Tonight on Sunday ` a story of love and sacrifice. No friend, no relative, no parents. the flight of the goose mothers. She told me that every day was lonely. Why would you leave home and husband for 10 years? CRIES: It's for my children. (CRIES) Hard work,... confusing. Everything is difficult. The sad disease... Will you remember this interview tomorrow? ...that's striking many more of us. (SINGS) ...but the news is uplifting. We don't have people who, uh, who lie in bed the whole day. Hello! When they hatch, they'll all hatch together. And from kinda cute... to downright nasty. That was close. Copyright TVNZ Access Services 2013 Kia ora. I'm Miriama Kamo. They live next door, their kids go to our schools, yet we don't know them. They're the goose mothers ` Korean women who, in the migratory habits of geese, leave their homes and husbands behind and cross the world for the benefit of their children. There are hundreds of goose mothers living here in NZ. But we're unlikely to know them and even less likely to appreciate the sacrifices, the loneliness and hardship they endure, all for their kids. Hannah Ockleford tells the goose mothers' story. TEARFULLY: My English is not good enough. And... No friends, no relatives, no parents, no husband. I was really alone The plight of a mother sacrificing her happiness, her marriage... 10 years is just lost as woman, as wife, but there is no other way. ...for a greater love. Soo Young Lee is 'kirogi' ` a Korean goose mother who has migrated to NZ with only her children in search of a better future. For 10 years, this couple have lived in separate countries ` Soo Young with the children in NZ, and Nathan alone in Korea. That's a big act of love. (SPEAKS KOREAN) TRANSLATOR: Everywhere is the same ` Eastern, Western parents love their children. PERCUSSIVE KOREAN MUSIC Sunday afternoon ` family time ` and a familiar sight around the world. Yet, here in Seoul, when a child turns 5, families are prepared to do the unthinkable ` separate from their children for a chance at something we take for granted. When I saw families, like, like, Dad putting her` his shoulder over` his daughter, oh, I just` I` I want to have that too. I always thought, 'Oh, I want to` I want to walk with my dad at least once. I just want to walk with him.' And I want to know what he eats, and I want to know what he's doing and everything. There were a lot of times when we needed our dad. Nicole Chang and her goose mother, now back in Seoul, spent eight years in NZ... BOTH SPEAK KOREAN, LAUGH ...seeking English immersion to give Nicole a future advantage as she competes for a job amongst the millions in Seoul. The dream for every parent in Korea was to go to another country and to let their children study there, study English there. With the kudos of proficiency and a Kiwi twang, Nicole and her mum returned to Korea. Her family has been reunited, as is Nicole with Korea's infamous education system. I just live every day in pressure and panic. In this megacity, there is no room for failure. I come home, and I start crying, 'Mum, I didn't concentrate well today,' or 'I wasted too much time.' BOTH SPEAK KOREAN Have we got far to go? Have we got far to go? Um, no, we're just` Our school is right in front of our house. We're spending a typical day with Nicole. Oh, there's a little one. Oh, there's a little one. (LAUGHS) He's going to primary school. (LAUGHS) He's wondering what's happening. (LAUGHS) He's wondering what's happening. BOY: You are American? NZ. The intensity with which Nicole studies, seven days a week, could be considered inhuman in Kiwi schools. I love rugby, I love soccer, but mostly girls don't play anything, even at fitness time. When teachers say, 'You have free time,' boys go crazy about soccer. They just get the ball, and they go out, but girls... They just get the ball, and they go out, but girls... What about you? In my mind, I want to play soccer but then the boys will go, 'What are you doing? 'You're a girl. you're not supposed to play soccer.' 'You're a girl. you're not supposed to play soccer.' what are girls supposed to do? Chat in groups and talk about celebrities. Chat in groups and talk about celebrities. (LAUGHS) Anyong haseo. In Korea, to not study is to choose a life of low wage, low status work in this ultra-competitive society. If you become top of the school, everyone loves you. TEACHER SPEAKS KOREAN The 300th place to 400th place ` they're not treated as people. So your ranking in the school is a reflection on you as a person? Yes. Yes, yes, yes, that` that's true. That's true. STUDENTS CHATTER Lunch is yet another opportunity for Nicole to cram. I don't want to experience the feeling that I studied 100% but my test result only went up to 80%. I hate that feeling. Umma. While it's a Kiwi kid's birthright to play after school, Korean kids are rushing to private tuition. If I'm late for the academy, then