While currently working towards my Dive Instructors ticket here in the temperate waters of Tasmania, I am frantically planning out my next overseas adventure. Africa is on the hit list.
Since being in contact with a close friend, who runs an volunteer organisation in Malawi, my thoughts and goals of the trip have gained a deeper meaning. After recent travels through Spain and parts of Eastern Europe with my partner, we now realise that our travel needs substance and direction. Why not link our passion for travel with my love of diving? After all, the two go hand in hand beautifully.
Discussions with another local diver reveal that he is making his way to Mozambique late next year to tag whale sharks and research the nesting habits and migration of leatherback and loggerhead turtles inline with his PHD studies. As we are landing in either Kenya or Jo-Burg (depending on Kenya’s status at the time!) around July and staying in the southern countries of Africa for 6 maybe 8 months, the timing couldn’t be more perfect!
The Whale Shark is such a mysterious creature and I have a strange desire to swim with the amazing creatures and discover that little more about them. Although we don’t know much about the species, it is believed they can live as long as humans and grow up to 18m in length. Nothing is known about their breeding habits and little is known about their migration patterns around the globe. What better focus for conservation volunteering than an endangered marine species that the world knows nothing about! Have you heard of Ningaloo? Ningaloo Reef located here on Australia’s western coast is one of the few places on earth (like Mozambique) where Whale sharks migrate each year, in search of safe havens for their young and warm feeding waters.
A report by Lindy Kerin at the ABC in late December explains how well managed ecotourism and sustainable practices have helped increase the Whale Shark populations that migrate to Ningaloo. An extract from her report shows the positive effect that conservation is having on the protection or not only the species, but also its habitat:
The 12-year study shows whale sharks continue to return to the Ningaloo Reef area every year - and in growing numbers.
It contradicts previous findings that the whale shark population in the area is in decline, and Mr Norman [lead researcher] says Ningaloo Reef is a critical feeding habitat for whale sharks.
Mr Norman says he believes the ecotourism practices in the region have helped produce the results.
I am hoping to help take these types of results to Africa, and kick-start the process of sustainable marine tourism in developing countries. The research project is being conducted in part by the ‘All-Out’ volunteer organisation, and if you are interested in getting on board or need to find out more then check out their website at http://www.all-out.org/projects/whaleshark.aspx.
