Diving with Whale Sharks
To be honest, I’m not a fan of sharks, ahah, probably not you either, but there is a species of shark that will never attack you, it’s the whale shark that only eats plankton. This is the biggest shark in the world and you’re likely to be scared a few times when you see him. It can reach 20 meters in length and weigh 12 tons, unreal right?
To eat, they use a curious strategy, open the huge mouth, swallows the water and filters it, retaining small organisms, such as crustaceans that form the so-called plankton.
There are few places on earth where you can dive with these giants, I only know Mexico, Australia and the Philippines. To swim with this cuties you need to travel to the south of the island of Cebu. There’s a huge concentration of sharks in the are of Oslob and no one has yet been able to explain. I contacted the company Island Trek Tours to have this experience.
The boat goes about 200 meters away from the coast and you simply dive. The first minutes, I confess I was a little bit scared, they are really huge, but they are very calm, in any case people are forbidden to approach them and they risk being arrested 6 months if they are caught touching one of the animals. Gradually you get used to it, although my filming did not come out great since I was constantly shaking ehehe. But I loved it, being so close to this creatures is an unforgettable experience, they are so graceful, it looks like they are floating in the ocean. Another curious thing is their size is comparing with their small eyes… nature is extraordinary.
Theres is some controversial about the sharks, some people are against it. Decide by yourself. The animals are in the open waters, there is no net as many people think, during the mornings they can be seen when they visit the region. All the activities are closed during the afternoon so animals can freely move across the ocean. The truth is that other islands have tried to attract the sharks because of their economic potential, but always unsuccessfully, they like Oslob!
If you am interested in swimming with the sharks, send an email to Island Trek Tours, they have several activities besides this one, can visit other islands, waterfalls, etc.
Check out my video of the Philippines to get a feel 🙂
Connect with Island Trek Tours
Bookings:
www.islandtrektours.com
Hi! My name is João Cajuda, I’m a travel blogger from Portugal and founder of this website. In this blog I share my adventures around the world and give you tips about hotels, restaurants, activities and destinations to visit. You can travel through my videos or join my group tours that I organize to selected destinations. Visit my Adventure Travel Agency LEVA-ME and join one of my journeys!