I don’t think I really considered myself an environmentalist until I was (literally) living on and in the ocean everyday. Of course, I always thought protecting the environment was important, but I didn’t feel a true connection to the environment until we went sailing. That got me thinking about why it seems like it’s such a struggle right now to get our society and governments to take action to protect this planet we call home.
It’s disturbing to hear reports of illegal fishing here in the South Pacific, governments (including ours in the States) that want to roll back clean water and air regulations and people complaining about new rules to reduce use of plastic such as grocery bags and straws (that end up in the ocean!). You hear talk of freedom and too much government involvement that just don’t seem to grasp the reality we live in. In a perfect world, we would all “choose” to do the right thing for the environment, but unfortunately we just don’t. The desire for cheaper goods and services and more money in our pockets seems to overrule protecting Mother Earth.
My theory is that it is easy to look the other way when you don’t see it first hand. If you live in the city, drive on concrete roads and sit in air conditioning all day, the environment seems like this far away place that isn’t connected to your daily life. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, but it is hard find that connection, that experience, that could actually make you stop and think about how much water you are using, where your electricity is generated, how much plastic you throw away or how your clothes are made. (Side bar: Check out a great documentary called The True Cost about the social, economic and environmental impact of the fashion industry. It is really eye opening.)
So, for those of you living far away from the ocean, I want to share some experiences I have had lately that I hope will encourage you to explore nature where ever you are, think critically about your own individual impact on the environment and encourage your politicians (including voting!) to take actions which make our planet habitable for many generations to come.
Giant Manta in Avea Bay:
We were still in Avea Bay on Huahine one afternoon when Mike headed off with the surfboard in search of waves. The sun was out and the bay was flat calm. With those conditions, and the clear water, you could see the bottom 30-40 feet down throughout the bay. It was a perfect day to enjoy the paddle board. I dropped the board in the water and headed toward a channel marker at the head of the bay about a half mile away. It was incredibly peaceful as no one else seemed to be out for some reason, and I had the water all to myself.
I reached the marker and turned around to head back toward the boat. But, I decided to take a different, more indirect, route back as I wasn’t quite that tired from paddling. I decided to paddle right at the edge of the reef that surrounds the bay where it drops off into deeper water. As I started down the edge of the reef, something caught my eye. I large black mass was just under the surface of the water, and I quickly paddled over to take a closer look.
Gliding right next to my board was a giant manta ray. His wing span was about 8 feet across, and his large mouth was open to feed. Mantas are filter feeders that take in large quantities of water and filter out the small plankton. I tried not to get too close and disturb him, but he didn’t seem bothered by my presence at all. He continued slowly back and forth along the edge of the reef. The best part was when he did a series of backflips next to me, almost as though he was showing off. For the better part of an afternoon, the bay belonged to me and my new manta friend. I had to finally tear myself away before the sun headed below the horizon. It was quite magical.
Diving in Huahine:
We headed back up to Fare and were excited to see a boat that we briefly met in the Tuamotus earlier this year. Ken, Edith and their two daughters live aboard s/v Alondra. Ken and Edith are both marine biologists with lots of diving experience, and they asked us if we wanted to do some diving with them. We hadn’t been diving since the Tuamotus and were excited to check out what was below the surface outside the reef here in Huahine.
The dives were fantastic. We saw lots of healthy corals, colorful reef fish, turtles, schools of trevally and some large milkfish. The best part of diving with Ken and Edith is that they would find interesting little fish and crabs to point out to us that I had never noticed before. And, afterward, we went through the fish guide to identify some of the species we hadn’t seen on other islands.
If you’ve been reading this blog from the beginning, you may remember that I struggled a bit when I was first learning to dive, and it has taken me many, many dives to feel completely confident diving. But, now it is one of my favorite activities. Diving has opened up a whole world under water. Snorkeling is great, but you see so much more when you can stay under water and go to different depths. After a really great dive, I feel like I’m on cloud nine for the rest of the day.
Humpback Whales:
We headed out one day with Alondra to find a dive spot up near the airport. It was flat calm out so we weren’t too concerned about a long dinghy ride outside the lagoon. We knew it was whale season when the humpback whales come up from the south to calve and mate. Ken explained that when the calves are born, they don’t have that much fat on them, so the whales give birth to them in the warmer water before heading back down south.
We were hoping maybe we would see some whales as we left the lagoon, and got really excited when we saw a blow not to far in the distance. Then, we saw a whale completely breach out of the water. As we started to approach the whale, we idled the dinghies and threw on our masks and fins. We didn’t want to spook the whale. When we got pretty close to him, we turned off the outboards and slipped into the water where we could see nothing but blue as the water continued several hundred feet below us.
We towed the dinghies as we slowly swam toward the whale, letting Ken be the lead on how close we could get. The whale was a good 40-50 feet long and could do some serious damage if it accidentally hit us or our dinghies with its powerful tail.
The water was really clear, and we could see the whale just in front of us. Suddenly, it turned toward us, flipped its tail up out of the water, and turned to head down into the deep ocean below. Ken caught it all on video (see our Facebook page). It was awesome and the first time we’ve actually seen one while we were in the water. We’re hoping to see some more whales as we head back to Moorea and Tahiti. They should be around for the next couple of months. Anyone who witnesses one of these whales in person and isn’t in complete awe and appreciation of God’s creations needs their head examined!
So, there are my three stories from the last couple of weeks of my nature encounters. I hope you find your own nature stories, even if it is just to go sit at a local park and watch the birds or go for a hike at a local greenbelt. I hope you get inspired to think critically about the impact the dollars you spend have on the environment. Our society is capable of great things, great scientific and technological advancements and innovation. We do not need to rely on old ways of doing things that are harmful to the planet we live on. We have the capacity to transcend the current, outdated way of doing things…if we all want it.
~katie
