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A giant emerges from the deep. Right now the monster moves silently but it’s equipped with an awesome force. These waves that break on South Pacific islands are some of the largest waves in the world. Their birth sums up the scale of this ocean. The storm swell that made these waves has travelled nearly 5,000 kilometres to reach this shallow reef. These distances proved a great challenge for animal castaways – but when they found new land many evolved into new species. Human colonisers followed similar routes and the ocean that isolated them from the rest of the world became central to their culture. The big waves were an inspiration, and riding them has been a tradition here for more than 1,500 years. No other ocean has had a greater impact on the lives of so many different animals and cultures than the South Pacific – and it’s all down to its massive size.