How it all
started. . .
My life long passion for wildlife - and whales
in particular, began when I was 9 years old when with
my family, helped stranded pilot whales stay alive
and eventually floated some of them back into the
ocean. Since then, I have witnessed animals in the
wild throughout Africa and Australia and delighted
in watching whales in many different locations around
the world.
A life-changing experience while snorkeling with North
Atlantic Humpbacks in the Caribbean, led me to Tonga
and in 1998, when I began my inbound tour business
WhaleSwim Adventures, bringing tour groups to Tonga
to learn about and snorkel with the humpback whales
of Tonga.
My motives for the setting up this Foundation, begun
when I guided my first tour group in Vava'u to snorkel
with the whales - I knew then that I had to preserve
the rare experience of snorkeling with the whales
in such a unique location where the inaccessibility
and geography allowed these sensitive encounters between
cetacean and humans to take place safely and respectfully.
Even though Tonga has the largest population of South Pacific humpback whales in their waters during the breeding season, island nations such as Niue and Raratonga have smaller populations. The government of Niue and Nan Hauser (who runs the humpback whale centre and research programs in Raratonga) fully support the WhaleQuest Foundation and our goal to raise funds to educate the young people of the South Pacific who want to get involved and be part of
managing this unique, but fragile industry and be
an intricate part of education to protect the humpback
whales and their environment.
Funds for our first scholarship are building, thanks
to the yearly donations from WhaleSwim Adventures
and some of their generous guests.