this is a very bad crime. Your parents go really angry at you if you miss the academy or if you don't go to the academy. These are the 'streets of study' ` layer upon layer of education academies. TEACHER: So, um, who'd like to go first? Nicole? OK, please go ahead. Satire, which is kind of like... (SPEAKS KOREAN), has become a powerful medium. In Korea, we can say what we want. We can all draw cartoons related to the government, and we should all thank our government for letting us do this. and we should all thank our government for letting us do this. OK. That's good. A lot of students ` they` they mostly dream of, 'Oh, I wish that` 'I wish that the academy will close today,' like, as miracle ` a mir` 'I wish a miracle happens. I wish rain` I wish thunder comes over; academy can be demolished.' Another hour, another academy ` a different subject. It's a relentless pursuit of further education that costs Nicole's parents more than half their income. 'I normally don't eat dinner, because when I eat something, I turn a little drowsy, 'and I have to sleep. But then that will take off my time to do my homework,' so I normally don't eat a lot. SOLEMN MUSIC It's just before 10pm, and these students, who started their school day at 8am, are just about to leave the classroom for the day. It is seven hours after a typical school day in NZ has ended. Yet, for these children, there's still a long session of homework ahead. Sometimes it takes a long time, and sometimes it doesn't take that long. But normally sleeping time is about 1 o'clock to 1.30. That's not very much sleep. That's not very much sleep. No. (CHUCKLES) We're always tired. A lot of students sleep at school. We're always tired. A lot of students sleep at school. Just fall asleep? They just fall asleep. Nicole is capable and diligent, but in the Korean system, what happens to those with challenges ` I'll show you how to cut. those like Soo Young's Jack? 'And I'm really just happy for Jack to live here in NZ.' there is no prejudice or discrimination, especially for disabled people. (SPEAKS KOREAN) Jack was born deaf. Destined never to speak, he was being forgotten in a school system designed for the able. But this determined mother taught her son to speak not only Korean,... (SPEAKS KOREAN) ...English too. I have enjoyed studying. Especially, I want to thank you to you. I have enjoyed studying. Especially, I want to thank you to you. Thank you, Jack. Once a year, Nathan visits. I never expected it became 10 years so far. When we come back ` the impossible choice. I miss Sally... (CRIES) already. (CRIES) If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Me? Uh... Um... OK, so your water pressure should be fine now. OK, so your water pressure should be fine now. Excellent. What about yours? Eh? Eh? Your, uh, fingernails. Oh. Oh. Owning a business can be pretty stressful. Fixing pipes is one thing, but keeping a business running ` a whole different trade. Too right. Too right. I'm thinking it'd be worth speaking to an expert. That's why ANZ has more local business bankers with the expertise to help your business succeed. Job done for both of us. Job done for both of us. Yeah, thanks. Buck Shelford. Buck Shelford. Hi. You're here for the heart and diabetes TV ad? You're here for the heart and diabetes TV ad? Yeah. Of course. Of course. What do you mean? Well, heart disease and diabetes kill more than 6000 Kiwis every year. I know. I know. So, I'm a woman ` fat and funny ` and you're a... ex-All Black ` not so funny. So? So? So we've got all of the demographics covered. Not all of them. Not all of them. Oh, hey, guys. Not all of them. Oh, hey, guys. Boom. PEOPLE CHATTER Running your own business can be stressful. That's why ANZ has more business bankers who can help. Find the details of the ANZ business banker closest to you and use their expertise to get the most out of your business. SOLEMN MUSIC Seoul ` home to more than 10 million, all vying for success. From here, NZ is perceived as a place where work and life are balanced in a way that's unheard of in Seoul. Here, success is all that matters, and to achieve that singular goal, Koreans are prepared to sacrifice everything. After eight years in NZ, school in Seoul is a sobering contrast for 15-year-old Nicole Chang. In NZ, holiday ` that's heaven for us. We` We` We meet up with our friends every day. We always go somewhere. That can't happen. In the holidays, we have to spend our whole life` just our whole day in the academy. And that is why holidays is a hell for every student in Korea. Do you think NZ kids are lazy? No, I don't think that way. I just think they're just building their memories. Korean kids don't have a lot of memories about going with their friends somewhere and playing sports with their friends. They have a lot of their childhood memories just staying at home and studying. And if I tell them that, 'Oh, you know, one