iSea iCare

On Wednesday 1st December the Sustainability Leaders started their new roles with a boat trip on Port Phillip Bay.  Heading out from Sorrento, the students snorkelled with seals at Chinaman's Hat and then moved on to Pope’s Eye, the smallest marine park in the southern hemisphere.  The boat trip is the first of four excursions the Sustainability Leaders will do as part of the iSea iCare Ambassador program.

WOW! We had the most amazing day together in the beautiful sunshine. We drove down to Sorrento and had lunch together on a park bench with an ocean view. We made sure that we applied lots of sunscreen, tried on our flippers and wetsuits before boarding a boat called the Moonraker. I was so excited to put on my wetsuit although it was a little difficult! Once we were on the Moonraker we went to Chinaman's Hat to swim with fur seals and there were a lot! They were pretty close to us but they weren’t scary at all. After that, we went to look for bottlenose dolphins but unfortunately we couldn’t locate any at that time, so instead we went snorkeling at Pope’s Eye and found some interesting coral and seaweed! Once we had all dried off from the freezing cold water we had a cup of hot chocolate which definitely warmed me up. A couple of minutes before the Moonraker stopped we went to the bow of the boat and took some Titanic photos. I’ve never experienced anything like this before and the long trip back to school was definitely worth the magical experience.

By Mia

On the first of December I had one of the best experiences of my life, I got to go on a boat called the Moonraker with the other Sustainability Leaders and snorkel with wild fur seals. When I swam with the fur seals they came up fairly close to us (within about 5 metres) and there were a lot of them in the water. When I first got into the water I lost my right flipper so I had to get back on the boat and put it back on, this happened a second time at Pope’s Eye and I had to swim back to the boat with my flipper on my hand, but I didn’t let losing a flipper a couple of times wreck the snorkeling trip since as soon as I put the flipper back on I was back in the water. After we finished swimming with the seals we got back on the boat and went to Pope’s Eye where all the rocks were covered in seagulls and underneath the surface of water there were lots of colourful fish and sea stars. I am so happy and grateful that I got the opportunity to see the amazing creatures that we will be teaching others how to protect next year.

By Kara

To be a sustainability leader is amazing because I love nature and want to improve and help wildlife. The first of December was really fun because we drove all the way to Sorrento and went to the beach and saw so many fish in the bay. When we arrived I was so pumped to wait and see what we would explore and what sea animals we would see there. When we went to the pier I couldn’t wait to go on the beach and see seals and dolphins (maybe). When we got to see our wetsuits I was so eager to go on the boat that I think I put on my wetsuit within 10 seconds flat! When we got to go onto the boat I was already so ready that I was the first one on the boat. The boat was called the Moonraker and when I saw the boat it was the biggest boat I had ever seen! When we got to the wild fur seals at Chinaman's Hat, that was built for fur seals to hang out on, I was so excited that I was also the first one in! When I got in and closer to the seals one came up really close to me and I wanted to pet it but then it swam away and then a few seconds later another one came under me! After we saw the wild fur seals we left Chinaman's hat and headed for Pope’s Eyes and went to see the reef there. I was so cold though I couldn’t go in! That was good for me though because then I could get changed and then be really warm and I just could not wait for the hot chocolates! When they handed out the hot chocolates we started to head back to the pier. I was kind of sad we were heading back but at the same time I was happy because I was so cold! Just before we headed back we got to go to the front of the boat where the anchor was and we took some cool Titanic photos! When the boat trip ended I was so tired I almost slept on the way back! I really enjoyed doing this and hope I can experience something like this again and can’t wait for our next trips as an amazing Sustainability Leader.     

By Alex

On Wednesday the 1st of December we went on a boat trip to Sorrento on a boat called the Moonraker. It was a two storey boat and we had lots of fun. We saw and swam with fur seals at Chinaman's Hat. One of the fur seals swam under me and it was really funny because the seal smacked his flipper against the sand and all the sand went flying like a dust cloud. Chinaman's Hat is a little home for some fur seals in Port Phillip Bay. After we saw and swam with the fur seals we went to a coral reef called Pope’s Eye. There were a lot of yellow headed seagulls which was funny as well. Then we went home but on the way we took some Titanic pictures. It was really fun. We also got hot chocolates to warm up at the end. I love being a Sustainability Leader and look forward to the other excursions that we will do.

By Oscar