Kaye Family Journey: Whale Shark Swim

Friday, June 12

The western coast of Australia is one of the few places in the world that the migration of the mysterious whale shark is somewhat predictable. This largest fish in the ocean comes up from the middle depths of the sea to feed on the abundance of krill due to the coral spawning along the Ningaloo reef between the months of April and July. We dedicated one full day to trying to come upon these gentle giants and swim alongside them on their way to breeding grounds further north.

We were excited and nervous not really knowing what to expect but Jimmy our skipper and the crew lightened the mood and put us at ease right away. Soon after boarding, we knew the day would be fun and we would be well taken care of even if the whale sharks were scarce.

The well-honed operation went like this: a spotter plane went up to guide the skipper while the crew educated and instructed us about the sharks and the swim and we donned stinger proof wetsuits, masks & snorkels. Separated into two groups we waited for the call that a fish had been sighted.

Jimmy warned us that occasionally they would have to travel an hour's worth of nautical miles before catching up with a whale shark...
We were very fortunate and the call came in less than 10 minutes when we were about 7-10 miles offshore--- the action begins!!!

Each group then "loaded" on the back deck of the boat and at our turn with the call "Everybody in!" we slid into the 250-300 ft. deep water, lined up with our crew guide then put our faces down. As soon as the giant's pectoral fin passed we began to swim (fairly quickly) along with him.
It truly seemed surreal to be in the water and swimming with this magnificent sea creature that is almost the size of a bus!

For a full 2 hours we were dropped in the water 9 different times to swim with 5 different whale sharks (a couple of them twice)-What a thrill!!

Almost ready to get in the water and swim-
just need to geared up

Diving to see what's down under and to make sure all gear is up to snuff

Large school of fish

All Good!!

An octopus swimming around (photo by Nash)

Ready for sharks!

Whale Shark #1

Whale shark #2

Waiting for the boat to come back around & pick us up for another go

Whale shark #3

Family photo:
(L to R-Nash, Matt, Kelly, Ross)

Whale shark #4

Whale Shark #5 (Nash in the foreground)

Practicing a trick that Frankie taught

Frankie-expert crewman, master diver, & super swimmer!
He made sure that we were all safe in the water and that the boys had a great view of the big fish.