Whale Sharks

What a spectacular day out on the Ningaloo Reef! After meeting at Tantabiddi boat ramp and the all important briefings, we set sail towards a morning snorkel site. We stopped in at Sahara's where we saw lots of reef fish, anemone fish and big coral bommies! We then met up with our pilot Duncan to start looking for whale sharks.It didn't take too long to find some so we geared up for a swim. There was quite a few around and we saw a good range of sizes from 4 to 8m today. We swam with 5 different sharks for about an hour today which is amazing!
The whale shark is one of the ocean’s most breathtaking creatures — a true gentle giant. Its massive body is beautifully marked with a constellation of painted dots and pale lines, like an artwork in motion. In fact a group of them is called a constellation! Despite their size, whale sharks move with effortless grace, gliding through the water as if it takes no energy at all, while we fin frantically to keep up.
They have tiny eyes which sit on either side of a wide, flat head, giving them a curious, almost shy expression. Apparently their enormous mouths — are capable of filtering thousands of litres of water — as they open gently to feed on plankton and tiny fish, never posing a threat to anything larger ( thankfully us).
Swimming alongside one is humbling. Peaceful, slow-moving, and serene, these stunning creatures command awe not with their power, but with their quiet calm beauty. These creatures really are gentle giants. It felt incredibly special to swim alongside them.
We then had lunch and some went for an afternoon snorkel at clarkies sharkies where they saw some stingrays and a reef shark. We finished up with some drinks and afternoon tea on the way home with some dugong spotting. The company was called Ocean Eco Adventures and ran like a well oiled machine. Very professional. More photos to come.Baca lagi