Shark Hunt

Wildlife tours come with few guarantees. Nature is nature, sometimes you see what you paid good money for, sometimes you don’t. 

I had blown my meagre savings for the chance to swim with a Whale Shark.

To me it is a conundrum that a fish the size of a double-decker bus could keep so many of its secrets hidden for so long.  As I child I was introduced to these gentle giants through renowned sci-fi writer Arthur C Clarke's novel Dolphin Island. At that time only 350 sightings of the animal had been reported globally.  In the Arthur C Clark story, a young boy swam into the gentle giant’s mouth and out via the gills unharmed.

In the mid 1980's it was discovered that Whale Sharks gathered in large numbers in areas of seasonal food "hotspots".  Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia had proven to be one of the most reliable places to see the sharks world wide as a result of predictable seasonal phenomenon: autumn mass coral spawning and changing strength of the Leeuwin Current which brought nutrient rich waters to the surface. As many as 500 individual sharks sighted annually, with this event helping to build a case for conservation for the Ningaloo Reef area.  In 2011 it was granted World Heritage status, including protecting it from exploitation under Australian law. 

In the lead up to my trip, I had been stunned by the level of military-style precision planning the tour operators proposed for my trip arrangements. When to travel? Autumn as this was when the sharks migrated to Ningaloo to exploit food hotspots created from coral spawning.  What day to book the tour? Ten days following the full moon was when the coral spawned, drawing the in Whale Sharks and other large beasts in for feeding frenzies. Even with such considered planning, a sighting was not guaranteed.

I had been staying at a divers lodge for about eight days now.  Each afternoon my dorm mates would return from their aquatic adventures and stories were shared:

“Passed the mask clearing test today. Final Open Water exam tomorrow.”

“Did the Navy Pier today. Really was fish soup.”

“Went to Murion Islands. Saw a White-spotted Eagle Ray. It was so graceful.”

Most days, someone in my dorm would have gone on the Whale Shark tour and the rest of us would be itching to ask the question: were there any sharks?

Nature doesn’t always follow rules.

A very polite Japanese diver had been out three days in a row in the hope of seeing a Whale Shark.  The abundance of food in the water had attracted other large animals: on this occasion, Killer Whales, which had scared the sharks away.  By the third day we no longer asked.

On the forth day, it was much later when he finally returned to the dorm, and when he did he looked quite grey. Yes, he explained, he had seen a shark, two in fact. They had had to stay out in the boat for a number of hours, the afternoon swell had made everyone seasick.  The sharks he saw were very young, 2 metres maximum, not the 18 metre behemoths he had been hoping for.

At that, a knot formed in my stomach.  I had travelled this huge distance and everyone back home was awaiting my tales of swimming with giants.  

What would I say if I didn't see the sharks, or at best, they were only small?

The morning of my shark hunt was crisp and clear, the deck hands wasted no time getting the gear onto the boat and getting underway.  We watched the spotter plane circle overhead and then on, out over the horizon, searching for Whale Sharks on behalf of the eight different tour operators.

As the boat bumped over the waves, the guides began the briefing.  In Australian waters there are very strict regulations controlling the interactions with these majestic creatures.  You could not be less than several metres from a shark, not only for its safety, but for yours, as the sharks’s tail can deliver a powerful blow. In addition, any disruptive behaviour could cause the shark to dive, and because  whalesharks breathe through gills like other fish, they don’t need to surface for air unlike dolphins and whales. So when a shark  dives, it can stay down for a long time, ruining the adventure for everyone.

Time with the sharks between tour operators was regimented.  When given the signal, each group had to be ready to quickly and quietly slip into the water.  Overarm swimming was discouraged (splashing might make the shark dive), and when the whistle was blown, you had to return to the boat to allow other groups their time.

The briefing was interrupted with a shout from the captain; with a lurch the boat's motor went up to full throttle: the spotter plane had seen a dark shadow in the water.  The chase was on!

After a few minutes, the boat slowed, and one of the guides slipped into the water for a closer look at the dark shape spotted by the plane. In addition to Killer Whales, Tiger Sharks had also recently been seen in the region. We eyed each other nervously as the guide swam out to check the water. 

That we might also be in the water with man-eaters had never occurred to us.

With the “ALL CLEAR” signal from the guide, we slipped into the water and dispersed quietly, the only noise the occasional splurt of someone clearing their snorkel.

The water was murky. I looked left, I looked right. Nothing. Then I looked left again. Holy hell! There was its tail, as tall as I stood and very definitely less than the minimum allowed distance!  As quickly and as quietly as I could, I moved out of the swish range , and watched the shark  swim off into the murky depths.

Then the whistle was blown, we returned to the boat, and in an ungainly manner we flopped up onto the boat deck and crawled on all fours to our still wearing our fins to allow the next group to get straight into the water. A large lady in our group in her black and grey wetsuit struggled to haul herself aboard resembled a large seal coming ashore.

Shortly, it was our turn in the water again.  Looking, looking, and there it was, this time it was headed straight for me and every bit the Whale Shark I imagined it to be. 

Impossibly big and serene, its spots shimmered in the sunlight as the shark moved through the water.  


Pilot Fish swam ahead of it and the shark's small eye regarded me quizzically as it approached. I was dwarfed by it's enormonity, and yet it was in no way menacing.  It was so close I could touch it if I tried. But I didn't,  not wanting to overstep my privileges  and risk spoiling this magical moment experience for everyone.

As it passed me, I finned my fastest to keep up with it, my lungs were bursting, but not ready to surrender the moment to the past! However, despite the shark doing a very leisurely cruise, it quickly outstripped me and the other snorkelers.   With a final flick of it's tail, the shark disappeared into the distance and I thanked the heavens for a truly unforgettable experience worth every cent.

Please excuse the quality, but this is actual footage of that very day! Taken back in the days before Youtube and the digital photography explosion.  I found this treasured footage recently as a result of cleaning up after my loft was burgled. Every cloud has its silver lining!

Acknowledgements: thank you to Grammardoris stricticus (Ishak 2015) for the very much appreciated editing assistance. :)