Not everybody is game enough to swim with whale sharks, manta rays and humpback whales, but for Year 12 biology student James LLoyd (12/FL), it is more of—’a holiday thing’.

During the last school holidays, James took his passion and interest in the biological world on tour to Western Australia where he took a dip in shark infested waters. Preferring to learn about nature first-hand, James came face to face with a whale shark which made him realise how small he was in comparison. James said, “I knew from biology that this shark was not dangerous as it is a filter feeder just like a whale, and you could see the amount of plankton floating in the water that was drawing the whales to the surface”.

James is in Mr Mick Madden’s Year 12 Biology class and lives on a farm in the bush at Otford, about 60 kilometres south of Sydney’s CBD. Mr Madden says that James has been a bit of a, “Steve Irwin character within our Biology class and is always keen to share his knowledge and experiences with his peers”.

When asked whether he would do it again, James did not hesitate. “Happily! It was a great experience”.