Having A Whale Of A Time

Newcastle Herald

Monday January 12, 2009

By BEN SMEE

WHALE-watching cruise industry pioneer Frank Future came to Port Stephens 20 years ago, fell in love with the area, and decided to stay.

The operator of Imagine Cruises, Future moved to the area in 1989 to work as the caretaker of the Point Stephens lighthouse.

"I had been sailing up here since the 1970s and I knew the area," he said.

"While I was at the lighthouse I got the inspiration to start whale-watching in Port Stephens."

Future speaks fondly of the spectacular blue-water paradise he calls home.

"I guess living in the area we take it for granted that it's beautiful," he said.

"I travel around a little bit but I don't like leaving this place . . . it satisfies me to be here."

Daily encounters with dolphins and whales off the shores of Port Stephens make getting up in the morning and heading off to work easy, he says.

"Working in nature and working with animals, it really does remind us what a fantastic world we have.

"The setting is so spectacularly beautiful it's a privilege, not a job."