Day 13 feels strange.
Half joy, half goodbye.

The pressure is easing.
Our marine expedition delivered.
But the high is cut with the sting of farewell.

Day 12.
We have three-quarters of the campaign in the can.

But we had one day left on the water,
and it was the most ambitious of them all.

Eleven days in.
Weathered.
Exhausted. Focused.

And somehow, the best is still ahead.
The moment we’d been building toward.
The crown jewel of the Kimberley.

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”
– Michelangelo

Jar Island isn’t just a location.
It was a test of our ambition.

Our love affair with the Kimberley is getting serious.

With six days left, the question hangs:
Are we on track to finish the commercial and capture the photos we promised?

Mostly. 

I’ll be honest, I didn’t think Kuri Bay should make the cut.
During pre-pro, we debated every location.

Time. Budget. Logistics.
Creative payoff.

In production, every minute matters.

Dawn till dusk.
The plan is insane.
We have one tide window.

And a reef that literally disappears in hours.
BUT we also need to make it to Freshwater Cove,
three hours away.

The “Shark!” call immediately wakes us.

A grey nurse shark, circling the Akiko in silence.  
She’s unpredictable. Volatile. Magical.

The perfect symbol for this place.
The Kimberley has me.

You can’t talk about the Kimberley without talking about the tides.
These aren’t ordinary tides.
They’re wild. Unpredictable. Powerful.

So powerful, we built our entire schedule around them.
We studied routes for months before ever stepping foot in Australia.

My stomach is still doing jumping jacks. 
Broome is just a warm-up.

Once we board our vessel, it’s game time.

The Kimberley Coast? That’s our main act. 
95% of the locations we’d prepped for over the past six months.

I’m kneeling behind a telephoto lens.
Sweat dripping into my eye, whispering…

Just blink.
Just once.

I’m squinting at the GPS in the front seat.
Dave behind the wheel, Chris & Marc in the back.
Drone cases stacked between us like Jenga blocks.

We were supposed to be halfway to Roebuck Bay by now.

I’m standing in the arrivals hall of Broome International Airport.

Gripping my carry-on like it is a flotation device.