Day 260 - 266 Snorkeling with Whale Sharks

Almost 6 months ago, I traveled from Africa, specifically from Mafia Island, to Asia. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to return there after half a year. But it was not only the nostalgic thoughts that brought me back to Mafia. When I was there in July, everyone was talking about the whale sharks that can be seen around the island from November to the end of January. Since I have to return to Tanzania for my last project of this trip, I seized the opportunity and booked a week of diving holidays on Mafia Island.

Since I had booked the same hotel as 6 months ago, everything was immediately familiar. Not much could have changed in such a short time. Shortly after checking in at the hotel, I went straight to the dive shop to surprise my friends there. And the surprise was successful. So I spent my first evening at the dive shop chatting with my old diving buddies. Nothing had changed here either. It was just cool.

The next couple of days I mainly spent diving. It was such a great feeling to be back here and to dive here. Where I learned it. Most of the hotel staff also remembered me and came up to me asking, you've been here before, right?

On the fifth day, snorkeling with the whale sharks was on the agenda. I had booked the excursion with a dive instructor from the dive shop and two other divers with whom I had been diving for the last few days. Early in the morning, we were picked up by the hotel and driven to the bay where the whale sharks were supposed to be. While enjoying breakfast, we were informed about the procedure and dangers. We were also explained how to behave in the water when we see a whale shark. And it was also pointed out that it is a wild animal and there is no guarantee that we will see one.

Optimistically, we later climbed into a boat and set off to the sea. On the way, a marine biologist told us what is known about whale sharks. And that is actually very little. Whale sharks belong to the sharks and therefore do not need to come to the surface to breathe. However, unlike other sharks, they do not have teeth and feed on plankton. However, no birth of a whale shark has ever been observed, nor is there any more information about the migration route of these animals. Everything that is known about pregnancy comes from an animal that was caught in a fishing net in Taiwan in 1990. Since the animals dive very deep, it has not been possible to equip them with a GPS transmitter to learn more about them.

After about an hour, the spotter standing at the front of the boat saw a fin. We immediately jumped into the water with our snorkeling equipment. And indeed, just a few seconds later, it swam past us. About 10 meters long with its mouth wide open to filter the plankton from the water. With our fins, we were able to follow it for a few meters with effort before it dived back into deeper water. For us, that meant getting back on the boat and looking for another animal. This game repeated itself for about 4 hours. It was just incredible. When we decided to go into the water one last time, I almost had a collision with one of the giants. While searching for the animal we had seen from the boat, I swam through the water. And suddenly it appeared beneath me and we stood face to face, maybe 5 meters apart in the water. Adrenaline was pumping through my body in that moment. Wow, how cool was that.

The sharks didn't want to let us go anymore, with this last jump into the water, we were in the water for a good 45 minutes, as the different animals kept coming back from all directions. We were fine with that. But at some point, it was time, and we said goodbye to the peaceful giants. We all had several small jellyfish bites, but that was a price we gladly paid for this incredible morning.

But too soon, the day of farewell came again. I had another great time here and it will surely not be the last time I was here.