(If you missed it, start from part 1)
Day 1 – Dreams Come True
5.00pm – After an all day trip from Sydney to Cairns, and Cairns to Port Douglas – I finally boarded what was to be my home for the next six days – a gorgeous little boat called the Phoenix.
The boat crew were warm and welcoming, including Pete the skipper, Michelle the dive instructor with more qualifications than you could count and Charlie the chef. Soon enough the guests started to arrive, among them was Richard Fitzpatrick – an Emmy nominated filmmaker and world renowned shark scientist along with his sidekick - Dr Dean Miller. Dean, also a marine scientist, has worked with Richard on a number projects, on this trip he was here to film the underwater world of the Minke whale. Then there was of course the wonderful John Rumney - a well-loved raconteur and champion for the environment.
Eagerly anticipating the trip ahead, I sat down to listen to John brief us about the Minke Whales – what to expect and how to follow the Code of Conduct, a key procedure we have to follow to minimize any impact we may have and to ensure a safe encounter with the whales.
Most of the evening I just could not imagine what to expect, I felt like I was going to burst, I was so close to living a lifelong dream.
What was it really going to be like to be that close to such a large mammal and to stare into the eye of animal whose ancestors have been on this earth for millions of years?
Later that evening, in the cool evening breeze, I sat up on the top deck, working with John and Dean to create a rope with a series of tyre inner tubes attached to it. This rope was a requirement of the Code of Conduct, to be deployed from the back of the boat during our swim with the whales and to hold us steady as we took photos of the whales for scientific identification. As we made the ropes, I heard about the fantastic work Dean had done as part of his PHD looking at the tourism value of the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea as a dive destination. There is no mistaking that Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea is one magical place and an extraordinary out-of-this-world dive destination.
