Company culture means many things to an agency. At Indago, we have always championed this code through regular team and group activities in the office and around town. So when we heard about Indago’s upcoming fourth birthday bash, we knew we could expect to be in for a treat—our only clue: getting up close with nature and fixing our food.
How exciting to find out our Friday would be spent enjoying a fantastic combo of whale watching and pizza making! Here’s my account of the highlights of the day…
That Friday feeling
Automated email responses switched on, and weekly tasks wrapped up, our team prepared for an early finish and headed down to a -pre-activity meal at the Sydney Fish Markets. We all had varying experiences with traditional Chinese yum cha, but the chicken feet were not a crowd favourite. I have been told stories of recruits at Indago being welcomed or ‘Christened’ with a plate of chicken feet – thank God it wasn’t the case on Friday!
Moving onto Darling Harbour, the Indago crew gathered around for a safety briefing with our captain, Jesus. As the trusty navigator of our jet boat, Jesus gave a quick run-down of what to do and what not to do when aboard our nippy vessel. Full speed ahead out of the harbour and past the heads to try and spot some whales migrating North!
Our excitement jumped up a few notches when we heard over the CB radio from a fellow jet boat driver that the whales were putting on “a display of the season”. But we had our frolics before we made it out into deep waters. As the waves grew fiercer, our crew got wetter. By the time we spotted our first whale, almost everybody on board was drenched head to foot.
I’m still unsure whether it was the boat ride, splashing water in our faces and getting wet by only trying to get to the destination, but we kept smiling all the way.
Indago peeps were determined to film the whales despite the fact we kept being covered by the waves of water and laughing hysterically at each other in between the sightings of pods and humpbacks.
The rules of the ocean
All in all, we’ve learned a lot during this company day out, and here are a few that stuck in mind.
- Firstly, don’t underestimate the fun that whale watching can be when going with a great bunch of people.
- We learned many interesting facts about the whales, like the best time to watch whales in Sydney is in September-October.
- Wear warm and waterproof clothing if you are going to go on a jet boat or take a change of clothes with you. Even if the day seems warm, it will be cold in the deep water.
- Don’t forget to use the bathroom before going out to sea (because we all know how difficult it can get if you are surrounded by the splashing water).
- Boats can’t go faster than 1m/h while in Sydney Harbour.
- Lastly, make sure you consider and prepare for the possibility of seasickness and take medication before jetting off. If this plan fails, reach for the bucket.
Curing the cold: Pizza
After drying off on land, we ventured to the second activity of the day. We entered an Italian Pizza house to be greeted by our pizza-making maestro, Salvatore. The team took a seat and as instructed by our charismatic chef, rolled up our sleeves and sized up our Indago-branded aprons. Our trainer, Chef Salvatore, was a real professional who knew something about spinning a pizza base in style.
And no, unfortunately, we didn’t get to do this; we only learned how to make the dough. It was our first-ever pizza-making class, after all!
Even though none of our pizza bases were made into a meal this afternoon, we took them as gifts to cook at home. Then came dinner… that’s right – pizza! We had a true Italian treat – the best pizzas around with wine on tap. Even though we were given clear instructions on how to make pizza dough at home, it wasn’t as easy as we thought. Well, at least I struggled a lot with trying to make a decent size base and had to cheat by using a rolling pin as the dough became very temperamental – but practice makes perfect!
Indago ended the day by retreating to a swanky wine bar in Circular Quay, and I for one had a great time at The James Squires Landing. It was a great opportunity to sit back and reflect on the events of the day and laugh at those moments that made our day out one to remember.
So, happy birthday Indago and I can’t wait til the next adventure!
Written by
Gary Nissim
