My eyes were opened to terrestrial travel by my Mum and Dad, Sir Alan Whicker of the BBC’s Whickers World, and Sir David Attenbourough showed me the natural beauty of our planet on those wonderful Wildlife on One shows. I loved the outdoors, I would often go exploring in the woods and trails close to my home, with Cheetah my faithful German shepherd. Very early on Jacques Cousteau awakened my desire to explore the oceans....'Yea me and about a million other scuba divers on our planet today'. Those silver spaceman-like suits were so futuristic looking, and he always got to dive some place where no diver had ever been before...pretty cool eh !  For anyone who doesn’t remember Jacques Cousteau....watch the recent Bill Murray movie 'The Life aquatic with Steve Zissuzu'....lol.

My summers were spent sailing, camping, and caravaning with my family, and I loved to explore the sand dunes, remote beaches, and small islands. I dreamed of some day of being able to see the ocean from my window every day...It felt so calming to me.

My passion to swim with wild dolphins started when I was very young.....In the summer of 1976 my Dad came back from sailing one day with home movie film of a wild bottlenose dolphin, in St Ives Cornwall.  He was a very friendly lone male dolphin, locals had named him Beaky…. I was amazed that anyone could meet a wild dolphin in the ocean….and my passion for swimming with dolphins began.

While still at school I looked into careers working with wildlife, including working for the BBC. I also looked into a career in veterinary medicine. I loved art and was a very creative child. My favorite subjects in school were art and design, dance, music, geography, science, nutrition, cookery and health. Art was my strongest subject in school, and I was very proud to be one of only two in my class to received the highest award available for my age group, an ‘O’ level from England's prestigious Oxford university.

By the early 1980's, while still at school, I joined the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, and was actively involved in protests, petitions, and fund raising to help protect dolphins and whales. I was an active member of many organizations to help protect marine mammals and other animals. I was spending weekends taking part in ocean observation for Dolphin Watch on the family sailing boat or from cliff tops. I raised funds and awareness for many environmental organizations and I was totally driven to save the whales... Roger Payne was my hero.

Every weekend I would be protesting against the killing of dolphins in fishing nets, or trying to get captive dolphins released, or gathering signatures on petitions to prevent dolphin purse seine netting and the illegal wild bird trade. I often held free information evenings in my own home. I also lectured and did slide shows in local schools to raise awareness about endangered whales.

As a member of the Environmental Investigation Agency I raised money to protect primates, elephants, and wolves. I hope some day to get the chance to experience close up and get to meet urang utan, mountain gorilla, bonobo, elephants, and big cats, and especially tigers.

I was an active fund raiser for Into The Blue, a program to release captive dolphins back into the wild. I raised awareness and funds for the last few remaining dolphins (Rocky, Missie and Silver), to be released from marine land type parks in the U.K. I was also a member of Earthwatch, as well as the late and well respected Bob Hunter's Greenpeace.

As a member of International Dolphin Watch I followed the progress of Horace Dobbs and Operation Sunflower, and longed in my heart to experience wild dolphins for myself. I watched every natural history documentary made on whales and dolphins of all types. I read all the books I could find, I even bought whale song tapes of every species.

Why were dolphins and whales so attractive to me ?  They are calming to look at....so graceful and smooth and warm skinned. Humans have been fascinated with dolphins since before history books began. Many dolphins adorn the walls of ancient Greek temples....like the queens bathroom in Knosos, Crete, which still remains today.

While at college I seemed to be drawn to the more artistic crowd, my friends were musicians, dancers and radio dj's. I worked as a photographic model for a number of years, while studding for a degree in Interior Design at Brunel. As a model, I learned a lot about photography and lighting. I started working on a second degree in acting, writing and directing, at U.W.E. while working full time in the healthcare field as a home care assistant to pay rent and bills. I was living in a one room apartment in the city, working hard to research what I could do to help the wonderful creatures I was hoping to protect for future generations. I yearned to encounter great whales, and I watched every video, and read every book, I could find on the subject.  One of my favorites of that time, was Heathcote Williams' moving poem Whale Nation.

