John Hopkins

She based her operation in the Cook Islands after hearing reports of a local population of humpbacks that no scientists were monitoring.

She moved to the South Pacific with her three young children in tow and started building a life there.

Twenty years on, Nan has become a fixture of the community.

During whale season, she can regularly be seen out beyond the harbour with her team of research assistants, diligently tracking and documenting.

She's even earned herself an affectionate local nickname, the Whale Witch.

Today, Nan is meeting up with a documentary crew from the Netherlands who are hoping to capture some footage of humpbacks in the wild.

This is all in a day's work for Nan.

The CCRC is non-profit, so the research depends on the donations of benefactors.

Appearing in nature documentaries is one way to raise awareness for the cause.

At the end of the jetty, the director and his crew are loading up a boat with camera gear.

Nan links up with them and moments later, she guides their boat out beyond the reef.

They spend a productive afternoon following a pod of humpbacks and manage to capture some decent footage.

Mission accomplished.

But towards the end of the day, just when they're getting ready to return to land, the director makes a request.

Nan takes a deep breath through her snorkel and drops below the surface.

She takes a moment to orient herself, letting her vision adjust to the watery gloom beyond her mask.

She scours the depths for the whales, her eyes roving back and forth across the hazy emptiness.

And then suddenly, there they are.

It's a sight that never gets old.

Two humpbacks materialize from the ocean's blue fathoms like figures in a dream.