July 6: What a Whale of a Day!
As I hovered near the surface of the light blue and turquoise tropical waters of the eastern Indian Ocean just a few meters above a large humpback whale propelling itself forward with its huge undulating fluke, my eyes watered with joy and reverence at the magnitude of the moment. After all, there are only a few places in the world where it is legal to swim with such large and magnificent mammals.
When I signed the damage waiver at the tour company’s office in Coral Bay this morning, the guide mentioned that I was participating in what could be called an “extreme sport.” I chuckled, thinking the crew member was exaggerating. But our day long ocean adventure ended up being one delightful adrenaline rush after another.
It turns out the tour company takes locating humpback whales seriously, using a pilot in a spotter plane to find a pod, make sure there are no young calves present that might make the mothers protective, and direct the captain and crew members to the appropriate area.
When we were close to the projected path of the humpback, my group of seven snorkelers all clambered on to the back of the rapidly moving boat, the sea waters churning up and over the platform and our flippers. On our guide’s command, we jumped into the turbulent water at the same time.
From there the pilot directed our leader with commands such as “Stay there, stay there, stay there, swim west, swim west!” positioning us near the massive beast and then telling us when to look under the water. When I dipped my head below the surface, my breath caught in my throat and time stopped.
Snorkelers typically view this species of baleen whale from the side as it is swimming by. However, in our case, the beautiful beast glided right under us, granting us a long clear look at all its glorious and massive black shiny body, white-tipped pectoral fins, and large tail moving powerfully up and down. Reflecting on this once in a lifetime encounter brings tears of joy to my eyes even now. Wow!
We all enjoyed a delicious lunch on board afterwards, ravenous from the excitement, energy, and momentous experience. Our dessert for the day was snorkeling up, over, and between a large section of the Ningaloo Reef, observing white, yellow, and orange striped fish swimming by, a giant sea turtle making its way down the reef, and large schools of small blue fish spreading out in a fan shape around clusters of coral. What a glorious day!
