HOW I TRAVEL
The environmental advocate and aquanaut deep dives into his peripatetic life.
Environmental advocate Fabien Cousteau.
Travelling as a child was just a part of life.
Looking back, I see how unbelievably lucky I was, because it made me who I am today. The invaluable education from being able to go on adventures with my grandfather [Jacques-Yves Cousteau] and family gave me an understanding of what makes us viable on this planet – a lesson that would be hard to learn any other way. It gave me a great sense of the urgency for which my family’s mission needs to be broadcast; not only one of adventure and passion, but also of exploration and conservation.
As a child I remember travelling with my parents, grandparents, the crew of
Calypso – sometimes even alone with my passport around my neck.
I learnt to dive on my fourth birthday.
My parents were hosting a birthday party for me and my father left to pick up some food. When he came back, he found me at the bottom of the pool “buddy breathing” with a family friend. That’s where my love for diving started, as well as from the stories my grandfather told us. I started joining expeditions at age seven.
The most inspirational places I’ve visited and people I’ve met
have been Nepal and the Sherpa people, the Amazon and the tribes of the Vale do Javari region, Tanzania and the Maasai. All were inspirational in their understanding of, and relationship with, their environment and the balance of life.
There are a lot of places and experiences I hold in my heart:
from my family home in the South of France, to seven weeks in the Himalayas with one of my best friends; from partaking in rituals with the Sherpas and Nepalese people, to climbing to the top of Kilimanjaro; from camping among the lions with Maasai warriors, to eating muktuk (whale skin and blubber) with the Inuit in the Arctic.
is leaving a place you visit in a better state than you found it. Making a positive impact, however large or small, is paramount to enjoying the experience of travel and doing our part as thankful guests.
The most important part of travel Every time I visit a new place it changes my life
because it gives me a new perspective. I love experiencing new cultures, and being able to immerse yourself in sometimes uncomfortable situations because you’re in a foreign environment.
We’ve explored less than 5 per cent of our ocean world today.
When people ask me what my favourite dive is, I say “the next one”, because there’s so much left to explore.
In early 2020 I’ll be travelling to Europe and Central and South America,
as well as the Western Pacific. I travel for work for up to 250 days a year.
Travelling by foot is the most ecoconscious way to travel.
Although most of us will not take our vacation by walking, making travel decisions that incorporate minimising your carbon footprint is always a good choice.
We often forget that travel is a privilege.
Being excited to go on a journey serves to catalyse the enjoyment of a memorable life experience. Fabien Cousteau visited Cairns in his role as brand ambassador for Seiko and as an advocate for the world’s oceans. Seiko donates a portion of all sales of its Prospex “Save the Ocean” dive watches to Cousteau’s Ocean Learning Center, fabiencousteauolc.org