Swimming with the Whale Shark in Mozambique

 

 

Swimming with the Whale Shark?  Yes, Whale Shark, the largest fish in the world.  They can grow up to 12 meters and weight up to 18 tons.  It is a fascinating experience to swim with the Whale Shark and there is nothing to compare with.  The best place to do is in Tofo, Mozambique where you can find Whale Sharks all year around in this area.  The other places you may also see the Whale Shark is Philippines and Cancun, Mexico.

 

After spending a day, visiting the museums in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, I took a van to Tofo.  The van was very crowded and dirty.  In addition, there were ticks on the van.  I got a few bits on the leg.  After 9.5 hours journey, I arrived Tofo.  Checked in at Bamboozi Beach Lodge.

 

The next day, I got up very early in order to catch the sunrise.  Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy and couldn’t see the sunrise.  At about noon, I joined an Ocean Safari to see the Manta Ray and Whale Sharks.  The safari would last for about 2 hours, there were about 12 people going altogether.  Before we departed, we had to learn some safety precautions:  First, the whale sharks are huge fish. They have no teeth and only eat the plankton near the water surface.  They are totally harmless.  Second, do not touch the whale sharks, as there is a slimy surface on their skin for protection.  If you wipe off the slimy surface, the shark may get bacterial infection and in worse case, may kill them.  Third, do not swim near Whale Sharks’ tail as they might hurt you when making a sudden turn.  Four, do not swim in front of the whale sharks as you may force them to dive underwater and you won’t able to see them again.

 

There was no jetty at the beach, and we had to push the boat into the water.  It was very windy, and the sea was very rough with about 2 meter of wave.  The ride was not pleasant.  Within 10 minutes, the boat driver spotted a Manta Ray.  We put on our snorkel gear and jumped into the water.  The creature was swimming beautifully in the water.  I was only about 3, 4 meters away from it.  This Manta Ray was a curious fish, it swam back and forth around us for a while before it swam away.  The Manta Ray here was quite large, almost reached about 2 meter in width.  Later, we saw a few more.  After a while, we said we had seen enough Manta Rays and we wanted to see the Whale Shark.

 

During a sunny, to spot a Whale Shark is easy.  As the sea water is turquoise and the Whale Shark always swam near the surface.  It will appear as a big black shadow at the surface.  However, it was cloudy and windy today.  The sea water was almost blackish color.  It was very difficult to find the black shadow at the surface.  In June, 2006, I was on a Whale Shark Watching Tour in Cancun, Mexico.  But we couldn’t see anything because of the bad weather.  It was cloudy and windy just like today.  I worried that same thing could happen again.  We toured the Whale Shark alley back and forth for more than one hour and saw nothing.  We almost lost hope and began to head back.  All of a sudden, the boat driver spotted one Whale Shark.  We were very excited and put on our gears immediately.  The boat sailed close to the Whale Shark and we jumped into the water.  This Whale Shark was quite large, at least 6, 7 meters long.  When it swam by me, we were only about one meter distance.  It was a fascinating experience.  After it swam by me, I started to paddle hard to follow it.  It was swimming so relaxing and so calm, but quite fast.  I tried to catch up until I was exhausted.  Later, I got on the boat and the driver drove close the Whale Shark and dropped me off again.  Everyone was so excited about seeing this amazing creature.  Although we only saw one Whale Shark on this trip, it was good enough.  It was an unforgettable experience.  Once in a life time, and you must do it.