漂流者 24

North of the equator,

two and a half thousand miles from the nearest landmass of North America,

lies the most isolated chain of islands in the world - Hawaii

The longest archipelago in the Pacific,

Hawaii consists of over 100 ancient volcanic islands,

stretching for 2,000 miles

Yet it is so remote that less than 500 kinds of animal settled here in 30 million years

But for those who did make it to this lush and fertile land,

the world was their oyster

Here, coconut palms have been replaced by giant tree ferns standing over seven metres tall

From the 13 kinds of spider that made it here,

over 100 new species evolved - like the happy-face spider

From just one species of fruit fly came over 1,000 others

And here, caterpillars were free to become carnivores