Wednesday morning was sunny with
no wind, it was perfect for our BIG day and we weren’t travelling alone. The Harvey’s had also booked in to do the
whale shark tour and so had Peter and Karen McLean. We packed our bags and gave Sami her Kwell
tablets for just in case. The beautifully
painted bus picked us up from the caravan park where we met “Shep” and Amy, two
of our very friendly guides for the day.
We got to the boat ramp where our other friends were waiting to board
the boat and they were all huddled by the water watching an octopus swaying
with the tides. It was at this time that
we learnt that the Harvey’s had a bad start to the day as they’d hit a kangaroo
on their drive this morning, swiping down the whole passenger side of their
Prado – bugger!!! The tender transferred
us all onto the big boat and we were immediately set up with our snorkelling
gear and then given a rundown of rules and instructions for the day by the
lovely and funny staff. They too were ready
for a fun day out and built the excitement for the rest of us. The first thing pointed out to us was quite a
few large pods of dolphins playing friskily in front of the boat. We all made our way to the front to witness
them and get a few happy snaps to start our day. We went back to the back of the boat and
donned our wetsuits and snorkelling gear.
Our first stop was not too far out nor too deep, to ensure that all our snorkel
gear fit well and ensured that we were comfortable out there in the water. We were lucky enough that all ten of us were
in the one group which meant the kids got to experience this adventure with
their new friends too. Amy was our guide
and she was fantastic in explaining to us the different fish that were below us
and interactive with the kids picking up a jellyfish to put their minds at ease
that these were not dangerous and there was nothing to fear. Amy duck-dived deep into the water to point
out fish and would then resurface and explain the fish, the kids were near
hanging off her and couldn’t get enough information absorbed into their little
brains. The following group of ten was
also now in the water with Gabbo (the dreadlocked Italian), their leader and
they too were snorkelling not far from us.
We then heard a call come from Dave, the captain of our boat. I saw him motion a snake like arm to Amy and
she very quickly gathered us all and told us to swim as fast as we could
towards the other group. At this stage I
wasn’t too sure what we were heading to see but I thought it must have been a
group of dolphins nearby. We swam as
quickly as we could towards Gabbo’s group who all had their heads down in the
water… Amy pulled us all up, telling us
to stop swimming and look down! We did
as she ordered and just as we did, a huge 15 metre + hump back whale with her
calf on her back swam less than a few metres in front of us, it felt so surreal
and at the same time just so fucking awesome(sorry just needed to emphasise). Sami was holding my hand and I could hear the
small murmur under the water to show her fear but I held tight reassuring her
that we were safe. She bravely hung
on. Zoe was out in front swimming with
great confidence and Josh was restraining himself and trying to stick to the
rules by not swimming after the whale to get a better view. We all surfaced with our heads above the
water, cheering, wowing and screaming with absolute delight – there was no
better feeling to experience something so graceful, and so monstrous especially
when it was so unexpected. We got back
to the boat and boarded, everyone giving Dave a high-five to thank him for
spotting this creature and pointing us in the right direction… every one of his
passengers got to see this spectacular creature. We tried to all calm down a little whilst we
had some cakes and coffee for morning tea and relived the whole experience with
each other. We were told that the
spotter plane was now in the air trying to find a whale shark for us to swim
with. The crew did point out that we
were well in the end of season so the possibility of finding one is quite small
but still we hoped one would appear. Amy
gave us all the rundown of the laws to swim with them, should they be
found. Apparently, only a maximum of 10
people can swim with them at a time so we would need to take turns. We saw Dave talking on the radio and then got
the news that they had found one. The
boat sped up to get nearer the point where the whale shark was currently swimming. We were told to get our gear on as we’d be
there in five minutes. Our group was
first to jump in, albeit for only 5 minutes for this first drop so the next
group would also be sure to see it. We
heard the call, “go, go, go” from Shep upstairs and next thing we were all in
the water and swimming in the same direction as our guide, being told “heads down”
while Amy was pointing at the whale shark.
It was amazing and extremely graceful.
