Freediving with Seals in Jervis Bay
Back in August, in that brief lockdown honeymoon we all enjoyed in NSW, we made a trip to Woebegone Freedive in Jervis Bay. We hopped on a neat vessel that took us out past the prehistoric cliffs to find a curious colony of Australian Fur Seals and, ever so briefly, a Juvenile Humpback to swim with. As we approached, plop, plop…. plop! One by one the seals sat up, looked at the boat and slid into the water towards us.
A pretty normal day for Woebegone - Image credit: Escape.com.au
What happened next can only be described as play. Twirling, duck diving, bubble blowing fun between their group and ours. The more I moved and spun in the water, the more attention I got from the seals, who would copy my moves and look as though asking for another human example of swimming to mock.
Back on the boat, we scanned the horizon for spouts, fins and splashes. When we spotted a whale we would approach slowly and glide into the water towards them. Singing reggae and humming nemo-esque whale noises into our snorkels was highly encouraged and hilarious.
It’s amazing how easily one can lose sight of a 30,000kg animal underwater. It was as if they knew we were madly splashing in their general direction and dove down to avoid us. Strange. After a few goes we were approached by a juvenile whale, which peeked at us before diving down again. I can say that the experience felt profound, timeless and gave us all a sense of physical scale.
Woebegone owners Lara & Dylan - Image credit: North Storm
Woebegone Freedive, led by Shoalhaven locals Dylan and Lara, is a free dive training and tour operator based in Jervis Bay Marine Park, NSW. Woebegone is a partner of Sea Shepherd, and operates low impact, waste-free tours during which they provide reef-safe sun butter to all aboard, as well as their own homemade vegan snacks. “We want Woebegone to be more of a movement, not just a dive operator” says Dylan, “like how Patagonia is a climbing brand, we want to be the brand of a wider movement here in Jervis Bay and the Shoalhaven”.
The stylish couple literally wears their morals on their sleeves, seeking out and reviving cool items of second-hand clothing with their equally cool ‘muscle shark’ logo and other eco-minded screen prints using water-based dyes. Their ‘SCREW NEW’ fashion range, sold on the boat and online, is a big middle finger to fast fashion.
Our conversation steers into familiar waters as we discuss permaculture, bees and the difficulties of being a gardener on the windy south coast. Lara explains “we don’t have any lawn anymore” before descending into the kind of explanation only a gardener could understand.
Thanks for an amazing day out, we will be back for more! Woebegone Freedive, truly accounting for their impact on coastline and country.
What one whale inspired…
In 2021/22, we donated 2% of our annual revenue to the amazing volunteer crew at ORRCA.
