At the height of the pandemic I was living in Perth, Western Australia (WA). The borders were closed and it was impossible to get in and out of the country, let alone out of your five mile radius. The only way you could leave (and come back) was to apply for a government exemption that would consider the details of your specific circumstances. At the time, I had lost my working visa, so I was kicking it on the tourist version instead. I was still running my consultancy out of the USA though, which was the only way I could legally work at the time considering I was stuck in remote WA.
So, I applied for the exemption so that I could see my clients back in the states. After a few weeks, I was granted this coveted award and I booked my round trip ticket. That was August 2021 and I was meant to be back in Perth 2 months later. Flashforward to March 2022, and I still had not made it back to Australia. As it turned out, as soon as I touched down on USA soil, the Australian government revoked all of their traveler exemptions. This essentially meant that if you were out of the country, you wouldn’t be getting back in until the borders reopened at an undetermined date.
Somewhat mortified—given all my belongings, my partner and my tiny kitten were all in Australia—this was one of those moments that I quickly realized I’d need to just make the most of it. After all, I was back in my home country and frankly excited to reacclimate with my homeland (especially after the harrowing circumstances of the pandemic.) There was also a whole world of diving to embrace stateside that was unlike anything I’d experienced in Australia!
I spent a month in Hawaii bonding with Marla, who I had been working with remotely for a year before actually meeting in person. And the two of us decided to start trying “mini-expeditions” on behalf of our clients through the consultancy. That brought us from Hawaii to Monterey, California to learn about the area's rich history of kelp forests that sit right beneath the surface.
That’s when this east coaster, for the first time in my life, realized how incredible the west really is. I fell in love, and I fell hard. I decided to spend four months up and down the coast of California, diving and making friends on the day boats and forming a bit of a crew along the Pacific Coast Highway. There’s no question that the diving in California is still, to this day, some of my favorite out there. Swimming through the kelp forests from November - February brought us ridiculous visibility, extremely cold water (although technically classified as temperate) and special marine encounters with sea lions, seals, rockfish, leopard sharks, tiny Mola Molas and jellies of all kinds. Despite my reduced mobility in a thick 7mm wetsuit, I was in diver heaven!
Wanting to delve deeper into the diving paradise of California, I embarked on a solo journey from Los Angeles to Big Sur, hoping to connect with those who could guide me to its more secluded dive spots. At the time, recent devastating forest fires had left Big Sur scorched, dramatically reducing tourist presence. Big Sur, renowned for its dramatic natural scenery, spans a 90-mile stretch along California's rugged coast. Situated between the towering Santa Lucia Mountains and the vast Pacific Ocean, the area is known for its redwood forests, epic surf breaks and many top-notch scuba diving sites not seen by many.
Passing through some of the legendary places in California that you hear about in songs and movies, I worked my way through Santa Barbara, Ventura, and Pismo Beach. My journey took me to a place called Ragged Point—a tiny town that sits right at the southernmost border of Big Sur and is known for the elephant seal population that graces its shorelines in this little sanctuary area. Elephant seals are large marine mammals known for their deep diving abilities and distinctive proboscis-like noses on males. The presence of over 7,000 of them at the Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, just a short distance away, makes this area quite significant for those looking to spot these animals easily in the wild.
After the smell became a bit too much, it was time to check into Ragged Point Inn—a modest hideaway with zero connectivity. This would mark the beginning of my “off-grid” portion of this California adventure. Sitting down for a solo dinner, there was not a soul in sight and I had the place entirely to myself. No one was coming up north due to the fires and the number of closures as a result of them.
But despite the profound solitude of northern California during its fire season, I still managed to spark up some conversation with the wait staff, and naturally said conversation became about ocean adventures. These locals informed me of some “special treasures” I might be able to find out at sea, and these two captivating words managed to thoroughly pique my interest.
Apparently in California there’s an abundance of jade rock, a fact I was unaware of. It’s the beautiful green stones that are usually used for jewelry and often have deep significance to those who wear it. In California, particularly in the Big Sur area, there is an abundant supply of nephrite jade, which is a significant component of the region's unique geological makeup. Nephrite, primarily sourced from underwater deposits around Jade Cove, is renowned for its deep green color and is often used in jewelry. This type of jade is highly prized for its beauty and durability, making it a popular choice for artisans and collectors. Notably, Big Sur holds the distinction of having the world's only concentrated underwater deposit of quality nephrite jade, a fact that adds to the region's allure for rockhounds and divers alike.
Now obsessing over seeing this for myself, I took down the coordinates for a place called Jade Cove and used offline maps to find the location. The next day, your girl was off to explore but in this case my overzealousness might’ve led me to some misguided expectations. You see, with my general aura of optimism, I assumed finding these jade stones would be pretty easy. But this was a false assumption I’m afraid. There was work that needed to be put into this one. But I promised myself that if the Edges of Earth expedition actually pulled off, which at the time was just a faint dream, I’d be bringing the team back here to show them what I felt I had stumbled upon.
Now flashforward to February 2024, and the expedition is in full flight. We had just finished our chapter in Monterey getting deeper on kelp science in the area and I’m forcing Marla and Adam to majorly detour to Jade Cove with me to find my precious stones! Yet again, Big Sur wasn’t doing too hot and the roads were closed, so we had to take the long road into the Cove. But fortunately, the absolutely spectacular coastal road was again totally empty, and we had it all to ourselves. Pulling up to the spot, I let the team know they should dress for a muddy and wet occasion, as we were to hike to the cliffside and use ropes to drop down the cliff to the cove. Our search for jade would begin once our descent was complete.
Looking at me like I was nuts, I causally had forgotten to mention sooner that this trek would be a roundtrip - meaning we would also need to climb back up after our initial descent. Stoked to give it a go, Marla and I were off to find jade. And right as we were getting stuck into the climb down the massive cliffside, it started pouring rain. Rain and rope repelling don’t go hand in hand. Making it about halfway down the cliff, we were clinging to the rope as our hiking boots were visibly losing grip. Looking down the drop, we could see the water had an incredible green tinge to it. We wanted to get down there, BADLY. But it was one of those moments to heed Mother Nature’s warnings. We used all of our upper body strength to pull ourselves back up to the top, but managed to find little pieces of jade in the cliffside all the while.
Here’s the thing about the jade in this: The jade is quite abundant, so California does not restrict the collection of jade entirely. Regulations do exist to protect natural resources, including at sites like Jade Cove in Big Sur. Here, enthusiasts are allowed to collect loose jade pieces using hand tools, but there are limitations to ensure sustainability. Collectors at Jade Cove, for example, can only gather what they can physically carry, and collection is restricted to certain areas to minimize environmental impact.
Playing in the rain on the cliffside, we moved through the high shrub covered trail and covered our bodies and faces with mud. Tapping back into childlike ways, it was hard not to fall in love with California yet again. It was magical out there, and we had all that magic to ourselves. From one fellow American to the next: if you think you need to leave our home country to experience pure magic, you’ve got it all wrong. Some of the most special places I’ve had the chance to explore are right here, in our very own backyard. I always thought that in order to have an adventure of a lifetime, you needed to leave the country or travel to some far off epic location. But the more I do that, the more I come to realize how much we have to be thankful for right on our own home turf.
Although I still haven’t found the perfect prize piece of jade rock and I haven’t really fully explored this area to its full potential, I know for a fact I’ll be back. We made that promise once before and lived up to it. Now we just have to do it all over again.
To be continued …
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