Where was ‘My Octopus Teacher’ on Netflix Filmed?

My Octopus Teacher is easily one of the most beautiful films on Netflix right now. The stunning nature doc takes us into the underwater world of Craig Foster, a diver and filmmaker who befriends an octopus while visiting her home in the kelp forest he swims through every day. Lucky for us, Foster brought his camera along on each trip.

The result is a collection of footage showing some truly amazing sights, from schools of colorful fish, to thick, swaying masses of kelp, to a showdown between an octopus and a crab. Of course, most of us don’t have access to a beautiful marine playground like we see in the doc, so where exactly did My Octopus Teacher capture all of its breathtaking scenes? We did some digging and found out for you. Here’s everything we know about the My Octopus Teacher filming location:

WHERE WAS MY OCTOPUS TEACHER FILMED?

Foster is lucky enough to count the scenery we see in the film as part of his backyard. While he was dealing with bouts of depression and anxiety, Foster decided to seek out the ocean to help heal. He began to swim off the coast of his home every day, which is where he met the octopus.

Foster lives right off the waters of False Bay, where he took his camera and recorded the gorgeous scenes we see in My Octopus Teacher. As he explained in the film, his family “had this little wooden bungalow, literally below the high water mark.” During storms, Foster remembered that the ocean would “smash the doors down and fill up the bottom of the house.”

WHERE IS FALSE BAY?

False Bay is a body of water off of Cape Town, South Africa. It’s known for its collection of diverse marine life, including multiple species of sharks. My Octopus Teacher showcases some of the incredible marine life in the False Bay waters, like crabs, brittle stars and pyjama sharks, all living in the lush kelp forest. As much as we want to, we can’t exactly hop on a plane to South Africa and explore the same waters as Foster did in the documentary — so we’ll just have to settle for some repeat viewings of My Octopus Teacher for now