A 23-year-old San Franciscan, Adrian Kerester, on why she chose to spend her vacation working at the Two Oceans Aquarium.
One of the many questions I’ve been asked since arriving in Cape Town last month has been: “How did you end up here?”
Depending on whom I talk to, “here” either refers largely to the city of Cape Town or specifically to the Two Oceans Aquarium, where I am spending two months as an intern. Generally, however, my inquirer wants to know the answer to both of these questions. The short answer is: “Who wouldn’t want to spend two months working at a world renowned aquarium in a vibrant and beautiful ocean-side city such as Cape Town?”
The long answer goes something like this:
I finished my university degree this past May and am not starting my full-time job until January 2016. When I was initially brainstorming ways to spend this vacation time, I knew two things:
- I wanted to travel somewhere I had never been before.
- I wanted to spend this time doing something completely different from anything I had ever done before.
I had always wanted to visit Cape Town. I had read a lot about the unique geography of the city and had spent hours staring, in awe, at photos of the city from the peak of Lion’s Head or the summit of Table Mountain. Yet, the 10 236 miles (or 16 475 km … I’m still getting used to the metric system!) separating Cape Town from my home in San Francisco in the USA had always been a significant barrier. Given the amount of time I had to travel, it seemed like this was the perfect opportunity to make the transcontinental and transatlantic trek.
After settling on Cape Town as my destination, the next big question was how I was going to spend my time. Though Cape Town boasts an endless list of activities and things to do, I decided to research ways to experience Cape Town as a local, looking for internship opportunities where I could meet and work alongside Capetonians and get the best recommendations on what to do and what to see during my days off.
Inspired by my love for the ocean and fascination with the diversity of life that flourishes beneath the water’s surface, I began to look into ocean and marine conservation opportunities and when I was presented with the opportunity to spend two months working at the Two Oceans Aquarium, I couldn’t refuse. So, instead of spending my vacation lying on one of South Africa’s pristine beaches and soaking up the sun, I spend the majority of my days here cleaning displays, prepping food, and assisting the full-time staff on a variety of tasks to keep the aquarium animals happy – but trust me, this is far better than any vacation I have ever taken before.
When you work with animals on a daily basis, you get to know them in a much more intimate way than you might have otherwise. You start to notice their individual behaviours and begin to develop a strong sense of their personalities. Before I started working at the Aquarium, the only fish I knew to exhibit different personalities were the characters in Finding Nemo. Real fish were certainly not as spunky, sweet, or curious as Nemo and Dory. Right?
After just a few days working at the Aquarium, I was quickly proven wrong – in fact, every single fish and marine animal in the aquarium has its own personality and if you take the time to watch them, you too will be able to notice their quirks and nuanced differences.
The first thing I do every morning when I arrive at work is make my way around the Aquarium and spend time looking at all of the animals. A morning ritual that I have come to cherish, the lap also serves a practical purpose: to make sure that the animals are still healthy and behaving normally. There is no better way to start your day than by watching as Yoshi the loggerhead turtle glides gracefully through the water in the I&J Predator Exhibit; as Clax the rockhopper penguin stands at the edge of the platform of the Ocean Basket Kelp Forest Exhibit, looking down at the water and determining whether or not to dive in; as the peacock mantis shrimp attacks its prey, punching a small crab unconscious; as a surf shrimp gets excited at feeding time, scurrying around the display, grabbing a mysid in one minuscule claw while shoving another one it to its tiny mouth; or as the cleaner wrasse clings to the back of one of the bigger fish in the Tropical Exhibit, removing unwanted parasites as a part of its “cleaning services”.
There is truly something so special about watching these animals interact with one another and their surroundings throughout the day.
I have always been fascinated by the ocean. I am constantly in awe of the rich and complex ecosystems beneath the water’s surface. From the marine microbes that produce oxygen to sustain ocean life, to the blue whale that can reach up to 30 metres in length and 190 000 kilograms in weight, the ocean and its inhabitants never cease to amaze me.
It is my hope and goal to use this experience as a launching point to continue my active involvement in marine wildlife conservation. I hope to continue to spread awareness and knowledge about the dangers that our oceans face and to inspire love and passion for the creatures that call the ocean home. It is only through education and passion that we can begin to create sustainable change in the ways in which individuals, businesses, and communities treat the ocean and the natural environment as a whole.
This past month working at the Aquarium has further enhanced my appreciation and my passion for protecting and taking care of marine life, no matter how big or how small – I consider myself to have won the jackpot with this vacation.
