Whale sharks... does it get any better?

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The further north we are going the more we are warned to make sure we have enough water with us at all times. Its the little things that we take for granted such as being able to turn on a tap and have the water there...how many times have I just left the water running as I brush my teeth? None of that now as we have to make sure that we save water as we push on. We can sometimes fill up the vans reservoir at some rest stops, usually with non drinking water though so also carry with us a few large containers of water, just in case.
We continue along the coast up north towards Exmouth and pass some absolutely stunning beaches that are all part of the Ningaloo marine park. The beaches stretch for 206km along the Coral coast from Coral bay to Exmouth and the reef system and surrounding waters are home to 220 species of coral and 500 species of temperate and tropical fish. As far as the eye can see as we drive there are stunning white sandy beaches. The plan is to stay for a few nights parked up on the beach in the Cape Range National Park but imagine our surprise when we get their only to find the sign saying campground full in the NP. Apparently, its allocated on a first come first served basis and you have to queue for your camping spot from 8.00am in the morning (and in reality people get there from 6am) They are all obviously gone when we rock up at 11am!! Instead we head over to the Yardie Homestead which lies halfway between Exmouth and the National Park. After chilling for a bit we head back into the National Park which is 510 sq.km and covers a third of the NW cape peninsula. Its extremely rich in wildlife and at every turn you are seeing kangaroos, emus, lizards, to name but a few. We head to Yardie Creek Gorge and decide to walk over the top of the creek, dragging out our walking shoes for what seems the first time in ages. They feel really weird after having worn flip flops (or thongs if your an aussie!) for the past couple of weeks.
Yardie Creek is a spectacular gorge where deep blue waters reflect the multicoloured bands in the sheer canyon walls. Its unique as its a gorge filled with water- due to a sand bank at the mouth of the gorge. The water keeps clear as the low tide draws water out before being refreshed at high tide. We walk up the gorge and at one point have to climb and scramble down rocks before heading back up on the other side. Its definitely worth it as the views of the gorge are spectacular.
As we drive back at sunset we get a full on feast of wildlife as little joeys and kangaroos all decide to constantly jump across our path as we are driving and every hundred metres or so we have to slow down to let them cross. Its weird as they would just sit in the middle of the road at times, not moving even when we honked our horn. Its gets a bit monotonous after a while as we just want to get back but unfortunately there is nothing that we can do about it and just have to keep our eyes peeled at all times.

The following day we are up bright and early as we are off to swim with the whale sharks today. Just our luck as the gorgeous sunshine of the days before seem to have melted away to a bit of grey cloud...not really what we wanted at all and both of us are a little apprehensive to say the least!! After being picked up by the ‘3 Islands’ crew and dropped off at Tantabiddi beach jetty, we are then ferried across by dinghy to our 17m boat. The sea is quite choppy and the mornings apprehension continues to rise in my stomach. Before we arrive at our first snorkel site we are given a safety talk and wetsuits are given to those who want them (yes please..it looks very cold in there!) Its then time to get in and after jumping in to my first(of many) mouthfuls of seawater I realise we are going to be in for a tough day as the swell is huge. Once I get acclimatised I actually start to enjoy it and see some beautiful colourful fish and coral as well as a lovely baby leopard shark. After getting back on the boat and having morning tea we received the news that everyone had been waiting for...there had been a sighting of a whale shark by the spotter plane. This is what we had all been waiting for so it was wetsuits back on, masks cleared etc etc and the first group were taken off. As we waited in the second group my heart was pounding and, as we sat at the back of the boat on the marlin board we were told that as soon as we got in the water to put our faces straight in as the whale shark would be headed straight towards us. On being given the count in we jumped and oh my god, aside from the tangle of fins and snorkels, as I put my face in I just saw this massive face on the shark headed straight towards me...aaaaarrrgghhh!!! A bit of chaos then ensued as everyone tried to get out of the way and swim to the side of the shark but it seemed to effortlessly glide straight past without getting caught up in our confusion (we were supposed to try to stay 3 m away from it...how to measure that when under water I do not know!!) Once the shark had swam by and everyone had calmed down a bit we could then swim alongside of it. It was huge- its the largest fish in the world and can reach up to 18m in length (this one was “only” 6m!) and can weigh anything up to about 21 tonnes (a 12m shark weighs approx 11 tonnes) with a mouth span over a metre wide...no wonder I was shit scared when I first saw it coming towards me! The good news is that they are filter feeders, live only on plankton and small fish and don’t bite or chew their food so were not interested in dining on us!
After a while I soon got left behind so decided to head back to the boat. The current had taken us a fair way away and, as the support boat was nearby I signalled for a pick up. John was already in the support boat and in his words I then made what can only be described as the most undignified entrance onto the boat, being hauled in with my arse high up in the air and promptly then almost knocking everyone else back into the water!! As soon as we reached the main boat and climbed back on board another whale shark was spotted and, in my haste to jump back in I forgot to hold onto my mask and caught my fins on the back of the marlin board. As my mask floated away I was being dragged up and down by the back of the boat...yes my life did flash before me...well almost but most annoying I missed the shark and had to get back on board. However, I needn’t have worried as for the remainder of the afternoon we were constantly in and out of the water as numerous whale sharks were spotted. The Ningaloo reef is the only easily accessible place in the world where whale sharks appear at predictable times, cruising close to the surface. They are attracted in response to the mass spawning of over 200 species of coral, this year the coral spawning far more than usual and hence the abundance of whale sharks.
John is not that confident in the water so one of the instructors had decided to take him out so that he could see the shark properly. Nothing like a 1:1 session with your own personal guide I thought as I could see John being dragged around by his life jacket, being towed back to the main boat and even having his fins removed for him!!! I, meanwhile, continued to battle against the increasing swell and had nowhere near as good a view of the shark as he did!
After seeing the last of our sharks (8 in total) we were served a beautiful lunch and given the opportunity to go snorkelling again before we headed back to dry land. Back on the bus we were all awarded with certificates before being dropped back at our accommodation. Although we were absolutely knackered we’d had a most exhilarating day and an experience that we will never forget.

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