Having a Whale of a Time in South Australia

Whale Watching season is well and truly under way here in South Australia and wildlife lover, trail runner and official Outsider Sputnik recently took the opportunity to go on a ‘combo-adventure’ doing some whale watching, wildlife photography and trail running. 

Fowlers Bay and Head of Bight in South Australia’s far west are two of Australia’s best whale watching locations, with Head of Bight being Australia’s largest whale nursery, and regularly attracting more than 50 whales with their calves during the winter birthing season. 

The Giant Cuttlefish gather near Whyalla every winter	And the rays quite like eating their eggs!
There were more than a dozen whales with the calfs at Fowlers Bay	One of those calfs was a rare white whale the locals named 'Milky Way'

Even though it’s winter, Sputnik says mother nature dished up a variety of weather, so he was extra grateful to ‘go with io’. It also meant he could pack lighter knowing his gear would get him through a wider variety of weather and adventures in comfort. Which means he had more room for camera gear!

“When I’m on the road shooting, it’s not unusual for me to have three main cameras, a compact camera, two GoPros and a bunch of lenses and accessories and that’s not really something I can cut back on and travel light with, so it’s nice to know I can keep my clothes packing to a minimum on these trips, and still have everything I need.”

Mother Nature dished up a mix of weather... and rainbows!	Even when the sun was out it was hoodie weather!
The sunrises were beautiful, but it was below freezing out there!	Nothing like some io to keep you warm on a clear but freezing night.

Sputnik has been wearing io for almost a decade and says on this trip he dug out the first ever io Tshirt he owned, even though it’s seen better days.

“The truth is after ten years of wearing that poor Tshirt in the Himalaya and a road trip across America, that Tshirt has a few cuts and bruises for sure. But it’s not like I needed to dress up for anything and it’s still super comfy and performs beautiful, so why wouldn’t I just keep wearing it?”

Sputnik who is also an ambassador for the upcoming Run4Reef run in support of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef says people need to change the way they look at their clothes, and at a time when we’re worried about things like landfill and micro plastics that are being found even in the deepest depths of our oceans, it makes perfect sense to go with io.

“I love that some of my io gear has a few scars - it does’t make them any less perfect. And I love that when I do eventually wash them they’re not letting micro plastics in our waterways. And even though I won’t be ditching them any time soon, and certainly not because they have a small hole in them here and there, that they’ll break down and won’t become landfill.”

His trip took him from Adelaide to Whyalla for the giant cuttlefish migration, across to Fowlers Bay and Head of Bight, back down the west coast of Eyre Peninsula, then over to the Southern Flinders Ranges for the Melrose Trail Running Festival with fellow Outsider Tracy in her brand new Run All The Trails tee.

Sputnik in his Ultra Tee at the start line.	Tracy in her Ultra Tee at the finish line.

Although he was on the road for almost two weeks, said he wore one Universal Tee, one pair of our hiking socks and our Summit hoodie almost the entire time. When he needed some extra warmth he added the Pinnacle mid layer, and apparently there were a few changes of Altitude Boxers in there for good measure. 

For the trail race he wore an Ultra Tee, Altitude Neck Warmer and our new Mullet Trail Socks.