Snorkeling in Turquoise Bay

The original plan for today was to SCUBA dive off the Exmouth Navy Pier, which is ranked in the world’s top 10 best dive sites (according to scubatravel.co.uk)! Unfortunately no one is diving there for the next couple of days, so instead we signed up for the dive at the Muiron Islands, which has wall diving, swim throughs and caves. But when we got back to our hostel last night, there was a note on our door from the dive center. We went to the shop to see what was going on and they told us that the dive had been changed to a whale shark snorkeling trip, but that we could dive at the snorkel sites. So we obliged and met up with them this morning. The crew was grumpy at first then threw on some fake smiles when we got to the boat. The trial snorkeling site was pretty weak, and it ended up raining while we were there. Trip cancelled! We all went home and got a refund. I was so relieved we weren’t going to be held hostage with that crew! Britt and I sought shelter in the pub for some lunch, and within a couple hours there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky… amazing!

We were both pretty tuckered out, but decided to go snorkeling at Turquoise Bay off of Cape Range National Park, which is about a 15 minute drive farther than the boat ramps used for the whale shark tours. We felt obligated to see the reef there because so many people had told us about how great it is, but loads of people also told us about their near drowning experiences due to the high currents that have been known to sweep people out into the sea. Even our map had a warning sign saying, “dangerous currents may occur.” We stepped into the water a little ways down the beach so that if we ended up getting caught in the current, we would still have a fighting chance to swim back to the beach before the peninsula ended. Of course as soon as we got in the water, we couldn’t figure out what everyone was talking about. It was perfect!

Turquoise Bay gets my approval

The reef was only 15-20m off the beach. And the entire time I was snorkeling there, I don’t think I went any deeper than 5m. I’ve never been a huge fan of snorkeling because I find it awkward and limiting, but this place totally changed my mind. Similar to the snorkeling sites we went to off the boat yesterday, this reef was full of colorful marine life that was easily visible from the surface!

unicorn fish

picasso triggerfish

cornetfish / smooth flutemouth / whiptail

blue-spotted stingray

In addition to all the fun little creatures, there were some more exciting larger ones swimming around as well…

white-tip reef shark

black-tip reef shark

stingray with about a 2m wingspan

I would have like to have stayed a bit longer in Exmouth so I could dive the Navy Pier and Muiron Islands, but we’re leaving tomorrow 😦

For next time!!!

Whale Sharks in Exmouth

SUCCESS!

As soon as we arrived in Exmouth yesterday, our first stop was the tourist information center where we were determined to book a tour swimming with the whale sharks. Luckily, there are 7 different companies that run from Exmouth to the Ningaloo Reef. A couple of them were already booked out, and when Britt and I pressed the employee to tell us which company provides the best tour, she simply replied that they are all paying customers so she can’t give an opinion on the matter… but would we like to book with 3 Islands? At the time I thought she was just trying to book us on that tour because there was plenty of room, and she was trying to even out the numbers on all the different boats. But in retrospect, I’m fairly certain she was trying to hint to us that we would have the best experience with them. I’m so glad we went with the 3 Islands tour!

3 Islands picked us up from the visitor information center this morning and then swooped around to pick everyone else up at their accommodations (including ours, but we hadn’t booked that until after we booked the whale shark tour). It was probably a half hour drive around the top of the peninsula to the other side where a small dingy waited for us on the beach. We took turns hopping onto the dingy, which shuttled us out into the deeper water where our proper diving vessel was anchored. The crew gave us their greetings and introductions (and some morning tea and biscuits) as we set off to a snorkeling spot along the inner reef. Similar to yesterday, they were giving us the opportunity to snorkel around and get used to our equipment… and probably scan to see who would most likely need rescuing. Not only was the current not as strong as it was outside of Coral Bay, but the visibility was also significantly better. Right from the beginning, we knew this would be a great day of snorkeling!

The snorkeling sight was only about 5 or 6 meters deep, but within a half hour I saw parrotfish, pufferfish, starfish, venomous catfish indigenous to the Ningaloo Reef, and a rather large and intimidating moray eel… just to name a few.

wrasse and parrotfish

stars and stripes pufferfish

starfish

black sailfin catfish (venemous)

feeding on a jellyfish

(I was too scared of the eel to get close enough for a proper picture.)

