Kayaking To Help Save The Reef

A group of eight people from across the country set out earlier this month to paddle their way around the Whitsundays by kayak, raising over $25 thousand in much needed funds to protect and restore the Great Barrier Reef.

Coinciding with the Great Barrier Reef Festival, the inaugural Whitsundays Kayak Adventure for the Reef took off from Shute Harbour on August 4.

With a host of Queenslanders, New South Welshman and Victorians – as well as a few locals – the Great Barrier Reef Foundation organised trip saw its contingent “put their paddles where their passion is”.

The group – who each contributed to a $25 thousand fundraising campaign - included the likes of sisters celebrating a 40th birthday, a married couple from Sydney who’d taken stock of their lives and committed to giving back, and a UK expat living in Victoria whose visit was their first ever to the reef.

Bec Plant and her husband Edward Plant were two participants who took part in the five-day kayak adventure and had their own story which inspired their journey.

“October last year, my husband and I realised we were coming up on ten years married. It was a big occasion and we wanted to make it something special,” Mrs Plant said.

“What could we do instead that we could have as an adventure, but also tickled our philanthropic bone?

“We had an experience where we’d seen some of the bleaching [at the reef] in previous years, and my husband has a definite passion for the area, having grown up in Townsville.

“This opportunity for the kayak adventure came up, and with Great Barrier Reef Foundation helming it, that just ticked all the boxes.”

It certainly was an adventure, with the paddlers kayaking an average of 16km per day.

Great Barrier Reef Foundation rep and experienced kayaker Laura Dunstan led much of the Wednesday to Sunday trip, which wove a path from locations including Whitehaven Beach, around Hasselwood Island, past North Hook Island and back to Mt Jefferies.

“My role on the Whitsunday Kayak adventure was to be the representative; to pass on all of my knowledge and passion of the reef, reef creatures, and what threats there are to it,” Ms Dunstan said.

“As well, to show what the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and all its partners are doing to reduce those threats and build reef resilience.

“A big part of my role was to thank the participants for all of the funds they’ve raised and will continue to raise for the Foundation and our projects.”

Ms Dunstan, who has a background in Marine Biology, said it was an incredible experience being able to go back and “inspire people about the reef.”

The genesis of the kayak adventure began in the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s fundraising team to get people involved on a monetary level and then on an experiential level.

“To physically go out, see the reef, have that connection to country and to the reef, to see where that money was going,” Ms Dunstan said.

“To go to a reef that had experienced major catastrophic events like Cyclone Debbie, to see all the baby coral that we and other organisations had planted and are spawning, it instils hope for the reef.”

Strong connection to country was an important cornerstone of the kayak adventure – which Ms Dunstan said will become a regular, annual event for the organisation.

A welcome to country was performed by Eric Lymburner, a Traditional Owner and proud Ngaro man – which Ms Plant said was an experience unlike any other.

“To have both Eric and Laura on the trip with us, both wellsprings of knowledge on everything, it was fantastic, and I can’t thank them enough,” she said.

On the final day of the trip, Ms Dunstan and Mrs Plant said the Reef put on a show for the impassioned fundraisers.

“A beautiful sunrise with the whales coming in and playing around the kayaks in the early morning. You can’t put a price on that,” Ms Plant said.

“We were paddling out in the dark, come around the corner from Maureen’s Cove – a completely coral beach with no sand – and the colour in the sky.

“Everything was quiet and still, there was no sound, and you hear the whales breathing – big plumes out of the water. It was the best day ever. Thinking about it now, it was that moment where you think: this is connection to country, land, and sea.

“That trip gave me hope for the reef and made us want to keep fighting to save it.”

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation hopes to run the trip and fundraising arm of the Whitsundays Kayak Adventure into the future and interested parties can reach out to them via their website.

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation hosted eight travellers from across Australia with the goal of raising funds to protect and restore the reef

The group enjoyed a spectacular showing from one of the World’s Natural Wonders, including picturesque sunsets and whale shows

The participants raised a total of $25 thousand for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation leading up to five-day kayak adventure

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