day I went to this mud pool and I played with my friend ` 'I put mud on their face.' They will go, 'Oh really? Oh my God, that is such a good experience.' Do you feel sad that you don't have those experiences now? Yeah. Oh, I feel really sad. Really. I feel really sad that I kinda feel` really feel restricted. ALL SPEAK KOREAN To give Nicole a chance at a better future, Sarah became a goose mother ` eight years in a foreign country without her husband. She told me that every day was lonely. She just didn't like being alone. She` And she` And she told me that when she opened her eyes in the morning, she was so scared because everything was dark, and no one was there to protect her. It is a pain Soo Young knows only too well. Isolated and depressed, she became a champion for others like her ` Do you wanna take a photo with us? Do you wanna take a photo with us? BOTH: Yes. OK. One, two, three. developing the Korean Women's Network. Enjoy Lantern Festival. While we just separate 10 years, he just still, kind of, anticipate that I live here very bravely and very, yeah, passionately. HAUNTING KOREAN MUSIC On the outskirts of Seoul, her husband, Nathan, an obstetrician, works at his clinic to finance two homes, two lives. (SPEAKS KOREAN) Lunch with his nurses the only respite from a life within these four walls. He lives alone and lonely in a spare room in his clinic. Is the separation worth it? (SPEAKS KOREAN) TRANSLATOR: 'It's a really hard question ` 'if it's right to sacrifice myself for my children or to live only for myself.' He's good father, and lots of responsibility as breadwinner. Plus he loves me, and I love him and I respect him. GENTLE MUSIC With just an annual visit, he's seldom seen his children growing up. The ultimate sacrifice, but for Nathan, an act of love. ALL SPEAK KOREAN And he's lost a precious decade with his wife. For me, first day or the second day ` a little bit awkward feeling to meet my husband, because we separated very long time. But after, yeah, three days, it became normal. And he is kind of funny guy. Oh. Sexy moving. Sexy` BOTH LAUGH And he just make joke, and, yeah, that is much better for me to feel comfortable. We do some exercise. We do some exercise. Hmm? We do some exercise. Hmm? Exercise. Oh. Intimacy comes easily, considering how long this couple have spent apart. BOTH LAUGH But now, there are new challenges. Once a traditional Korean housewife, Soo Young is relishing her independence. I wash many dishes many times. I wash many dishes many times. He has to help me, otherwise there is no way to survive. (LAUGHS) Has Nathan coped with you becoming more independent? When we live in Korea, he just... upset, and I just, like, 'OK, maybe I have done something wrong.' But now, 'Nathan, you are wrong. I am right.' So you have changed a lot. Of course. SOLEMN MUSIC After 10 years of NZ education, both Sally and Jack are leaving home for university. SOO YOUNG: I feel I achieve my goal. Sally went down Dunedin for study at university, and... (CRIES) she left again, and Jack ` he will leave soon, then I just came alone again. And Nathan go back to Korea ` that is one of the big loss for me. The goose mother now faces an impossible choice ` stay in NZ ` home alone while the kids live away to study or return to Korea to be with her husband. CRIES: All my life in NZ is for my children, but... (SOBS) they left. Calm down. Calm down. OK. (SOBS) < I'm scared. Soo Young is trapped; halfway between two lives, two countries, two cultures. Don't worry about` (CHUCKLES) But, yeah, you go back to Korea again, and maybe I will see you soon, but... (SNIFFLES) yeah. (SPEAKS KOREAN) (SPEAKS KOREAN) Despite the loneliness, Soo Young and Nathan would make the same sacrifice again. ALL: Bye. Yes, that is the life. I'll be OK. I just get through the hardship so far, so I'll be all right. ALL CHATTER IN KOREAN For Nicole's mum, the choice was clear. My mum loves here. My mum loves being with my dad. But when we were there, we had no one to help us. No one was there to help us, so she didn't cope. she was very lonely. But in this family, it is the goose mother's daughter who is suffering. Kinda, like, depression comes on me, like, every two months. Every two months, it kinda, like` I don't` I don't know what` what this illness` but some` one day if I go to the library, some` When I go to the library, normally I just start working hard. But just one day I feel just too exhausted, and I just sit down and say, 'Well, what am I doing? Why` Why am I doing this?' I just don't` I just look around, and I see people studying, 'Why are they doing this?' In their pursuit of excellence, Nicole's parents didn't expect Nicole would learn to love the Kiwi way. