Day Three – Whale Sharks!!!!
We were picked up at the front of the park by Ningaloo Blue at 7:20am and
transported to the boat, about 40mins drive, moored at Tantabiddi Boat Ramp.
There were 20 people on our tour, so they made several trips in the tender, and
we were off – motoring across the beautiful blue waters of the Ningaloo Reef.
It was a bit rocky getting across the swell of the reef, but once we were
across we motored out in search of the whale sharks – fingers crossed!!!
First stop on the tour was to the
designated snorkelling spot. After being provided with wet suits, masks,
snorkels and fins, it was into the water to test our ability to snorkel and
swim (in deep ocean water) successfully. All on board passed the test – and so
we were off.
There are 12 companies in Exmouth
running tours and they have 5 spotter planes between them. The protocol is
whoever’s plane spots the whale shark has first dibs to swim with it. After
about 45 mins travelling along the reef, we got the call from the spotter plane
and we were on! Sippy and I had been placed in Group 1, so it was quickly to the back
of the boat with masks, snorkels and fins and we took the plunge. No time to
worry about other sharks – we were too excited to see a majestic whale shark.
AMAZING!!! We were SO close, we felt like we could touch it! The shark was huge, being well over 5 metres and beautiful, with its unique white spots. The water was so clear and we both got an amazing view and swam alongside the massive creature for several minutes. We were very lucky that it was travelling quite slowly, so we got a great view and could easily keep up with it. Incredible!
Back on the boat we were all
buzzing and thrilled that we had seen one. After another 30mins we got the call
again and we were in swimming with another beautiful 5m whale shark – this one
a bit wider and with a very big open, gapped mouth in view!! We were blessed to
have a third swim, with the same shark, and then it was time to get dried (we
were rather cold by this point). We were so excited about what we had just
experienced – a once in a life time fabulous adventure!
We were then treated to a lovely
lunch and a tour back through the crystal blue waters. While sipping champagne
and enjoying a delicious fruit platter, we spotted countless whales, doing
breaches (so close to the boat!), a pod of dolphins and a couple of squid.
We again caught up with Mish and Dave to share stories (they were on a different tour), celebrating at the brewery with a delicious lamb shank. A fantastic day indeed!
Day Four we drove back around to
the Ningaloo Reef to spend the day snorkelling in the pristine water. On the way we visited the Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, which runs on
kerosene but is now decommissioned due to the VLF Antennas installed on the
point.
The best thing about Ningaloo Reef,
as opposed to the Great Barrier Reef, is that you can simply walk in off the
beach, swim several meters out into the water and be experiencing another world! Both
the fish and the coral were incredible! We had bought snorkels with us but
ended up purchasing fins and wet suit jackets at the visitors centre – which
was well worth it. We snorkelled at Lakeside and Turquoise Bay (recently voted
the 6th best beach in the world) and then drove down to have a look
at Sandy Bay where we enjoyed a late picnic lunch. The snorkelling was so
incredible – it was like being in the Nemo movie – SO many beautiful
fish. Our favourite were the big rainbow coloured Parrot Fish, the brilliant
blue little fish swimming in large numbers and the bright yellow and blue angelfish. We also saw numerous
blue-green chromis (iridescent pale green) fish, beaked leather jackets with
their yellow spots and convict surgeonfish with their vertical black stripes –
all amazing!
Day Five and we headed back to
Lakeside to set up the Cool Cabana, where we spent the entire day snorkelling – we were hooked!
As we headed back to our campsite
we turned off to see the SS Mildura Ship wreck, clearly visible at around 50m
off the shore. We were very blessed to have spent five days here.
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