About Wendy,
Wendy is a storyteller, conservationist , diver, and expedition leader whose deep connection to nature was shaped by the wild landscapes of Western Australia. Over the past decade, she has spent much of her life on or beneath the ocean sailing, teaching diving, and documenting remote ecosystems and the growing human pressures they face. Through powerful imagery and narrative, Wendy captures the beauty of the natural world while advocating for its urgent protection. Her work is driven by a belief that wild places and biodiversity are the most precious parts of our planet and must be preserved for future generations.
Image: Chinstrap penguins at Deception Island, Antarctica
Latest story
Published in Oceanographic Magazine
While listening to Shackleton's account of survival against the odds, Wendy Mitchell reflects on her own journey to Antarctica – the wonder it awakened in her, and what his legendary leadership tells us about the courage needed to protect these important, fragile landscapes
Image: Pygmy blue whale in the Banda Sea
After two sold-out, unforgettable journeys through the Banda Sea, our next expedition takes us back to Banda’s volcanic islands and legendary hammerhead dives. The region is best explored by liveaboard, with world-class dive sites scattered across a stretch of ocean reachin up to 7000m deep. Every dive brings new surprises, from pods of dolphins and marlins to oceanic manta rays, and coral reefs bursting with life. Our search for pygmy blue whales will continue after numerous sightings ion the last trips, adding an element of pure oceanic magic to this route. For those seeking true frontier diving - this is it.
Image: Gorgonian seafan at Scott Reef
Like nowhere else
Scott Reef
Scott Reef, located off the remote Kimberley coast, is one of Western Australia’s most biodiverse coral reefs.
This isolated reef system, fuelled by nutrient-rich upwellings, is a refuge for countless species of marine life. Migratory pygmy blue whales feed around its deep slopes, and green sea turtles nest on the Sandy Islet, the only small stretch of sand.
Scott Reef – Like Nowhere Else, created by Greenpeace, takes you on a journey to this remote ecosystem and delves into the threats it currently faces from Woodside and the insatiable demand for gas extraction.
Created by Greenpeace, photography by Wendy Mitchell and others.
The Ocean Speaks
A photographic journey of discovery and hope
A collection of stories from ocean storytells from around the world. Produced by Ocean Culture Life 2024.
Australin's Reef-Dwelling Dreagons, words and images by Wendy Mitchell
Sailing less than 200 nautical miles in one week, I was lucky enough to swim with several pods of orcas, a blue shark, long-finned pilot whales and sperm whales. Yet what trumped all of them was finding this exquisite southern Australian species – the leafy seadragon (Phycodurus eques).
This incredibly beautiful species is found only in Australia’s Great Southern Reef system, which lines the south coast, stretching from New South Wales to Western Australia and covering a massive 71,000 square kilometres (27,413 square miles). These waters are cold and sometimes hostile, as large Southern ocean swells batter the coast in the winter months. In the summer the waters warm slightly but the prevailing southwesterly winds can make ocean conditions un-divable or at least un-pleasant.
Words and Images by Wendy Mitchell
250 nautical miles off the coast of Western Australia lies the pristine Scott Reef. Fossil fuel giant Woodside is currently seeking approval for extensive seismic testing and long term extraction of natural gas and oil deposits from directly below the reef, a practice that might throw this paradise off balance forever.
With supplies to last us a month offshore loaded, charts plotted, and sails hoisted, we were ready to lift anchor from Broome, Western Australia and begin our 500 nautical mile return journey to Australia’s largest standalone offshore coral reef, Scott Reef. The reef lies in the Timor Sea, a remote part of Australian waters 425km northwest of Broome and 270km to the closest Western Australia land formation. To the west, is the seemingly endless Indian Ocean – thousands of miles of water stretching to the Africa coasts. To the north and northeast lie Indonesia and Australia’s rugged Kimberly Coast.
We sailed without stopping for four days and nights watching the sun rise and set over the rolling seas as we edged ever closer to Scott Reef. Riding a steady easterly wind blowing from mainland Australia, our sails were full, and we relished the warm Kimberly air, the horizon stained with a red tinged dust that blows from the sunburnt land. Scott Reef is uniquely positioned on the edge of Australia’s continental shelf. The Reef is made up of three separate atolls covering about 650km2, a mere pinhead in the vast expanse of the surrounding seas. If we sailed only a few degrees off course we would miss it entirely, not even knowing it was there.
Seemingly inconsequential above the water, below is a stunning, teeming world. Rising from depths of about 800m, the Reef’s sloping walls jut up to the surface and are almost fully exposed at low tide. Cold, nutrient-rich deep-water currents hit the reef walls and are pushed to the surface displacing the warm nutrient-poor surface water. The upwellings are primarily created by the reef's topography which causes vertical mixing throughout the water column. This creates a food banquet to sustain a city of hungry mouths across the reef.
“I’ve worked the last 10 years in marine tourism and I’ve seen a lot of incredible wild places. But they’re all slowly, surely changing. And putting such pressure on Scott will affect it, and the wider effects on climate will have huge effects on reefs globally.”
Wendy Mitchell, dive instructor, photographer and activist
Top: Wildlife photographer, dive instructor and activist Wendy Mitchell stands in front Woodside’s North Rankin Complex, one of Australia’s largest offshore gas processing facilities; Middle: Barrel sponge surrounded by soft corals and fish; Bottom: Hard coral is a key feature of the Scott Reef marine system. Photos: Greenpeace. Bottom Image Wendy Mitchell
Roaring Journals by Patagonia, 2024. Two stories were published, written by Nick Rodway, with images by Wendy Mitchell and additional photographers. The articles delve into the great gas grab in Western Australia and the environmental cost we are facing.
Indonesia reopens Raja Ampat nickel mine despite reef damage concerns
