Luca Nazari
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From Iran
I am originally Iranian. I decided to scuba dive in 2008 and wanted to volunteer in marine conservation with World Wildlife Fund. I was living and diving on Tioman Island in Malaysia, where I met a diver working for the Kuala Lumpur Aquarium. He had done the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic Marine Studies Diploma. It sounded perfect for me.
The Marine Studies staff at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic are all full of life. It’s not like a lecturer/student relationship; it’s more like friend to friend. It feels very close.
Living in Tauranga is one of the highlights in coming to New Zealand. Tauranga is one of those places I will never forget, it’s just absolutely relaxing.
I had to produce a presentation for the course and I chose to study Little Blue Penguins living on Mount Maunganui. I camped there three times, putting up my tent, using my torch to look for penguins – you can see their eyes shining at night. It was a full moon and full tide. It was my first time seeing penguins in the wild and when they came onto shore, I felt like my stomach melt. It was strange – everyone else was in town clubbing that night, and I was spending quality time with penguins! It was pretty exceptional.
