If swimming with the biggest fish in the sea is on your bucket list, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia is the place to be. This is the ONLY place in Australia you can tick off this experience and wow, what a place to do so.
I ventured West to tick this off the bucket list last year and honestly, it’s one of the best things I’ve done.
To get there, I take a flight from Sydney to Perth, and then another two hour flight to Learmonth airport. From there, I jump in a 4WD and hit the dusty WA roads. A few quick tips: you will 100% need to hire a car to do this trip. Public transport is slim to none, verging on the nonexistent side. Oh and drive slowly as the kangaroos are out in force! As a Sydney girl born and bred, the drive into Exmouth is eye-opening to say the least. The land is flat, barren and orange, contrasting beautifully with the blue sky. It’s hot, dry and remote but there’s beauty in the ruggedness.
Novotel Ningaloo Resort is my adopted home – an oasis in the small town of Exmouth and your best bet when it comes to accommodation in the region. The rooms are large, bright and airy with the majority overlooking the pool in the centre of the resort. The staff are accommodating and more than happy to tee you up with the best local tours around to ensure you make the most of your time in Exmouth.
Taking their advice, the next day, I venture off the coast to swim with the whale sharks and to soak up the azure blue ocean for which Australia’s Coral Coast is renowned for. This is why tourists flock to Exmouth in their droves. Sitting on the top deck of the boat, gazing out across the water, salt air in my face, I can’t help but think right now is the very definition of bliss.
Before I know it, my day-dreaming comes to a halt. Perched on the edge of the boat, snorkel on, my heart pounds at the thought of whale sharks swimming below my dangling flippers.
Our instructor receives the signal from the ‘Whale shark spotter’ flying in a helicopter above. “Go! Go! Go!” Adrenalin kicks in and our group of eight flops into the ocean. Before we have time to adjust our snorkels, we’re frantically wrangled into two straight lines. We all know the drill. The instructor bobs in the middle of the two lines of excited snorkelers. Once the whale shark has been spotted and is swimming directly at her, she moves aside at the last minute to let the gentle giant swim right between the two lines. Once it swims past, we’ll hear: “Swim! Swim! Swim!”
It all went like clockwork. As expected, suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, a shadow appears. Without a care in the world, the whale shark glides silently past. Our mouths hang open at the marvel in front of us until we’re jerked into action with the word “SWIM!” We’re off, swimming alongside this beautiful fish. It’s a mind blowing experience.
I’m no Olympic swimmer but have to say, I quickly find myself beating the whale shark in this race to nowhere. That by the way is no indication of my speed, but rather the leisurely pace at which the whale shark moves through the water. I stay extremely careful not to swim in front of eye line – something the instructors are very strict on. Get too close and you’ll quickly feel yourself dragged out of the way. Not because we are at any risk of becoming modern day Jonah’s, but rather because the whale sharks are so shy that any sign of danger will send them back down to the depths.
Whale sharks breathe similarly to how they eat, filtering the oxygen in the sea water through their gills. As a result, they don’t have to come to the surface to breathe which isn’t great news for keen snorkelers like me. They surface to feed, but if they feel at all threatened, they’ll take a dive for the depths and a good dive at that – up to 700m!
As a result, we keep a healthy distance – two metres from their side, always behind eye line, and three metres from the tail – to make sure we get to spend as much time with the whale shark as possible. Weighing up to 15,000 kg, growing up to 18m in length and with a mouth over a metre wide, I was more than happy to follow that request.
After eight or more incredible whale shark encounters, we made our way back to shore. With a cocktail in hand back at the Novotel Ningaloo Resort, we can’t stop talking about the extraordinary experience we had just encountered. To top it all off, the sun began to set in true WA fashion, setting the sky on fire with a melody of vibrant colours.
If you tick anything off your bucket list in 2014, head to WA to experience extraordinary. The whale sharks won’t disappoint.
