From whale sharks to seahorses all in one breath
A COUPLE, with a love for freediving, turned months of filming their expeditions just one breath from the surface into a first of its kind 10-episode adventure that would premiere on Monday.
Beth “The Mermaid” Neale and Miles “Aquaman” Cloutier set off from their home in Kwazulu-natal’s South Coast last year for the waters of Mozambique and the Maldives.
Neale, a four-time national freediving champion, and
Cloutier, a Canadian freediver and videographer, spent eight weeks in Mozambique followed by six weeks in the Maldives which later became episodes for the Freediving Diaries – the first-ever freediving reality television series.
The conservation couple’s goal was to advocate for the ocean and promote experts at the forefront of conservation and eco-tourism. Cloutier said they believed if the ocean’s beauty was shown it would inspire more people to save it but before their journey began the series had one of its biggest shocks as they learned Neale was pregnant.
“We were just crossing the border into Mozambique when we found out and it was both exciting and scary. Six episodes became 10 and two of us turned to three,” said Cloutier.
Neale said they never expected to be sharing the most special experience a couple could have in their first episode. “It was an incredible surprise, but also a bit of a shock as we had planned this eight-week expedition into some very under-developed areas with few medical facilities and areas with malaria. But it turned out to be the best possible timing because my little mermaid has already dived with whales, dolphins, turtles, manta rays, whale sharks, tiger sharks and nurse sharks all from the comfort of my belly,” she said.
Cloutier said they checked off quite a few bucket-list species.
“From the playful and inquisitive wild dolphins of Ponta do Ouro in Mozambique, to the tiger sharks of Fuvahmulah island in the Maldives.
The series will be featured on channel, PPL°WX - People’sweather on Dstv channel 180 and Openview channel 115.