I’ve worked from home for a decade but, as a lifelong townie, I’ve never lived further than a 10-minute drive from the shops. Now, my nearest town is a two-hour drive away. Here are the top 10 things I learned during my transition from town life to remote living.
Read MoreHiking 100km over seven days through the Greenstone, Caples, and Routeburn tracks in New Zealand was an experience that tested my limits and reshaped my perspective on resilience and the human spirit! Here are the top 10 things I learned on this brilliant, and often ridiculous, journey.
Read MoreAotearoa and its neighbouring waters are home to some of the most awe-inspiring marine life experiences in the world. Whether you want to snorkel with manta rays or swim alongside humpback whales, whale sharks, or dolphins, these family-friendly trips offer bucket-list encounters with ocean giants.
Read MoreJoin me as I go diving in Cabo Pulmo, Mexico and discover the twin benefits of ocean conservation and ecotourism. As we face the global climate and biodiversity crises, you need look no further than this small, unassuming community to find hope for a future where nature and humanity can thrive.
Read my latest article for Forest and Bird Magazine to find out more.
With an abundance of marine megafauna, the Socorro Islands are on the wish lists of many divers. But being remote and surrounded by the open ocean, these islands can be challenging to dive. So, how do you prepare for a trip to the Socorro Islands? Find out here.
Read MoreWith its lush emerald islands, bucket-list pelagics, and spectacular coral reefs, French Polynesia diving is some of the best in the world. But with so many islands to choose from, where do you start? Get the essentials you need to go diving in French Polynesia here.
Read MoreEurope is jam-packed with iconic destinations to visit but it can also be bursting at the seams with tourists.
If you’re heading there and want somewhere quiet to explore before you tackle the busier tourist hotspots, look no further than these crowd-free places to visit in Europe.
Read MoreThese incredible animals are able to modify the environment around them and help:
Minimise the effects of climate change.
Support healthy commercial fisheries.
Support thriving marine tourism industries.
In the Southern Ocean alone, the 12,000 or so sperm whales found there enrich the iron-poor waters with their poop, allowing phytoplankton to bloom and minimising the impacts of climate change. These sperm whales remove 200 000 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year!
Find our more about whales in my latest infographic for LiveAboard.com.
It’s a great resource for adults and children to learn about:
How whales support the health of our oceans and minimise climate change.
Current threats to whales.
How you can contribute to whale conservation from home.
Click on the image below to get your copy now.
I've always been a fan of solo travel and it is fast gaining popularity in the travel industry.
Once you get over the initial leap and fear, there are many benefits to solo travel.
It's one of the best ways to meet new people!
You can experience dive and travel highlights from other people's perspectives
Pushing outside your comfort zone will literally change your life!
It can be challenging to find facilities tailored for solo travelers but thankfully more and more liveaboards are providing single cabins. YES!
Here are my top picks for solo liveaboard diving:
French Polynesia diving
Dive with walls of grey reef sharks at French Polynesia's Fakarava atoll
French Polynesia Master, French Polynesia
This gorgeous liveaboard is the ultimate for shark diving fans. Go French Polynesia diving and you'll be surrounded by more sharks than you could wish for.
Thailand
Experience Thailand's incredible beaches and landscapes
This comfortable, large liveaboard visits some of Thailand's best dive highlights, including diving with mantas at Koh Bon and the whale sharks and macro life of Richelieu Rock.
In the heart of the Coral Triangle, Indonesia is home to exceptional marine biodiversity and flourishing coral reefs.
Empress II, Indonesia
Komodo and Raja Ampat are two of Indonesia’ best-known dive destinations and the Empress II takes you to experience them.
Imagine diving with thousands of fish, plus mantas, sharks and tiny colourful critters....Indonesia diving is rightly known as some of the best in the world. Don't miss it!
The Maldives
This luxurious new liveaboard visits a variety of the Maldives best atolls, including these liveaboard diving highlights:
Quiet dive sites and well-preserved reefs at North Male Atoll
Undiscovered dive sites at Laamu and Thaa atolls
South Ari Atoll’s whale sharks
Numerous nurse sharks and stingrays at Vaavu Atoll
A mix of easy and challenging dives at Meemu Atoll, plus mantas and reef sharks
Rasdhoo Atoll's deep drop-off and hammerhead sharks at dawn
Find out more in my latest article for Dive News Wire.
Mako sharks have fascinated divers and shark fans for many years. But having recently been listed as endangered, will we still be able to dive with them in years to come? And more importantly, what will happen if we lost these vital apex predators for good?
The Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recently announced that both the Shortfin and Longfin Mako shark are now classified as Endangered.
Previously listed as Vulnerable, they have been downgraded to Endangered and are now officially at risk of going extinct.
As an apex predator, mako sharks play a vital role in sustaining the health of ocean ecosystems.
They are one of the most efficient hunters of all shark species and eat mostly bony fish such as tuna, mackerel, swordfish, plus cephalopods, other sharks, porpoises, sea turtles and sea birds.
They control the populations of those species they feed on – ensuring ocean food webs remain in balance and no single population gets out of control.
Apex predators also feed on vulnerable prey, such as old, injured and sick animals; which leaves more food for the healthy prey animals to survive on.
Prey populations explode in numbers when you remove apex predators such as mako sharks. As those prey populations increase unchecked, the prey animals they feed upon then decrease and eventually collapse.
What happens then? The prey populations that boomed in the first place have nothing to feed on and also eventually collapse.
In short, oceanic food webs collapse and ocean biodiversity is lost.
Apex predators prevent that cycle from occurring by keeping prey numbers balanced and under control at all times. They improve the health of ocean ecosystems and ensure marine biodiversity is sustained for all.
shark diving
If we act now, it is not too late to save mako sharks. The latest news on mako shark conservation is cause for hope:
The EU is facing pressure to announce catch quotas for mako sharks in its waters.
Numerous sharks and rays, including makos, are being proposed for listing at the next meeting of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in late May 2019.
Don’t purchase products made from sharks.
Use sustainable seafood guides online to ensure the fish you eat doesn’t have bycatch*
*Bycatch commonly includes sharks and marine mammals.