After we snorkeled around a bit, the crew waved at us to return to the boat. The spotter planes had already taken off and were radioing in to the boat the location of a whale shark. By the time we arrived at its location in the outer reef, the whale shark had already dived down into deeper water. Because they are actually sharks and not whales, there is no reason that the whale shark actually needs to surface since they don’t require oxygen. They prefer the surface for its warmth, but may dive down either because they feel threatened or because they want food, in which case they would dive down and then resurface with its mouth wide open to catch plankton and krill. We waited a moment, but this particular whale shark never resurfaced so the spotter plane tracked down some more sharks for us.

By the time we were ready to jump in the water, I could barely sit still I was so overwhelmed with excitement. 16 people were on our boat but only 8 people (plus our guide) are allowed to swim with the shark at any particular time. Therefore our guide was the first one in the water, and the first group was instructed to quietly slide into the water behind her. “Keep your head down!” No sooner had we jumped into the water that the massive whale shark appeared right in front of us. Even though no one could hear me, I was still saying, “oh my goodness, this is unreal!” through my snorkel. All you see underwater is this massive creature swimming towards you, then its mouth opens as big as the windshield of a Greyhound bus and you get a vision of being sucked into its body like Pinocchio. Of course it ducked right underneath us, and as soon as we gained composure, we were racing after it.

After the first group got their chance to swim with the shark, our guide would motion for us to stop and then the next group would drop into the water a slight distance in front of the shark and pick it back up. We would trade back and forth like this a handful of times until the shark finally dove deep below the surface outside of our visibility. Then the plane would indicate our next location for finding a whale shark. Though the spotter planes help, there is no guarantee that any whale sharks will be in the area, even during the peak season, simply because they are wild animals and they decide when and where they want to go. We were extremely lucky to have seen so many whale sharks! What’s even more remarkable is that in one particular snorkeling session, there were 2 whale sharks swimming together. We were frantically swimming trying to keep up with the first one and then all of a sudden another one popped up underneath us. It scared the wits out of me! Only one guide on our boat has seen 2 whale sharks swimming together before and she thought it was probably 3 or so odd years ago… and she takes these tours out almost every day!

Whale sharks are the largest creatures in the sea, the biggest recorded being 18m long! The whale sharks we saw today had not yet reached maturity and ranged from 5-8m in length. (Apparently the really big ones are found around Taiwan!) In addition to its size, the most alluring aspect of whale sharks is its total mystery in the world of marine biology. The migration patterns vary significantly between each individual whale shark and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for their choice of direction. And they usually always travel alone, which made it super cool that we saw 2 together! No one knows where or how they mate or even where they give birth to their young. They don’t know whether the mother cares for her young or if she just leaves them to fend for themselves. Only in the last 5 years did scientists discover that they give birth to live young. A female whale shark was unfortunately hunted down in Taiwan, and when they cut her open, she held 300 fetuses at different stages of development. Such a shame!

The whale shark is listed as “vulnerable” to extinction in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. ECOCEAN developed a program through which tourists and tour guides can submit pictures of the whale sharks in order to help keep track of their migration patterns and hopefully learn more about them. Their spots (or “bodyprints”) are as unique as our fingerprints, so they ask that you take a picture on the left side of the whale shark perpendicular to its spotting above its left pectoral fin. They use the same program to map the pattern of spots that NASA uses to record the positioning of stars. After submitting your picture, ECOCEAN will send you an email any time this shark is identified in the future all across the world! I didn’t capture any great images at the correct angle from the left side of the whale sharks, so even though I can’t participate, I still thought this program sounded really cool and worth mentioning. It’s a great way to get everyone involved in learning more about these amazing creatures!

