Australian Gourmet Traveller - (02)February 2020 (1)

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