All new footage of the mythical seascapes of the Pacific, including New Zealand.

NHNZ Worldwide has recently added all new 4K clips of the ancient islands marooned in the huge expanse of the South Pacific ocean known as the Cook Islands or Kūki 'Airani, which include Rarotonga, Tukutea and Aitutaki islands. The Cook Islands are scattered across two million square kilometres, but every year they attract over 3000 humpback whales in one of the longest migrations on the planet. As our footage graphically shows, the whales are driven by the need to socialize, mate and reproduce, and these warm tropical waters are the perfect nursery for the females to give birth and raise their young.

Rarotonga is surrounded by a shallow tidal lagoon, protected from the open sea by a massive coral reef. Green turtles regularly seek out the passageways into the lagoon when they need a rest. On the northern side of the island, the Mushroom Forest is like something out of a fairytale. Its mythical, coral landscape is maintained by coral-munching parrotfish and algae-pruning surgeonfish. All of these species are featured in our amazing archive.

In the skies above, red-tailed tropicbirds court their mates on the wing, revealing astonishing aerial antics. Eventually, they raise their chicks on the island of Takutea, a haven for birds, but to feed their families they have to avoid ‘pirates’, or Great Frigatebirds which live a life of 'crime', stealing their food from others.

Aitutaki is one of the world’s most beautiful lagoons. It looks like a picture-perfect paradise but, like all the islands in the South Pacific cyclone belt, it’s vulnerable to an approaching storm. We have managed to capture a tribe of land-loving fish known as blennies. These astonishing fish are in the process of leaving the sea to become landlubbers.

We have also added to our extensive Aotearoa New Zealand collection with footage of the magical seascapes of the Tikapa Moana o Hauraki/The Hauraki Gulf, which lies on the doorstep of New Zealand’s largest city, Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. Seventy islands are scattered through the blue expanse and every summer millions of aquatic visitors from the tropics converge here, all lured by a unique seasonal smorgasbord.

The South Pacific gyre current rotates warm sea water, like a conveyor belt, all the way from the equator down into the north of New Zealand. It transports clouds of nutrients and draws a multitude of creatures into the gulf as they follow this trail, including the rarely-filmed giant oceanic manta rays, common dolphins and Bryde’s whales.

We have footage of a troop of rare false killer whales showing up to seek their share of the gyre’s abundant bounty. Unlike their namesakes, these dolphins don’t hunt other marine mammals, instead they form attachments to them!

And don’t forget our recent additions of New Zealand’s unique animals and

Lord Of The Rings-style mystical landscapes, highlighted in our previous summer newsletter, adding to our 15,000+ hours of specialist footage and 50,000+ online clips, shot around the globe.

Our site continues to grow its natural history content offering, so check out these new collections at footage.nhnz.tv, or contact our team directly by email at images@nhnz.tv. Our renowned, personalized service is offered by our experienced team of researchers and content specialists, led by senior archivist Jamie Thorp.