Whoop-whoops, marlin boards and noodles

Gobsmacked! This is the best way I can describe the feeling of swimming with Whalesharks :-) Humbled, insignificant, thrilled, amazed would all be adequate...but gobsmacking is about where it's at.

So, I slept pretty well in my cramped little tent, although a growing breeze made this more difficult as the night went on and body-clock issues didn't help. So at 5 am, I decided to make better use of my time and went for a shower, shave and haircut (not a barber in sight - just my trusty battery-powered clippers, as given to me for Chrimbo by Ma & Pa). I always have issues with my mask sealing on my top lip if I've not had a shave, so I wanted to be well prepared for a day in and out of the water.

At 6.30, I went down to the IGA (Aussie version of the Co-op or Spar) and bought a few bits and pieces, including a chicken noodle pot, deciding to go Vietnamese for brekkie - quick, easy and only a fork needing washing up :-)

The bus came for me at 7.20 and I joined a crowd of about 20, led by the exuberant Tara and driven by her comedy sidekick Luke. We drove to the Tantabiddi boat ramp on the opposite side of the peninsula, going via a few other caravan resorts and hotels on the way, with Tara giving us an entertaining local tour along the way. One hotel was in a converted American Naval Base, which had been set up in the 60's to administer the enormous nearby transmitter field, which consisted of six towers (the tallest almost 400m high!) and which was responsible for transmitting VLF (very low frequency) messages to the US and Aussie submarines. The base had the traditional commissary, bar & grill and, of course, a bowling alley - all mothballed and abandoned during a rapid exit in the early 90's. A hotel came in and prettied up the officers' mess for holiday accommodation but everything else has been left pretty much as is, just in case the Yanks ever decide they need to come back. Who knows - if North Korea continue to act up, they may be back sooner than expected!

At the boat ramp, we were taken out to our purpose-built boat, the Draw Card, on a glass-bottomed tender. On board we met skipper, Noss; Christian, driving our inflatable rib, Nigel(!); and the whale shark 'interaction team' of El and Honey. Tara would also be helping us 'meet' the sharks and Luke was to be camera man for the day. They were quick to set our minds at ease, regarding the weather, explaining that we would need to be careful getting in and out of the boat with the big swells in the open ocean, but that the winds and currents would have stirred up plenty of food (plankton) for the sharks and that this would make them really easy to find and to swim with.

We chugged out to the reef, still inside the lagoon and went for a quick snorkel. There was the most enormous cod sitting right under the boat anchorage. It must have been about 5 feet long and looked pretty mean (big bottom lip like a giant grouper)...but just sat there chilling and was still there when we came back half an hour later.

Cod! Would you look at the size of that...

Next spot was a huge stingray, wafting its way into the blue with its barbed-weapon tail, trailing menacingly behind it. The water was teeming with trevalleys, jack, parrot-fish, banner-heads, and an amazing variety of brightly-coloured tropical fish of every size and hue - it was an auspicious start to the day and there was plenty of excited conversation on-board as we returned to the boat for out journey out to the ocean.

Ooooh, Stingray! Da-na-nah-na-nah!

Within minutes of reboarding, we were informed that the spotter plane had already found us a whale-shark and we sped to our first rendezvous as fast as the chop and swell would allow us. As we passed through the South Passage to get through the reef and out into the Indian Ocean, the strong current and stiff breeze provided us with some 'entertaining' manoeuvres...several people were already starting to look a little green around the gills ;-). We were positioned around the marlin board (the wooden board at the back of diving boats that you climb onto before getting back into the boat proper), fins and masks on, ready to go. Noss skilfully manoeuvred us into position in direct line with the shark and the first group went in, guided by Tara so that they were placed either side of the fish, astern of his dorsal fin and well clear of his enormous tail. One or two of the girls took noodles (styrofoam tubes like the ones from the swimming pool back home) to help keep them afloat...with an XXL neoprene wetsuit holding me up, I probably could have done with a weight belt to keep me under a bit!

