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1st Quarter 2010

Whale Shark season is upon us, if your dream is to swim with these amazing creatures the season is officially March through to June.  They are typically sighted during and up to 10 days after the full moon and if they are feeding our guests get the chance to get up close and personal!!!  Sometimes we get to see them at other times of the year, last year we sighted the Whale Sharks during July and September!

Whale sharks in Belize – a personal account from Aachal Kotecha

‘My trip to Belize in September was a very last minute affair….I had a week’s annual leave left and was desperate to go diving, but I kept umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether spending all that money on a flight for just one week would be worth it. But then I remembered how much I loved the last trip in May 2006 and I just knew I’d only veg in front of the TV for a week. So I booked it.

Reef CI had moved from when I last came to Punta Gorda. At that time, we were on Frank’s Caye, but since then the team had moved to Hunting Caye, sharing the base with the Belize Coastguard and Fisheries people. The 2 places were very different- Frank’s was an isolated, get-away-from-it-all ‘desert island’ type affair, but Frank’s was a larger place with a dedicated accommodation building and many more people around. Each had its own charm, but I feel moving to Hunting Caye was a good call by the team.

The first day we were to have a full day’s diving, Polly excitedly told Rebecca and myself that whale sharks had been spotted off the reef. When I came in 2006, the one time my group had a close encounter with the sharks was when I decided to opt out of diving and laze in my hammock for the afternoon- and I had regretted that choice ever since. So when Polly said there were some to be found on my second trip, I couldn’t believe it.

Wetsuits on in the searing Belizian heat, we set off to hunt the magnificent creatures that are known as the ‘gentle giant’ of the sea.

The boat set off toward where a flock of gulls (or gull-like-birds that eat fish. I am no ornithologist) were circling. The give away that we were in the right place was the water activity on the surface. It was as though the ocean was boiling, with tuna attacking the fries from below and gulls diving in from above. Poor little fries, didn’t really stand a chance. Anyway, Roland must have polarised corneas (or maybe it was his shades…) because he was always the first to spot the whale sharks themselves. ‘Quickly, get in. NOW. But DON’T make too much noise’ was pretty much what we were instructed each time- and believe you me, that is a difficult task to undertake.
Once in the water, Roland would point us in the direction we had to swim. ‘That way, THAT WAY’ he would call, pointing us in the right direction, shaking his head the times we were too slow and the fish had dived back down. Polly must have thighs of steel because she was always off, finning like she had some motor attached to her, with a never-seen-a-gym-computer-based-coffee-drinking-elevator-taking me having no thigh muscles whatsoever bringing up the rear. But I had to see them, and the power of the adrenaline in my system overcame the lactic acid-induced pain and breathlessness.

I can’t recall exactly how many times we saw them- 2 days worth of sightings and swimming so close with them each time. But the one I remember most vividly was the one experience we had when it was approaching sunset. As we finned in the westerly direction that Roland pointed (and shouted) to us, the sunlight was obscuring any view of anything on or under the surface. All I kept thinking was ‘where, where?’ and then all of a sudden, a large shadow, about 45foot in length, mimicking a torpedo upright in the water was there, in front of us. Sunlight was twinkling around its outline, like some sort of halo. And it took my breath away. I could almost hear the choir of angels (no, seriously). There she was mouth wide open, feeding on all the little fries that were unlucky enough to be trapped on the surface. The crazy tuna swimming frenziedly below and the squawking gulls attacking above could not steal away the magnificence of this fish. Such a graceful, gentle creature. And then, she turned, showing us her lovely creamy white belly, having filled up on her afternoon snack. But as she left, she turned towards and swam straight to us. What a sight! The upturned edges of her mouth, still slightly open, seemed to suggest a smile. And as she passed beneath us, I was captivated by the pattern of ‘freckles’ on her dorsal side (such a contrast to her belly). I was alarmed that my body might accidentally brush her dorsal fin, that by touching her it would break the magic of this dream, but she knew what she was doing and went deep enough so that I could only touch it with an outstretched hand if I wanted to. And carried on deeper, so that as her tail fin swept from side to side, it would not strike us, but again be close enough to touch if desired. Her movements seemed so slow, but in a flash she was gone. The power in that body was incredible. And that was the experience that moved me most. I felt so privileged to be so close to her, that she allowed me to invade her privacy, that she respected my presence, as long as I respected hers. I think she felt our subtle vibrations underwater- our excitement, our wonder, our respect, our knowledge that we were incredibly lucky to be witnessing such a sight, to be so close.

And when I relate the experience to my friends even now, they comment about the danger, fears: ‘sharks?!’ And it’s clear they have no idea at all. Yes, we did have a lemon shark tail us for a while on one of our trips (that’s another story), but at no time was there any real sense of fear; just awe, and tired thighs. But mainly real joy.

I am so glad I went- even just for a week. It was enough to fill my needs. Despite living a land-locked lifestyle, I have always respected and adored the ocean. And it’s as though the ocean knows this, for she provided me with an experience that will stay with me eternally. Sounds corny, I know. But it’s true.’

Aachal Kotecha