Week of extreme training

This week the TRACC camp has been dominated by advanced training with 3 courses taking place throughout the week. These were the EFR (Emergency First Response) the rescue and the dive master courses. The TRACC Tech diver Iena has been kept extremely busy but so have most of the other members of the TRACC team who have been acting as either people needing rescue or people being hysterical because they know someone needs rescue. Of course it was all acting and nobody actually was in distress but the acting was very authentic and anyone walking past would have been forgiven for being a little confused about the all the action.

Week 1 in paradise for a new media intern.

Well it’s been approximately one week since I arrived at the beautiful tropical Pom Pom island to help out as part of the Tracc program. So today I must ignore the lure of the water, the call of the marine world just a short walk across the sand. Tracc is a very special destination for many reasons, the camaraderie, scenery, diving, snorkelling and the great food. However one thing above all sets TRACC (Tropical Research And Conservation Centre) above any other holiday destination I could think of. At best when we go to a reef resort all we can hope for is to have zero negative impact on the marine environment. This includes not touching the bottom, wearing marine friendly sun screen, and removing all rubbish. TRACC takes zero impact one step further by it’s visitors having a positive impact on the marine environment. It’s always great to see a turtle relaxing on the sea floor but it’s that extra bit special when you see the turtle sitting amongst a part of the reef which the team has restored.

An incredible intern experience

On Monday I finally had to bid TRACC farewell. It was about the hardest goodbyes I have ever had to do. My days at TRACC have been some of my happiest and I am so incredibly greatful for the opportunity to be the social media intern at TRACC this summer.

Local staff at TRACC

Day to day life at TRACC is only made possible by the dedication and help of our incredible local staff. They are behind the scenes cooking, cleaning, filling our tanks, building, and maintaining our camp. We are so greatful for all that they do for us, and are proud to employ local to ensure money is going into the local economy to support local families. I had a chat to a few of our staff about their jobs and why they like working at TRACC.