Live chat with adventurer and diver Ellis Emmett

Kiwi adventurer and avid diver Ellis Emmett is just back from an 18 month trip to some of the world’s remotest dive locations – many of which have only recently been discovered.

From dive sites in New Zealand, Djibouti and Sudan to Iceland and the Solomon Islands, Ellis has seen places and creatures that few of us ever will. He’s now co-hosting a show about his adventures on the Travel Channel.

Ellis is with us in the Stuff newsroom today to answer all your questions about diving and adventure travel across the world.

STUFF – Descending: An underwater world

In Descending, adventurer Ellis Emmett travels across the world in search of places and creatures that few people have ever seen.

South Africa – News24 – Descending: Adventure into the unknown

A new series entitle Descending is to be broadcast in more that 130 countries in 22 languages worldwide – starting this Wednesday 21 August on South Africa, Dstv Travel Channel 179 at 8pm.

In the 13 part series of 60 minutes each, the presenters and film crew set out to not just dive our oceans, lakes and rivers, but to discover the stories of human triumph and tragedy associated with the water, and see with their own eyes the health of our water planet.

This global adventure, hosted by Scott Wilson and Ellis Emmett, together with cinematographer Andre Dupuis, pushes the boundaries of existing digital camera technology to capture some of the most incredible underwater footage ever created.

Africa – BIZCommunity – Aquatic adventure series to premiere on Travel Channel (DStv Channel 179)

Ellis: “I was genuinely scared diving into the middle of a feeding frenzy of sharks. But the moment I splashed beneath the water I could see that they meant us no harm. For as long as I can remember I have been fascinated with sharks. To see one up close is truly an incredible experience, only compared in the above water world, to coming within arm’s reach of a lion in the wild, or similar.

Once you have seen the sleek powerful grace of a shark up close you would never want to catch or kill one – yet we drag them by their millions, from the oceans, every year. I believe sharks are greatly misunderstood. My dream is to one day swim openly with a Great White shark.”

South Africa – News24 – Descending with Ellis Emmett

We chat to Co-host and proud New Zealander, Ellis Emmett who says he epitomizes the stereotypical Kiwi by being a passionate adventurer and outdoorsman – but he is certainly more interested in our marine life than our rugby springboks.

Ellis feels most at home when challenging himself against nature’s might – whether it’s climbing remote alpine peaks or swimming with sharks. For more than twenty years, Ellis has been an avid diver and it shows in his comfort under the water and with the creatures that live there.

The Dominion Post article – Sinking to new heights

It’s a travel show with a difference – most of the action takes place below water. James Croot caught up with the Descending’s Kiwi star Ellis Emmett ahead of its launch on the Travel Channel this week.

SKY TV – Descending advertisement video

Click to watch SKY TV’s advert for Descending.

Sunday Star Times article – Going Under

Kiwi Ellis Emmett is going where no man has gone before in a new series about the ocean’s fascinating depths, writes Stephanie Holmes.

STUFF – Going where no man has gone before

Jacques Cousteau is responsible for Ellis Emmett’s passion for the ocean.
The New Zealand author (A Wild Obsession), TV presenter (Don’t Forget Your Passport), photographer, adventurer and guide fondly remembers watching Cousteau on television as a child, and credits this for igniting an interest in scuba diving – a hobby which turned into a profession.

Emmett is now hoping his new Travel Channel TV show will help to inspire the next generation “to build a relationship with the ocean as well”.

TV Guide Magazine article – Life below the seven seas

The new reality show Descending may involve a lot of diving, but co-host Ellis Emmett is quick to point out that it is more of a travel series than a dive show. “We are traveling and seeing the other side of the world that you don’t normally visit.” he says.

The Kiwi adventurer who describes himself as a farm boy from the north Canterbury town of Cheviot, hosts the show with Canadian Scott Wilson and Andre Dupuis shooting the action.