Nush Freedman was three months old when she first visited Ningaloo Reef. Growing up in Perth, her family would regularly holiday there, drawn back time and again by the beauty of the World Heritage-listed site.
“My parents always said they could never keep me out of the water,” the underwater cinematographer and passionate conservationist tells The Weekly from her home in the region today.
“Apparently, when I was three years old, I marched down to the beach and wouldn’t have a bar of the floaties anymore. I’ve always had a passion and obsession for the ocean.”
Learning to dive at 14, she knew she’d found her calling during her very first pool lesson. “I remember sitting down there and breathing underwater, and I couldn’t believe it. You’re down ther,e and it’s really silent. I could have just sat down there for hours.”
After finishing school, she quit Perth for Ningaloo, where she worked first as a tour guide, and then as an underwater photographer working on whale shark boats. But it was meeting fellow diver and camera operator Andre Rerekura in 2018 that she says “opened her eyes” to the possibilities that could lie ahead of her when it came to combining her love of capturing the ocean’s wildlife and diving to see it.
Who is in Shipwreck Hunters Australia?
Andre – who is now her fiancé, having proposed in 2021 – worked alongside Ash Sutton, Johnny Debnam and Ryan Chatfield, diving to find undiscovered shipwrecks. There are estimated to be over 1600 in the region, quite a few of those unmapped.
And soon, Nush was collaborating too, drawn to the adrenaline and adventure of the hairy dives as well as the thrill of seeing the wildlife that attached itself to these long-undisturbed sites. It earned her the nickname “wildlife whisperer” from the crew, a name she happily embraces.
The coast of Western Australia is what Nush calls “a shipwreck trap”, with its shallow reefs that suddenly drop off into the deep before another shallow reef emerges unexpectedly. “We also have some pretty crazy currents and strange eddies,” she adds. “They’ve pulled ships a little bit off course and closer to the reef. It’s a dangerous but very beautiful location.”
After playing a large part in finding the 1911 shipwreck Glenbank, the five adventurers were tapped by Disney+ in 2022 to film the series Shipwreck Hunters Australia. It was a hit.
And now it’s back for season two.
What happens in season 2 of Shipwreck Hunters Australia?
This time, says Nush, they enter the Southern Ocean zone of Western Australia. “The waters are more turbulent,” she says of what they will face. “It’s colder, there’s crazy weather, bigger wildlife, bigger sharks.”
It’s also home to Salisbury Island, a remote landmass of limestone and granite which has become a haven for white sharks as well as a precious breeding and resting ground for Australian sea lions, an increasingly vulnerable species. With less than 6000 left in the wild, they are not just competing for habitat; they are also at risk of being caught in fishing nets.
“I love shipwrecks so much,” says Nush of the thrill of being part of the show. “But one of the things I love most about them is that they are such a magnet for marine life. When we’re down there exploring, we get to have some amazing interactions.
“Across the series, we connect and interact with manta rays, humpback whales, Australian sea lions, turtles, all the fish and the beautiful coral reefs. And showing that to people is important. We need people to care more about our oceans because they are so under threat.”
What threats is Ningaloo Reef facing?
Worldwide, coral bleaching and marine heat waves are becoming more common. This year, Nush says, there was a severe marine heat wave in Western Australia. And for the first time, Ningaloo Reef has been hit hard.
“Up to 80 to 90 per cent of the coral has been impacted by the coral bleaching,” she says. “In some areas, the ocean temperature is four degrees warmer than usual.
“Some of those places on the reef, you know, with your eyes closed, you visit them so frequently. To see the change has been devastating.”
There’s research underway to see how to help the coral recover. But Nush states this is an important reminder to all of us to make small changes that can help make a difference – no matter where we live in the country.
“If everyone is doing these little things to be more environmental and sustainable, it definitely helps,” she explains. “If you can reduce your plastics, recycle, and reuse. When you’re leaving the house, be more mindful and turn all your lights off. Just all those little things. But also, really think about what you are eating and where it is from. The fishing industry can have a massive impact on our planet.”
Who is Nush Freedman?
Nush is the only female in the Shipwreck Hunters Australia team. It’s not unusual, she admits, for the industry to be so male-skewed, but it is evolving.
“There are more women getting involved in underwater photography and diving,” she smiles.
“And up here on Ningaloo, girls really run the marine industry. There are way more women working in boating roles, skippering boats, and doing their dive masters. It’s really inspiring to be around so many girls who are pushing the limits and being badass.
“I love seeing that change. And if I have inspired just one girl, somewhere in the world, to get into the water and try diving or snorkelling, then it’s job done.”
Where can I watch Shipwreck Hunters Australia?
Shipwreck Hunters Australia launches on Disney Plus on August 27. Stream season one now on Disney Plus from $15.99/mth.
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