Betten On Bike: DAY 53 - 1ST JUNE 2013 - CORAL BAY

Day 53 – 1 June 2013 - Coral Bay – Whale Shark Boat Tour

We woke at 6.15am to a very cold overcast and gusty windy morning. This did not bide well for our booked 'Swim with the Whale Shark' tour. We had to be at the dive shop at 7.30am and we waited to hear the skipper ‘s decision as to whether the tour would go ahead. Yesterday's tour had been cancelled due to the gusty winds.

Yes it most certainly would go ahead – so we were kitted out with wet suits and flippers and boarded the bus for the short trip to the jetty. It was really cold and so we all sat huddled in the boat hoping and wishing for the sun to peep through the heavily overcast day.

The first stop was a trial snorkel swim still in the protected waters of the bay on this side of the reef. It was still very choppy and the cold wind was blowing a storm. When he returned Walter, shivering and blue with the cold reported that he had seen some beautiful fish. The water we were told was apparently 26 degrees (felt a lot colder Walter said) but the cold strong wind meant that everyone returned with blue lips and found it hard to warm up. Toasted sandwiches were quickly served which were very welcome. The spotter plane was out looking for the location of Whale Sharks because that’s what this day is all about – swimming with the Whale Sharks. This was to be a highlight for Walter and has been widely written about as a monumental and moving experience so there was much excitement and anticipation about being able to be in the water and be swimming so close to these amazing fish. The Whale Shark is the largest of the shark family and the largest fish in the world. It is a harmless plankton eater and averages 12 metres in length but has been reported to reach 18 metres in length.

We spent some hours in the open water on the other side of the reef slowly moving through the large rolling waves hoping that the spotter plane would send a message saying that a Whale Shark had been sighted. The ocean was very rough and around half of the people on board progressively got sea sick. Walter unfortunately was amongst them. I spent the hours standing and trying to keep my balance as the boat reeled through the large rolling waves with my eyes mostly glued to the horizon – a stable focus point to try and avoid the awful nausea that was looming.

Only half of those on board felt well enough to eat the buffet lunch. Andrea luckily was fine and she enjoyed lunch but Walter & I stayed as far away from the food as possible.

Later there were some sightings of migratory humpback whales – this certainly helped to lift everyone’s spirits. We were told that the humpback whales are heading north towards Broome where they will spend some time in the warmer waters so that their offspring can put on weight before they head back down south again. I had seen whales before but it is such a spectacular sight that never fails to amaze and delight !!

On the way back there was another quick stop for snorkeling to view some coral and the beautiful fish and Walter was excited that he had spotted a 2 metre black tailed shark.

But sad to report there were no Whale Shark sightings so no swim with a Whale Shark – disappointing for all those on the tour. Many of us felt somewhat better at around 4pm once we entered the more protected waters on the coast side of the reef and had some lunch then.

It had however been an enjoyable day meeting all our fellow travelers – Irish, Korean, American, French – all with their own stories about their travels. Walter will also be featured in a Korean travel magazine as there was a Korean journalist on board who was very interested in his cycling around Australia journey and she took a photo of him and asked for details about our website.

We returned to Coral Bay at around 5.45pm after a long day on the ocean. Those who could re-booked for the next day or the day after as the tour operators offer a free repeat trip / open ended voucher if the promised swim with the Whale Shark isn’t possible on the first trip. The thought of another full day in the open ocean in possibly similar conditions as today was not too appealing to Walter so we decided not to go again tomorrow.

An early night for all of us.