Asa childI remembertravelling
withmyparents,grandparents,
thecrewofCalypso–
sometimesevenalonewith
my passport around my neck.
I learnttodiveonmyfourth
birthday.Myparentswere
hostinga birthdaypartyfor
meandmyfatherlefttopick
upsomefood.Whenhecame
back,hefoundmeat the
bottomofthepool“buddy
breathing”witha familyfriend.
That’swheremylovefordiving
started,as wellas fromthe
storiesmygrandfathertoldus.
I started joining expeditions at age seven.
ThemostinspirationalplacesI’ve
visitedandpeopleI’vemethave
beenNepalandtheSherpa
people,theAmazonandthe
tribesoftheValedoJavari
region,Tanzaniaandthe
Maasai.Allwereinspirational
intheirunderstandingof,
andrelationshipwith,
theirenvironmentand
the balance of life.
Therearea lotofplacesandexperiences
I holdinmyheart:frommyfamilyhome
intheSouthofFrance,tosevenweeksin
theHimalayaswithoneofmybestfriends;
frompartakinginritualswiththeSherpas
andNepalesepeople,toclimbingtothe
topofKilimanjaro;fromcampingamong
thelionswithMaasaiwarriors,toeating
muktuk(whaleskinandblubber) with
the Inuit in the Arctic.
Themostimportantpartoftravelis leaving
a placeyouvisitina betterstatethan
youfoundit.Makinga positiveimpact,
howeverlargeorsmall,is paramount
toenjoyingtheexperienceoftravel
and doing our part as thankful guests.
EverytimeI visita newplaceit changesmy
lifebecauseit givesmea newperspective.
I loveexperiencingnewcultures,andbeing
abletoimmerseyourselfinsometimes
uncomfortablesituationsbecause you’re
in a foreign environment.
We’veexploredlessthan5 percentof
ouroceanworldtoday.Whenpeopleask
mewhatmyfavouritediveis,I say“the
nextone”,because there’s so much left
to explore.
Inearly 2020 I’llbetravellingtoEurope
andCentralandSouthAmerica,aswell
astheWesternPacific.I travel for work
forup to 250 days a year.
Travellingbyfootis themosteco-
consciouswaytotravel.Althoughmost
ofuswillnottakeourvacationby
walking,makingtraveldecisionsthat
incorporateminimisingyourcarbon
footprint is always a good choice.
Weoftenforgetthattravelis a privilege.
Beingexcitedtogoona journeyserves
tocatalysetheenjoyment of a memorable
life experience.●
FabienCousteauvisitedCairnsin
hisroleasbrandambassadorfor
Seikoandasanadvocateforthe
world’soceans.Seikodonatesa
portionofallsalesofitsProspex
“SavetheOcean”divewatches
toCousteau’sOceanLearning
Center,fabiencousteauolc.org
Travellingasa childwasjusta partoflife.
Lookingback,I seehowunbelievablylucky
I was,becauseit mademewhoI amtoday.
Theinvaluableeducationfrombeingable
togoonadventureswithmygrandfather
[Jacques-YvesCousteau]andfamilygave
meanunderstandingofwhatmakesus
viableonthisplanet– a lessonthatwould
behardtolearnanyotherway.It gaveme
a greatsenseoftheurgencyforwhichmy
family’smissionneedstobebroadcast;
notonlyoneofadventureandpassion,
but also of exploration and conservation.
Justbackfrom...
Australia
Nextup...
HomeinNewYork.
I alwayslookforward
tospendingtimeat
home with my family.
Fabien
Cousteau
Theenvironmentaladvocate
andaquanautdeepdives
into his peripatetic life.
TRAVELLING WITH
How I travel
INTERVIEW KARLIE VERKERK. PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS PAVLICH.
28 GOURMET TRAVELLER