A wildlife field guide in New Quay, Wales
Volunteering on the opposite side of the world might be a bit of a frightening thought for most, but some of us see it as an adventure. We thrive on new experiences and living in the untrodden paths of our shoes, where the unknown is something to be explored and everything is an opportunity.
Recently my travels took a path to New Quay, Wales, where I volunteered for 5 months as a Wildlife field guide. Travelling alone has never been a scary thought for me, but you are a bit nervous when you’re setting off to a little Welsh town, of which most people in your country has never heard of. You have no idea what the people will be like or the place you’ll be staying at; friends start contemplating the possibility of you being kidnapped and your father giving you the survival 101 on cultures. But, despite all the perplexing faces, I’ve never been one to retract on account of their fears. It’s always been a dream to see the world, from the hot ancient deserts of Egypt to Aurora borealis in the glacial Arctic. Therefore I commend this quote,
“The only things you regret in life are the chances you didn’t take”.
So my travels to New Quay began, determined to volunteer on the ocean and to put those adventure miles in my memory map.
The town I called home
New Quay (Cei Newydd in Welsh) is a small seaside town in Wales with a resident population of about 1200 people. The town is surrounded by lush green forests and coastal pathways, meandering over the cliffs, with the widespread ocean on the one side and endless countryside on the other. Right at the bottom of town, there’s a modest harbour, packed with anything from kayaks and yachts to fishing vessels. This is where all my volunteer action would start.
One thing about small towns that I love is the community. No one’s a stranger and they’re all involved with events and eager to help each other out. The people were all welcoming and very friendly, even thou I was a complete stranger, with a funny accent.
Nature from the sea
The volunteering included me being a wildlife field guide on tour boats for SeaMor, the number 1 attraction in New Quay on TripAdvisor. We would sometimes be gearing up at 8h in the morning and only end at 10h that night, when the stars take over the azure. Our daily routine started with a coffee from a local shop and a smile, ready to amaze people with the most wonderful sights. The cliffs, caves and geology unseen from land, where rocks are twisted and bent to the point of breaking, but still remain intact. Layers of time are displayed in the most kaleidoscopic way and caves that hold the distant memories of smugglers in the night.
It was along this coastline that I shared spectacular views with complete strangers. Some days we had a glassy sea, with the brightest turquoise waters, where you could see for miles on end and the tip of Mount Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales reaching 1085 meters above sea level, enticing you to new adventures. Other days we had a foggy blanket in the distance, where Ynys Lochtyn headland (Croc’s head), came creeping through like a crocodile lurking in the waters.
All the living creatures
There were a great variety of animals we had the privilege of educating people on.
Spiny spider crabs was a favourite, being gentle giants. Lobsters had the people amazed, with their astonishing royal blue colours and particularly their ability to “live forever”, they’ve got perfect DNA and will never die of old age. Sharks with their non-scaly skin, having denticles or teeth like structure for skin, had people in awe. Utmost care was taken to ensure these animals got released back into nature. I could enlighten people about the nature of Atlantic Grey seals and we had the opportunity to witness a fluffy white seal pup grow up over weeks. The bottlenose dolphins had people on their feet daily, bow riding and playfully breaching. We could hear the whistles and clicks through a hydrophone we submerged, or on a calm sea state, it would get amplified through the metal of the boat. The juveniles are quite inquisitive, coming up and swimming on their sides around the boat, inspecting you with that big eye and a seemingly playful smile. They are such highly intelligent animals using echolocation for hunting and communication, far advancing any human sonar and a technological feature desired by humans, with the ocean as their playground.
I normally work on research vessels with marine mammals, needless to say, that I find them fascinating and that their conservation is of utmost importance to me. Luckily New Quay is a marine protected area and everyone has to oblige, to prevent any harm or disturbance to the animals and their cynefin.
(Cynefin [Welsh]: A place where a person or animal feels it out to live and belong; it is where nature around you feels right and welcoming; habitat.)
The final countdown
Over the 5 months, the seasons changed and the penguin-like Guillemots and Razorbills left their nest to spend most of their life at sea. The pictures revealed the once lush green valley’s change to warm auburn and fiery red along the coastline which announced the end of my volunteer adventure. Not long after, the boats had to be hauled out for protection from the freezing cold winter weather and stormy seas.
My time had come to undertake the long journey home, leaving a part of me behind, but taking with me long lasting friendships, memories for eternity and a lust for more adventures and paths to explore. Everyone changes a little on their travels; it doesn’t matter if it was just for adventure or changing the world. I learned of a new warm culture and a new favourite Welsh word “cwtch”, meaning to cuddle or hug, but in a special warm-hearted way. I can sincerely say that it changed my life and I recommend it to others.
Volunteering helps to give back to nature, improve research and also help with education in these fields. I’ve recently volunteered/interned for research on dolphins on the east coast of South Africa and in Namibia, doing research on whales and dolphins, but those are stories for another day. The adventure never stops.
We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us….
Post and photos by Simone Fick
ADVENTURE DIARIST 