Page 13 - Tropic Magazine Issue 28

TROPIC • UP FRONT
A DAY IN THE LIFE
Tropic delves into the daily routines and habits of a local identity.
Pablo Cogollos
Marine Biologist
Master Reef Guide
Sunlover Reef Cruises
Passionate about our
beautiful Great Barrier Reef,
Pablo Cogollos manages to
fill every minute of his day
guiding snorkelling tours and
snapping underwater photos
with Sunlover Reef Cruises.
5:00am 11:30am
Naturally waking up with the light of By now we’ve made it to Moore Reef.
the sunrise and full of energy. I make a I take snorkelling tours, as well as
smoothie, write my to-do list and have shoot videos and photos of the reef.
my power breakfast. I use this content for social media and
to contribute to weekly reef surveys.
6:00am In the last half hour on the pontoon I
I’ll either take a yoga class or go to the do a marine life presentation and a fish
gym. Some days I’m not as active and feeding show. I use that time to answer
stay home catching up on messages questions from guests and thank them
from friends and relatives. for their crucial role in protecting the
reef as visitors.
7:45am
Time to jump on my bike and head 3:30pm
to work – this is the best part of my On our journey back to Cairns we have
morning! Living in Edge Hill, it’s quicker
our lunch break. We use a lot of energy
to cycle to work than drive. The ride at the reef, so we need to put it back
along the Botanic Gardens and the in! After a big lunch I do paperwork and
Esplanade is so beautiful, reminding submit surveys and underwater photos
me how fortunate I am to live in Cairns and videos to the Eye on the Reef
and how awesome this town is! app. The last hour of the trip is spent
It’s also a great way to reduce my talking to passengers about their reef
experience and offering advice on
carbon footprint, save money and do
some cardio. activities to do in FNQ.
8:15am 6:00pm
I arrive at Sunlover Reef Cruises at the Play time! I often play water polo or
Cairns Marina and meet my colleagues practice acroyoga. I also try to go to
before an epic day on the Great Barrier the gym a few days a week.
Reef! I’ll check the weather conditions The evenings are also a good time to
and look at how many people we have work on what I love the most – my
for the day. I also take note of guest underwater videography and the
nationalities in case anyone could do organisations that I volunteer for:
with a Spanish translation for the day. Master Reef Guides, Parley for the
Oceans, and Reef Restoration.
9:30am
Sunlover departs the Marina. 8:00pm
The journey to Moore Reef takes two Home time. I’m really fortunate to have
hours, with a quick stop at Fitzroy my girlfriend, Jodi, and my housemate,
Island to drop off and pick up some Lucy. We always have animal visitors
passengers. While travelling we do like birds and flying foxes as Lucy is a
a snorkelling orientation and an wildlife carer. Jodi and Lucy are much
interactive marine biology talk. better cooks than me, so I’m on dish
We’re really focused on reef education duty after dinner.
and its history, ecological role,
biodiversity and value as a World 10:00pm
Heritage Area. My mission is to make Time to wind down. I call my family in
sure everyone falls in love with the Spain and spend time with Jodi. I also
reef and all the cool things we get use this time to create video and photo
to see like sea turtles, sharks and content on the Great Barrier Reef.
clownfish. My favourite animals are Then I normally fall asleep very quickly.
the corals. Jodi says I only function in two modes:
full on and switched off.
13 • tropicnow.com.au