Descending Season 1, Episode 9: The Smoking Earth

The Rest of the Map

Seasoned travellers Scott Wilson and Andre Dupuis begin a new journey descending into the world beneath the waves. They travel to New Zealand to recruit friend and fellow explorer Ellis Emmett for the adventure. But equipment challenges and harsh weather impede the team's first dives.

The Poor Knights

Location: NEW ZEALAND Scott and Ellis cross New Zealand's North Island to board a sunken cruise ship, push their limits in a cave dive, and are awestruck by the vibrant and healthy marine reserve at the Poor Knights Islands.

The Sea Less Travelled

Location: THE RED SEA The team ventures to Djibouti to swim with the world's largest fish - the whale shark - but must then overcome frustrating travel challenges to get to Sudan and dive Cousteau's Conshelf II and a WWII wreck with a deadly cargo.

The Emerald Sea

Location: BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA Scott brings Ellis and the Descending team home to Canada for some cold-water diving off Vancouver Island. Scott and Ellis make friends with some questionable creatures and then pilot a jet at 80ft below the surface. Above the water, the team is put to work preparing a ship for scuttling.

The Dive God

Location: TURKS & CAICOS / BIMINI ISLAND, BAHAMAS While island-hopping in the Caribbean, Scott and Ellis meet the 'Dive God'. But there is trouble in paradise as the team learns of a poisonous, invasive species that threatens these beautiful blue waters.

The Deep

Location: DOMINICA, GRENADA & CURACAO Continuing their Caribbean island hopping, the Descending team contemplates underwater art in Grenada, comes face to face with the ocean's largest carnivore in Dominica, and then goes deeper (1000+ ft!) than they ever have before.

The Big Six

Scott and Ellis visit South Africa to face their fears and brave some of the most notorious shark-filled waters in the world. Disaster strikes on what should have been an easy dive.

The Hunt for the Red Devil

Location: CALIFORNIA, USA & LORETO, BAJA Scott and Ellis are in Los Angeles to see if vibrant marine life can exist off the highly developed coast of Southern California. After meeting up with a pair of eco-warriors, the team scours the Sea of Cortez in search of the elusive and fearsome "diablos rojos".

The Ghosts of the Pacific

Location: THE SOLOMON ISLANDS History fanatic Scott talks Ellis into diving the shark-infested waters off the coast of the Solomon Islands. This tiny South Pacific nation played a strategic role during WWII and she still has the scars...and wrecks...to prove it.

The Great Lakes

Location: ONTARIO, CANADA For centuries, the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Great Lakes have shaped the story of Canada. The team takes a trip through history and visits the world's best collection of freshwater shipwrecks to discover what makes this water so great.

60 min

The Four Kings

Location: RAJA AMPAT, INDONESIA In Indonesia, Scott and Ellis experience Raja Ampat - a reserve rich in beauty, diversity and culture. Ellis befriends a local Papuan who teaches him to fish like a local and the divers have a close encounter with Giant Manta Rays.

60 min

The Underworld

Location: North Sulawesi, Indonesia and Vanuatu. Following a terrifying accident, Scott must find the physical and emotional strength to dive again. In Indonesia's Lembeh Strait, the mission is to film as many strange creatures as they can find. The team concludes their year-long journey on the remote island of Vanuatu to dive one of the greatest shipwrecks in the world and reflect on their underwater adventures.