Southern Leyte - Quest For Whalesharks

Leaving Siquijor behind, I was heading off-the-beaten path to Southern Leyte with one main purpose - to see the giant whale sharks.

Why Southern Leyte? Simple, because here, the whale shark tours are done ethically, i.e. there is no feeding the whale sharks, no baiting, no interfering in their lives, no changing their natural behaviour, but instead seeing them in their natural habitat, their home.

So after spending a layover night in Cebu, I took a ferry to Southern Leyte and a TukTuk to Padre Burgos specifically. Since my whale shark tour wasn't until the following morning, I rented a scooter and explored the surroundings such as a lovely viewpoint, a cute little waterfall and a not-so-nice beach, before watching the sunset at an absolutely gorgeous beach.

Since this region is hardly on any travellers itinerary, I had all these places either all to myself or with mostly locals. It was a perfect first full day in Southern Leyte.

The following morning it was time for the whale shark tour. I did not know what to expect, but was simply hoping that we would see some. The boat ride to the place where they normally are this time around took us around 2h and we picked up our 'spotters' (i.e. local fishermen) that would help us find the whale sharks, geared up in our wetsuits and then waited.

It took all of 10 minutes before we got the signal to jump in the water as there was a whaleshark making its way nearby. I will never forget the first time I saw it: It was enormous, elegant, beautiful, and so majestic the way it glided through the water. Just wow. It was pure bliss. I cannot put it into words, except to say that I was genuinely blown away. I knew they were gorgeous, but not like that. I immediately thought: A gentle giant! (They are completely harmless, by the way).

Over the course of the next 2.5h hours, we saw six more whale sharks and each time I saw one, I couldn't believe my eyes. What amazing creatures live in our oceans? Everyone on the boat was blown away by them. It was worth every penny and every minute to get to this more remote place in the Philippines.

On the way back, we shared footage and remained in absolute awe. After being back onshore, a few travellers and I shared a celebratory drink or two to relive such an amazing experience.

Since I previously booked two whale shark tours (to maximise my chances to see them), the next morning, I was again on the boat, in my wetsuit, equipped with my snorkel and camera and even though we had to wait a bit longer to spot them this time, we had plenty of opportunity to swim/snorkel with them once again. The feeling you see a whale shark swimming next to or right underneath you while you just stare at them in amazement truly is priceless. That day, we saw 5 or 6 whalesharks and I freedived a little bit towards them to get that little bit closer.

Thinking back at the experience, it was mesmerising. I will always remember when I saw the whale shark for the first time in the water and how my mind just could not comprehend the size and beauty. While it was busy at times with other people in the water (i think 14-20), I always felt as if the whale sharks just did not care (or maybe were curious sometimes), but just went on with their swim as if we were not there. This is exactly how it should be. Not disturbing them, but leaving them alone and simply admiring their elegance.

Yeah, whale sharks. My heart is full having seen them like this. Something that will probably forever stay in my mind - this is how incredible I felt the experience was. Just wow!

With that, I was saying goodbye to the whale sharks and Southern Leyte, as I was heading to Malapascua - to see a different type of shark ;-)Read more