Swimming with the Gentle Giants

I am a little embarrassed to admit that I have not seen as much of Australia as I have of the rest of the world, it is such a wondrous country, but we all tend to grab the special overseas deals and forget what we have right here!

I was lucky enough to be invited on a trip with some travel industry colleagues to Exmouth in Western Australia, to fulfill a lifelong dream to swim with the Whale sharks. I have done a lot of travelling over the last 15 years and I can hands down say, this was one of the most magical experiences that I have ever had!

The adventure began the moment we boarded a TINY plane in Perth and bumped and bounced our way to Exmouth via Monkey Mia, I am not what you would call a confident flyer at the best of times (stupid really considering how many flights I have been on!!), but my concerns were not allayed when the hostesses stopped service, sat down and put seatbelts on! The winds were up and we were thrown around like a tin can in a storm, more people than not lost their stomachs and I vaguely recall cheering when we finally came in to land.

Our tiny plane landing at Monkey Mia

Novotel Exmouth

We checked in to the Novotel Exmouth and spent the afternoon stilling our nerves with cocktails by the pool..

Our day tour the next day, included a visit to Sal Salis, an exclusive safari camp located in the Cape Range National Park. Their philosophy is 'Wild Bush Luxury' with a minimal impact on the surrounding environment, wildlife is in abundance and with Ningaloo Reef only steps away, it is a truly beautiful spot. We were less than a metre from shore and yet I had one of the most breathtaking snorkelling experiences ever, we had to be dragged out of the water for lunch!
Although the impact on their environment is minimal, you do not go without, the lunch spread was a feast- made even more impressive when we saw the tiny kitchen that runs entirely on solar power, the tents are appointed with the finest Egyptian cotton sheets, a pillow menu and a view to die for. Sal Salis is truly an experience like no other!

Emu wandering down the street

 

Luxury Tents at Sal Salis



Luxury Tents at Sal Salis

Snorkelling on the beach at Sal Salis

lunch at Sal Salis

Our next day of adventure was the reason we all came on the trip and there was a buzz of nervous excitement as we all jumped on board a little zodiac and were transported out to the main boat bobbing away on the reef. Those of us
without cast iron stomachs munched on our ginger lollies and prayed for flat seas. We were all kitted out with wetsuits, masks and flippers and sent out for a little snorkel on the reef to make sure everything fit and worked as it should, in the
meantime, the spotter plane had taken off and was on the hunt for the infamous and beautiful giants, the Whale Sharks.

All kitted out for our swim with the Sharks

Snorkelling Ningaloo Reef

Whale sharks are the the largest living fish species, they are the gentle giants of the sea, surviving primarily on plankton. The largest confirmed individual was 12.65 metres in length and the heaviest weighed more than 36 tonnes, though it is believed there are larger out there! They can live up to around 70 years old.

It wasn't long  before the engines began to roar and the boat came to life- the plane had spotted our first shark of the day!
The crew told us to prepare so we all ran around pulling on wetsuits, checking masks and flippers and chattering excitedly, I had butterflies that I wouldn't lose the entire day.

The first group of 6 lined up at the back of the boat and we watched the horizon, it was like time stood still when we first got a glimpse of the shark, there was silence as everyone looked on in awe, but before we had time for exclamations, we were in the water and swimming like mad, the water was like a whirlpool as everyone tried to move out of each others way, take pictures, swim and stay a distance away while not getting left behind, 30 seconds of pure madness!
After less than 5 minutes, it was over, they swim so incredibly fast that we were all left in the wake, exhausted but amazed.

Swimming with the Whale Shark

We repeated this process many more times as the day continued, the cameras were left on the boat and we purely swam and enjoyed the experience, something so truly magical, I needed to keep pinching myself to believe I was there.

My highlight would have to have been the time I jumped in the water and somehow got separated from the group, I found myself right in the path of the shark and panicked, not knowing which direction to move in,  our wonderful guide told me to put my head under the water and to my amazement, the shark was less than a metre from my face, it then veered to the right and continued on its way.. I couldn't even swim after that, I will never again be so lucky in my life!

Grinning from ear to ear!

A pod of dolphins escorted us home in the wake of the setting sun, a moving ending to a perfect day.