Then it's back up to the
shallows and the light.

[gentle music continues]

At the second platform,

three rebreather divers
are doing some training.

[gentle music continues]

We have a look around.

Even though it seems like a pool,

this is really more like a
small pond, so it has fish.

[light upbeat music]

I also get to meet Virgil,

the famous and friendly
resident soft shell turtle

who comes out to meet almost every diver.

[light upbeat music continues]

He is adorable and curious.

Zach and I spend about 15 minutes

just filming him as he models for us.

[light upbeat music continues]

After the dive, Kevin
shows me the entrance

to the secret cave
section of the facility,

Underwater, you can't get through.

Next, it's time to dive.

[smooth music]

[smooth music continues]

[water sloshing]

[gentle music]

I follow Kevin down through
the low cave entrance.

[gentle music continues]

[gentle music continues]

Almost as soon as we enter the main cave,

we find the bathtub.

[light upbeat music continues]

It definitely would not have
been as nice an air bell

as the clear one over in the grotto.

[light upbeat music continues]

[gentle music]

We continue past a PVC pipe,
which is actually a water well.

Whoever drilled that well
definitely struck water.

[light intense music]

As we follow the guideline
deeper into the cave,

I notice a very thick layer

of super fine sediment on the rocks.

Just to demonstrate,

divers need to be
extremely careful in here,

because a careless fin kick

could create a visibility nightmare.

We're careful to keep our feet
high away from all that silt.

we reach the end of the line.

There are three different routes back,

with each of the arrows
pointing a unique path.

Kevin takes the middle route

so he can take us to the most
famous resident of this cave.

It's on top of a giant
mound of rocks and silt.

Is it a cave crayfish?

A blind cave fish?

It's, it's an action figure.

[triumphant music]

[gentle music]

On the way out,

we eventually cross
paths with our route in.

Our bubbles hitting the ceiling

have knocked loose some
silt, which is raining down.

You definitely get better
shots on the way in.

[gentle music continues]

Woo-hoo-hoo, that was great.

The Blue Grotto is definitely
one of the wildest,

most unique places I
have visited as a diver.

An air bell,

a mermaid,

a cave king,

and a curious turtle

are just part of the fun at Blue Grotto.

[smooth music]

[light upbeat music]

[light upbeat music continues]

[gentle music]