Swimming With Whale Sharks
Ningaloo Reef
Booking a Whale Shark Tour - You can take a Whale Shark Tour from either Exmouth or Coral Bay during the March to August season, when the Whale Sharks cruise by Ningaloo Reef. Make sure you book early to avoid disappointment, especially during peak periods like the April and July school holidays. I've not heard a bad thing about any of the tour operators as they are all closely monitored by DBCA and other operators, so picking one is just a case of deciding what extras you want or what's available at the time. If one operator is full, they are likely to get in touch with the others for you, as the demand is so high that they don't really need to compete with each other. We chose Ningaloo Blue because they had excellent reviews and it was a good price for the whole day. This is not a sponsored post and I didn't received anything from Ningaloo Blue that a paying customer would not.
The Experience - Swimming with the Whale Sharks is a bucket list item for most people and the protected waters off Ningaloo Reef is one of the best locations in the world to swim with these gentle giants. Having visited Exmouth and Ningaloo in August of 2021, this trip was specifically booked to come back to swim with the Whale Sharks, as our first tour with Ningaloo Blue was one of those rare days where no Whale Sharks swam by. Ningaloo Blue provided a voucher for a return visit within two years, so we planned our return in 2023 for June and hoped for the best.
Booking the tour for the day after we landed, this was some fortuitus planning as a large swell rolled through the following day and turned the whole reef into one big washing machine. With a beautiful day forecast, we were picked up bright and early in the Ningaloo Blue bus, ready to be driven out to the Tantabiddi Boat Ramp where all the tours depart. The guides for the day talked us through what to expect, the rules around swimming with whale sharks and everything of interest about these fascinating ocean wanderers. Unlike the annual whale migration, there is no set migration path for whale sharks and for a reason still unknown to scientists, it's mainly the young males that tend to visit Ningaloo during this time of year. The reason for visiting between March and August is the abundance of food driven by the annual coral spawning that happens around April. Arriving at the boat ramp, I spotted a man dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow in a tender and had a little chuckle. As it turns out, this was Ken, our deckhand for the day, and when it came time to board the raft, I couldn't help but let out a "you must be the worst pirate I've ever heard of", because I am hilarious like that.
Boarding the proper boat, it was exciting to be back and hopefully this time we would get to swim with a Whale Shark (spoiler alert but we did). As we boarded I noticed a yacht parked at an odd angle in the water and this had happened a few days ago when a couple had run aground on the reef at night and only just made it back to shore. After a brief safety rundown, the actual captain got the boat started and we ventured out to the first swim of the morning, an introductory snorkel in the inner reef while we waited for the spotter planes to report back. Stopping after a short drive, we headed into the water, and it was nice to be back snorkeling after a few months off. The reef here is a few metres deep and immediately there were some cool finds including many Blackaxil Pullers, a Longfin Bannerfish and a Bluespot Butterflyfish. After milling around for a while, someone spotted a Loggerhead Turtle and this was the first time I had seen one. We were in the water for 20-30 minutes before we were called in and heard the exciting news that the first whale shark had been sighted.
It was still really early and the spotter planes had only just started the search, so we rushed out to be the first tour group out there. We were split into two groups, with one group being dropped into the path of the Whale Shark, while the boat then leaves with the other group still on board. The first group then swims alongside the whale shark until the guides say stop, then they are picked up by the boat. While this is going on, the second group is deposited into the water for their go. Rinse and repeat this for a maximum of an hour per Whale Shark and you end up with a lot of swimming. Not knowing how many runs we would get, I was anxious about getting in the right position for photos or not getting good shots. After a couple of runs, it became clear that I had enough speed to be able to keep up with a Whale Shark that photos wouldn't be an issue. There are rules in place to protect the sharks, you have to stay 3m away from the sides, 4m away from the tail and are not allowed to swim in front of them. This is fairly easy to follow and allows for great photos, and the guides are really good at letting you know where to position yourself.
How was the experience of swimming with these giant fish? It blew me away and it didn't quite dawn on me how large they are until you watch them swim up close. While I was working hard to try and keep up, the three we ended up seeing over the course of the morning looked effortless with the way they glided through the water (see video at the bottom of this page). After a few runs with the first Whale Shark, I got the hang of where to position myself and also the art of hanging back to then switch over to the other side (with a lot of work to catch up again). Visibility was very good throughout the morning, although you could see the reason why the Whale Sharks were here, with lots of floaties in the water for them to feed on. At one point when I was on the boat getting ready for another run, there was a Whale Shark going in one direction and one coming from the other direction, which excited the guides a lot. In the end we swam with three different Whale Sharks and it was everything I had hoped for and so much more. I think I ended up doing well over a dozen runs in the water and although it was tiring, it's not everyday that you get conditions like this and so much time with a Whale Shark.
With that magical experience over, I was buzzing as it was announced we would be heading back into the inner reef for a well earned lunch. These plans changed as the captain mentioned that one of the guides had heard dolphin clicks in the water while we were with the Whale Sharks, so he put the call into the spotter planes to keep an eye out for them. Soon, the call came in that not only was there a pod of dolphins but chasing them down was a pack of Orcas. On our last tour that didn't end up with Whale Sharks, we were still lucky enough to see an Orca hunt, that time it was a young Humpback. Maybe we were the lucky charm for Orcas, in any case we were soon watching the Orcas pack hunt a group of Spinner Dolphins right before our eyes. It was quite the spectacle and although not ideal for the Spinner Dolphins, seeing Orcas hunt for the second time was pretty special. We even saw one of them do a Spy Hop, where they rise vertically out of the water to have a look around (it's also the name of the delicious ginger beer you can get at Whalebone Brewery in Exmouth). A couple of hours of swimming with Whale Sharks topped off with an Orca hunt, we definitely got our monies worth today.
Finally heading back into the sheltered inner reef for some lunch, I was starving at this point. There was a good spread laid out and we all tucked in, wondering what we were going to see next. The last part of the tour saw us head to another snorkeling spot that was a little shallower and better for the beginners. Along the way we saw a couple of Dugongs from a distance but I wasn't quick enough to get any photos. The last snorkel was the cherry on top of what had been an amazing day. Letting the current drift us over the reef, there were some really cool structures to explore, with a lot of different fish species to photograph. Although it had already been a long day, I didn't want to exit the water, so spent as much time as I could exploring the reef, spotting Bicolour Goatfish, Neon Damselfish, Striped Eel Catfish and a Pacific Trumpetfish among plenty more. Eventually though I did have to leave the water and that marked the end of an incredible experience. I may or may not have had a little snozzle on the bus ride home, dreaming of swimming with the Whale Sharks once again.
Final Thoughts - We are fortunate here in Western Australia to not only have such an amazing coral reef literally just off the beach but to have annual Whale Shark visits right on our doorstep is amazing.
If you're coming to Exmouth then doing a Whale Shark tour should be high, if not at the top of your list of activities to do while you're here.
While we went with Ningaloo Blue, all the operators have great reviews and the industry here is well regulated. Book a tour, have a fantastic time and be in awe of these wandering giants as they feed in the plentiful waters off Cape Range.
Get out there and experience it!
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