We spent many years cruising on a sailing boat up and down the Great Barrier Reef, taking travellers and tourists on multiple-day trips to see the reef.
Introducing people to nature changes them and gives them a new perspective. It’s a powerful experience. So, building Whale Tales has been an extension of that. Our boats take people who have often only seen the city, out of Sydney, to experience the incredible nature on their doorstep.
Building this family business combines our love of nature, the outdoors, and being on the ocean. But like any business, there are tricky times.
The most challenging would be driving out of the harbour to find whales and not knowing exactly where they will be. We want the customers to have the best experience possible, so there is a lot of anticipation in the air until you see that first whale. The relief when that whale jumps out of the water and everyone screams with delight and laughs is palpable.
We always try to go the extra mile. If we see a splash on the horizon, we’re off. We want to do whatever we can to give our guests an incredible experience, even if it costs us time and money.
A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to maintain the boats and ensure they are always up to spec. But seeing the customers having that experience really makes it all worthwhile. And when you’re on the boat on a fantastic day watching whales, it feels like you never work a day in your life.
How We Choose Crew
Attitude and passion for what we do are 100% more important than experience and skill. That can all be taught. Our crew members are all outdoorsy people, passionate about the ocean, always collecting new knowledge and experiences and always keen to share their expertise with our customers.
Sometimes, you take a chance on people based on gut instinct, knowing their passions align with yours. Most of the time, that’s paid off.
We’re a team, not an authoritarian business. We all work together. We win together. We fail together.
Giving them our trust also helps to grow them because they need to trust their instincts when they’re out there making judgment calls about which direction to go and weather conditions.
The Impact We Want To Make
The most significant impact we can have in terms of sustainability is introducing people to nature. You don’t always see what happens after people have been on a whale-watching trip, but sometimes you’ll get a review days later and realise there was a special moment on board for someone.
When you read through our reviews, the effort and passion people put into writing them are special. We just have to trust that it can translate later in that person’s life into sustainable practices and caring about the ocean. That’s the best chance of driving real change, giving people a powerful experience that stays with them.
