It's Good to Feel Small Sometimes
by Jenni Barrett
What was she doing swimming with whale sharks?
– apparently this is what they would all be asking at my memorial service!
I had to work hard to convince my concerned friend that, quite aside from devouring curious marine enthusiasts, the biggest fish in the ocean, are in fact placid, gentle animals. Whale sharks prefer a diet of tiny sea creatures and microscopic plankton, and from March to June every year when the abundant coral spawns and the plankton blooms, they return in large numbers to Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia.
When my sister, Suz went to live in Australia earlier this year, I knew I would have to go visit, stopping off at Ningaloo Reef en route to cross off my number one Bucket List entry. But of course, visiting wild animals in their natural habitat, is never entirely straightforward. They rarely have the good grace to live right beside an international airport, with direct flights from Ireland and a range of low-cost, high quality hotels nearby. This expedition was no different – it turned into a much longer, more awkward journey than I first anticipated. The flights weren’t cheap, and on investigation the accommodation looked uninspiring, given the high cost. Still, I was on a mission – there were whale sharks to be swum with, and this lady was not for turning.
I met Suz at Perth airport on arrival in Australia, and a couple of days’ later we were happily winging our way north to Learmonth airport, gateway airport for Ningaloo Reef. Our high spirits were quickly dampened as our shuttle-bus neared Exmouth town where we were staying. Far from the thriving, funky, Western Australia town I had imagined, Exmouth turned out to be a somewhat sparse, dusty, depressing outpost. I’ll swear I even saw tumbleweed blowing down the main street! Disappointed, we went to bed early to be ready for our early morning departure to catch the boat.
Things finally started to look up the next morning when our tour operator picked us up from our hostel. The ‘Ningaloo Blue Dive’ company was a very professional operation. Clearly passionate about whale sharks, its young, enthusiastic staff took plenty of time to educate us about the whale sharks’ habits, and to explain how we should swim with them in order to protect their welfare and ensure our own safety.
We soon set sail through the incredibly beautiful, glittering blue waters of Ningaloo Reef. It was a glorious day, the sun split the heavens, and the excitement and anticipation within the diverse group of international travellers was palpable.
Swimming with whale sharks
It wasn’t long before we came across our first whale shark. The operators use a light spotting aircraft to pinpoint the whale sharks’ position, and a radio message from above told us there was one approaching. I scanned the water below, but I couldn’t see anything from the boat. Nonetheless, I quickly put on my fins and mask and rushed to the diving deck to wait for the signal to enter the water. At moments like this, I’m ashamed to say that I tend to lose all sense of self-restraint and decorum, I wait for no-one –it’s every sister for herself. Suz wasn’t far behind though – just as eager, she soon squashed in beside me, so that within minutes we were following the guide’s signal and slipping off the side of the boat together.
“I soon became transfixed by his tale as it swayed rhythmically from side to side. The movement was almost hypnotic, sleek and snake-like as it propelled his enormous body through the water.”
I put my head down into the water, and there he was, just becoming visible in the distance as he swam in our direction – a huge, blue-grey being. His head was square, his jaw was wide and flat, his back was covered in lines of bright white spots. He truly was awesome. I caught my breath – both thrilled and scared at the same time. I got myself together just in time to get out of his path, then levelled off to swim at his eyeline. He swam along effortlessly just below the surface of the water, the sunlight twinkling off his back. I had to swim at a good pace to keep up with him, but he was gracious enough to allow me to keep up – just! I soon became transfixed by his tale as it swayed rhythmically from side to side. The movement was almost hypnotic, sleek and snake-like as it propelled his enormous body through the water.
I knew he was big, over six metres in length – but size can be deceptive in the water, and it was difficult to get a full sense of the whale shark’s scale. That was, until I compared him with another swimmer, we humans were only about as big as his tale. At one point, he dived down into the deep directly beneath us. It was then that I got the truest sense of his size. I could see his shape, large and majestic as he dived deeper and deeper below until all I could make out through the darker water was the bright white spots on his back. Within a few short minutes, he was rising back up through the water again just below us, his enormous stature becoming ever clearer with each moment.
It was without a doubt, an exhilarating experience, but something niggled away at me. I’d been swimming alongside the first whale shark for a time, searching his small black eye for that connection I’ve felt in the past when encountering dolphins or whales underwater – that almost human, soul connection that can be felt, but is so difficult to explain. To my disappointment, it just wasn’t there. It wasn’t until I swam with the second shark that day, that I realised that this was a very different encounter. This was not a warm-blooded creature like us; he didn’t have that curious, social, human-like quality that seeks to communicate with fellow mammals. In fact, he didn’t appear in the slightest bit interested in the paltry human-beings swimming along clumsily beside him. This guy was his own fish – a detached, serene, sovereign of the sea.
“I suddenly felt small – smaller than I’d ever felt in my whole life. What’s more, my problems, stresses and strains – all of which I’d unwittingly brought with me on holiday – felt small. In fact they seemed to just melt away. I felt like a tiny being in an enormous planet, where whale sharks glided through shimmering waters, and I was too small and inconsequential to be noticed. ”
I suddenly felt small – smaller than I’d ever felt in my whole life. What’s more, my problems, stresses and strains – all of which I’d unwittingly brought with me on holiday – felt small. In fact they seemed to just melt away. I felt like a tiny being in an enormous planet, where whale sharks glided through shimmering waters, and I was too small and inconsequential to be noticed. And it felt good – my diminished status meant that for a few magical moments I could steal a precious glimpse into another realm, and bear witness to this mighty wonder of nature.
“It was then that I stopped searching for something that was not there, then that I allowed myself to fully experience the moment – mind, body and soul . . . For the next few hours, it was just me and those whale sharks drifting through the stillness.”
It was then that I stopped searching for something that was not there, then that I allowed myself to fully experience the moment – mind, body and soul. I forgot about everything and everyone else, even my sister. For the next few hours, it was just me and those whale sharks drifting through the stillness.
I swam with four whale sharks in total that day. I could have stayed with them forever. I didn’t want to go back to my world, back to reality. But all good things must come to an end, and all too soon I felt a tug on my foot. I looked around to see the guide gesturing me to stop swimming. I was surprised to notice that it was just him and me left in the water with the whale shark. Everyone else must have gone back to the boat.
I gave in, gazed at the disappearing whale shark one last time, then let him swim on without me into the blue. I felt a little bereft watching him leave, but my heart was full to overflowing with joy and gratitude for what I’d just experienced.
Organisations working to protect marine wildlife:
www.whaleshark.org Researching, identifying and protecting the world’s biggest fish. My adopted whaleshark, Manus
www.iwdg.ie Dedicated to the conservation and better understanding of whales, dolphins and porpoise in Irish waters.
www.greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/oceans/whaling Working internationally for an end to commercial whaling.
www.savejapandolphins.com Taking action to halt the annual slaughter of dolphins in the cove of Taiji in Japan.
www.earthisland.org Supporting people who are creating solutions to protect our shared planet.