The sea churns as an enormous dorsal fin scythes through the water towards our dive boat. I’m still fiddling with my mask when the tanned deck hand barks out the order: “Group A, get ready, here she comes. OK, into the water, NOW!”
It seems counter-intuitive to jump into the path of a giant shark, but that is precisely what I and a dozen other nervous snorkellers have paid to do.
We are in deep blue water just beyond Ningaloo Reef, off the coast of Western Australia, and we have come here to swim with the world’s biggest fish.
This is one of the few places on the planet where whale sharks, which can reach up to 18 metres in length and weigh 15 tonnes, are known to regularly congregate in large numbers.
Despite their chilling shark-like profile, the creatures feed on plankton and are harmless to humans — unless you are unfortunate enough to be swiped by the enormous tail fin.
Their annual migration from the Indian Ocean to Ningaloo Reef, between March and June, is unpredictable, so spotter planes help locate them.
Stepping into the water, I find myself surrounded by flailing snorkellers. I get my bearings and begin swimming away from the group, following the raised arm of our guide.
I’m peering through a champagne cloud of bubbles when the whale shark appears out of the deep blue void. It’s an electrifying moment. The animal is huge — its frog-like mouth is a metre wide, its body six metres long. Grey-blue flanks are covered in domino-like spots. I hang motionless as the creature glides by, seemingly oblivious to us.
Swimming alongside, I maintain a gap of three metres just as the crew had told us, but after a few minutes of sustained kicking my chest is heaving and my leg muscles burning. I drop away and the gentle giant disappears into the gloom.
Moments later we are picked up by the dive boat. The skipper manoeuvres us into the path of the whale shark once again, and we jump back into the water.
By the end of the day this procedure has been repeated eight times and we have located another two whale sharks. Most people are exhausted, but elated.
Excited chatter fills the boat. “I was amazed how tolerant it was considering we dropped in on top of it,” says Andrea, 24, from Glasgow. “I was thinking, ‘Where is it, where is it?’ and then, ‘Aargh, it’s coming straight for me!’” says her partner, Neil, from Belfast.
Snorkelling with whale sharks is suitable for children as young as five. On our trip, two little girls from Perth, the oldest just seven, happily swim around like tadpoles.
Just as we are getting ready to head for home, one of the whale sharks appears from nowhere, sticks its pale snout out of the water a few feet away, and nuzzles against the side of the boat.
I had been worried the whale sharks felt harassed by our attention, but this gesture suggests otherwise. “If they feel hassled, they can dive down deep straightaway,” says crew member Brad Webster. “They leave when they want.”
Ningaloo Reef stretches for 260km along the coast of Western Australia, about 1200km north of Perth. It boasts more than 250 species of coral and 500 species of tropical fish but, unlike its larger cousin, Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef, it is still little-known and barely developed for tourism. The only town in the area, Exmouth, has just four dive shops and six whale shark-watching operations.
Also, while it can take over an hour to reach the reefs and atolls of the Great Barrier Reef, much of Ningaloo Reef lies just metres off the beach. Even better, the reef protects a number of shallow lagoons — ideal for kids and first-time snorkellers.
Ningaloo is also renowned for the sheer size of the animals it attracts — it’s a veritable underwater Masai Mara.
“We get The Big Three out here: whale sharks, manta rays and humpback whales,” reveals dive master Allison Richards. “There are turtles, sea snakes and killer whales, and we often see pods of 500 spinner dolphins.”
The next morning I’m on another boat, heading out of the tiny coastal village of Coral Bay in search of manta rays in turquoise Batemans Bay. It only takes a few minutes to locate one, again with the help of a spotter plane.
Manta rays are extraordinary creatures. With their black and white ‘wings’ and graceful flapping motion, they resemble giant underwater bats. This one was about three metres wide. “They can grow up to seven metres,” says skipper Stuart Lynn-Robinson.
