TRACC was one of the best experience ever! I started as an inexperienced diver, but once I was... read more
TRACC was one of the best experience ever! I started as an inexperienced diver, but once I was... read more
Spent an amazing 2 weeks with TRACC as a volunteer : I learned A LOT about scientific diving... read more
I was there for a week to volunteer.
this place is filled with nice and kind-hearted people devoted to taking care of the corals and making some fun out of it!
Highly recommended should you thirst for a truly natural experience (and be prepared for it.
Please do stay longer to make a real impact! (I feel my 1week stay has not helped much actually)
more of you should be doing this!
Glad you had a great time. Please tell your friends, TRACC always needs help to restore coral reefs.
I spent 3 weeks at TRACC and thoroughly enjoyed my time on Pom Pom island, I met fantastic people and had a brilliant instructor during my open water course.
The diving is an obvious highlight and I loved all the dives I participated in both around pom pom and other islands.
The corals are beautiful and TRACC have done a brilliant job so far of repairing the bomb fished reef around pom pom through the making and placing of artificial reefs and the collecting and planting of the hard and soft corals.
The project could do with improvements of organisation when accepting large groups of volunteers however this did not take away any enjoyment of my time there.
I got to live on a island with great people, diving everyday amongst awesome marine life, lots of turtles and the most beautiful corals.
A brilliant experience.
If you are looking for an alternative to a diving holiday with the opportunity to live on a tropical island, get back to basics and experience island life, then TRACC is your destination.
TRACC is more than just a marine conservation. Crystal clear and super warm waters with a vast amount of maritime life surround you. You are opened to a world of learning and knowledge in marine life, the biology and science. There are also endless opportunities for the underwater photographer!
Coral reef restoration, turtle walks, save the sharks, biodiversity are just some of the range of projects they currently have running at TRACC , all of which are such worth while causes in helping save part of the ocean. You get to view first hand the difference your participation actually makes and any new ideas and suggestions for projects are welcomed.
You are able to do as much or little diving as you want, this is the same for the participation in the work dives. If you are an experienced diver you can get stuck in right away. Even if you have no experience as a diver but have an interest, depending on how long you can stay, there are plenty of people who would be happy to take you out for a DSD. You can also take the courses to gain your Open Water up to Divemaster.
The atmosphere on Pom Pom is completely relaxed at the Tracc camp. You get to meet a mix and variety of people with different backgrounds but all with the common interest in helping save the ocean and of course diving.
It has been a truly a unique and amazing experience for me being able to have a relaxing holiday and have fun whilst participating in important marine conservation work. I gained more experience as a diver and I had the opportunity to do underwater photography and learn more about the variety of species of fish and other marine life in the ocean. I only wish I could have had a little longer.
TRACC is the best! You get to:
-Live on a tropical island.
-Swim with turtles and so many other beautiful marine creatures.
-Dive and see the most beautiful coral reefs in the world (many of which TRACC have created/gardened themselves).
-Hang out with the loveliest people.
-Get stuck in with every project.
-Eat homemade fried chicken.
Oh...and save the planet all in just the small space of a 2 week holiday!
I am 100% sure that I will be returning.
Trying to think about beginning this review is already proving difficult because it's hard to find the words to describe what an incredible place and experience this is. My girlfriend and I stumbled across TRACC whilst looking for somewhere to do some volunteering and I can't tell you how happy we were to have found it.
Before writing this review, I was both astounded and intrigued to read the very few negative reviews that had been given to TRACC and sure, you could worry about the fact that you're sleeping in a tent and it get's a bit hot or the fact that there's a lot of mosquitos or the fact that you don't have a power shower! But at the end of the day, all you have to do is look around you at where you are and you realise it's all worth it!
Personally, we believed that TRACC was incredibly well run. There is such a relaxed atmosphere but yet everything still gets done. Every evening, the staff set out the relaxed timetable for the following day and everyone can sign up to what they want so you can dive as much or as little as you want. We were only snorkelling so signed ourselves up to carrying out the Turtle Survey every day and what better way to spend your days than swimming with turtles every day?! After speaking to other staff and volunteers about our ambition to learn to dive, we had multiple offers of everyone wanting to take us out for a DSD (Discover Scuba Diving) and obviously we took up the offer! If you're just Snorkelling like us and want to learn to dive then TRACC is the best place to do it.
You stay in a spacious tent (although dorm rooms are currently being built as well), you have a shower as well as western toilets, delicious meals are cooked for you every lunch and dinner, you can dive as much or as little as you want, you can learn to dive, and most importantly, you get the chance to make a real difference to marine life. All you have to do is grab a mask, go for a quick swim in the house reef and you can see the incredible work that TRACC are doing and the improvement they are making to marine life.
Whether you're old or young, single or a couple, diver or a snorkeller, you should have no hesitation to go and volunteer at TRACC.
You'll meet some amazing people, you'll make a real difference and you'll have so much fun doing it! We miss it so much already and we've not even been gone for a month!
My time at Pom Pom and with TRACC was so free, so happy, and so expansive for my knowledge and my mind. There was the freedom to dive as much or as little as I wanted, to grab a tank at 5am or 10 pm, to be involved in a number of awesome conservation projects and create my own. My knowledge expanded with every dive, even diving the same site, the same house reef everyday, I would seeing new creatures, or noticing a new coral, or a new behavior. And everyday every question or new observation or little problem was met with such enthusiasm by the Pom Pom community – everyone was talking and thinking and experiencing and loving the ocean all day everyday, making learning something new everyday come so naturally. The community and the people were also awesome – everyone helped each other out and shared their knowledge about the diving and the life and the conservation project. TRACC and Pom Pom Island has so much to offer, and if you get really involved it can give you so much!
A few recommendations… bring your own mask, fins, booties, wetsuit/rashgaurd/whatever you wear to dive in and snorkel – it’s a conservation organization and although there is spare BCD’s and Reg’s the smaller things are harder to come by.
Be prepared for simple living and ready to adapt to jungle camp life and island time – I loved my tent and all the joys that come with living freely and simply on the island, but it means insects, and slightly salty showers, lack of/faulty electricity and sand everywhere.
If you are going for your Divemaster (like I did) it is not a totally traditional dive school in that there are not a lot of other students coming through. This means a lot of the teaching assistance exercises are simulated with other Divermasters. But for me (who is making marine conservation my career) that was far outweighed by the knowledge I gained about the ocean life and ocean processes, the conservation projects and techniques, and the many experienced Divemaster's that shared so much knowledge, and simply the total freedom of diving so so much, and practicing Divemaster skills in other ways such as leading conservation dives and instructing new volunteers on how to do some of the conservation work underwater.
And most importantly – get involved and ask questions! If there is something you really want to know or do just ask someone or engineer a project and start it! There is plenty to be gained if you express the desire to accomplish something!