OMG... Whale Shark sighted off Botany Bay in Sydney, Australia!!

[Carl_Fallon]

Hi everyone,

I went out on my boat yesterday with my wife (Rach) and another friend (Kristy) and as we drove out of the heads of Botany Bay, we had a suprising visitor... A WHALE SHARK!!! We could not believe it.

This is unheard of here in Sydney, and a very special sighting indeed. We passed it while driving at high speed and at first i thought it huge tiger shark. So I put the boat in idle and waited to see if we could spot it again. The Whale shark then actually swam up to the boat to check us out. It spent about 2-3 minutes playing around the boat, poking the front of its head out of the water to see us, turning around and following the boat as we drifted in the wind and current. It was that close that the side of the boat was nudging the shark as we both drifted. We could almost reach out and touch it.

What an amazing and totally unexpected experience. We were that excited that we could sit down afterwards. So cool.

After posting the photos immediately on facebook (How could we not gloat about the sighting), we had a phone call from Chanel 7 TV station and they sent a helichopter out to try and get some arial photos of it... Not sure if they found it again or not. We also later in the afternoon got a call from the local newspaper about it and they are writing an article about the sighting. Very cool.

Botany Bay continually supprises me. Over the last 11 years i have been approached by Humpback Whales, seen Grey Nurse and Black and Bronze whaler sharks, swam with dolphins, played with seals and penguins, and now... came face to face with a Whales Shark... You have to be in it win it i suppose... Amazing.


I know everyone is thinking... "So, Did you jump in?" well, the answer is no. It was tempting, but we wanted to respect its space and let it interact with us on its own terms.

The only camera we had onboard was our I-Phone, so we got a few photos that shows the head of the shark. I posted them on our facebook page...

Check it out: Welcome to Facebook - Log In, Sign Up or Learn More

You can see me at the back of the celebratory group shot after the experience. hehehehe...

Cheers... I hope you all enjoy.

 

[Kloster_m]

Forgive me if I feel a little hesitant about signing into Facebook off your link. Care to just upload them to the forums for all to see, even those that do not have a Facebook account...?

 

[Carl_Fallon]

Hey Kloster... For sure... Check it out. They arent magazine photos, but what do you get from an I-phone when you are jumping from excitment in a small boat. lol

 

[Searcaigh]

Fantastic experience, I have yet to see one, although it is coming up to whaleshark season here in UAE.

 

[TSandM]

What a great find! I have yet to see a whale shark.

Australia's an amazing place. We need to go back and dive there again (and find leafy sea dragons!)

 

[Kloster_m]

That is truly an amazing picture! Thanks for posting!

 

[Carl_Fallon]

The amazing thing is that they just arent meant to be down here in Sydney. I still get goose bumps when i think about it! AWESOME>

 

[Kloster_m]

A once in a lifetime picture is even sweeter, and a memory you will never forget! I'm jealous!

 

[vladimir]

The amazing thing is that they just arent meant to be down here in Sydney.

Do you think it was discarded from a home aquarium, like the lionfish in the Caribbean?

 

[JaneMitchell]

You are soooo lucky. Being from Melbourne diving at Exmouth with the whale sharks is definately on my list...who would have thought you only needed to go to Sydney!! That is the most awesome thing!!