Day 9 of our 12 month road trip and I am diving for Abalone.
I met Rupert Sakora the GM at Bannisters when shooting the food. As a fitness instructor and super healthy dude he has a level of joie de vivre that I am now holding up as a personal goal for this adventure. If finish our road trip with half of the energy this guy then I will be stoked.
Rupert heard that I was keen to explore the wild food larder of Australia, and took time out of his packed schedule to take me out to Kiola Beach, just south of Ulladulla for a swim amongst the rocks looking for abalone, urchin and lobster with his mate Joe. it was pretty close to an epiphany for me, and I shot some of the experience on my Sony RX 100V with a Sony underwater housing.
These guys really do appear to take life (and urchins) by the gonads. Joe gave up his time to guide, and called in a favour from his neighbours to rustle up some kit for me to use, then provided a golden moment when called from the surf with glee he had been bitten by a dog shark. Rupert and Joe – I salute you with a Coopers, thanks for such a good day.