The ray ploughed back and forth along the sandy bottom of a shallow bay, vacuuming up invisible micro-organisms from the soupy water. After skimming along the seabed for a minute, the animal banks and turns like a stealth fighter plane, coming to within a couple of metres of our dangling flippers.
“Unlike most rays they don’t have a sting in their tail, so they are harmless to us,” Robinson says. “You wouldn’t believe it but they are excellent jumpers — you often see them propel their whole body out of the water.”
We head back to land, and Coral Bay appears as a smudge on the shoreline. A tiny settlement of sand roads, caravan parks and a few shack-like chalets, it looks like a 1960s holiday resort. Locals and visitors pad around barefoot. The only watering hole, the Coral Bay Hotel, is full of big-bearded men with skin tanned the colour of chocolate.
Coral Bay must qualify as one of the most remote holiday resorts on earth. To the west lies the yawning vastness of the Indian Ocean, and to the east, an unimaginably huge expanse of scrub and desert. This unique combination of outback and sea means you can go quad-biking in the dunes in the morning, and kayaking to the outer edges of the reef in the afternoon. Fishing and scuba diving are also popular.
But to really get away from it all I head to Ningaloo Reef Retreat, a collection of luxurious canvas tents hidden in the dunes of Cape Range National Park, 65km from Exmouth. The tents, with timber floors and furniture and an en suite outdoor bathroom with pump-action shower and composting loo, are extremely comfortable.
Tumble out of bed in the morning and you can be snorkelling on the reef within two minutes. The first time I dip my head under the water, I disturb a big black eagle ray.
White-tipped reef sharks prowl the shallows (they are harmless unless prodded or poked) and the coloured corals harbour countless types of fish, from stargazers and moon wrasse to spotted gobies and yellow trumpet fish.
There’s almost as much action on land as there is underwater. Kangaroos hop through the scrub as I hike to nearby Mandu Mandu Gorge, a spectacular gash in the range which typifies the beauty of the outback.
At Yardie Creek, a short drive south of the safari camp, a broad channel of fresh water reaches deep into the hills. Ospreys soar above the ochre-coloured cliffs, white egrets patrol the shallows and Caspian terns hunch into the wind down on the deserted white beach.
While wandering along the foreshore, I notice movement at my feet. A tiny flipper appears from the sand, followed by a freckled grey head — a freshly hatched turtle emerges. It is swiftly followed by another, and soon the beach is crawling with tiny turtles, scrambling to the water like clockwork toys. As soon as they hit the surf their miniature flippers work frantically to reach the comparative safety of the open ocean.
Yet another reminder, if one is needed, of what a truly extraordinary place this part of Western Australia is.
It may not be as famous as its cousin in Queensland, but the madding crowds in this West Australian region are of a marine variety only. Nick Squires makes some spectacular new friends.
Exmouth lies 1270km north of Perth. Skywest has daily flights from Perth to Learmonth Airport, then from there it’s a 37km journey to Exmouth and 120km to Coral Bay. Call 1300 660 088 or visit www.skywest.com.au
There is a range of options, including hotels, motels and camping and caravan parks at Exmouth and Coral Bay. There is also a spectacularly sited campground, complete with wandering emus, at Vlaming Head on the tip of North West Cape. But the best option of all is to camp at one of 90 sites in the sand dunes of Cape Range National Park. Call Exmouth Visitor Centre on 1800 287 328
Ningaloo Reef Retreat, Cape Range National Park,
$215pp/night in a tent, including all food and snorkelling and kayaking tours. Alternatively, sleep in a swag beneath the stars for $155pp/night.
tel: (08) 9949 1776
Ningaloo Blue Dive, Exmouth,
$320pp for a full-day trip inc meals.
tel: (08) 9949 1119
Coral Bay Adventures, Coral Bay,
$125 pp for a half-day trip inc morning tea and snacks.
tel: (08) 9942 5955
4WD
