Coast Australia

He may have a Scottish accent as thick as black pudding, but Neil Oliver is nothing if not an engaging storyteller.

Having hosted Coast on BBC2 since 2005, the archaeologist turned TV presenter now sets foot on Australian shores for an Antipodean look at our rugged coastline. And let’s face it, it’s infinitely more diverse than Britain’s. From tropical Queensland to the Great Ocean Road, from Broome to craggy Tasmania, we have it all.

Oliver has had to lean on 5 others for this picture postcard series, just to touch the surface. They are arts specialist Miriam Corowa, environmentalist Professor Tim Flannery, marine scientist Dr Emma Johnston, anthropologist Dr Xanthe Mallet and landscape architect Brendan Moar.

Oliver goes to great lengths to tell us just how big the country is, with frequent comparisons to British isles, in size, geography and climate. It’s hard ignore the fact this has probably been made for his UK audience, so there are all sorts of references, including converting metrics to imperial.

The episode begins near Broome, distinguished by dry and wet seasons and rising waters. Oliver takes a boatride along the Horizontal Falls of the Kimberley, where “an ocean is trying to squeeze through a letterbox.” Looks like exhilarating stuff. He tries his hand at pearl farming with introductory success.

Tim Flannery takes us to remote beaches where evidence of dinosaurs can be found. Australia bears footprints, literally, from some of the earliest life forms. We learn about the indigenous connection to the land, although an Aboriginal elder is sub-titled despite him speaking in English.

Anthropologist Xanthe Mallett, better known for her work on TEN’s Wanted, takes us to some of the many wreckages found on our shores. We’re a long way from crims and missing kids here.

Host notwithstanding, Brendan Moar is arguably the pick of the bunch. I’d forgotten what an easy, natural presenter he is, and here he takes aboard a makeshift raft in waters at the Top End. He’s a tad nervous about crocs and so am I.

Each of the stories that unravels gives a sense of our vast space and contrast. Coast has always managed to deliver factual information steeped in nature and history and Australia clearly fills the brief in this regard. Oliver himself is staggered by the sheer statistics as well as the colours of our landscape. No wonder he is trying to package it all up for a British audience.

But of course it is the backdrop itself that is the real star. With its wonderful cinematography, Coast Australia brings it all into your living room, turning the viewer into an armchair traveller. So who made the decision to screen this on the History Channel -which does not broadcast in HD?

That’s my only real beef with this otherwise excellent adaptation of a popular documentary series.

Coast Australia airs 7:30pm Monday on History.