This week Nicola and Di chat with the dynamic and inspiring Judie Johnson. Judie became known globally, when incredible footage of her swimming with orcas was captured in 2018 and went viral. The video went to USA Today, Fox News, Canadian news - in fact, it went all over the world. The YouTube footage of that remarkable moment has had over 30 million views - it’s simply extraordinary!

Judie shares the incredible story of what happened that day, 5 years ago, on her local beach in Hahei, New Zealand when she went to meet her swim group and nobody else showed up. Judie decided to jump in the water anyway, and not long into her swim she noticed what she thought were dolphins approaching her, but turned out to be a pod of killer whales. You’ll have to listen in to hear what went through Judie’s mind and what she decided to do next - you won’t believe it! 

As luck would have it, an Aussie tourist who was on the beach at the time, happened to have a drone with him and quickly pulled it out to film the entire encounter. If you haven’t already seen it, you can watch the incredible footage here. 

We hear about Judie’s zest for life, how active she still is as a woman in her 70s, and how much she loves swimming - she describes it as a place where she can leave all her worries behind. 

For anyone that is feeling a little low, or lacking motivation, this episode is an uplifting feel-good story of the power of reconnecting with nature and the benefits of stepping outside of your comfort zone. Judie is full of life and we hope you feel as inspired by her as we did. 

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

Watch Judie Swimming with Orcas here

Watch the story that featured on New Zealand’s Channel 1 News here

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