09/08/2024
Appreciation Post - As we try to navigate a new future for Animal Ocean. I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to all those who got hold of me, chatted, and offered advice, memories, thoughts, tears, and concern! It's been amazing to hear all your thoughts and connect over what is a shock to all of us, me and you as it turns out. Thank you !
Animal Ocean (Lara-hailey Caine, Samantha Sivewright, Rob Caine, Jami Marnitz, Lauren van Noort, and too many more too name but I'm thinking of you) created a unique thing, we gave a massive value to living healthy Cape Fur seals, seeing them not as a fishing annoyance, fur or ecosystem disruptor ... but as curious personalities trying to live in a wild ocean. I think that attitude will stay on, as we separate the sick individuals from the normal ones, but we can't snorkel with them as we used to.
I wanted to write, anything, something to track this quick change we are going through and move forwards. So after the big decision to close seal snorkeling, we have had to close the Snorkeling Center, the overheads were just too high to keep it. You will see it on the market soon. We are moving the boats and equipment to another facility where we will organize ourselves from.
We are shifting to Ocean Safaris with a Cape Point Route or Atlantic Route, depending on the best ocean conditions on the day of booking - think Safari vehicle on water. The aim is to go slowly with an enquiring mind, looking and learning. This is a longer trip where we snorkel in multiple places, explore the kelp forests and all their wonders, explore all wildlife opportunities, and make the trips broader and more adventurous. We'll only do 1 or 2 trips a day, with more freedom to go wherever the best vis and wildlife is. This does make the trip more expensive, but it will be massively worth it.
Yes, I would still snorkel with individual seals in the kelp forest, one on one, not all seals have rabies. If a seal is acting normally and we are away from a dense colony, we will continue to enjoy the underwater presence of Cape Fur seals, but it's not the focus of the trip like Fur seals used to be. Viewing the dense colonies of Fur seals is still amazing, but snorkeling there at the moment is the highest chance of finding a sick individual, which we want to avoid.
It will take us some time to get all the media in line with this new offering, so things will be confusing or a while, but that's the process of changing direction. I want to get back to the post-Sard Run excitement, so I may post about that soon as well.
Thank you for all the support and messages, this platform really did let many many friends from around the world get in touch and connect during a tricky time for me / us here at Animal Ocean, and for that I'm grateful.
Cheers for now
