Swimming with Humpacks
For my 18th birthday, over a year ago now, I was given the experience of a lifetime: the opportunity to swim with the largest mammal in the sea, the humpback whale. I am obsessed with humpbacks, they are an insane creature that’s just way too big for life and this week I finally got to fulfill the dream to share the same space as them. So with the 9 other girls who I am lucky enough to be sharing a holiday with this week, (Read girls trip for all the deets!), we boarded the 3 island whale shark dive boat from the Exmouth port and headed out onto Ningaloo reef. We had the tour to ourselves, apart from 1 other couple who were super chill despite their relaxing day being bombarded with 10 crazy gals. After a snorkel with some sharks and turtles, we headed deeper to spot the main attraction, the humpbacks. We were told not to get our hopes up, the likelihood of actually swimming with the bad boys is actually a lot lower than people presume, and even I you do get in the water, the whales can turn away and swim in the opposite direction in less than 5 seconds, ruining your chances as sighting. But, there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was out, wind was a little on the high side but manageable, so I was confident we’d be lucky, God knew I needed this day to be a success.
We were split into 2 groups, as the maximum amount of people allowed in the water with the whales was 8 (and 2 of these are the guides). So my group (1) jumped in and crossed everything. We needed to swim a little to get into the path of the mum and calf and before long the helicopter and above was counting down on the radio 3,2, 1 , eyes down. With our masks in the water you could’ve blinked and missed them. My jaw dropped and I was in awe. A mother humpback and its calf riding underneath her glided passed us so fast, without moving anything. They blend in incredibly well with the surroundings, the white underbelly glows amongst the deep blue of the Indian ocean and its dark top. WE lifted our heads, I stared at Ellie and a tear dripped out of my right eye. It was incredible, and if that was the only encounter, I got the whole day, I would’ve been content.
But someone was looking down on. me because we got that x 5. 5 encounters for each group, unheard of for all the guides on board. This never happens. Each time got a little better, with the whales breeching right before getting to us, almost making me a little nervous they were going to come straight into us, but they knew we were they, so they would dive down just enough to avoid us whilst they graced us with their presence. We were so so close. The 3rd dive there were 3 whales, a mum, it’s calf and its acquaintance, usually another female.
I was on a high for the rest of the day, screaming, crying, you name it. The hour long boat ride back to town became 2, as dozens of whales breeched in the distance, swam right by the boat, one even diving under the boat to avoid hitting it. Every time we’d see one we would scream, the boat would turn and if its tail came out of the water, cover your ears.
Hands down the most incredible experience of my life, and right on my doorstep too. I couldn’t believe how lucky we had got and all 9 girls were frothing, some completely out of their comfort zone but absolutely loving the experience nonetheless. We made our way home and nothing could damper today’s events. 100% recommend gifting this experience to your loved ones and cannot recommend 3 islands dive enough to give you the experience of a lifetime. I’m one lucky chick.