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? I would go to NZ. (LAUGHS) I want to go back to NZ. I'm not saying Korean culture is a bad thing, but I just... My` My` I think my body is more, um, peaceful to the NZ society. Because I have experienced both, and so I'm a very lucky child. ALL CHATTER IN KOREAN She's adorable, isn't she? Their stories are just so affecting. The Asia NZ Foundation assisted Sunday in the production of Hannah's story. Next, one of the major health issues of our time. The stats are scary and unavoidable. Describe what it's like to have dementia. # Lost my heart and lost my soul. # WOMAN: (SIGHS) Hard work. Confusing. Everything's difficult. Will you remember this interview tomorrow? Will you remember this interview tomorrow? Probably not. Hello again. The numbers are alarming. Within a few decades, some 150,000 NZers will have dementia. That's over 2.5% of the population, and, disturbingly, more than triple the current number. How will we provide the care they need? Then there's families and friends ` millions of us impacted in some way by a disease which affects our memory, thinking patterns, behaviour, personality and emotions. This story is important, but somehow it's uplifting. Here's Alex Cullen. # Well, it's time to start the show. Describe what it's like to have dementia. # Lost my heart and lost my soul. WOMAN: (SIGHS) Hard work. # Now it's time that you won't know. Confusing. Everything's difficult. Will you remember this interview tomorrow? Will you remember this interview tomorrow? Probably not. I just don't know why it is, but, yes, it disappears. # I'm not giving in... Not giving in a disease that right now seems unbeatable is what this story is about, which is why we begin in Holland. On the outskirts of Amsterdam, a revolution is happening ` one that could completely change the way we treat the ever-growing number of dementia sufferers. It's like, in a normal village, you see the boulevard here. We have a restaurant. We have a cafe. Just all the things that you see in a normal village. It's called Hogewey, a home for people with severe dementia, where confusion is being replaced by happiness, sadness by laughter. We see that people are more at ease. We see that they need less medication, that they're much more comfortable. They stay active much longer. We don't have people who lie in bed the whole day. Hullo! At Hogewey, not everything is what it seems. The shopkeeper is not really a shopkeeper. The cooking teacher, not really a cook. WOMEN CHATTER And the pretty young woman serving tea, well, she's not really a waitress. They're all carers playing an important role, to see whether a winding the clock back for those with Alzheimer's can ease the anxiety and terror dementia often brings. Isabella van Zuthem runs Hogewey. When you get dement, you first start to lose your short-term memory and then gradually, you go further back in time and actually you stay the longest in the period where you were 30 years old. So you will see residents who, around dinner time, they sit and watch through the windows, like 'Oh no, it's almost` my husband is coming home, my children are coming, 'so I have to prepare for the food.' They really live, they really have the feeling, that they live in that year that they were 30. And on the left here we have some residential. Yes, that's the houses with the upper-class lifestyle. Which part of society you come from determines where and with whom you live. So one upper-class lady, she doesn't live in the same house as someone who used to work in a bar for his whole life and lived in the centre of Amsterdam. (SPEAKS DUTCH) Do you like to come and sit, have a seat? Look at your own friends. It's a certain group of people that you feel comfortable with. # May you only need the light when it's burning low, # only miss the sun when it starts to snow, # only know your lover when you let her go. First this eating, and then we go outside. We walk through the garden. It's very nice. She like it. You are surrounded with people who have the same background, the same ideas. Is providing a fake reality to a dementia sufferer a good thing? If it works, then yes. If, clinically, people don't take so much medication, if their deterioration is slowed down, then by definition, surely it has to be a good thing. At Oxford University, Professor Susan Greenfield is developing a blood-test to detect Alzheimer's and a nasal spray to treat it. Susan's no ordinary scientist. She's also a baroness. Better to call me Susan. 