Jo's Journey: Exmouth

Hi Everyone

I know it hasn't been that long since I wrote my blog but I have to tell you about my swim with the Whale Sharks. Before I did that my neighbours, here, took me to Turquoise Bay for some snorkelling. It was an amazing experience and the tropical fish were unbelievable. People say the coral isn't as colourful as The Great Barrier Reef but I'm sure there are more fish. The water is crystal clear and pretty warm. You swim to one end of the bay and then you drift ( with the current) to the other end - fantastic. We were there for only 1 1/2 hrs but I must admit I could've stayed for a lot longer.

On Monday I went on a tour to swim with the Whale Sharks. I was picked up at the caravan park at 8am. and we went to the bay where the boats are waiting. There are lots of tour companies who do this and at $375 each and each boat can take up to 20 people it is a big money maker. I know they have lots of expenses. We stayed in the lagoon for a snorkel before venturing out past the reef to swim with the whale sharks. The snorkelling, again, was fantastic. The coral is larger than at Turquoise Bay and there are just as many fish and sting rays.

After snorkelling for a while we then went to deeper water. The tour companies have spotter planes ( a big expense I'm sure) looking for the whale sharks and we were lucky enough to find one just outside the reef. There are 15 tourists on this boat and we are split into 2 groups. When the time is right we jump into the water and follow the guide who tries to keep us under control. The first Whale Shark was about 6 metres in length and was just "dawdling" along so we could keep up with it for quite some time. Then its group 2's turn and we get back on the boat, which for me was not that easy, being a small whale myself .You have to climb on the back platform but few of us needed a helping hand, I now have quite a sore upper arm. Anyway, a little further on it's time to get into the water again but this gentle giant was a little faster so it was harder to keep up.

We did this about 6 times and it really is an amazing experience. One whale shark was swimming along the floor of the ocean and we were swimming above it. The water is so clear you could see for about 30 mtres. It then decided to head for the surface by just using it's gigantic tail but it looked like it was in slow motion.We had to get out of the way because you have to be at least 3 metres away. Unfortunately I don't have an underwater camera and I could've bought a video for $60 but I probably would never look at it. Anyway I'll always remember it. We also went swimming with a manta ray but it was more scared of us than we of it. Another graceful creature of the sea.

After lunch we went back into the lagoon for another snorkel, what a way to end an absolutely unbelievable day. I got back to the Caravan Park at 3.30pm so it was a full day.

Yesterday I went into Exmouth to do some shopping and fill up the motorhome with decent water. (It's bore water here at the park) Unfortunately I forgot to lower my TV aerial and a tree branch has damaged it. Not sure how much as I have to get a ladder to have a look. The TV still works, only just, but I can't wind the aerial up or down and at the moment it is 1/4 way up. That is my chore for today and hopefully there is not too much damage on the roof.