Whale Sharks, Donsol

What can I say, the whale shark encounters has to be one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. The first jump in was exhilarating, the banka slows down, the guide shouts GO! GO! , and away you go - before you know it, your snorkel is almost ripped off your face! lol didn't expect that, banka probably still going around 5 km/h.

Eyes are focused on the guide, quite murky waters from all the plankton, then he points down, I start looking around, then out of the gloom swims the whale shark!

Takes your breath away for a second as it's so large! Mom? no wait, she's bigger! lol ... this first encounter I was content just swimming behind it watching it's tail ever so gently propel itself away from the annoying humans.

In all, we spent 4 hours on the sea, and I lost count after 10 encounters with the whale sharks. Quite a straightforward procedure - the spotters spot them *funnily enough*, the guide tells us to jump in, then we follow him and when he points, keep an eye out for a dark shape to emerge.

Tell you what, a couple times when the whale shark just appears in front of you, mouth gaping - bloody awesome!!

2nd to last encounter was the best - spent close to 15 minutes swimming lazily next to the whale shark.

Legs only cramped once at the end, adrenalin must have worn away.

There were 5 of us on the banka. Swimmers of all skill levels, I'd say everyone had a look of wonderment at the end of the journey.