What is whale shark

One of the first appearance on big screen of this fish was in documentary about Kon-Tiki expedition from South America to South Pacific. Kon-Tiki was the raft used by Norwegian explorer and writer Thor Heyerdahl. In his book about this expedition whale sharks were mentioned as sea monsters.  I can just imagine what they were thinking when they met this fish similar to shark and which can grow more then 10 meters long.  But despite its size, the whale shark does not pose significant danger to humans, feeding on plankton and small fish. Only thing people should be careful – unintentional blows from the shark’s large tail fin.

Check this video if you are wondering what is that whale shark and should you take a swimming with whale sharks tour.

Are you interested? This video shot in Cenderawasih Bay in Indonesia, but one of the best places to swim with whale sharks is in Western Australia, Ningaloo reef.  It is not a cheap attraction, but is really worth it and you would love to go again and again.

Best places for a swim with whale sharks in Australia

I hope I didn’t scare you and you are ready to jump into water Next question would be: where can you do it? There are couple places in the world you can do it. Occasionally whale sharks can be seen by scuba divers in Thailand, but nobody can promise you will see one. There are whale shark snorkeling tours in some Caribbean countries and also in Mozambique, but probably best place to swim these giants is Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.  At Ningaloo Reef tour operators use whale spotting planes and it makes big advantage comparing with other places in the world as it gives you more chances to see whale shark.

Best time for swimming with whale sharks in Australia

Whale shark season in Ningaloo Reef starts in April and last until July. The time frame can slightly vary each year. Whale sharks can come in late March and stay until August, so it is better to contact operator of your choice to check what is situation.  Thought all tour companies have very high rate of whale sharks spotting, but sometimes weather conditions are not the best to go out to the sea, so it is good to have couple spare days in case tour will be canceled on particular day. Make sure you have some sea sickens medicine to make sure you have good day out in the sea, as otherwise it can ruin your swim with whale sharks experience as it did happen with Jade.

Whale sharks tour prices in Australia

Most tour operators located in small town Exmouth and couple of whale sharks tour operators are in Coral Bay, 150km (100 miles) South of Exmouth.

Here is a list of whale shark tour operators in Exmouth (for tours in Coral Bay go to Coral Bay whale shark tours page) in alphabetic order:

All prices are in Australian dollar. Now most companies offer repeat tour voucher valid for the next three years. Before you could use that voucher only during current season in case you don’t see whale sharks on your first tour.

* there is no published prices for the current season yet.

Swim with whale sharks tour prices are very similar so probably main factor of choosing tour operator will be seat availability on preferred day. Or it depends where you are staying and do you want to do any additional activity. Because these tours are not very cheap read carefully refund sections as all companies have different policies. But most companies start offer voucher for another tour valid for three years in case of no sighting of whale sharks that day.

Also you can check some operators reviews on Tripadvisor. Personally I was on tours with Three Islands Whale Shark Dive (they had best price in Exmouth) and Ningaloo Reef Dive in Coral Bay. I was happy with service I got and can recommend both companies.

All prices are good on time of publishing of this post. I tried to contact each tour company for latest information, but please visit page of each tour operator for up to date prices as it can be changes done at the time you’ll read this post. Let me know if you find any incorrect or outdated information here.

Can you scuba dive with whale sharks

Unfortunately you can’t do it.  Occasionally in Thailand scuba divers can see whale sharks, but these are rare cases. The swimming with whale sharks tours is the best way to see these creatures and Australia is one of best place in the world to go on these tours.  So check tour prices above.

But if you still keen to dive with whale sharks you can do it in Atlanta aquarium which has diving with whale sharks program.

Save

The post Swimming with whale sharks in Australia appeared first on Vi Travel Tips.

To be honest I am not big lover of aquariums or zoo. My preference is to see animals in their natural environment.  According to the study done at Okinawa aquarium whale sharks live for only average 16 months in captivity. Naturally they can live up to 70 years. So personally I probably won’t be visiting any of these aquariums and would prefer to swim with whale sharks again or just go for whale watching tour.

7. Polar Ocean World, Qingdao, China

According Wikipedia it should be two whale sharks at Polar Ocean World, but I didn’t find any other sources confirming that and on their web page did see only pictures of Beluga whales, but nothing about whale sharks.

6. Yantai Aquarium, China

Yantai Aquarium is another aquarium with no much information, except huge concern from conservationists as there are 5 whale sharks in very tiny 27 meters by 16 meters (88 feet by 52 feet) aquarium.  It is hard to imagine 10-15 meters (30-50 feet) long adult whale shark in such “box”.

5. Kenting National Museum of Biology and Aquarium, Taiwan

At Kenting National Museum of Biology and Aquarium there is aquarium called The Open Ocean Aquarium. There is no information about measurements except it is largest aquarium in Taiwan and besides 13 dolphins it features one 16 meters (52 feet) long whale shark.

4. Ioworld Aquarium, Kagoshima, Japan

Because all official information about Ioworld Aquarium is in Japanese it is hard to find precise numbers. According online reviews the aquarium isn’t too big and presentations are in Japanese, but it is not crowded and features single whale shark.

3. Kaiyukan Aquarium, Osaka, Japan

The largest tank “Pacific Ocean” in Kaiyukan aquarium is 9 metres (30 feet) deep and holds 5.4 million liters (1.4 million US gallons) of water.  Besides whale shark you can see Manta ray, Bluefin tuna, Spotted eagle ray in the “Pacific Ocean”.

2. Churaumi Aquarium, Okinawa, Japan

The main tank at Churaumi  Aquarium called the Kuroshio Sea, holds 7.5 million liters (1.98 million US gallons) of water.  When the aquarium was opened in 2002 it had largest acrylic glass panel in the world measuring 8.2 by 22.5 metres (27 by 74 feet) with a thickness of 60 centimetres (24 inches).
There are 3 whale sharks in aquarium at the moment.

1. Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta, US

At Georgia Aquarium is located largest tank in the World. Ocean Voyager holds 24 million liters (6.3 million US gallons) of water and was specially designed to house whale sharks, the largest fish species in the world.  At the moment there are 4 whale sharks in the aquarium and can watch them live on web cam or … you can swim with whale sharks in aquarium. A swim is guaranteed and you don’t need to worry about sea sickens.

The post Top 5 largest aquariums in the world to see whale sharks appeared first on Vi Travel Tips.