Coral Bay....day 4

If you're ever up this way and you haven't experienced the 'swim with a whaleshark' phenomena, then you should put it on your bucket list.

After we checked in at the dive shop this morning and got our gear, it was off to the marina and aboard Encounter II...great boat, great crew.

Had a snorkel inside the reef as a dress rehersal for the main event....then out the south passage for a cruise up and down the ocean while the spotter plane did its thing.

Just as the morning seemed to be dragging on, word came thru from the plane that a whaleshark was 'inside the reef'...this is quite unusual for the whalesharks to be inside the reef, but it gave us an excellent chance of seeing it close up without it diving too deep.

There were 3 boats sharing this 1 whaleshark and we all got 5 drops on it.....a truly memorable experience....words can't describe it, really.

The biggest shock I got was on our first drop and while we're following the guide, she shouts at me to get out of its way....I look down and it swam directly under me. This was only a 5m whaleshark but it was BIG....big and beautiful.

These are magnificent creatures and if you get a chance to swim with them, you gotta do it.

After we had lunch on boat, we had a quick snorkel around some bombies and came across a couple of turtles doing what turtles do.

Back at the marina by 3pm and kicking back now watching the video footage I took....I'll put something together later and post the link for you to check out.

Add this one to your bucket list, guys.

regards
rusty...

Sorry about the quality of a couple of the pics, they're snapshots from the videos.

 

 

____________________________________________________________________________

If life is boring, you must be doing it wrong!

Image Upload: 

Posts: 5806

Date Joined: 18/01/12

great pics Rusty!

Tue, 2012-04-10 18:55

great pics Rusty!

In 2008 I took 2 of my kids (5&8) for a whaleshark swim, was the best one of about 5 that Ive done. Was about 5 miles out and a bit choppy but the WS kept coming back again and again.

Kids handled it excellent unlike the bloody german who couldnt get out of the water quick enough, over top of me and the kids in the water.

____________________________________________________________________________

 Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...

 

 

The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.

Everyone's just winging it.

 

Clarissa.Baker's picture

Posts: 5

Date Joined: 29/02/12

 Amazing pics. This has been

Tue, 2012-04-10 19:55

 Amazing pics. This has been on my bucket list for a long time. Went to Exmouth in 2006, and was unlucky with 2 trips on the boat and no whalesharks. Most recent trip (fishing specific this time) we came super close to one inside the gulf but it was an overcast day and grey water so difficult to see from our boat. Would have loved to jump overboard but had seen too many sharks chasing our fish when getting them to the boat!!

Posts: 61

Date Joined: 07/04/10

 Just got back from exmouth

Tue, 2012-04-10 21:08

 Just got back from exmouth didn't do it this time but we were discussing the topic of what happens if u go out and they don't find a WS is it just unlucky or do they refund so wondering if anyone knows the answer? We just said its tough luck like going out on a fishing charter and not catching a fish.

Faulkner Family's picture

Posts: 18032

Date Joined: 11/03/08

 sounds like you had a ball

Tue, 2012-04-10 22:45

 sounds like you had a ball out there. we have just been looking into it ourself. def on our bucket list as well as the mantas. 

one thing you could do is to clear up the pics by going into picasa (free download) its just a basic system but can do wonders for pics that arent quite clear enough

____________________________________________________________________________

RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together

r.gates's picture

Posts: 573

Date Joined: 15/11/10

Whalesharks

Wed, 2012-04-11 19:30

I didn't ask about what happens if we don't find a whaleshark during our tour....mind you, the question did come into my head as we were cruising up and down the reef. However, once it was sighted, it didn't matter anymore.

I think you get another chance to go out again as I'm sure they want you to see one.

Hey Russ, thanks for the info about cleaning up the photos, I'll give it a go.

regards
rusty...

____________________________________________________________________________

If life is boring, you must be doing it wrong!