The former Warrnambool environmental science student says she is living the dream, working as a tourism guide for shark-spotting expeditions on Western Australia’s Ningaloo Reef.

“It takes your breath away the first time you jump in the water,” Ms Aurisch said.

“You’re in deep blue water and you can’t see anything and then the whale shark comes looming at you with its mouth wide open filter feeding.

“It’s so graceful and peaceful. It looks like it has no worries in the world.”

Whale sharks are the largest known fish species, and it is safe to snorkel near them because they are filter feeders.

Ms Aurisch majored in marine and freshwater science at Warrnambool’s Deakin University campus, inspired by a poster of a whale shark she received from her mum on a family trip around Australia in a campervan.

“My mother bought a whale shark poster for me and 21 years later I still have it,” she said. “That started my love with marine biology and the environment in general, even though I was a mountain girl raised in Belgrave.”

Next year Ms Aurisch is planning to embark on a cycling marathon from Exmouth to raise money for whale shark research through Ecoocean, mental health organisation Beyond Blue, and Diabetes Australia.

The young woman, who has type one diabetes, will travel along the coastline during her trip and hopes to stop in at Warrnambool.