Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going: Wendy Goyert
Aug 31st, 2011 by wwftravel
Wendy in the Abacos, Bahamas, with her son Ari. © Wendy Goyert
When Wendy Goyert, a Program Officer for the Major Buyer Initiative in WWF’s Fisheries Program, isn’t working to promote sustainable management practices at fisheries around the world, chances are she’s traveling. In the fourth installment of our summer series Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going, we caught up with Wendy to chat about her travels.
How did you catch the travel bug?
I was lucky enough to grow up living in Latin America with my family from age 4 to age 12. We lived in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico for 8 years, and while we were there we traveled to some amazing places including Tierra del Fuego, Machu Picchu, the Galapagos Islands, Iguacu Falls, the Amazon rain forest, Aztec and Maya pyramids all over Mexico, and many other spectacular destinations. After that experience, I wanted to continue traveling throughout the rest of my life to see as much of the world as I could.
What’s been your top natural spot to visit?
Midway Atoll national wildlife refuge, in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It is incredible during the Albatross nesting season, which is when I was there in 2009. There are over 1 million albatross nesting on the ground, along with petrels and shearwaters. They are so tame that you can just walk amongst them and they don’t move at all—they are so curious since they’ve evolved to nest in locations without predators. Dozens of green sea turtles sunbathe on the beach, as well as several endangered Hawaiian Monk seals. Pods of spinner dolphins swim around the island, and the snorkeling in the reefs within the atoll is incredible. It’s truly an amazing place.
What’s the most remote place you’ve visited?
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. It’s in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about as far from the mainland that you can get.
What are your top three dream nature destinations?
Sailing around the islands of the South Pacific; backpacking in Patagonia, Chile; and going back to the Galapagos (since I was so young when I went the first time, I’d love to go again when I can truly appreciate it).
Thinking back over your trips, tell us about one of your best observations of an animal?
While kayaking in the Broken Islands, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, as we set up our tent on the beach of one of the islands, we looked down the beach and saw a wolf watching a deer. The deer was on the island as well, and saw the wolf eyeing it so it turned and ran. The wolf ran and chased it, and the deer jumped off into the water and swam to another island close by. At that point, the wolf gave up and trotted off, but we wondered whether it would just try again a bit later. That was an amazing site to see in the wild.
What’s one item you never leave home without?
Running/hiking shoes; you never know when you’ll find a good place to go for a run or hike.
What’s your best or most frequently used eco-friendly travel tip?
I love to go on trips that involve getting some exercise and moving around to explore different areas by using my own power or non-polluting power sources (like wind). That has led my husband and me to go kayaking, biking, hiking, backpacking and sailing in several places around the world. Using these types of modes of transportation allows one to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life and to visit some amazingly beautiful, remote and peaceful places.
What great destinations! I feel inspired to plan an ecovacation now. Though as for the one item I would not leave home without, it would probably be a portable folding chair as opposed to running shoes! = )