'Baroness' sounds like the Red Queen, especially if I call you Alex. And she's a world expert on dementia. Sadly, all of us have the risk of having dementia. About 5% is so-called familial. That is where there's a strong genetic link. But the rest is called sporadic, and we know that incidence of dementia increases with age. I think, by the time you're in your 90s, the current number is a 1/3 chance of having it. What makes this disease so heartbreakingly sad and frustrating? When you think of it, heart disease and cancer are, of course, devastating conditions. They're life-threatening conditions, and I don't wish to denigrate those, but you are still the person you were, you are still you. Whereas, for the carers especially, as someone slowly seems to disintegrate in front of them, that's very, very hard, and apparently for people who are in this condition, they're going through the stages of bereavement as though the person was dead. There is no cure for dementia and seemingly none in the foreseeable future. But where many see darkness, Susan Greenfield sees something else, including the possibility that the brains of sufferers can be trained to rewire themselves. How it works ` I mean you, especially in Australia, are familiar how sport strengthens the muscles as you use them. Wherever muscle groups are used, they get bigger, stronger and more efficient. And if you don't use the muscles, of course, they waste and atrophy and get weaker. The same is true of the brain ` you use it or you lose it. In Australia, possible proof of Susan's theory. Christine Bryden in is a medical marvel. Are you a victim? Me? A victim? No. No. A survivor, I think, yes. In 1995, when Christine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, her doctor was blunt. Full-blown dementia was not far off. Three years or five years before I became demented and then I'd be in a nursing home and then dead. That was 18 years ago, when she was 46 years old. He said you'd be a mindless, empty shell. Yes, and I had a 9-year-old and a 14-year-old and a 19-year-old. Yes, very hard. Christine was at the height of her career ` a senior adviser to Prime Minister Paul Keating on science and technology. Very important criteria taken into account right up front in the assessment process. She had to quit her job, but her new one was even more important. Could she slow the progress of her dementia? How hard do you work right now? > How hard do you work right now? > Very, very, very, very. Probably harder than when I was at work. How do you feel when you wake up? How do you feel when you wake up? 'Blank.' Though it's a battle Christine will eventually lose, her enormous victory is that she's still here and able to tell us about it. They are lovely. They don't mind I get their names wrong. To ward off her decline, she constantly stimulates her brain. She reads, she writes and has plenty of conversations with her husband, Paul. P arrow. They met on a blind date shortly after Christine was diagnosed. Paul, I'm trying to look up` So how long after you met did you tell him you had... Oh, an hour, yes, because I didn't want to mislead him, you know? He's telling me stuff and I'm telling him things and thinking, 'Well, that's a pretty big thing to tell him,' you know, 'I really ought to tell him.' I couldn't keep that to the second date, could I, really? My father had actually died with Alzheimer's so I had some idea of what the future might be like. We saw each other almost every day after that and got married a year later. Because lesser men would have parted ways. Well, that's what she expected, but she got a surprise, didn't she? So, I'm still here. # I remember years ago, someone told me I should take caution when it comes to love. I did. # He enables me to keep trying hard. Paul is the keeper of the daily lists that remind her what to do. It's all about keeping Christine as active as possible. Why do we just assume that people with dementia are just going to continue to decline and not try to help them retrain those bits that aren't declining as we do with somebody who's perhaps had a stroke? And I wonder whether that's happening with people who remain active, and Christine` that maybe for every two steps backwards in her brain, there is one new step being made, so the decline is being slowed down. Whereas had she given up and thrown in the towel and just said, 'Well, that's it,' maybe it would have been more rapid. I would say to anyone who's watching this who is a carer or a sufferer, please don't give up hope. I think we are teetering on the edge of a scientific revolution. When we come back ` Henry and the music that unlocks his brain. Cab Calloway was my number one guy` band I like. (SCATS) # I'll be home for Christmas. # You can plan on me. # So the key to dementia is hope. And the word to sufferers and carers is 'don't give up hope, 'because we're teetering on the brink of a scientific revolution.' In the meantime, there's the power of music. # Remember me? # Honestly I don't... # remember who you are. # In the study of dementia, what's also being discovered is the power of music to reawaken the lost memories of lost souls, like Henry. Who am I? Who am I? I'm your daughter. Daughter? Daughter? Mm-hm. Music does a lot with people who have dementia. It stays the longest in their memory, so it brings back a lot of emotions. I remember, as a child, he walked us down the street, me and my brother, and he would stop and do 'Singing in the