Swimming with whale sharks in Oslob

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2 years ago

March 19, 20200

Swimming with the gentle giants was one of the most unforgettable memories in the history of my travels.

There are a few sites here in the Philippines where you can spend time with these whale sharks a.k.a gentle giants or locally known as Butanding. The one that we visited is the one in Oslob Cebu.

It was a three hours drive from Cebu City where you will pass by some coastal and mountainous areas. The moment we reached the area we are asked to register and remove any lotion or sunscreen before they hand over a life vest and snorkeling gear. We also had a briefing on the rules and regulations like the distance that we have to maintain with the whale shark and not to get near their face and their tail. They also assigned a boat to our group that will bring us to the area where the gentle giants are located. There are also go pro cameras that you can rent if you don't have an underwater camera that you can use.

The boat that was assigned to us is just a small boat that is only paddled by the boatman to disturb or stress out the whale sharks.

Luckily there are not so many tourists that are in the area when we went there so we really had a chance to enjoy these gentle giants. The area is not that far from the shore, and when we reached the exact location the boatman asked us to jump in the water so we can experience swimming with the whale sharks. We are always reminded to keep our 5m distance but honestly, I don't think it was followed as there are times that you will not notice that they are beside you already.

From a distance, you can see the dark blue skin with white spots that looks so fascinating and elegant. They may look so huge and scary but there's nothing to be scared of these creatures for they are very humble and gentle. They even look like a big catfish living in the ocean instead of the rivers. These cuddly jumbo-size creature is so harmless that would make you with that you could hug them but remember, it is prohibited to touch this gentle giants and they are not shy to get near you.

Thirty minutes in the water with these gentle giants is not enough but with that thirty minutes, I was able to see a few of them in different sizes. They swim with their mouth wide open when feeding on small fish and plankton before they filter out excess saltwater, and the best part of it is they don't like the taste of humans. Being in the water with them is too exciting

There were times that we are really side by side with the gentle giants.

Look how big and wide their mouth is.

If there is one thing that I don't like, it is that they keep on feeding the whale sharks just so they won't leave the area where the tourist are. I think it affects their natural diet but aside from that, I think it was well handled. I just hope that they don't exploit the whale sharks too much as they are endangered already.

If you don't want to get in the water you can also watch from the boat and it has a different rate. But why now dip in the water right?

Swimming and watching these gentle giants are truly one of the best experiences I'd ever had in all my travels, something that you cannot do anywhere. Something that you can only see in telly.

And since we are already in the area, we also took the chance to see the Tumalog Falls which is only 5 minutes away from the area but I think I'll share that another time.


And if you have come this far... Thank you for sharing your time with me.

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2 years ago

Comments

Great experience, I would like to be there and swim next to those giants.

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2 years ago

Isa sa mga fears ko ang whales huhu. Pero na research ko na hindi naman sial talaga kumakain or umaattack sa tao. They are very gentle giants. One day I want to encounter the butandings hehe.

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2 years ago

yep.. they are very gentle giants... you might get scared because of their size but even. if they are huge they doesn't have big fangs like the one with the sharks hehe i'll wait for that one day hehe

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2 years ago

I want to try that too. That must be a out-of-this-world experience. What's the reason behind the lotion and sunscreen?

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2 years ago

go to donsol or to cebu hahaha regarding the sunscreen its for the whale sharks protection

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2 years ago

Gosh ahhkk sharks are my favorite animal haha dunno but they are such a cute and lovely creature. Such a great experience you have there madam.

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2 years ago

but the one from jaws the movie are not cute hahahaha

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2 years ago

Ang sarap siguro sa feeling na makalangoy mga ganyan, buti ka pa, hehehe.. At sana all marunong lumangoy, hehe

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2 years ago

hahaha sobrang aliw sis... d ka marunong lumangoy? hihihi

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2 years ago

hindi sis eh, langoy kuhol lang ang alam ko, hahahaha

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2 years ago

It is a wonderful experience that you lived. I congratulate you. I have a lot of respect for these beautiful, large animals and I prefer to see them from afar. LOL. I would stay up on the boat.

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2 years ago

got a bucket full of wonderful experiences hehehe... hahahaha ok I'll understand if you choose to stay up in the boat and i would gladly take photos under the water for you :)

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2 years ago

Fascinating. Particularly eager to experience this as I know I would love it. Hopefully, they are protected, so they don't go into extinction

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2 years ago

yep.. i'm hoping for that too... so that many people will still be able to enjoy them

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2 years ago

A date with whale sharks, hmm sounds so thrilling. But still I would keep my distance, who knows they will love my taste, haha.

$ 0.02
2 years ago

hahahaha i hope they will not change their taste so humans can still go near them

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2 years ago

I'll never get tired of swimming with these gentle G's everytime we visit Oslob. The last I remember about seeing them is how hard it was to time the shots haha. I have tons of photos with the legs, bellies and other human things . .well the whale is in the picture at least hahahaha...

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2 years ago

hahahaha i have one worst photo that I cannot share lol and yes, i'll never get tired of swimming with them too... i miss you pich!!!

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2 years ago

Ever since in my life I never see a whale shark in reality.

$ 0.02
2 years ago

you still have a lot of chances to do it ... :)

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2 years ago

How lucky you are! I want to have it for a long long time.

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2 years ago

come here in the Philippines and I'll accompany you hehe

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2 years ago

Even though they're kind, I don't think I'd come close because of their huge size. Let the ocean be their land mine.

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2 years ago

honestly as much as i want to enjoy their accompany i want them to have the freedom to do what they want :)

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2 years ago

Seriously seeing this made me afriad . Right here in my country Nigeria we have heard about many stories about how shark and whales swallow human to me seeing this made me felt like this is a movie andy way I love how things is in your country I wish to be there so I can explore more about this wonderful adventures nice meeting you. I am Mr potbelly hoping for us to be friends

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2 years ago

hi Mr. Potbelly! whale sharks are different from the sharks that do eat humans... this gentle giants doesn't have a fang like the one from sharks. and nice meeting you too :)

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2 years ago

Wow. I would love to try that someday sis but of course I need to learn to swim first as I want to see them and dip in the ocean. I don't want to witness them by the boat.

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2 years ago

you can still go into the waters as they make sure you wear a life vest if you don't know how to swim hehehe

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2 years ago

Nung sa Cebu pa ako sis. Gustong-gusto ko talaga pumunta diyan sa Oslob. Gusto ko maexperience na makakita ng whale shark sa malapitan. Malayo nga Oslob from city sis. Dumaan lang kami diyan sis. Grabe ang layo ng byahe namin.

$ 0.02
2 years ago

3 hours drive sya from the city eh.. kaya alagang dadayuhin mo sya.. next time sis puntahan mo na ang saya hehehe

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2 years ago

I am afraid of shark and ocean, so I don't like going through water transportation.but the sharks are beautiful

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2 years ago

sharks and whale sharks are two different species hehe

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2 years ago