Adventure to Ascension

Located between Africa and South America, Ascension is the most isolated island in the world and that alone was enough to inspire a trip there. The island is around 1,000 miles away from Africa and 1,400 miles away from South Africa. Access to the island is highly monitored by the British Government, as it is one of their Overseas Territories. In order to get there, I had to be granted clearance, which involves a detailed application, required immunizations, showing proof of comprehensive travel and medical insurance, and a lengthy approval period. Even though this took a lot of effort to accomplish, it also added an element of rarity to the trip.

There are only two ways to get there. The first is by a ship called the RMS St Helena that visits the island once every three weeks. The other option, which I opted for, is a flight. I was starting in California, which meant that I would have to take a 10-hour flight from SFO to London, drive a rainy hour and a half to Oxford, and then jump on the military plane for another 9 hours. After the 7,534 mi, I was exhausted, but I knew I was lucky to acquire the turtle shaped stamp on my passport, and I was excited to see if the island lived up to its name.

Covered almost completely with lava flows and rocks, walking along the craters was almost like walking on Mars. I was absolutely captivated by the raw nature there. There’s really only one area of plant life on the island called Green Mountain, and its history is pretty interesting. In 1843, due to goats, sheep and other imported species released onto the mountain by explorers, the island was almost 100% void of any plant life. Soon after discovering this in 1850, botanist and explorer Joseph Hooker recommended to the British government that they start importing new species of plants onto the island. After years of imports from all around the world, Green Mountain grew (and continues to grow every year) into one of the largest man-made or “planned” forests on the planet.

Walking through the trails was so fascinating because one minute I would be around trees that were almost Amazonian, and the next I was surrounded by florae that were native to North America. It was amazing to see all of them blended together in such a relatively small space; it was like looking at a sample platter of the many diverse forests I’d seen, and planned on seeing in my future adventures.

It was finally time to take a dive into the warm, cerulean waters of the island. It wasn’t long before I found what I had been most excited to discover- the enormous Yellowfin Tuna. They were gorgeous. Luminously iridescent and even bigger than I expected, I spotted them right away. I was blown away by the beauty and size of them. Yellowfin can grow up to 400 pounds and over 7 feet long and have bright yellow fins, so they’re hard to miss.

Despite their large size, these amazing fish are tailor made for speed. They’ve been tracked at speeds over 20-mph. Yellowfin prey on smaller fish, such as flying fish, mackerel and sauries. Their sleek, hydrodynamic body shapes help them keep up with these quick little fish and even leap out of the water to catch them.

I spent hours observing and documenting them. The real reward of the trip was cohabitating with the stunning Yellowfin. Swimming along side of these incredible creatures was a once in a lifetime experience, and definitely the highlight of my trip.
As a spear fisherman, it is tempting to shoot the giants, but I was more interested in capturing the moment of truth that every hunter craves. I did not pull the trigger, but rather had a photo of that moment, and I let it live on.