Whale Shark Fun

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Day 39 (Friday 29-May-09)
What an amazing day! We were picked up at the campsite at 7.30am by the Ningaloo Blue bus for our whale shark experience. Woo hoo! We were taken offshore to the boat in a motorised dingy. Once out on the reef we were given time to jump in and snorkel on Ningaloo Reef. Jamie went straight in but I took my time because I was really nervous but the 'noodle' (floatation thing) gave me a boost of confidence - big baby! Once I was in my nerves completely disappeared and I kept trying to palm the noodle off to Jamie. We had a great time on the reef and took photos which did not do the experience any justice whatsoever. Back on the boat and we saw a large pod (someone said up to a 1000) of Spinners Dolphins that played in the surf from the boat as we sped along, wow. The first whale shark was spotted around 11.30am and we jumped in to swim alongside them, no noodle for me this time. Before the first sighting we were given strict instructions for the swim and we had to follow the dive master. There were six swims in total, Jay did five and I did three. Some of the views from the boat were amazing too. Our third dive together was the best and this was also the one where I had to be told to 'swim quick' as the shark was coming right at me with its mouth wide open and it certainly wasn't going to stop for me. The whole day is definitely one of the best experiences either of us has ever had, even for me after nearly being swallowed. The largest fish in the ocean is very mesmerising when you're in their habitat swimming alongside them. We had one more dive on Ningaloo reef on the way back to shore and both we'd go as far as saying that it was better than our Great Barrier Reef experience in 2006. We arrived back on terra firma around 3.30pm and were bussed back to Exmouth. The evening consisted of pasta, Underbelly and the start of very painful earache for Jamie.

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