Rain'. He would have us jumping and swinging around poles. In the documentary Alive Inside, before music is introduced to Henry, he is a shell of the man he was, spending his days silent, still, sad. We first see Henry inert, maybe depressed, unresponsive and almost unalive. Henry. Yeah? Henry, I've found your music. Then he is given an iPod containing, we know, his favourite music. And, immediately, he lights up, his face assumes expression, his eyes open wide and he is being animated by the music. I'm going to give it back you. I'm going to give it back you. Uh-huh. I'm going to give it back you. Uh-huh. OK. The effect of this doesn't stop. When the headphones are taken off, Henry, normally mute and virtually unable to answer the simplest yes or no questions, is quite voluble. Tell me about your music. I don't` I don't have none. I mean... < Do you like music? Yeah, I'm crazy about music. You play beautiful music, beautiful sounds. Beautiful. < Did you play music when you were a...? Did you like music when you were young? Yes. Yes, I went to big dances and things. < What was your favourite music when you were young? Well... Well... I guess, well, Cab Calloway was my number one band guy I like. (SCATS) What's your favourite Cab Calloway song? # I'll be home by Christmas. # You can count plans on me. # With plenty of snow... # So, in some sense, Henry is restored to himself. He has remembered who he is through the power of music. < What does music do to you? Music will bring them back into it, into their own personhood, their own memories. (HUMS SOULFULLY) We know it's a disease cos it's not a natural consequence of ageing. We know Alzheimer's is a disease. It's a disease of older people, but it's not a consequence of ageing. And if it's a disease, there must be causes, and if there's causes, then we should be able to find them, and once we've found them, we should be able to intercept. What about your progress now? How will you progress from now on in? I will lose words totally. So I won't be able to talk and I won't be able to understand, um, but I'll still be here as me. Which brings us back to Hogewey and a former concert pianist whose memory has all but gone. WOMEN SPEAK DUTCH (PLAYS EMOTIVELY) Music brings her to life. So, we are trying to show people how we do it. At Hogewey, it's all about a new way of thinking for our ageing population. Puff! We think we're doing a good thing. It's wonderful to really have a place where people can feel at home and feel like human beings. I mean, it's not rocket science. We just want to feel like we are still human beings, still functioning, still got independence, but obviously in a safe place. It sounds brilliant. I just wish there was one here, just nearby, where I could go. It's that such a great story? Did you love those images by Tom Hussey, the photographer, in there? I would love you to see some more. # Lost my heart and lost my soul. # Now it's the time that you won't know. # Lost my mind and lost my goal. # Mm, not giving in. # Fantastic, aren't they? Tomhussey.com for more of those. Next ` crocs. Protective, territorial and cranky. (MAN) RT: Can you see her? (MAN) RT: Can you see her? I can't see her, mate. I can't see her. DRAMATIC MUSIC They pack a bite of 5000 pounds per square inch ` The equivalent of 15 rottweilers, which is why stealing a crocodile's eggs right from under them is madness. But that's just what Matt Wright does. Why? For fashion and conservation. Here's Edwina Bartholomew. INSECT BUZZES BIRDS CHIRRUP The time to really worry about a crocodile is not when you see it but when you can't. Can you see her? No, I can't see her, mate. I can't see her. I'm with Matt Wright. That was a little close, I'd say. His day job is harvesting crocodile eggs. Strap that to your leg. That will save your life, OK. The next thing you're going to need is a harness. Life jacket on. Stops any creepy-crawly coming up your legs. This is what we lift you in and out of the nest with. All right, eh? Beautiful view up here. Beautiful view up here. Yeah, we'll change that shortly. Below me is a place known as Glass Water. Australia's Top End is the world's best habitat for saltwater crocs. Bring her round here, eh. You're coming into this swamp. Cane grass that's 15ft tall. You can't see over the top. You can't see 3ft in front of you, so it is very daunting going in there knowing that a big 10ft crocodile is only 5m away. Now, you see her there sitting on the nest? Right, you look at their eyes. They'll close their eyes and you can move in on 'em. If they've got their eyes open, you stay dead still. And how far can they see around? 