I took my Dramamine when I got up to make sure I was prepared for the boat ride. I knew it would be rougher than what I am used to out in the sea. We were picked up from our hotel and we knew immediately we were going to have a good time. The girls on the crew were so funny and gave us a lot of information ahead of time about the whalesharks.
We get out to the boat and there is a total of 20 snorkelers. Conservation measures allow ecotour groups like 3 Islands to have 10 people in the water at a time with the whaleshark, plus limitations on how close, so it doesn't feel harassed. It also only allows one boat to stay with the same whaleshark for one hour.
We head out to do a presnorkel at part of the Ningaloo reef. It was windy out so the water wasn't the clearest. But we did see some great fish along with puffer fish. Glenn finally got to see his clown fish (Nemo) that he has wanted to see. I started to feel queasy so I went back on the boat. I actually felt better on the boat than the water. I think because the waves were pretty decent swimming into them--I am too used to snorkeling in the Caribeann!
A spotter plane was in the air to watch out for the whalesharks. They swim near the surface to feel so the planes can spot them. The spotter found some so we head out to get in. It was a total rush to get in and quite a chaotic event! We got in and the whaleshark started to dive down. The two groups just kept looping around to swim with the whaleshark--one dropping in--the boat moving forward dropping in the second group as the whaleshark head toward them, the boat going back to pick up the second group. The second time we got in the whaleshark had changed direction. Megan, the photographer of the crew, was pointing us to where it went, so we started swimming that way. The water was rough and it was hard to swim to fast. We missed him that time.
Glenn and I in the water with our new group of friends:
When I got out again, I was feeling really sick, so I stayed out the rest of the time. Since I felt better on the boat I decided to get some sun and relax. I had taken a second Dramamine and the crew was feeding me crystalized ginger, which actually made me feel a lot better. The crew was amazing making sure I felt okay. Luckily I never got sick!
Whaleshark:
Me trying not to get sick on the way out to where the whalesharks were:
We took a leisurely trip back up the coast on the way back in the afternoon and had many humpback whales all around our boat. It was crazy how many were around us! At one point there was a group of four together along side our boat:
We got a show from quite a few of them. Glenn has video but with the connection so hit or miss, it would take me forever to upload. But here is a picture of what they were doing:
We were running late because we kept slowing down to watch the whales so the skipper finally had to just get us back as we watched the whales on either side play. It was well worth staying out there longer on the water to watch.
So far we are loving it here in Exmouth--so beautiful and relaxing!!
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