During this period he studied folklore and culture change in the Trobriand Islands, which he described in his thesis "The Kabisawali Movement in the Trobriand Islands" (1978) and his documentary film, ...
His first BBC series, ‘Hunters of the South Seas’ (2014) saw him living alongside Bajau spear fisherman, Lamaleran whale hunters, and the Kula shells hunters of the Trobriand Islanders.