180 degrees and their eyesight is immaculate. The way you find a crocodile nest is to find the mother nesting or near her eggs, and croc mums are very protective of their young. I think she's coming back! Go back. All right, look out. Good work, mate. Nine times out of 10 there'll only be one croc on the nest or in the general vicinity. < And the one time out of 10? < And the one time out of 10? You just keep an eye out. < And the one time out of 10? You just keep an eye out. < (CHUCKLES) She's pretty feisty. Should you have your back to her right now? Should you have your back to her right now? She's gone. She's gone? She's gone? Mick just told me she's in the main waterhole. Now, for her to come back into here, we'd hear her, as long as there's no choppers hovering over the top of us. Right. I still think fast work's good work. Right. I still think fast work's good work. Yes, definitely. Righto, you good to go, Eddy? Righto, you good to go, Eddy? OK, up you go. Crocodile numbers are coming up. There is a concern in the general public that there's too many crocodiles in the Northern Territory or in Far North Queensland, so us managing or trying to manage numbers through collecting crocodile eggs. It works, and it works well. Righto, mate, let's go. Harvesting eggs provides landowners with an income and an incentive not to shoot them. Look at her go! She's having a good crack. It may look like Matt is tormenting this big female,... but what he's trying to do is tire her out and get her to leave the nest. A little bit cranky, eh? It gets a little bit nerve-racking. It depends on how close you are to the croc. Where'd she go? A 10ft crocodile disappeared into a 2ft hole. Ah! OK, she's still there. She just took the end of this off. SOTTO VOCE: Jesus. Once the croc leaves the nest, it's time to move in. Normal day, we'll do anywhere from 30 to 50 nests. You got my back there, Willow. You mark them and put them down. How's the mosquitoes? Marking the egg is time-consuming but critical. If an egg is turned the wrong way round, the unhatched baby will die. All right, Mick, we're good to go, mate. We'll collect anywhere from, in a nest, between 30 to 60. From here, we'll take the eggs back to a crocodile farm. It's very important when we get the eggs, they're not overly rushed, even though they're in a pretty dangerous environment, and they keep the egg upright. If they rotate that egg over, the little baby's still fixed. He'll be fixed on the side, and he'll actually just drown inside the egg. Our crocodiles are very hard to farm. They're probably regarded as the most aggressive of the crocodile species. Probably worth about $30 million to the Territory at the moment. That's increased as we start to farm better animals and produce better skins and obviously satisfy our European clients, you know, who are probably the fussiest buyers in the world. Our species of crocodile here actually is regarded as producing the best leather, the most expensive leather in the world. When they hatch, they hatch together. It's the squeaks that they make and the movement in and around that agitates the others, so the whole nest will come out at the same time. HATCHLINGS SQUEAK (SCREAMS) Oh, jeez! Oh man! That actually hurt a fair bit. 233,000 people share the Territory with at least 100,000 crocodiles. CROC BELCHES The croc that done this was just under 3m and I was in the process of catching... We had a snout trap on it. He jumped grabbed my whole hand and let go and just got the last two fingers. It's a workplace injury unique to the Territory, but a common danger for head ranger Tommy Nichols and his team. OK, get all this gear ready. Collecting crocs from Darwin's 26 traps is a full-time job. The thing is, if we didn't have this programme, the number of crocs would be extremely high and the chances of a fatality would also be high. There's a fair bit of water today. That crocodile... There's a bit of a deep hole on the creek side. Sometimes the nests are surrounded by very deep water and are impossible to reach by foot. The only option is to land directly on top. See you in a minute! It was the last nest of our last day that we had the closest encounter of the croc kind. There's probably about 6ft of water around that nest, and Mick had already told me that there is a pretty aggressive croc on there, so we knew that was coming up. But we didn't know how aggressive. Can you see her? No, I can't see her, mate. I can't see her. TENSE MUSIC How close was that? That was close. She was a little bit more cranky than we expected. The nest is underwater but she came right up and grabbed the top of the ring, but Mick got me out of there just in time. This particular one decided to come over the top of the ring, and I sort of ducked underneath her as Mick pulled up at the same time. She did, she grabbed the top of the ring and was right there in my face. It's inevitable that one day I could get bitten. Do you think much about that day or do you try not to? No, I just don't think about it. If it happens, it happens. Well, you can see why they get a bit cranky, can't you? That's our show for tonight. Do check us out on Facebook ` Sunday TVNZ.