This creature, that was about 6 metres in length, was vertically feeding
on plankton, something that Amy had not even seen before. Normally they swim horizontal but not this
one. Sami freaked again at the sight of
this fish but she calmed and we swam together holding hands the entire time
admiring its beauty and size. Zoe was
with Amy and the other girls having a ball and enjoying the excitement while Josh
was pushing the boundaries once again by trying to get a closer encounter. We heard the call from Amy “stop swimming!”
and she directed us all back to the boat.
We were out and the next group surged in. It was a bit of tick-tacking with the other
group but by about the third jump we had about 15-20 minutes in the water with
this majestic fish, and he wasn’t minding the attention. After our third swim we hopped out of the
water and were surprised to see Mandie stripping down to her swimmers, she was
about to conquer her fears as she grabbed a mask and fins and jumped in with
Amy for 5-10 minutes down into the water to view it from within instead of
remaining on board as a spectator. We
were all so proud of her for getting in there and giving it a go – especially
her hubby and kids!! A couple of us
jumped in for a fourth and final brief swim and this time I didn’t drag Sami in
with me but had a good look around at him and how graceful he moved. After hopping out, everyone on board was
buzzing with excitement once again and chatting about all the details of this
mighty large fish. Our guides set up for
lunch while the kids sat up the front of the boat warming up and Josh and I sat
upstairs spotting lots more whales in the distance. We heard that our spotter plane hadn’t
finished for the day just yet, they had spotted a group of manta rays not far
from where we were. Dave surged the boat
onwards so we could have one final new experience. There was no stopping the boat for this one
as the manta rays were on the move. We
were geared back into our cold wetsuits and ready this time to slide quietly
into the water (apparently manta rays don’t like noise and splashing). We were all going in together this time and
as we neared the rays people started to slide off the swim-board. Gabbo was first and he was followed by about
8 people, including Zoe (Sami sat this one out – she was done for the
day). We were given a signal for no-one
else to go in, therefore Zoe was in and we were back on the boat. The rays were moving really quickly and Gabbo
was only just keeping up with his massive fibreglass fins, while the others
behind him were struggling to keep up.
The boat moved off in the direction of the rays and we were holding
tight on the back of the boat being told to jump now instead of slide as they
were moving quickly, again we got the call “go, go, go!!”. Josh and I turned an oblivious eye to Zoe
swimming near the back of the other group and jumped off the back in our own
search of manta rays. They were directly
beneath us when as we stepped off. Four
large rays gracefully swam in a row below us and we did our best to follow
them, which we managed for a little while before they got away. We gathered in the water, waiting for the
boat to come and pick us up and fortunately within a few minutes we were back
on board – and so was the other group including Zoe (phew)! Dave chased again and we all did a mass
exodus off the boat in chase once more.
We all did our best to try and swim as quick as the rays but after about
10 minutes they were again too far ahead.
Gabbo on the other hand, with his massive fins, swum for about another
10-15 minutes and was on a mission, it was hilarious to watch him swimming at
speed on his own to keep up with them.
Dave picked him up when he had finally given up and we all decided that
we were pooped and needed a rest. The
guides therefore arranged our lunch which was fantastic - a couple of large
home-made salads and loads of different gourmet rolls, just what our bellies
were desiring after spending quite a bit of time in the water. There were also plenty of hot and cold drinks
to wash it down with. We had stopped
just on the edge of the reef enjoying our lunch and view whilst a few people
had more snorkelling time, and another couple jumped in for a short scuba-dive. The day was topped off with a few happy snaps
and champagne to celebrate our achievements as we headed back to the boat ramp
and back to land. Back on the bus, it
was only a short trip back to our caravan where we just wanted to ring our
family and boast about our day – but that wasn’t to be as we have no reception
where we are staying, that will have to wait for another day. Not long later, the Harvey’s turned up to
reminisce about our day over a few drinks.
Mandie brought along a bottle of champagne that we finished before
turning to bourbon for a drink – a lovely family with which to share wonderful memories. They left for their own van at around sunset
and we headed for a hot shower before our own dinner.
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