Swimming with the Whale Sharks!

I've been looking forward to the Easter long weekend since the beginning of the term. I had long ago decided that if the opportunity presented itself to swim with whale sharks, I would grab it as I had passed it up last time I was in Western Australia due to a lack of funds. Whale shark season is from mid-March to July, so we would be at the early end of things, and I was a little worried that we wouldn't see any, but I didn't know if I could get to Ningaloo Reef at any other time this year. I contacted Katherine Macnaughton, a Scottish teacher on exchange in Perth, and we made plans to meet up. She would fly up to Karratha and we would drive the 580km together in my Astra. We left Karratha before 9am on Friday, March 29, and arrived in Coral Bay mid-afternoon. The drive through the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of WA is not the most exciting, but we had excellent conversation and the time passed fairly quickly.

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After eating a quick lunch, we headed to the beach to stretch out and relax under the hot sun. We stayed until the sun set, which was quite spectacular. Check out this image I caught:

The next day was the start of our whale shark adventure. After checking in with Ningaloo Reef Dive, conveniently located beside our hostel, and getting outfitted in wetsuits and fins, we boarded the bus for the short trip to the jetty. Once on the boat, we were off to search for whale sharks! The crew gave us a lesson about these giant fish of the ocean. They are indeed fish, not mammals, which makes them more like sharks than like whales. They do not come up to the surface to breathe, they have gills like all other  fish, which makes it even more amazing that we get to swim with them at all. It is thought they come up to feed on on the plankton found in the warmer water near the surface. Check out Ningaloo Reef Dive's website for more information: http://www.ningalooreefdive.com/whaleshark.html

We divided into two groups so that no more than ten swimmers would be in the water at one time. Our group was the second to go in. The first whale shark we saw I swam right over! It was a small one, only (!) 5 metres, but it was amazing! We got to swim with it for a few minutes and then it was back on the boat, so the other group could get back in. We got in a second time as well and this time I got to swim alongside it. We got out yet again and went off looking for another one with the help of a spotter plane. In the end, we got to swim with three different whale sharks, which ranged in length from 5 metres to 9 metres. One was very curious and went up to the bow of the boat while we were in the water with it. Group 1 got great pictures from the boat and hopefully one of our fellow swimmers will be emailing those to us shortly. They are beautiful, peaceful creatures and it was truly phenomenal to swim with them. Check out this short video created by Migration Media, who also filmed our adventure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VFKdkVXd6RE

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After that awesome experience, we spent the rest of the afternoon on the beach! What a day!

Sunday we drove to Exmouth, which is 150km north of Coral Bay. We had a bit of a lazy start and didn't get to Turquoise Bay until after lunch, where we snorkelled and saw loads of amazing fish. The last time I snorkelled there (four years ago) I saw sea turtles, which was really exciting, but no luck this time around. We also went on a hike in Mandu Mandu Gorge, which was lovely.

Our last stop was the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse for sunset. The sky turned a beautiful pinky purple colour moments after we left, so no great photos to show, unfortunately. We did see some emus before heading out, but from a distance, so no photos of them either!

Monday was our last day of holidays and we spent it at the beach. After another lazy breakfast, we headed to the beach to snorkel among the coral that is only a few metres off the shore. Heaps of beautiful fish, especially these electric blue and green ones I just loved. Also lots of small black and white striped fish. Made me want to take a course and learn all these fish names. In the afternoon we hired a stand-up paddle board and had a go. It was easier than I had imagined, although hard going against the wind (and it was quite windy). Lots of fun though and I'd love to have the opportunity to do it again. After another snorkel and a quick walk down to Paradise Beach, we headed back to the hostel to shower and change for our last dinner together. 

An early morning saw us heading up to Exmouth before 7:30am so I could get escorted back to Karratha by two of my colleagues. I was a little wary of driving that distance by myself with no mobile reception as Katherine had opted to fly back to Perth from Learmonth instead. Having four days to chat with another exchange teacher about my experience was fantastic and I'm so glad I contacted her last month. It was reassuring to hear from another exchangee and it was great to swap stories with someone who understands where you're coming from. Hopefully we'll meet up again before the year is over. Kalbarri for the June long weekend, perhaps?