Soon it was our turn in group two...we went in, followed our guides instructions and came up from behind onto this magnificent beast. Her beautiful spotty markings seemed almost luminescent in the crystal clear waters; her enormous tail thrashed majestically slowly from side to side, propelling her along with minimal effort; and her sinuous, muscular, streamlined body cut through the water with ease. Her enormous gills wafted gently in the currents streaming through her open mouth and she looked for all the world like a CGI creation, belonging more rightly in a film studio than the open ocean...and yet she could not have looked more at home, more at ease and more awe-inspiring, gracefully attended by her ramora cleaners. She swam slowly in a fairly straight line and we had no problems keeping up with her, taking our opportunities for photos and enjoying the experience of being in the presence of this incredible icon of the southern oceans.

Yes, the Whale Shark is the one in the background!

The rest of the day had an almost dreamlike quality - the sharks just kept coming and we saw 5 different individuals in all, clocking up almost 2 hours of shark swimming time. One memorable chap had a couple of yellow trevalleys swimming just in front of and in and out of his gaping mouth, delighting El, who obviously lived for her work. We had another female slowly circling on feeding path (doing whoop-whoops), making it simple for us all to keep up and take our turn in front for a photo. However, the best was saved for last because, as we were following one shark with the rest of our group, another came along to cross her path. El and a British couple (living in Oz for 10 years now), Liz and Colin, and I peeled off from the main group and followed this beauty for about 15 minutes. Liz and Colin took her starboard side while I took the port, with El following at the rear. It was like our own personal whale-shark experience with no need to drop back for others to have their turn. Despite her ponderous speed by her own terms, when she finally did a near-vertical dive to leave us behind, I was pretty close to exhaustion and hauling myself back on the boat for the return trip to Tantabiddi left me lolling and dozing in and out of sleep until we got back to dry land.

Doing our whales shark impressions! ;-)

The whole crew on board the Draw Card (one of two vessels run by Three Islands Whale Shark Dives) were absolutely fantastic. All were knowledgeable and enthusiastic; each had their own special interests  in marine wildlife and conservation and they allowed their expertise and exuberance to infect us all with a sense of adventure. Despite the rough seas, everybody was able to enjoy the experience, which I'm sure will remain long in all of our memories. If anyone is thinking of coming to Australia...this is a must!

Back at Ningaloo resort, I needed to get all domesticated. Firstly, I did a bit of laundry, then went shopping for dinner before coming back to hang my clothes out. The campsite provides drying lines...but not pegs. Fortunately, I had my trusty twisted washing line, consisting of two bungee cords, tightly twisted together between two heavy-duty hooks. One hangs ones clothes up by forcing their corners into the gaps between the cords, which pinch together and hold them in place. I allowed myself a smug grin as my clothes remained up, hanging in the breeze, while others were being blown into the dust. ;-)

Domestic Goddess duties fulfilled, I hurried down to the local sports bar to catch the 'State of Origin' rugby league match - this is like the World Series of baseball to Yanks; a three-match FA cup final to Brits or, if you are an Aussie Rugby League fan from Queensland or New South Wales: LIFE OR DEATH! It was a generally good-natured crowd but as the game went into the final ten minutes, NSW Blues managed to score a try to reduce their deficit to just 2 points. The tension built and both sides made many basic errors, causing many a shaken fist and expletive to be launched at the big screens. One chap, obviously taking it a little too seriously, tried to start a fight with someone who got up to give his girlfriend a welcome hug. But in the end, Queensland ran out 12-10 winners and there were no hard feelings.

Back at the campsite, I used the free gas barbeque facilities to make myself a very healthy dinner of grilled courgette, mushrooms, tomatoes and aubergine. I got talking to a couple of girls (one French and one Italian-Iranian) who were working and travelling their way round Australia. The French girl had been travelling for 8 months, covering almost every part of this island continent and I felt a tug of jealousy as she explained her plans to head to the Philippines and South East Asia before heading to Tajikestan to join her boyfriend who had just got a job at the French Embassy there...the more travelling I do, the more I want to do...there's so much to see and do...and, really, so little time.

I went to bed marvelling at the wonders of the ocean and looking forward to heading down the peninsula to Coral Bay for some more spectacular scuba diving. :-)