Taking Command - S1.E2

Captain James Cook sets sail on the history-making adventure in search of one of the great prizes of 18th century exploration, the fabled Great Southern Continent. If Britain can find and map it, they can claim it for the Empire. Cook takes on board an additional passenger, Polynesian priest and fellow navigator, Tupaia. Cook's first encounter with New Zealand's Maori people is a disaster, so he turns to Tupaia who acts as go-between for later landings. Over six months, Cook circumnavigates both North and South islands, proving to Banks and the gentlemen aboard that New Zealand is not the Great Southern Continent. Continuing east into the unknown and landing in Botany Bay, Cook is challenged by what he encounters - Australia's flora, fauna and Indigenous people. Unlike his experience of the Pacific islanders, the Aborigines want nothing to do with the visitors. Cook's landing at Botany Bay will make him an iconic figure in modern history, but not unless he can navigate his way out of the maze of the Great Barrier Reef - a potential disaster that could kill them all.