After University I went into partnership running a lighting design business, and helped run a local gym. My college education paid off, and I saved every penny I earned for travel to explore my beautiful planet earth….. That’s when my real education began.

I worked harder always disciplining myself to save to enable me to fulfill my dream to swim with wild dolphins...A dream I eventually managed to fulfill in 1991.  It was not easy.... I had to save money for three years to enable me to fulfill this dream.... but that's another story . 

In 1993 on my second visit to Australia I visited the Great Barrier reef, and fulfilled another dream to go scuba diving. In early 1994 I flew to the pristine islands of the Maldives and took my open water diver course. I became a certified scuba diver and have been diving regularly ever since.

I felt drawn to an aromatherapy massage class I saw advertised at U.W.E.  I decided to go back to school evenings to become a professional in natural health and holistic healing. I became a qualified massage therapist, specializing in lymph drainage massage, a certified aromatherapist, fully qualified in mixing essential oils for all ailments,  and a certified reflexologist, a relaxing therapy using acupressure points to stimulate the body to heal.  This felt like a step in the right direction for me....I began to understand my own body a lot better...and everyone elses....a few years later in 1999, it was holistic therapies that helped prepare me, and helped heal me, from cancer.

Since 1991 I've been lucky enough to swim with different types of whale in the waters of six out of seven continents. I've encountered many amazing people on these journeys, including the people I love most in the world.

The short version is ... If I am meant to have some mission in life, it feels something like this...

I want to help people realize that the healthiest experience for viewing wild animals is in their natural environment, where the animals are happy. Animals in captivity teach us little about what goes on in the lives of animals in the REAL world... In their wild free roaming homes.

It can be very educational and very relaxing for people to spend time out in the wilderness of nature. It is very clear to me after spending so much time with the dolphins and whales, and with the people who live out there at sea with them for weeks and months at a time, along with my knowledge of natural health care, that taking this type of adventure does help people feel healthy... therefore happy... it lifts peoples spirits. We can heal from the stress of everyday life and re-connect to nature. In our fast pace society this simple human need is so often overlooked.

Most countries in the western world have anual vacations....it's a fact that after a vacation workers are more productive.  Everyone needs to have time for absorbing the real world....nature.... it's very good for us.....it's healing.

Studies have shown us our own pets lower our blood pressure, relax us, lower our heart rate. Many animals have calming effects on people. Some animals have been known to help heal serious disease. Many animals work in the health care industry !

Scientific studies have now proven what we have known for years... swimming with dolphins does lift spirits. Results show that swimming with dolphins helps keep depression away..... and the uplifting effects of swimming with dolphins can last 6 months or longer. 

Studies are still being conducted into how this happens. Maybe it’s not the dolphins at all. Maybe it's the persons own sub-conscious reaction to the amazing connection they feel when interacting close up with these intelligent beings we share our planet with, that triggers something inside that helps people heal themselves with positive energy. It’s all amazing stuff...It all falls into the category of one's body healing itself...as it does so amazingly...

It doesn’t matter why or how...what matters is swimming with wild dolphins and whales feels great... it works...you are missing out if you have not been out to play with these wild dolphins.

Anyone who knows color therapy knows that the beautiful turquoise color blue of the ocean we swim in with the dolphins is healing just by looking at it....both blue and green are calming, they lower stress, and lower blood pressure.

Dolphins and whales are extremely positive creatures. They have been around far longer than us, living in harmony with their environment.  They live in oceans that cover two thirds of our planet.

Dolphins may or may not be aware of what part they are playing in our human lives. They may or may not be doing anything in particular to try and help us. They may or may not just be playing, and having fun with these slow weird looking creatures that drop in on them from time to time.  One thing is for sure, dolphins do recognize and acknowledge people they know, and they are fascinated and amused by us funny looking humans.

When you’re out there you have to wonder sometimes just who is studding who. Maybe dolphins take their friends and families on adventures to the Bahamas to swim with humans ... Hmmm....