Diving in Exmouth

Maybe this post should be titled driving in Exmouth because unfortunately not too much diving was done. Instead we spent a good few days driving on the - one road in one road out - system of the Cape Range national park beautiful in its own right but not why we were here.

After setting off from Perth we spent about a week to go the 1000 or so kilometres up the west coast of Australia. Passing an uncountable number of dead kangaroos (far more than live ones), some amazing scenery and a handful of unfriendly locals we arrive to look for work in Exmouth. 

Exmouth itself is a small town which was established due to the navy presence in the area. Now it soaks in the glory of the whale sharks and the Ningaloo reef which brings hosts of tourist eager to pay $350 to swim with a 10m beast. Everything in the town is named after or wore the logo of the reef or the sharks; Ningaloo bottled water, basking shark gym and Ningaloo bowls club to name a few. 

Unfortunately for us we arrived a month or so too late as the tourist season was coming to an end. We spent a week badgering all the shark and scuba diving companies in the area but to no avail. 

After travelling all this way we were determined to dive the Ningaloo but after spending all our savings on dive gear and getting to Exmouth there no way we could afford the $200 each price tag. So after some negotiations and some very kind efforts by the Exmouth Dive Center manager Danellie we agree to do a days work to pay for the days diving. We spent a day cleaning the centres fleet of 6 minivans and pressure washing the floor of the equipment room. The next day were able to go out on the dive boat. 

We went to Marion Island for two dives off the EDC's very nice dive boat. The sites were shallow ~15m but the array of colourful corals was amazing. This area is one of the best in the world to see soft and hard corals and due to the EDC being the only dive center to come here often is pristine and beautiful. Some of the colour has been lost on the photos but you can get some idea. 

Big thanks to Danellie and the EDC for getting us in the water. I would love to come back and dive the navy pier but that will have to be for another year. Now we make our way 6000km to Cairns in the pursuit of work under the waves. 

Fundraising in Perth

For the past 3 months I've been fundraising for the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA).

CCWA or Cons Council is an environmental charity which has been running for around 50 years. They act as a peak body for over 100 different environmental groups over WA as well having thier own campaigns. The big one being to stop shale gas fracking which has only recently started to emerge in WA after being present in the eastern states for a few years.

The process of fracking which was once described as "a green fossil fuel which could be the solution to climate change" is unfortunately neither of those. The high level of methane leakage which occurs during extraction is often overlooked and acts as a potent green house gas. The chemicals used contaminate local water sources and the environment, causing serve health impacts. Even without the environmental or health problems the impact fracking has on local communities is terrible. Usually farming and rural communities are disrupted by the huge scale industrial activities, sometimes less than 1km from their homes. 

With special permission from governments, fracking companies have no need to monitor their environmental impacts and have no need to prove these processes are safe for the environment. They also can by pass trespass laws and use land not owned by them without consent. To me this is madness and proof that if you have enough money you can get away with anything. 

The job itself was ok, like any job it had its good and bad days, I enjoyed promoting a message to protect the environment and hearing the views of the general public. The best days were spent talking to open minded people (mostly at universities) who already had an interest in the environment and were happy to stop, chat and sign up to ccwa. Other days it seemed impossible to get people to stop. With most people passing by with a disgruntled grunt or a 'not today', if you did manage to get someone to stop the next task was to persuade them that handing over thier card details and donating $30 a month was a good thing to do today. Often pretty tricky and depending on the area I could go unsuccessful all day! A twenty minute round in circle conversation with a Christian or group of turned out to be a common feature of the day too. 

On some of the longer days I tried to calculate whether my wages were costing the charity more money than I was collecting but by the time I left I had got a fair few sign ups, one off donations and spread the word about the need to protect the environment to many people, so was happy with my efforts.

Since leaving Perth and heading into outback Australia the anti-fracking fight was much more prevalent and real. Farms, homes and trucks wore the "lock the gate" placard. Used to warn off potential frackers. To the communities here the effects would be felt far more than in the cities. Although it felt good to know there was some connection between the too.

Thanks Duey, Tony and the rest of CCWA crew! 

www.ccwa.org.au