Watusi Woman - Whale Shark Sailor

Sumbawa, Indonesia - whale shark encounter.

The day dawned beautifully for our whale shark tour. Oh wait! It's 1.00am. It's the middle of the night. It's pitch black as we make our way in our dinghy to the shore to meet the bus that will drive us 2 hours through the night to Jambu in Saleh Bay. Once there, still in pitch blackness, we load into a boat and motor, with no lights on, for another 2 hours. The first light of day shows just as we arrive at the location for our whale shark encounter.

Saleh bay in Sumbawa is known for it's whale sharks and the shrimp fishermen on their spider boats are cashing in on one of the ocean's most spectacular creatures.The spider boats hold back some of their catch to keep the whale sharks hanging around for us tourists. This is becoming standard practice to create a tourism opportunity for the area. Works for me 😁

spider boat

whale shark popping up for a look

Whale sharks are not whales, they are sharks. The biggest sharks in the world. You could be forgiven if the thought of jumping in the water with them causes you some anxiety. They may grow up to 18 metres in length and they may weigh up to 19,000 kgs. They may live from 70 to 130 years. They may have about 300 rows of teeth. But fear not. These beautiful creatures are plankton and shrimp eaters. Totally not interested in humans for lunch. So, bring on the whale sharks.

I donned mask and fins and jumped right in. Right on top of a whale shark. Oh my! Was it big. Humongous is probably more accurate. This creature just cruised on under me as if I was a fly that had landed on it's back.

What magnificent animals they are to watch in the water. They are very curious and gentle giants that seem to find us as interesting as we find them. As long as there were shrimp in the water they were happy to swim around, under and right next to us. For such enormous creatures, they managed to move around us with so much grace, never knocking into us or swatting us with their substantial tails.

It is impressive sight, to see the water sucked in through a metre wide mouth then expelled through the gills. To see the muscles and diaphragm working to suck in up to 6000 litres an hour. It takes alot of plankton, coral spawn and shrimp to feed these babies. Their markings are very distinct with each shark having individual patterns, a bit like a human fingerprint. Their underside is white with the top side being a series of white dots on grey, with darker grey stripes. Very striking.

sucking in thousands of litres an hour

filtering plankton and shrimp

I can't begin to describe the awe I felt at being so close to 2 of these phenomenal creatures. To swim alongside, above and around them was a privilege not many people get to share. Every minute in the water with them was a minute to cherish in my heart. To be mere centimetres from a gaping mouth and a huge eyeball, to watch the water being sucked in then pumped out of the gills, to feel the swish of water as they gently powered their tails to move past me. What an extraordinary and mind blowing experience.

Elephants have long been my favourite animal, but I think the whale sharks are now sharing the top of that list.

Until next time, Watusi Woman - enamoured with whale sharks, out.