Hmmm an early start at 0600, why are we getting up so early? Might be something to do with the promise from Tata that we will see Whale sharks 100 an 10%! So a journey to Oslob which we ummmed an ahhhhed over due to FOC advicce not to go, took almost 2 hours! They even packed us a picnic breakfast to stuff our faces on the journey. However, when we arrived to a lovely area with huts, table and chairs along with our chef Helen and Edna the helper to look after us for the day, and they soooooooo did us proud! Treated us like kings and Queens with amazing food, and service second to none!
Sooooo to the diving………..well we had to walk in off the shore over Rocks and smallish waves, but our brilliant dive guides Alex and Tata and some other guy carried, yes carried our kit and helped us kit up in the sea!!!!
Brief swim out to the site at a max of 8-10 meters to where to fishermen were feeding the Whalesharks, also where the boats were taking the snorklers (poor wee knobs). Suddenly, there was 1, then 2 just cruising by, OMG everywhere you looked, Whalesharks had to batted off with a stick! Close encounters of a fourth kind were had by most of us, Malc was finned around the head as i was too! We were not allowed (Sorry, brief interuption due to our last night in Kasai hilarity going on in the bar at the moment, Much meriment with Albin and Rannessa, blog tomorrow for this) to touch or be within 5 meters of them shark things, try telling them that! We were threatened with 6 months in prison if we did! 😱😈
7 Whalesharks for 7 SBSAC divers, just amazing, beautiful and gentle creatures.
Appologies for my photos, but they are a memory that will live with me forever!! 😍😍😍
Well, we did a 2nd dive without Malc, no he was fine after his encounter with wally whaleshark, just had enough of em! Another kit up in the sea with even bigger waves, and a 17 min swim out to the site where another exciting hour was spent ogling snorklers bottoms, oooops i mean observing the large fish over our heads 😉
The day ended with the trip home and a stop at several local Pharmacies to get some ‘lughole’ soother for Richard and me due to pain and deafness!
Back at Kasai, Cocktails in the pool in the shape of Bannana Rum were enjoyed by all!!