One Thousand Hours Snorkelling at Wakatobi Resort

Pam Osborn is a Perth resident who spends up to seven hours a day snorkeling. Her favourite place is among the different fish and other creatures that inhabit a small coral reef in Indonesia: Wakatobi. This is how she ended up doing one thousand hours snorkelling at Wakatobi Resort

Pam and Wayne Osborn have been visiting Wakatobi Dive Resort in Indonesia once or twice a year for the past 11 years. She began by following her husband diving. A cheap waterproof Panasonic point-and-shoot gave way to a more professional setup. Pam started breath-holding and found more and more things to document. 

Time has not so much stood still as not mattered to Pam as she floated and flippered along behind the camera. For up to seven hours at a time, she has been mesmerized by the abundance and variety of marine life around her. Her total solo snorkeling time on the reef with her camera is thought to be more than 1,000 hours! 

Something that began as an afterthought became her obsession as she documented 400 tropical fish and invertebrate species into a book. 

"I've been swimming ever since I was in school", she says. "I always seem to be looking for something and end up getting lost in my work."

In the remote southeast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, is where you'll find Wakatobi Dive Resort. It is dedicated to marine conservation and highlights the renowned marine biodiversity of the area. It is even centred on a UNESCO-designated national park.

The quantity of fish is astounding. Pam asserts, "They are everywhere." 

The Osborns give their whale photos to friends who study whales in Perth; the researchers use the photos to recognize particular whales and follow their movements. From his diving at Wakatobi, in other parts of Indonesia, and all over Australia, Wayne compiles the book and also created the online book "Reef Fishes."

The Osborns believe that it is crucial for anyone to have free access to the books. They aid in the identification of what individuals observe while diving and snorkeling independently, and they increase global awareness of the necessity of marine dialogue. 

"I am a believer in the simple principle the more you look, the more you see. This sums up my never-ending fascination with the Wakatobi reef", Pam says.

That's one of the reasons she strongly supports environmentally responsible dive companies like the Wakatobi Dive Resort.

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Adapted from an article Published February 27, 2023 in DIVING & SNORKELING, RESORT, Snorkeling, with kind permissin, Wakatobi resort.