Across the UK, across continental North America, and around the world, on the internet, by webcast, and by podcast, my name is Howard Hughes, and this is the Unexplained.

Thank you very much for your recent emails. I will get round to reading out some of them and giving name checks to a lot of you.

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Thank you very much for being part of this show. This time round we have for you a classic cryptozoological tale.

You are going to love this. It is the story of America's own version of the Loch Ness Monster, at Lake Champlain.

Way high north in America on the Canadian border, an area of myth and mystery, and this is certainly a mystery like no other.

And seemingly on a much bigger scale than the Loch Ness Monster, many, many stories dating back 400 years or more of sightings of this thing.

Going to be talking to Robert Bartholomew, he's an American broadcaster, researcher, sociologist, based in New Zealand at the moment who's written a fantastic book, a champ,

the untold story about this monster phenomenon. I think you'll really enjoy the book if you do get to see it.

And you'll definitely enjoy the conversation with Robert Bartholomew that we're about to have.

Like I say, thank you for your email. Thank you for your support. If you're listening to this show on a device mobile or otherwise,

you don't automatically have to go to the website, but it's very important for me that you register a hit on the website.

So if you can, please make a moment, go to www.theunexplain.tv and just leave a click, a hit on the website. Very important for us.

Right, let's cross to Auckland New Zealand now to talk about champ, the monster, or not as the case may be, with Robert Bartholomew.

Robert, thank you very much for coming on the show.

Howard, thank you for having me.

Now first question, Robert, and a delight to talk to you for a whole variety of reasons. What's an American guy doing in Auckland New Zealand?

Well, my background is in the anthropology, sociology, and I'm very interested in different countries, in cultures, in belief systems, and just wanted to go someplace different.

Well, from what I hear, and I've always, my whole life long wanted to go to New Zealand. I've been to many other countries.

You can't get more different than New Zealand and the things that you're interested in.

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