If swimming with majestic humpback whales isn’t on your bucket list, what are you thinking? Coming face to face with these enormous mammals, who range in length from 12 to 16 metres, is a surreal and transformative experience. And the best place to do it? Western Australia’s Ningaloo Marine Park, off the coast of Exmouth and Coral Bay.
The official whale swimming season kicks off on 1 August, when approximately 40,000 whales begin their migration along the coastline. At Ningaloo, you’ll swim so close to these gentle giants you’ll be able to count the barnacles on their backs. Watch on in awe as they spout, lunge, breach and slap the water with their fins. With qualified marine biologists on hand to instruct and guide your every move, it’s a safe and respectful environment to witness such an awesome spectacle.
Ningaloo is already a renowned location for swimming with whale sharks, so the existing infrastructure and the fact the migration seasons run very close to each other (whale shark season is from April to July) has made it a wonderful spot for these marine encounters.
And did you know that male humpback whales produce a complex song that can last for up to 20 minutes? This is repeated for hours at a time with portions of the song audible to the human ear in the water. If that’s not enough to get you over to Ningaloo, we don’t know what is!
Swim with whales on a tour with Live Ningaloo. It costs about $US375 for a swimmer and $US205 for an observer.
You’ll need to be a reasonably confident swimmer, as you’ll be out in the open ocean with the whales battling strong currents and swell. You must also be able to snorkel.
Live Ningaloo
liveningaloo.com.au
Whale season runs from 1 August through to 30 September.