Review: BBC Two - New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands Series

Photo taken from the BBC Two - New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands Website

Anyone who knows me well will know of my fascination with New Zealand. This fascination is down to one amazing little creature - the Tuatara. When I first heard that BBC Two was about to release a wildlife documentary series featuring New Zealand, I was pretty excited.

If you've read any of my previous documentary reviews, you will have seen me mention that I am rather sceptical of some types of documentaries. Wildlife documentaries are usually rather straightforward and more fact-focused - which is what you really want. However, *some* documentaries can not only be cringe-worthy depending on the topic but oftentimes include a lot of the main presenter's philosophical babble - which usually bores me to death. 

I was really hoping that this new series would make New Zealand justice and show its unique flora, fauna and geological features. Thankfully, so far, they have not disappointed. Although we still have a few episodes to go, the documentary seems to be going in the right direction, starting with a brief 'lesson' on New Zealand's natural history and showcasing amazing images of the landscape and wildlife. 

However, perhaps the feature that made me want to write a review at all is the section they named 'New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands - Chronicles'. This is essentially a section at the very end of the episode that gives us an idea of how the filming crew reached these incredibly isolated places and little stories about the entire filming experience. I have to say that I absolutely loved the chronicles section and am really looking forward to the next episodes.

I am hoping that the Tuatara will be featured a little bit more in upcoming episodes but overall, it's an easy and relatively short watch for a documentary.