How did you come to be part of the Whale Tales Crew?
I was working down in Tasmania, and my partner had recently moved up to New South Wales. She’s originally from Lennox Head, so it was a bit hard doing the long-distance thing.
After I finished the busy summer season in Tasmania, the peak time there, I thought, why not have a change and make a bit of a career move and relocation as well? I started looking around at jobs. I was going to be a deckhand on some of the boats up here, and thought I’d just have a crack. My experience down in Tasmania was wildlife cruises, whales, dolphins and that sort of thing, so I figured it’d be nice to stay in that field.
I came across the Whale Tales website, found Katie’s number, gave her a call, and she was hiring. It was perfect timing!
What’s been a highlight of the season so far?
One day out there with Sofia really stands out. It was perfect, flat conditions, the sun was up, great crew of people on board, and then we had four or five whales swimming around us, going straight underneath the boat. It was such a fun interaction. I even got a really good clip of it that’s now in our promotional video. That’s definitely the highlight, when the whales come in that close and it’s just easy conditions and everyone on board is enjoying it.
What’s something that surprises you about your job? Or what is the best part of your job?
The people, for sure. You get people who’ve seen whales plenty of times and they’re still amazed. The other day, I had a friend on board, I went to school with him, he works down in Victoria now doing wilderness cruises, so he sees whales all the time. But he was blown away by how different the whales act up here. Then you meet people from overseas, Canada, for example, who are used to different species and experiences. Everyone has a story.
The best, though, is when someone’s never seen a whale before and they just lose it, it’s the most exciting thing ever for them. Those experiences are really fun.
What have whales taught you about the world?
Persistence. They swim thousands of kilometres non-stop just to get the job done, and some species have come back from near extinction. That’s a real goal. If you push hard, you’ll make it through. It’s a good reminder for your own life too, everyone has challenges, but if you keep pushing, you get through them.