I can’t stop looking at my own pictures!

reef shark swimming with the whale shark

After our experience swimming with the whale sharks, we were given one last snorkeling opportunity along the inner reef. I’ve never been a fan of snorkeling until this trip. I suppose my previous snorkeling experiences have never been comparable to my SCUBA diving experiences, but the Ningaloo Reef was certainly an exception! I saw the stars and stripes pufferfish again, as well as some other interesting sea life. None of those were as exciting as the flounder! I’ve never seen a flounder before, and to be honest I’m fairly surprised I was able to see it this time. As soon as it stopped moving, it was impossible to see. I tried to point it out to a few other people snorkeling, but ended up just having to show them my pictures. So cool!

flounder!

red bell jellyfish

This was truly an amazing day… one I will never forget!!! I wish everyone had the opportunity to experience Ningaloo Reef. Believe the hype!

Coral Bay (Ningaloo Reef)

Yesterday was consumed by our drive from Denham (Shark Bay) to the tiny coastal settlement of Coral Bay. We had heard that Coral Bay was pretty small, but then again, so were all the other towns we’ve been staying in so we didn’t expect it to be that much different. There is literally one road in the whole town, which stretches maybe four or five blocks. As far as I could decipher, the whole of Coral Bay was made up of a small shopping center, two restaurants, a service station, a hotel, two caravan parks, and a backpacker’s hostel. We stayed in the Ningaloo Club… don’t be excited, that’s the name of the hostel. Britt and I came to Coral Bay with the intention of diving with whale sharks, a popular attraction for the Ningaloo Reef between the months of March and July. However the area experienced some bad weather the last two days, which prohibited the whale shark tours from departing. Therefore the people who had signed up for the last two days were rescheduled for the following days, and everything was totally booked out (from all TWO of the snorkeling tour companies). Our hostel receptionist suggested an intriguing alternative for us that we jumped on pretty quickly though: snorkeling with MANTA RAYS! So that was our adventure today.

Around 9am, we received confirmation that the tour had enough people sign up in order for it to depart.. YAY! Britt and I dragged our snorkeling equipment to Coral Bay Adventures, where they shuttled us via bus to a boat ramp a short drive away. Only six of us signed up for the tour… great for us! The boat set off toward the reef, and they let us swim around on a shallow reef while we waited for the spotter plane to take off. In other words, the guides wanted to make sure that everyone actually knew how to swim and use a snorkel. Fair enough. The spotter plane took off around 10am and it wasn’t too long before they found the one and only Manta Ray in the area. They’re fairly easy to spot from above, even in poor visibility, because they prefer the sheltered sandbanks of the inner reef for their food source. I’m glad that they found one, but when the boat caught up to the ray, we discovered there was very low visibility in the area. Bummer! We jumped in the water and were basically chasing a shadow for most of the time. When the guide ducked under the water, that was our signal indicating that we could do the same (so long as we stayed at a distance of 3m away from it).

Britt with the Manta Ray

Manta Rays are the largest species of rays and can grow to have wingspans of over 7m, but the one we were chasing was closer to 4 or 5m. Because of their massiveness, they often are referred to as Devil Rays, even though they are quite harmless. They are bottom and filter feeders, eating plankton and krill. More importantly, they lack the stinging barb over their tail that other rays have! The pictures I took don’t do the creature any justice (darn visibility!), but they certainly live up to their other nickname: Eagle of the Sea. What caught me by surprise was their speed!

Manta Ray

After swimming with the Manta for a good period of time (and I think some of the others became exhausted and dropped back from the group while we kept swimming), they took us to another snorkeling sight. We attempted to go to a shark cleaning station first. It’s simply a popular spot on the reef for sharks to go so that they can get their regular maintenance from the little cleaner fish that pick off all the algae and such that grows on them. The only problem was that there happened to be a tiger shark there, so they weren’t allowed to let us get in the water. It was disappointing news, but I certainly wasn’t keen on swimming with any tiger sharks today! Instead, we found another reef in which we happened to find a pufferfish, some parrotfish, and…. (drum roll)… a SEA TURTLE!

Britt was especially excited because for some reason, every time we happened to see one diving, she was always around the corner or looking at something else.

The current was pretty strong, so it took a great deal of energy just staying in the same place. Clever little guy just ducked right under the reef!

Since it will be awhile before anything else exciting happens in Coral Bay, we decided to kick it and push onward to Exmouth tonight. Hopefully we’ll see some whale sharks soon!