I love sharks. The bigger they are, the closer I can get, the more awesome the experience. I knew I had to go to the Philippines to achieve my dream of swimming with whale sharks in Donsol.
[wpvideo 1pY6PUhl]The Journey
After a flight from Ho Chi Minh to Manila and an internal one to Legaspi and a few hours ride in a shared van, we arrived at the quaint seaside village of Donsol in April 2012.
We chatted to a British guy who stayed at the same B&B we were at. He told us that he had tried swimming with them twice (on the day and previous day) but never saw one.
I freaked out. We had only one chance as we were only there for 1 full day and 2 nights. In hindsight we should have stayed longer!
I am not the luckiest person when it comes to viewing wildlife. I had two failed attempts at whale watching in Ireland and Iceland before finally seeing humpback whales in Cape Cod!
I prayed that night that we’d be a lot luckier and at least get to see one whale shark in the 3 hours we’d be out at sea the next day.
The Experience Swimming with Whale Sharks
The boats we used were basic wooden ones. The lookout guy stood high up to scan the water surface for the shadow of a whale shark.
Not long after, we were told to get our fins and snorkels ready and we’d be jumping into the water as soon as a shark had been sighted.
Round 1: We jumped in and suddenly out of the deep blue water appears a whale shark directly beneath me! I saw my first ever whale shark! It took a while for my eyes to adjust in the plankton-filled sea water.
Round 2: We jumped in but we weren’t the first boat to get there. There were too many people already in the water.
I saw nothing. I was frustrated and told the guide exactly that. He said he would make sure I see it the next time.
Round 3: We jumped in and the guide kept pointing forward in the blue.
I kept gesturing with my hands and shoulders asking WHERE? WHERE?
Suddenly out of (literally) the blue, I saw the whale shark swimming towards me with its mouth wide open.
It was HUGE! Its mouth from right to left was definitely as big as my entire self if not bigger!
I could clearly see the water going into its mouth and through the filtering pads that act like a sieve, allowing water to pass through while capturing food particles. I saw the little fish swimming on the sides of its mouth.
I started getting worried as the shark was quickly approaching me and I had to swim away to the side.
I then swam alongside the gentle giant known as Butanding in Tagalog for a little while. I could not believe I was swimming right next to this 8 meter long London bus sized giant!!
My prayers were more than answered!
Rounds 4 – 7: We jumped into the water 4 more times and I saw a whale shark each time.
Alas the footage we captured on video with the SLR could have been better. But for a first timer, I guess it was alright. Check out the video of us in Philippines, swimming with whale sharks at the top of this page.
We were extremely lucky. If only the Philippines wasn’t so far away from Switzerland, I’d go back every year.
This was part of a big trip we did in South East Asia starting in Bangkok. We then went onwards to Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Philippines, Indonesia (Bali) and ended in Phuket.
Some other notable wildlife trips we have done include the Stingray City in Grand Cayman and swimming with nurse sharks in Belize. We have also swum in the jellyfish lake in Palau.
Have you swum with a whale shark? What has been your best wildlife encounter? Please let me know in the comments below!
