This time Offgridmonkeys were lucky enough to achieve another activity we have wanted to do for a long time.
The Ningaloo Reef is an amazing place with the best coral close to shore we have ever seen, and also hosts amazing wildlife. Our last visit here we swam with Whale Sharks and Manta Rays, and this trip to the outer reef was to interact with Hump Back Whales!!
We headed out from Coral Bay with Ningaloo Reef Dive and Snorkel. The team on board were great taking us south to clearer shallower water to give us the best possible opportunity of seeing these gentle giants up close in the water. A spotter plane was also up early looking for good candidates for us to interact with. Interactions can only take place with calm whales, so any breaching or excitable behaviour from whales rules them out as does any calves in a group.
We were very lucky on the day to have numerous small groups of mainly 2 or three (often pregnant females with an escort whale) that were happily cruising north up the coast to calf and did not mind a few tiny humans floating on the surface nearby.
The first glimpse underwater gives you an idea of the immense size and power of these ocean giants and was truly breath-taking. To be honest they were not that interested in us – more intent on continuing their journey north, but this almost made it more special – to just observe natural behaviour without interfering or changing it in any way was such a privilege.
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An added bonus was Tom from @oceancollectivemedia was on board to capture photos and video so we could just enjoy the experience and also additional photos were available from the spotter plane pilot which you can see from the few we have posted were fantastic.
The team at Ningaloo Reef Dive and Snorkel also arranged a dog sitter for Buster the wonder dog for the day which he thoroughly enjoyed (loads of cuddles and walks). As locals at Coral Bay cannot have dogs (only the tourists can bring them along to camp) there are many people willing to look after fur kids for a day.
So how do humpback whale and whale shark interactions compare? You get to spend more time with whale sharks as they swim slower and are closer to the surface however humpbacks sheer size and the extra adrenaline punch that goes with the shorter encounters are also exhilarating! If you can, do both!
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