By 6am, Jessie, myself and a German couple were packed into a van and we departed for the 1 ½ hour drive to Oslob. Because it was so early in the morning, we were all able to fall asleep and we arrived in what seemed like no time at all. On the drive however we passed an area where a transport truck had fallen over and was laying upside down, demolished, at the side of the road. The crew on the bus all gasped and we were able to catch a glimpse of the wreckage. At the speed people drive through jackknife turns in the mountains, it doesn’t surprise me that this happens from time to time.
We soon arrived at the dive centre in Oslob and got ready to go in the water. Jessie and I went in a small boat with a guide and a driver who brought us out about 100ft and as we were seated in the boat, I could see the outline of these giant sharks. At first, I was quite timid and nervous to get into the water, but our guide assured me it was safe and jumped right in. Soon Jessie and I were both in the water and knew that the sharks were swimming right beneath us.
We put on our snorkel masks and were able to see them so clearly beneath the surface. It was surreal being close to something so big. In total, there were 4 Whale Sharks and they were probably about 3 ½ m in length (not the full size ones, but still very large).
It was such a humbling experience to be so close to something so much larger than myself. I think as humans, we tend to think of ourselves at the top of the food chain and somehow feel that this puts us at the top of the importance list. Seeing animals that are so large, graceful and powerful opened my eyes to the fact that we really don’t trump other animals on the planet.
At one point, I was trying to snap some photos underwater and I was able to capture the shark’s head and mouth. It was a great picture but then I realized that he was heading right towards me with his mouth open. Although I understood that these sharks don’t eat people, I still got very freaked out because I wasn’t able to move away fast enough. Jessie was swimming underwater nearby and says that she heard me screaming from underwater… I guess I’m a bit of a drama queen.
In total, we were in the water for 30 minutes. This really isn’t a long period of time, but we were able to get a good feel for these graceful giants and experience what it’s like to swim alongside them. The experience runs every day and there are huge numbers of tourists that come, so the guides have to keep things running quickly to get everyone in.
Jessie and I had a fabulous time. It was a large chunk of money to do this tour, but I think it was worth every penny. Being able to witness something so rare and beautiful is an incredible experience (especially since it’s done completely in the wild, not some aquarium or artificial habitat). If I heard that anyone was in the area, I would definitely recommend doing this.
Once we got back to our hotel, the afternoon was not nearly as exciting. We spent most of our time packing up our remaining things, grabbing a quick lunch and then we took a tricycle to the bus stop.
The bus was a long 3 hour journey again. Jessie and I found seats at the back and we were joined by a nice gentleman who was transporting a rooster for a cock fight. He was quite proud of this rooster and opened his bamboo bag to show us.
By the time we reached Cebu City, it was already evening and we were ready to go to our hotel and freshen up. Driving in the city busses that leave the windows down means that you become covered in fumes and grime from the clusters of traffic… it’s incredibly gross.
We spent a bit of time at the nearby mall getting dinner and then had an early night.
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